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With tons of new business apps popping up every day, it can be hard to know which ones are worth your time.
We’ve tested dozens of different business apps, all promising to increase efficiency in various ways, but not all of them lived up to their promises. After a lot of trial and error and some small victories, we compiled this list of the 22 best mobile apps to help your small business.
To make things even easier for you, we divided our favorite apps into all the categories you might need. You’re sure to find some that are perfect for your business!
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22 Best Mobile Apps for Small Businesses
Communications
1. Slack
Slack is a communications app that allows you to create channels based on teams or projects, direct message team members, and share images, files, and links easily. The mobile version of this popular platform can help keep you connected even when you’re away from your desk, so you never miss any important message from your team.
With a free version for small businesses, Slack is available on both iOS and Android platforms. From there, you can always upgrade to the business versions for extra features like unlimited integrations and unlimited channels.
2. Zoom
Zoom for mobile phones is primarily a video communications software that is great for freelancers or remote teams that may need to hop on quick calls and share their work live and remotely. Similar to the desktop version, you can have video chats, share your screen, and DM people.
However, the mobile version of Zoom goes one step further, making it one communication app that can do it all. You can place and accept calls using your desk phone number and send SMS text messages through the app to keep it professional, while on the go.
It’s available on iOS and Android for both the free version and the upgraded business version with full functionality.
Customer Management and Support
3. Freshchat
Freshchat is a great customer management tool, especially if you run an online ecommerce business. With Freshchat, you can create custom AI-powered chatbots to engage with your customers, even if you are away. The mobile app – available on iOS and Android – allows users to view, assign, and manage customer conversations from anywhere.
With the Freshchat app, you get instant push notifications so you never miss a crucial customer message, enabling faster responses and satisfied customers. There are several different plans depending on your business needs, from per-bot session billing to growing business plans from $25/month.
4. Loyalzoo
Loyalzoo is a customer rewards and marketing app that integrates with your POS system or can be used by customers through their phone. Loyalzoo’s app – Loyalzoo for Business – allows you to easily manage customer profiles from your phone. This is ideal for businesses wanting to use Loyalzoo without POS integration.
The Loyalzoo for Business app makes it simple to add points to a customer’s account during the checkout process, using your phone or tablet. It’s available for both iOS and Android devices and makes it simple to stay on top of loyalty programs while working in your store or restaurant.
Loyalzoo allows you to measure your marketing and loyalty program success with real-world reporting. Plans start at $47/month, but Loyalty Zoo also has a free trial period to know if it’s right for you before you commit.
5. WhatsApp Business
You’ve probably already heard of WhatsApp, the immensely popular communications app. Using it for your business can be a great way to communicate with customers efficiently and in a timely manner. The Whatsapp Business app allows you to create a business profile so customers can find your location, website, and contact information easily.
Additionally, you can provide chat and call options, including an automated away message during off hours. It makes it an easy way for customers to get in touch, right from your phone. Available for both iOS and Android, WhatsApp has flexible pricing made to fit your business.
6. HubSpot
HubSpot is a CRM (customer relationship management) software designed for businesses of all sizes. Hubspot mobile is designed to help sales teams take their connections to the next level with increased efficiency and real-time notification from contacts.
With the mobile app, you can easily call leads directly from HubSpot on your phone, which logs the call automatically after you hang up. This makes it simple to save time on logging sales records. If you’re networking, you can effortlessly scan business cards for faster customer profile building – so you never waste time manually logging information.
HubSpot mobile is a great addition to any sales team if you’re already part of the HubSpot ecosystem. You can download on either iOS or Android devices to stay connected to your sales leads wherever you are.
7. Salesforce
Salesforce is a globally-recognized CRM that is used by businesses of all sizes. The Salesforce mobile app makes it easy to manage sales leads, customer profiles, and respond to customer issues on the go. With the personalized mobile home page and a custom notification builder, it's easy to stay connected to your crucial workflows.
The app makes it easy to create a dashboard suited to your needs with your favorite tasks, events, lists or reports, so you can prioritize work daily. Available on iOS and Android, the Salesforce mobile app keeps you connected with the wider Salesforce system for your business.
Employee Management
8. ZoomShift
ZoomShift is a great tool for small businesses that manage multiple employees – like retailers or restaurants. The mobile app is convenient for business owners, managers, and employees alike.
Managers can create employee schedules, approve or deny trades, and see who’s on call. It’s great for last minute adjustments when you may be away from a computer. For employees, it makes it easy for them to pick up other shifts, request time off, or get fast notifications – so you don’t have to worry about them missing a single beat.
The mobile app – available on iOS and Android – is free with a ZoomShift subscription. ZoomShift has plans for $2 or $4/employee per month for smaller businesses.
9. Homebase
Homebase, like zoomshift is a schedule planning software that is great for retail, restaurant, and other shift work businesses. With a highly responsive mobile app available on iOS and Android, you can easily create schedules, alert your team members, and report on time sheets.
Offering a free plan for one location, this is a great option for small businesses on a tight budget. Employees can clock in and out directly from their phones, while you can track breaks, overtime, and obtain timesheets for a speedy and accurate payroll.
10. Pingboard
Pingboard is an employee management app that allows you create and change your business’s org chart and maintain an employee directory with vital information including job titles, contact details, and emergency contacts.
The mobile app makes it easy to have an overview of your company while on-the-go, update whether you’re working from the office, home, or somewhere else, and quickly view send company or team announcements.
With pricing starting at $149/month for 20 users, Pingboard is more aimed at growing businesses than those just starting out, but can be a great solution for remote or multi-location teams as a business expands.
