5 Software to Invest in as a Business Owner

Running your own business can be tough, but you shouldn’t have to struggle with tough software, too.

When you need to keep track of finances, communicate with team members, or simply manage customer relationships, finding the right software will make it easy.

This way, you can focus on running your own company while the tech takes care of the heavy lifting for you.

Essential Software for SMBs

​​As an entrepreneur, you’re in charge of so many different aspects of your business, including marketing, operations, and finance.

To make sure your business thrives in every area, consider the following five types of software to help improve your workflow:

1. Accounting Software

Without accounting software, you have to tediously enter receipts and expenses by hand. This requires a lot of data entry, which opens up an opportunity for errors that can cause your business to lose money.

Make sure you use cloud-based accounting software so you can access it anywhere from any device.

When selecting account software, look for something that is inexpensive and provides seamless integration with your financial institution. Some popular options include QuickBooks (Intuit) and Freshbooks ( Xero).

2. Project Management Software

Being able to manage tasks is essential for small businesses. The biggest benefit of using project management software is that they help you stay organized.

You’ll have a to-do list with tasks and information from your team all in one place. Moreover, you can track who’s working on which project and how much time it’s taking.

The most popular choices are Basecamp, Teamwork Projects, Trello, Asana, Airtable, and Evernote.

Project management software also makes it easy to make sure nothing falls through the cracks and that everyone is on point.

Often at a startup or small business, there are multiple things happening at once- making it hard for you to keep track of everything.

Having project management software to communicate with your colleagues and ensure projects get done effectively makes all the difference.

3. Onboarding Software

Getting your new employees started on their first day is critical. You’ve invested a lot in hiring them and need to make sure they start with a bang.

Luckily, some great solutions can help get you there. Onboarding software makes it easier to map out new employee training and make sure everyone is on-the-same-page from day one.

Onboarding software like office 365 onboarding brings together all of your organization’s resources into one dashboard, enabling you to seamlessly transition new hires onto projects, programs, teams, and more.

4. CRM Software

Customer relationship management software (CRM) is a must-have tool for any professional organization. A CRM system allows you to store and track data on all of your clients, including their preferences, purchasing history, contact information, and sales records.

This can help streamline communication with customers and provide insight into how you can improve services or products moving forward.

You can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $1,000 a month depending on how large your business is and which CRM system you choose.

For example, HubSpot offers its core CRM tool-free as part of its suite of small business software—the price increases as more users are added to your account.

5. Website Builder Software

If you’re struggling to create a website for your company or you just need to update your current one, there’s software for that.

There are many website builder software platforms available that take care of all of the hard stuff like hosting and design and let you choose from a range of templates to build off.

The best part about them is that they’re completely free, though most charge for additional features and premium templates.

You can find one in minutes on Google, but WordPress is an excellent free option if you want more customization or aren’t too web-savvy.

Conclusion

Business owners today have access to so many different options and tools that help them manage their business, from finance software and inventory management systems to online project management apps and accounting tools.

Keep this information in mind as you learn more about how to navigate the world of business and the best software to help you do it.

Read more software development articles, and business articles written by our guest writers.