If you’re a small business owner, you’re likely familiar with the term “there are not enough hours in the day.” Your days are full, from saving draft versions of proposals and meeting with clients to keeping up with emails and administration tasks. It’s easy to become frustrated.
luckily, technological advancements in software development granted us plenty of digital tools available to help you streamline your business and make your work smoother.
benefits of Using Tech Tools for your Businesses
Firstly, technology can prevent time loss, enabling you to focus on the things that matter most. Instead of putting a lot of effort into manual, administrative tasks such as data entry and invoicing, you will have a lot of free time to invest that time in talking to your clients and potential benefactors, improving your products and services, and other strategic endeavors aimed at growing your business.
Secondly, tech tools can save you money. For example, a well-designed CRM tool can automatically identify where you probably are “leaving money on the table” with one group of customers. Accounting software might uncover info that shows you’ve been paying more than normal tax. A backup solution can make sure that you never lose data or experience unwanted downtime that leads to customer churn or revenue loss. A comprehensive project management tool will ensure proper attention to the deadline that results in an agreement breach and associated penalties or fines.
Thirdly, digital equipments support the new paradigm of the post-pandemic era in which people and businesses want limited in-person interactions due to concerning health codes and regulations. The digital nature of tech tools allows people to do much of their business activities from any location and from any device. More than that, most tools are available as software-as-a-service (SaaS), so you only pay for the features you want. you can cancel your service easily if you decide a tool isn’t for you.
From these mentioned examples, it would be obvious that the smart selection and use of tech tools for your small enterprise make sense.
Now, it’s time for some solutions for you to consider in each tool category.
- Project Management Tools
Project management software is a great tool if you’re trying to handle many things simultaneously r. Essentially, these tools allow you to track your business activities, appointments, and defined deadlines (in contrast to having to do this manually).
such tools can automatically create reminder notifications for upcoming tasks or events, including details such as when your next meeting will be.
Trello is one of the favorite project management tools worldwide.
benefits
- logical pricing structure; they offer a version where you can invite an unlimited number of members and create boards, cards, and lists.
- Works on every platform and is mobile-friendly.
Disadvantages
- The upper limit of 10MB file upload limit for each attachment on the basic plan.
- Data backup risks , you can’t import data back into Trello in case of an emergency or losing data. (Mitigate this risk with the Rewind Backups for Trello Power-Up).
- E-Signature Tools
E-signature tools are particularly useful when you and others need to sign contracts and agreements when meeting at one place is not convenient. You simply have to upload your documents, add the email addresses of recipients, whose signature is required, and the recipients receive the documents in their inboxes.
Most e-signature tools have the possibility to assign due dates for signatures and automatically send reminders to any parties who have not yet added their signature. E-signature solutions are a paperless (and as a result, ECO-Friendly) option.
DocuSign is one of the top ones and most popular e-signature tools.
benefits
- They have the option to set up an administrator to assign and oversee all document signing activities and users.
- Signature groups for specific tasks.
Disadvantages
- A bit expensive, with consideration that Adobe has introduced its free signature feature.
- Usually a slow response time, and difficulty in setting up the tool across an organization with many users.
- Email Marketing
With digital email marketing systems, it’s quick and easy to keep your email subscribers up to date on the latest happenings in your business and any special offerings or promotions you’re running.
Many of these tools also enable you to auto-generate a regular email newsletter to share with your social networks, so you don’t need to make them on your own.
MailChimp is one of the leaders in the email marketing space.
benefits
- A Highly-targeted user segmentation and the capability for A/B testing.
- Granular campaign metrics and analytics reports.
Disadvantages
- Sometimes recipients on the Gmail platform fail to receive their emails, or they end up in their junk or trash folder.
- Becomes expensive with audience growth.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A well-made CRM software is an essentiality as a business tool for small enterprises. It provides you with a central repository from which you can track, manage, and measure all connection hubs of your customer relationships and outreach. It can inform you who is receiving, opening, and reading your departed emails or entering your website. It can also notify you that it’s been a while since you contacted a high-value client.
