start your business
12 Software tools & services for small business that can make your life unbelievably easier
Whether you are starting a new business or looking to improve operational efficiency of an existing business, one thing is for sure is that you will need help to be successful and you CANNOT do it all by yourself. While ensuring you are staying lean on budget, you also need to make sure you have a clear list on software and tools that are essential for smooth operations.
When I started my business, I was inundated with calls and emails from vendors who were looking to sell their services to me. As my business was a part of a national Franchise network, I had the luxury to talk to fellow business owners and leverage the software suite recommended by the Franchise network. I received tons of feedback on things to do and what to avoid. After talking to successful franchisors and doing extensive research on the internet, I was left with at least a hundred different things to further research.
I have listed the software and services which I feel were essential to the success of my business. I am hoping this list will save you hours of research and will help you build the solid foundation for efficient operations for your business:
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software:
This is probably the most essential piece of software for you to run your operations. CRM software which stands for Customer Relationship Management software does exactly what the name suggests. It is a database for your customer base which allows you to track and manage customers from a lead stage through the entire customer life cycle. There are several advanced CRM software available in the market filled with rich features. In the current day and times, there are CRM software that are tailored to specific industry as well.
In your initial days of the business, when you are building your customer base and have few customers, you can totally manage this using Excel. But as your customer count grows, it will be exceeding difficult to manage this manually and you should seriously consider investing in a good CRM tool.
Many CRM software include capabilities to invoice and bill customers. They have integrations with payment processors so you can invoice and bill customers right from the tool itself which is extremely handy.
Our choice of CRM was Salesforce, and I must say we love it. With a powerful end-to-end workflow that captures all aspects of your business such as leads, customers and employee, this tool provides robust reporting for all aspects of your business.
With several options available in the CRM market, make sure you take advantage of their offer for demos and free trials.
Marketing Software:
While there are several aspects that are essential to the success of a business, I would say Marketing is probably the most essential one of them all. Whether you plan to do marketing yourself or you hire an agency, this is something that you cannot overlook or put off for a later time. Marketing can be of different types such as Digital Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Content Marketing, Brand Marketing so you will need to establish the types of marketing you want to focus on. To see a list of types of marketing that are relevant and affordable by small businesses, check out our blog post on creating a Marketing Strategy and Plan.
Leads Tracking Software:
You will need a software to track your leads. When someone expresses interest and contacts you for your product or services, they are called a ‘lead’. When you are able to sell them your product or service, they are then considered to be your ‘client’ or ‘customer’. When a lead contacts you, it is essential to gather as much information as possible from them so you can do the required follow ups with the leads. Leads are also a gold mine of information as they allow you to analyze which type of people are interested in your service or product, where are they located and other important details that you can leverage for your future marketing efforts.
The simplest way of tracking leads is via Excel but several CRM software offer this capability built into their tool. For us, Salesforce has leads functionality built in so we can track every lead that comes in and then convert the lead to customer in the system when we close a sale.
Accounting Software:
Finances are the core of any operation and it is unequivocally essential to have a way of managing your finances so you can see at a glance a clear view of revenue, expenses and profits. Some business owners opt to do this on spreadsheets which is definitely an option but an extremely manual and cumbersome one.
Whether you are doing your book keeping and accounting yourself or taking the help of a professional accountant, a software goes a long way in keeping all your finances organized.
We used Intuit Quickbooks which is our one stop shop for all book keeping and accounting needs.
Payroll Processing / HR Software
Timely and accurate payroll is crucial for any small business operations. While few small business owners choose to run payroll manually, it can be extremely cumbersome and very risk prone if not done correctly. There are several companies that cater to small business payroll and HR solutions, and each has a rich suite of features.
We chose Gusto for our payroll services. The payroll software allows you to add employees, designate whether the employee is full time or part time and allows you to store their employment paper work, personnel details and documents all in one place. The software allows you to configure your payroll cycle to either be weekly or bi-weekly and select your work-week and pay-cycle to suit your company needs. There is also a suite of HR services available in Gusto that small business employers can make use of.
Inventory Tracker:
Depending on the type of business, you may or may not have too much inventory to track. In case you do have extensive inventory or products, then consider tracking your inventory via Excel or a tool. You will see that tracking inventory will save you a lot of money because you will be able to avoid issues such as loss of products or over-ordering of products.
SMS or Texting Service:
In this day and age where customers are shying away from phone conversations, it is a great idea to invest in a SMS platform that allows you to manage SMS campaigns and communications with leads, customers and even employees. There are several platforms available in the market, so it will be of help to you to understand your key requirements before purchasing subscription for a platform.
It is also essential to understand the pricing structure for each of these platforms before purchasing subscription for a platform.
We chose Text Request as our SMS and Texting service and have stuck to it over the years.
Recruitment & Hiring Software:
Recruitment and hiring is an essential item to plan for the success of any business. There are several aspects to consider here.
- Job Boards: To hire the workforce you need for your business, you need to make sure you are using the appropriate hiring platform to advertise your job requisitions. Whether it is Linked In or Indeed or other job board like Zip Recruiter, you have to decide the platform based on the workforce you are looking to attract. For my business I have had most success with Indeed, Facebook Job Ads, Career Plug and Zip Recruiter
- Background Check Service: Based on your line of business or industry, pre-employment screening can be an important consideration for business owners. Background check companies perform thorough list of checks on the Social Security number including ID verify/ social security trace, criminal and civil records, driving record, educational verification, employment verification and drug screening.
Answering Service:
If there is one secret to gaining new customers, it is to follow up on leads in a timely manner. And by timely manner, I really mean ASAP. The goal should be to respond to a lead as soon as it comes in. We all know this is easier said than done.
There are times we are away from the phone, out for meetings with client, taking a lunch break or wrap up for the day and then a lead comes in. A great solution for handling phone leads and digital leads when you are unavailable is to hire an Answering Service. When you are not able to answer a call, the Answering Service agents answer the query. There are several companies offering customizable plans. Whether you choose to have an Answering Company answer calls when you are on the phone during business hours or have them closing sales for calls coming in after hours and weekends, you will have fewer missed calls, more prompt lead follow up and more satisfied customers.
Communication Software:
Having a messenger or chat tool is hugely helpful for keeping in touch with your teams. While regular calls are great, but using a messaging chat allows team members to communicate with each other efficiently through the day even when they are all not located at one place. We have used Slack as our tool and it works great. Slack has a free plan which works pretty well. One of the main limitations of the free plan that you should be aware of is this plan allows access to most recent message history for 90 days only. This has not been an issue for us though and the tool serves as great free chat messenger solution.
Phone and Internet Services:
Needless to say phone and internet are a must for any business. VoIP phones are highly recommended in the current times due to the rich set of features and convenience they offer. When deciding which phone service to purchase, consider the following:
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How many phone lines do you require
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What type of features are critical for your business needs? Things to think of are Virtual Receptionists, Hold Music, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Call Screening, Call Logging, Reporting, Analytics to name a few
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What bandwidth of internet will you need? This is highly dependent on the nature of work your business does. If it is mostly communication with clients via emails, standard business internet packages may suffice.
Security System:
Assuming your business requires a physical location for its operation, consider investing in a good security system. A security system can help you monitor your business and lessen the chances of theft, burglary or other untoward incidents. Each business will need a different type of security, so it’s important to carefully consider your specific needs before making this decision such as intrusion detection, video surveillance, access control to name a few.
There are several other tools and services you can purchase depending on the type of business you own. I have tried to list the most essential ones above. Check out the free checklist in our Resources page for a comprehensive list of software tools and services to consider for your new business.
