Business tools to make work easier to manage

The development and spread of the digital world have made life easier in practically every aspect and none more so than in business.

To appreciate just how much easier some of the software business tools make it possible to manage the workload, let’s take a look at some of the key examples:

Task management

• task management through collaboration and communication with all of your staff – wherever they may happen to be physically located – is offered by one of the leading business tools, Wrike;

• it is an all in one package, capable of interfacing with more than 35 other common business tools to provide a comprehensive virtual office;

• a simplified version, for use by a small team of up to five people, may be used for free – otherwise, the monthly subscription for the full, customisable business version is currently $24.60 a month;

• another leading task management tool is called Monday, which also offers a flexible one-stop solution for automating a host of manual office tasks;

• prices depend on the number of users and the type of package you choose – a standard package for up to 40 users, for example, currently costs $34 a month;

Project management

• to help you stay on track while keeping a clear sense of direction to achieve your stated targets, project management software is one of the most popular and efficient business tools in which to invest;

• Wrike and Monday also offer project management capabilities, but if you are looking for alternatives to these, Trello is both free and especially easy to use, Netsuite offers a complete office management package but is especially useful for coordinating spreadsheets, while Insightly may be your solution to marketing and customer relationship management (CRM) issues;

Accounting software

• one of the business tools that has been around perhaps longer than many others is accounting software – although the passage of time has seen an explosion in the number of applications and programs available;

• the average small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) has a myriad of accounting procedures to perform on an ongoing basis – from recording financial transactions to invoicing, finance planning for projects, time tracking, scheduling payments, managing expenses, and financial reporting;

• those tasks are both labour intensive and time-consuming – especially ripe for digital automation, therefore;

• among the many accounting software packages available, small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, might want to take a closer look at FreshBooks;

• allied to your need for accounting software is likely to be a requirement for a merchant account, allowing you to accept debit and credit card sales (in person, online, or over the telephone) and electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems for the increasing volume of cashless and contactless sales you are likely to make;

Digital marketing tools

• your collection of business tools might also usefully include software designed to create and execute your digital marketing;

• digital marketing these days also makes maximum use of and is highly reliant on social media platforms;

• Hootsuite is one of the most popular social media management tools on the market, is used by a claimed 18 million people globally, and subscriptions in the UK start at £25 a month.

When you are assembling your toolbox of business tools you will encounter a huge – and potentially bewildering – range of choice. You might want to refer to a reliable comparison website to choose the features most likely to benefit the particular needs and circumstances of your business.