The best work from home apps for small business owners

Wondering how to stay productive while working from home? 

Running a business from home is now easier than ever between the powerful office suites, conferencing and productivity tools on offer. However, with so many apps available, which ones do you really need, and which ones are actually helpful?

Learn more about the best work from home apps for small businesses in this guide. We’ll cover all the key needs for modern businesses, including: 

• Staying productive
• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Communication and conferencing
• Cloud storage and office suites

Whether you’re a sole trader or you’ve just launched an exciting new small business venture, learn more about how you can save time and stay focused with Countingup in this article. 

Managing your workflow can be a hassle, and getting caught up in admin tasks means time away from building sales and client relationships. If you’re looking to get stuff done, you’ll need a task management app that works for you. There are many to choose from, but depending on the size of your business, you’ll need something you can take on the go and that can grow with your business.

If you’re just getting started, a notepad or diary might be your first choice. While they may be time-tested tools, having an app that can automate your reminders or coordinate with your emails could mean fewer things slip your mind. Check out apps like todoist, Microsoft’s To Do, or TickTick to take a load off your mind and never miss a task. 

While it might take a while to grow into new working habits, you’ll soon find you can maximise your time spent productively and work in one easy system.

If you have a team of employees or work with freelancers, staying coordinated is even more important as you’ll need to collaborate and monitor your progress. Avoid the confusion of a messy spreadsheet and consider apps like ClickUp, Monday.com, or Trello. 

These apps break down elements of your business’ workflow and make tracking individual tasks or projects easier. If you’re working with freelancers, you can outline stages where a project is handed over and can be updated again when their part is done. If you’re working for clients, you can use these apps to show your progress and let them know how far along you are.

As your business develops, you’ll also gain key insights into how you can improve your workflow and better tailor your growth projections – making your business more competitive for new clients.

Keeping track of your work is one thing, but keeping track of your finances is another. 

A significant portion of business owners waste time on finance admin, but with Countingup’s app for managing your business finances, this is no longer a problem. 

The app makes running your small business more manageable whether you work from home or on the go. The business current account and accounting software in one app automates the time-consuming aspects of your financial admin, meaning you can gain time back to focus on doing what you love and do best. 

Countingup also offers automated invoicing features, helpful expense reminders, and tax projections so you can have complete confidence that your finances are always accurate and up to date.

Meeting clients or briefing suppliers has its challenges from a distance. Similarly, if you’re collaborating with freelancers, how can you coordinate your plans?

Having apps for communication means you can keep in touch with all the important people in your business without ever leaving your home.

Apps like Slack and Teams offer internal instant messaging, video call, and file-sharing services that can help your day-to-day smoothly whilst working at home. So whether you’re swapping document drafts or amending a business contract, these apps can make sure you’re always on top of project updates.

As you’re growing your business to meet new clients or brief new suppliers, consider apps like Zoom, Teams, or Skype. These apps allow you to expand your customer base or make new relationships – helping you expand globally all from your home office. 

Apps for integrated office suites allow you to make and save documents all in one place. You keep your business’ data safe and get the versatility to work on projects from anywhere in the world. 

Consider using software platforms like Microsoft’s Office 365 or Google’s Workspace to create documents and edit files easily. With professional email platforms, you can continue meeting customer demands with ease.

Depending on your industry, one software platform might be more common than the other, so having compatibility with your clients may be necessary. Other apps and services have also built additional functions around these essential business tools to help your business run more efficiently. 

With these apps at your disposal, being able to experiment with what works best for you as you trade can mean unlocking better productivity. It’s worth noting that there are free alternatives to the office suites mentioned above, so if you’re only looking to do very light work with documents or files, this might be somewhere you can save money. 

Spending time researching which apps to use will pay off when you’re more organised, productive and less flustered with the day-to-day challenges of running your own business from home. Watching a video of how an app works on YouTube could give you a good indication of whether you would find it useful.

You can also save time, money and stress with Countingup, the business current account and accounting software in one app. Find out more here.