CRM softwares analyze the data to offer you regular relationship status update and they can recommend the next steps for engagement.
HubSpot is one of the useful tools to help keep you updated with your customers.
benefits
- Ability to closely monitor customers and then analyze their demands.
- Excellent customer support.
Disadvantages
- Video capabilities on email are somewhat limited.
- Dull interface and limited color choices.
- HR Management
Not many small businesses can afford to hire a dedicated human resources executive. HR management software options will take care of every aspect from payroll and shift scheduling to the distribution of important company announcements.
GoCo is a known leader in this category
benefits
- An ideal option for small businesses that need to also take care of payroll software with basic HR support.
- Friendly and prompt customer service.
Disadvantages
- Fees are somewhat on the higher end.
- No mobile app.
- Accounting Software
Online accounting software can basically perform the work that an accountant or bookkeeper. This includes tracking of your income and expenses, invoicing, expense claims, and curating the documentation required for your tax returns.
QuickBooks Online is favored by many business owners.
benefits
- User-friendly and intuitive
- Integrates easily with other apps
Disadvantages
- Limited inventory management capabilities
- When this version is compared to the desktop version, QuickBooks Online’s report builder lacks some abilities.
- Communication and Collaboration
As your business scales the path to growth, the need to rely on email and old-school telephone calls can slow you down. Modern digital communication and collaboration software enable you for instant chatting and file sharing.
Suggested tool in this category: Microsoft Office 365 is one of the most popular options for many small business owners.
benefits
- Clear management of identities and simple software installation and management.
- It will be an easy option for people to see their colleagues’ calendars and set up required meetings; the email function is clean and organized.
Disadvantages
- Lack of user data backup, and as a result, it recommends using third-party solutions to protect data against common issues like file corruption and everyday human error.
- If you don’t decide to use a third-party backup solution, you could face unpredicted downtime, productivity dips, and even compliance problems.
- Password Management Tools
Password management software make it possible for you to manage all your accounts in a secure way.
They prevent the problem of easily guessable passwords and writing them down.
Suggested tool in this category: LastPass is a popular choice.
benefits
- Many great free features.
- Automatically syncs between all devices.
Disadvantages
- It is Costly when compared to its competition.
- Customer support is sometimes reported to be lacking or unresponsive.
- Website Monitoring
Your website is the main door to your business, and you have invested time and money into making it as attractive and user-friendly as possible. But, you need to know which people use it and which parts of it are enjoying the most and least amount of traffic.
Website monitoring tools enable you to get these insights so that you can make the necessary adjustments and improvements to your system.
Suggested tool in this category: Google Analytics is commonly used by small business owners to monitor their websites.
benefits
- It shows the incoming sources of your traffic (for example organic search, referrals, or direct traffic).
- E-commerce conversion tracking extends beyond simple revenue reporting and shows how different products or product categories are selling and how you can improve your checkout and cart processes.
Disadvantages
- Picks up significant traffic from spambots.
- Their inability to accurately track returns or fraudulent orders.
- Data Backup
It is a possible and common mistake to accidentally delete or corrupt SaaS application data. Software bugs/conflicts and malicious actors can cause major problems. SaaS vendors will back up the data at the platform level, but you can’t access that information to restore your account.
A good Backup software gives you full control and access to your critical business data any time you want. If something happens, you can restore your data in just a few clicks.
Suggested tool in this category: Rewind is favored by many business owners who are concerned about the risk of losing their critical data.
benefits
- It is not a costly solution for companies seeking to back up, restore and copy their critical data.
- It Offers backup and recovery solutions for Shopify, BigCommerce, QuickBooks Online, GitHub, Trello, and many more.
Disadvantages
- usually only thought about/ considered once a business has experienced a catastrophic loss.
A possible conclusion
This list of business tools for enterprises does not include all the options for you. The size of your company, its level of growth, your industry, and your financial backbone will naturally influence which digital tools you decide to invest in.
However, the value you’ll gain from these tools through their ability to automate away much of the time and effort involved in mundane tasks can’t be understated.
