Have you ever found yourself staring hopelessly at a collection of sticky notes with ideas scribbled on them? Are you having trouble keeping track of small tasks? Is “get organized” at the top of your to-do list every single day? Small businesses often suffer from disorganization, but there is a cure for the ailment: productivity apps. Productivity apps give small business owners the opportunity to get organized in the office and on the go, and prevent the office from looking like it is potty training desk-dwelling puppies. Below are the best apps for organizing your small business and your life.
Free Apps from your Existing Service Providers
Before you pay for productivity apps, look into the products you already use, like your virtual PBX provider, online fax service, or email marketing software. Chances are they have mobile apps you can download for free that will help you organize calls, online faxes, taxes, and your email marketing campaigns. If you use online fax services, you can check out FaxCompare for a list of free mobile faxing apps from service providers that will help you organize your faxes.
Evernote
Evernote makes it easy to remember daily tasks that need to be completed. This app is a great way to help you stay organized and write down small ideas that you will want to remember later. You can record the notes you want to take or simply write them on your phone. These notes will then link to all other devices in order for you to have easy access to them.
Dropbox
Dropbox allows you to store your favorite pictures and videos so you can have them on hand wherever you go. Dropbox links to other devices, such as your computer, so you can have access to them anywhere. You can share these videos and photos with friends through this app as well. The app also gives you plenty of opportunities to get more space for free – for instance, if you invite a friend to sign up and they do, you both get 500 MB of extra space. Dropbox allows you to simplify your life, stay organized, and ensure important documents are never lost.
Fantastical
Fantastical is a calendar app that allows you to easily keep track of events. The app even recognizes the address of your events, so you can invite people from your contact list. The style of the calendar is well developed. You can choose from different display colors and layouts to make it easier for you to look at. The app will remind you of the events in your calendar by setting a timer to go off or for a display to pop onto the screen. You can control which events have timers or displays, allowing you to focus on important events that you do not want to overlook.
iDoneThis
iDoneThis is a great companion app to Fantastical – at the end of the day you’ll get an email from iDoneThis asking what you accomplished today. When you respond, the list will go to a summary which all team members can view and those items will be crossed off your virtual calendars. This management app costs $5 per person, per month and comes with a free 30 day trial.
FormMobi
FormMobi allows you to create your own personalized forms which are saved in the app, allowing other users access to the form. You can send important forms to your co-workers through this app, making filling out paper work much more efficient and fun. The app allows users to sign the documents with the tip of their finger, add notes or voice notes, and load photos. This is a great way to communicate with team members and remind them of work that must be completed. The app is designed to take the boredom out of mundane work tasks and make it fun.
Expensify
With Expensify you can scan receipts, log purchases, and keep track of all expenses easily. You can sync the app to your bank account and keep all receipts because it has the best storage. This app allows for you to keep track of your accounting and financial matters quickly, efficiently, and conveniently. You will love having this free app handy. The layout design is simple to prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by distracting designs. The app can also be used for currency conversion, which is great for those who travel.
Now that you have the tools to eradicate your desktop collections of endless to-do lists and sticky notes, you can set out on a path to paperless organization. For more apps to help you be even more productive, check out these apps for organizing your finances and getting your startup off the ground.
Larry Lembcke is an educational blogger and fitness consultant. He shares fitness tips and educational material for everyday people. His work has been featured on online.king.edu.