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Apps That Save Small Business Owners Time, Money and Energy

How often do you find yourself trying to wear all the hats in your business? As a small business owner, you’re often your accountant, admin team and marketing department all rolled into one. Oh, and you also have to run the business, too! There are plenty of mobile apps available to help business owners like you free up some time and make life a little easier. eSEOspace recommends the following.

 

An App for Making Your Products Dazzle

When it comes to showing off your products, photographs make all the difference in the world. A poorly-lit and ineffectual image gives a bad impression, and could mean a lost sale.

 

Apps for Social Media and Marketing

As much as you might wish it would, your business won’t advertise itself. Maintaining a social media presence and putting together a solid marketing strategy can be a full-time job in itself.

Mailchimp is an email marketing tool that allows you to write and send targeted emails to customers. Use it to easily let people know about any offers you have on or notify customers when something is back in stock.

OptinMonster points out that all of the main social media platforms also have easy-to-use apps. Being able to access them from your phone can help you to manage your accounts while on the go.

 

Apps for Bookkeeping, Accounting and Payroll

Keeping your accounts compliant and up to date can be a long and laborious task, especially where it’s not your specialty. As your business grows, it will be important for you to have a system in place to help you stay organized in the easiest way possible.

Using a system like QuickBooks Enterprise will help you to keep track of sales, invoices, stock and more — and ERP: efficient enterprise resource planning can be the hot ticket. The software is robust enough to make sure you have everything you need while also being really user-friendly. You will have comprehensive oversight of your accounts at your fingertips, as well as the ability to make tailored reports and integrate with a wide range of other software so you truly provide for the needs of your growing business.

If you employ staff or use freelancers, you will also need a payroll system. QuickBooks has all the payroll services you will need and fully integrates with your other QuickBooks products. You can make unlimited payments to staff with next day, or even same day, deposits. Employees can also view their pay stubs and see what vacation day balances they have available.

Wave is another app that is designed with freelancers and small businesses in mind. The intention behind Wave was to encourage small business owners to feel empowered to manage their finances and to not be afraid of it.

 

Apps for Project Management

Keeping yourself organized when you have multiple projects on the go at once is tricky. This is where having a good system for project management is essential. With Basecamp, you can assign projects to both yourself and your employees while keeping track of them on the dashboard in the app. You can assign projects a due date and add any comments where you need to.

 

Trello is similar to Basecamp in that you can assign tasks to people and manage them with cards on a dashboard. Trello also automates a number of tasks to help save you time. For example, add recurring tasks that need to be completed on a weekly or monthly basis.

 

Apps for Video and Messaging

When running a business, you need to be able to contact your employees in real-time, especially when you need something urgently. According to Sherweb, Microsoft Teams offers a suite of services, including videoconferencing and instant messaging. As it is powered by Microsoft, it is also easy to share and access applications like Word and PowerPoint within the app.

Slack is another app that can be used for free in helping you to maintain communication with your employees. Use it to send instant direct messages and for larger group conversations. It can also be used to message people outside the company and is therefore good for building customer relationships.

 

To Conclude

While you may be responsible for holding different roles within your small business, make the process so much easier on yourself by using some of the above apps. They can help you with your day-to-day operations and also in scaling and growing the business, too.

 

[Image via Unsplash]

 

 

person using laptop for graphic design

5 Things You Must Do Before Hiring a Web Designer

Having a website in today’s economy is essential for the success of your business. You likely already know that one of the top boxes to check in your business plan is to advertise your website wherever and whenever you get the chance — it not only serves as your 24/7 calling card, but it contains vital information that consumers need to learn about your product or service in order to initiate a transaction.

But how do you go about hiring the right web designer for the job? You need not look further than the eSEOspace services in web development, optimization, and more. Here’s an additional primer on hiring a web designer.

 

Lockdown your payroll

Payroll is how you pay employees and report state and federal taxes. It can be a complex state of affairs if you tackle it on your own, but getting a clear picture of the steps involved can help you make the process easier.

Employing a reliable payroll service is essential for the smooth running of a business. The right payroll system will help you with time tracking to simplify team management and employee timesheets. It’ll also include software integration, real-time reporting, and the ability to interact with the interface on the road using a mobile app.

By ensuring your payroll is on point, you’ll be in a better position to hire new employees, including a new web designer.

 

Know what you want

The world of web design and development is a varied one. Not every developer is going to know every coding language, for instance. For this reason, it’s essential you know what skills your project requires before you start the hiring process.

Are you building an app? Perhaps you’re developing an e-commerce site? Each of these will require vastly different skill sets.

If in doubt, seek the advice of a professional. At the very least, you ought to know what platform and languages you’re building in and even the plugins used if any. You should also understand whether you’re looking for a flat designer or a design/dev multi-tasker. Once you have this locked down, you’ll be in a better position to hire a web guru.

 

Know your budget

There’s no set budget for web design work. It’ll all depend on the scope of the work, what languages you’re building in, how extensive the design is, etc. That said, you ought to have a ballpark figure of what you want to spend on the project. You should also ensure that that ballpark is enough to get you quality work.

In the world of web design and development, you get what you pay for. When budgeting for your project you must keep this in mind. If something seems too cheap to be true, it likely is.

 

Know where to look

There are a number of marketplaces online on which to search for web designer and developer talent. However, they’re not all made equal. Before you start your search for a web designer, ensure you’re searching in the right places.

Do some research into the different marketplaces. Figure out where reputable designers and developers frequent and concentrate your efforts there. Your eventual hiring of a reputable worker will be the best reward.

 

Hire the right web designer for the job

Hiring a web designer is no easy feat. You must know the work, your budget, your payroll, and more. This doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With these five tips, you’ll be well on your way to hiring the right web designer for your needs.

Contact eSEOspace now to request a proposal for your project!

 


Do your ideas need some refinement? The marketing and design consultants at eSEOspace can help bring your ideas to life! Contact (805) 500-3736 or email us at hello@eseospace.com

[Image via Pexels]