Are you a budding entrepreneur struggling to manage the various facets of your business? Well, you are certainly not alone in stepping into unchartered territories.
For instance, according to the Hill, there are over 582 million entrepreneurs in the world. And as per Guidant Financial, 78 percent of small businesses reap profits!
To ensure that you are among the top-performing start-ups, the first thing you must do is streamline your productivity. You can do so by leveraging the available online tools for managing various functions of your venture. Here are some of the tools that will come in handy.
1. FreshBooks
Accounting can be a nightmare, especially for those who don’t have a background in the field. After all, not everyone knows how to classify different expenses and costs, nor would they know how to balance the balance sheets!
This is why most small business owners rely on the accounting software to automate the process. In fact, according to Statista, approximately 64.4 percent of small business owners make use of such software. There are various options to choose from. Among them all, FreshBooks is an excellent choice since it acts as an all in one accounting software.
The best part about this cloud accounting software is that it allows businesses to generate advanced financial reports, like the P&L statement and Sales Tax Summary, without financial acumen.
Additionally, it allows you to create professional-looking invoices for your vendors and customers – a feature that helps in creating and maintaining a professional brand image in front of the masses. Moreover, the fact that you can track all expenses in real-time (online) ensures that you are never behind on your payments.
2. Slack
Effective teamwork is essential for the success of any company, regardless of how big or small it is. But, when you are just starting out, having deep synergy with your team members can allow you to stay abreast of the developments in each of the departments.
For entrepreneurs who rely on flexible teams during the early days of their business, collaboration software can help in communicating promptly with different team members as well as having clarity about different task ownerships.
One online tool that is up to mark is Slack. This collaboration tool allows entrepreneurs to communicate with different members, both in groups or one by one. It also allows you to clearly organize different tasks and discussions by topic and task owners. This provides clarity about the progress of your projects.
The best part of this software is that its mobile app version integrates various apps within a phone that you already use. For instance, premium users can conduct voice and video calls. In the world with COVID-19, this surely feels like a blessing.
3. X.Ai
During the first few years, every client meeting is significant. Whether it be deciding on suppliers or partnering with potential collaborators, there are a lot of people an entrepreneur must meet. Naturally, this means that your calendar is booked consistently.
Since most entrepreneurs avoid hiring additional help like secretaries and assistants, right from the beginning, missing out on appointments or overbooking your time is a natural mistake that can happen. However, as mentioned, it can have dire consequences.
X.Ai is one online tool that can mitigate such unpleasant instances. This tool is an AI personal assistant that can help you schedule and track your different meetings and appointments. Rather than trying to figure out the ideal time to hold a meeting, X.Ai does it for you by aligning every meeting as per the attendees’ availability.
Additionally, the tool also makes sure that all of the emails you receive are answered by giving you notifications about responding. You can also choose to send an automated reply.
4. InFlow
As per Wasp Barcode, over 46 percent of small businesses don’t track their inventory! That is a shocking statistic keeping in mind how crucial inventory management is for retail and wholesale businesses.
Now, inventory management tools will only be useful for entrepreneurs who offer products rather than services. And if you are operating within such a niche, InFlow is an excellent tool for you.
The software is a desktop-based tool that will help you in tracking your inventory by filling customers’ orders, generating purchase orders, reordering depleting stocks, and developing customized reports.
The flexible design allows the tool to be ideal for a variety of businesses that work in product-based industries. It can also be used by manufacturers for managing their stock of different raw materials.
5. Prezi
Did you know, according to Vizme, over 91 percent of presenters feel a lot more confident in their skills when they are using a well-designed deck? Yet, 45 percent of people find it quite difficult to develop a creative presentation.
When you are giving sales pitches and sponsorship presentations, you need impeccably designed decks. Entrepreneurs love using Prezi for doing so. The tool helps you create flawlessly dynamic presentations.
However, one drawback of the tool is that it lacks substantial animations features. So the interactive experience it provides is somewhat watered down, but hey, let’s not use the tools to steal your thunder, yeah? Be confident in what you have to offer, and that would make the presentation worthwhile.
One of the pros of using this tool is the access you get to a wide variety of public domain image websites. Compared to clichéd stock images, this allows your presentation to have uniqueness.
Ending Remarks
Each of these five tools is excellent in its own ways. Try them out. Use them to cover your basics and then see what other elements you need help in. You can then conduct research about other potential software that can help you.
It isn’t easy being an entrepreneur. When funds are limited and responsibilities are never-ending, the task of heading a successful venture may seem like a pipe dream. But, with resilience, firm determination, and the right tools, you will surely beat the odds stacked up against you.
So go out, and win your corporate battles.