Using the right business tools, such as team chat apps and other platforms, optimizes the way you work and do business.
It’s important to make sure you’re using the right tools for each activity you need to perform to minimize the amount of time spent switching back and forth from app to app and screen to screen.
This is true not only because time is money, but because you don’t need to spend so much of your budget on tons of different enterprise apps and software programs.
Try some of the apps below to help you make you and your team more productive and spend less this year.
6 Cost-Saving Business Apps To Try This Year
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Spike email (for team communication)
Spike email chat provides an innovative new way for teams to communicate back and forth via conversational email.
Conversational email takes your email inbox and turns your messages into chat-style bubbles in a chat window view.
This transforms the way you communicate back and forth via email by eliminating repetitive thread content and combining email and chat messaging into one easy-to-use platform. This makes it much more natural to read and reply to emails and saves you time on your essential team communications.
Spike isn’t just a new way to do email, though. The app is an all-in-one team communication and collaboration app designed to help you and your team get more done, in less time.
Key features of Spike email include:
- Conversational email
- Priority inbox
- Video meetings
- Voice messages
- Group chat
- Collaborative notes
- Tasks and to-do lists
- Advanced search
- File previews
- Calendar sync
By using one unified app for all your communication and collaboration, you’re eliminating the need to subscribe to tons of different apps and platforms, which can potentially save your business a lot of money.
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QuickBooks (for accounting)
If you really want to make sure you’re using your budget effectively this year, you definitely want to use a great accounting platform like QuickBooks.
QuickBooks is often described as the best overall accounting software for small to midsize businesses.
The platform offers simple income tracking, invoicing, bookkeeping, payroll, inventory management, payments, time tracking, and more.
There are several different enterprise pricing plans available, so you can choose the level of detail you need for your accounting, or easily scale up as your business grows.
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Square (point-of-sale app)
When you need to ring up customers to complete sales, you want a simple, reliable point-of-sale app, and Square is just that.
Square is an appropriate POS system for businesses of many different types, from cafes and restaurants to appointment- and service-based businesses.
The app is highly customizable and scalable, so your POS system can evolve and grow with your company.
If your business is very small, there is even a free plan for Square, so you can really save on your point-of-sale expenses.
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Upwork (for hiring freelancers)
Upwork is a free platform that helps connect businesses with freelancers. Finding a freelancer to complete a specific task, or even work full- or part-time for you, via Upwork has several huge benefits in terms of business costs.
For one, you can find talent from all over the world, which gives you a lot more flexibility in finding the perfect balance between skills and cost. For example, if you don’t have the budget to hire a local programmer, you can find someone abroad who may be more affordable, but still has the same capabilities.
Also, when you hire people remotely, you don’t have to worry about paying for office space, providing benefits, and other expenses that come along with hiring full-time, local employees.
Whether you’re just getting your business off the ground and looking to put together a team of talented individuals, or you want to supplement your current team with someone who has a special skill or talent, Upwork is a great platform to explore.
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LinkedIn (for networking and marketing)
If you’re not spending a significant amount of time on LinkedIn promoting your business, scouting for new talent, and finding new clients, now is the time to start.
LinkedIn is a low-cost platform that can save you tons of time and money on essential business activities.
For instance, you can publish and distribute articles and other content about your business to become more influential and gain more visibility for your company.
If you’re running a B2B business, LinkedIn is also a great place to network with other professionals who could become potential clients for your products or services.
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Google Drive (for file sharing)
Google Drive is an easy-to-use, free platform for file sharing. You can create and collaborate on all the important file types, including text documents, spreadsheets, and slideshows.
Sharing files with team members or clients via Google Drive is extremely easy to do by updating permissions and providing links to documents or whole folders.
Being part of the Google Workspace suite of tools, Google Drive works seamlessly with other Google apps, including Gmail. It also integrates quite well with third-party collaboration apps, such as Spike.