What’s more, in a post-pandemic world, they can help you satisfy the need or desire for people to do their work and run their businesses remotely.
The recommendation is to start slowly. Many of these tools have free trial options, so try a few out and see which ones work for you. Also, ask for feedback from your team and even your clients and partners about which ones they like or don’t like working with. Then, once you’ve identified a handful, you can go for a larger plan.
In this section, we count down the most used enterprise tools for digital-first firms in 2022
Editor’s note: These tools are suggested to be beneficial to companies and business owners for a smoother transition into digitalization and as these companies keep scaling up they can feel the privileges they bring is a larger scale,
Zoho CRM
Zoho CRM is a sales management software for contact and deals management, email marketing, call logging, meeting management, and task reminder. The premium packages offer “pipeline recommendations”. More than that, Zoho CRM software gives customization options to design dashboards for analytics and create automation rules like sending follow up emails after customer calls. Zoho CRM is a well-equipped option and is less expensive than Insightly and Freshworks CRM, and the performance is comparable to advanced options such as HubSpot CRM and Salesforce.
monday.com
monday.com is a project management software that gives you the ability to plan, organize, and track all business activities from one place. The companies can choose from over 200 ready templates or create their own to visually track the team’s workflows. monday.com work os also provides options such as boards, tables, Gantt charts, calendars, timelines, and maps to display projects, tasks, and related data. More than that, the platform offers automation and integration, advanced analytics, and high-end security.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a powerful and popular website-building tool, blogging platform, and hosting service all in one place. The content management system was established around the same time as WordPress. Squarespace makes building a website from scratch very easy and offers a lot of templates.
Magnolia
Magnolia CMS helps companies and businesses of any size to build websites. its Java-based platform offers e-commerce, analytics, marketing automation tools, social media, CRM, and ERP functions. The system uses an architecture that separates a website’s public elements from private elements to enhance cyber security. Magnolia’s CMS option offers in-context editing, full preview, and personalization. Developers can work with front-end frameworks options like React, Angular, and Vue and integrate easily with other technologies through Magnolia’s REST APIs.
Qandle
Qandle is a well-equipped and all-in-one HR platform with the main focus on re-engineering HR technology from employees’ perspectives and covers the entire spectrum of HR activities, ranging from hiring to retirement. More than that, it offers a modular and extremely flexible solution for organizations looking to deliver the next-generation experience to their teams.
GoCo
GoCo is a cloud-based HR, benefits, and payroll solution tailored for small businesses. The platform automates the process of collecting documents for new hires, gathering them in benefits plans, and adding employees to the company payroll. GoCo payroll’s features include auto-sync, new hire setup, change of employee, profit or benefit deduction, and final paycheck calculation. Its compliance includes eligibility checks for employment, tax info, benefits compliance, ACA compliance, and PTO compliance.
Microsoft D365
Microsoft D365 comes with two different solutions in the beginning. Business Central is designed for small and mid-sized businesses, while Finance and Operations are created for larger and more complex organizations. The ERP limits Microsoft’s flexibility and user interface to offer great value.
Oracle NetSuite
Oracle NetSuite is a cloud-based architecture solution. The ERP system manages core functions, including aspects such as finance and accounting, inventory, orders, and procurement. The extra options include CRM for sales, service and marketing automation, human resources for personnel records, performance management, and payroll, professional services automation to plan and track projects, and Omni channel commerce for online and in-store sales.
Hive
Hive, an all-in-one project management system, known as the world’s first democratic productivity platform, built by users for the users. Hive offers a local chatting platform and emailing features, agile project views like Gantt and Kanban, and many applications. In addition, Hive curates action cards that are essential as the basic unit of every project. Teams work with these action cards to make collaborations, discussions, comments, uploads, downloads, and tags, making project management, engaging, and swift.
Asana
Asana is a well-equipped and customizable content management system that is designed to help streamline projects. The platform can help with analyzing the company’s progress and notify in case of issues all in one place, eliminating the need for constant meetings, email updates, and memos. Asana offers a rich feature set, customizations, and general usability.