11. Bamboo HR Hiring
Bamboo HR Hiring is a great resource for small and growing businesses that may not have formal HR teams. With an existing Bamboo HR account, the mobile app allows you to access an array of tools including managing PTO requests, monitoring payroll and digitally signing important paperwork.
Additionally, you can pay extra to include payroll and time tracking services or you can integrate it with more than 50 existing payroll softwares. Available on both iPhone and Android, Bamboo HR costs $8.95/month per employee.
12. Expensify
Expensify is a mobile app that allows you to track and record business expenses on the go. Using your phone’s camera, you can scan and sort receipts, create reports, and send information directly to your accountant or accounting software.
Expensify has a limited free plan, but also offers an array of paid premium plans that include payroll integration, custom reporting, and multiple approvers, starting from $10/month.
Inventory Management
13. InFlow
InFlow takes inventory management to a whole new level with an easy-to-use mobile app that includes the ability to manage inventory, fulfill orders, and organize your products. With your phone you can scan barcodes or take photos to better organize your inventory. Then, within the app you can categorize, finalize sales, or generate new POs when stock is low.
With comprehensive reporting and integration with many other business apps, you have a full view over your business right from your smartphone. Plans start at $79/month for two users, but can save you time and effort in managing stock by hand.
14. Sortly
As a trusted name among many top retailers around the world, Sortly is a great inventory management app for small businesses. With the ability to create inventory categories and get stock push notifications, you always know what’s in stock and what’s running low. Plus, the mobile app comes with a built-in barcode and QR scanner that can work on or offline.
Additionally, the reporting features Sortly offers makes it simple to forecast needs and budget for them. With a free plan of up to 100 entries a month, this is great if you’re a brand new entrepreneur. Sortly also offers more advanced plans so you can scale up as your business grows.
Marketing
15. Mailchimp
As a trusted platform, Mailchimp is perfect for small businesses that want to get into email marketing to boost sales and increase brand awareness. With the Mailchimp mobile app on iOS and Android you can easily track performance, create marketing campaigns, and design mobile-first landing pages to expand your reach.
In addition to all the marketing features, the Mailchimp mobile app makes it easy to upload images from your phone, scan business cards for leads, and draft ads for social media platforms. Mailchimp offers a free plan for up to 500 contacts, with additional features available as you grow your business and scale up your plan.
16. Canva
Canva has risen in popularity in the last few years as a great design tool for non-designers. The mobile app is no exception. With the mobile app, it’s amazingly easy to design graphics for social media posts, edit your photos, and create branded designs using hundreds of templates, effects, and filters.
If you’re looking to build out your social media content easily, the Canva mobile app makes it incredibly simple to do so without any design background. With a free version available on iOS and Android, there’s no reason not to try it out.
17. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is an all-inclusive social media management app that is perfect for tracking and scheduling social media posts so you never miss a beat. Since social media is mobile-focused, the mobile app allows you to create eye-catching social content, schedule posts, and review messages across channels.
The app is available on Android and iOS platforms and plans start at $19/month for one user and monitoring of up to five social channels including the major ones like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and many more. If you have a bigger team that needs additional users, you can upgrade your plan for up to 35 social profiles and 10 users.
Productivity
18. Trello
Trello is a workflow system that relies on the Kanban method of workflow management where you use cards in various columns to progress through a workflow. You can create boards for various teams or projects and then break down and assign tasks by card.
With the mobile app, you can easily swipe through tasks, create new ones, and get push notifications for upcoming deadlines, communicate with your team, and visualize your workload. Offering a free version, this is great for small businesses, but you can upgrade to get more boards, access to integrations with Google and Clockify, and more.
19. Monday
Monday is another project management app that allows you to easily manage projects and teams. Fully customized to your needs, the mobile app allows you to track the progress of a task, get real-time notifications, and invite others for collaboration. You can add details, documents, or even budgets to get a fuller picture of a project and the goals.
With Monday, you can break down projects and tasks either into cards, gantt views, or a table, whatever works best for you. For individuals, Monday has a comprehensive free plan, but you can upgrade to more users as your business grows.
20. Notion
Notion is a productivity app with a ton of functionalities to make it work for your business. You can take notes, set up workflows, and tag employees to assign tasks. You can create to-do lists, use Notion as a hub for all information for your business, and invite team members to collaborate in real-time.
The mobile app syncs across platforms and allows you to be notified in real time of changes, assignments, and more. Notion has a free version that is great for sole business owners, but there are also team plans starting at just $4/month.
21. Clockify
Time tracking is an important part of productivity whether you're a sole owner or on a wider team. Clockify allows you to easily track your time, categorized by task and project, so you always have a clear understanding of how you and your team are functioning.
Clockify is a convenient and free time tracking mobile app for businesses and freelancers. Start and stop the timer with one simple tap, easily add time manually, and send reports to your team or yourself to understand how your time is tracking.
22. Google Drive
Google Drive is part of the larger Google ecosystem that is popular with many small businesses. Google Drive makes it easy to create and share documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more, all while storing them in one cloud-based location. Google Drive is accessible through mobile apps available on iOS and Android to easily work on projects all the time.
You can easily collaborate with others across the world on business proposals, budgets, and much more. Share files, suggest edits, and tag others to keep up the work, even if you're on the move. Google Drive is free for personal use with up to 12 GB of storage, or you can get Google for Business starting at just $12/user/month.
The Best Way for Your Small Business to Accept Payments
A huge part of managing your business is tracking transactions, invoices, and more. Pay.com is the best way to accept and track payments from your customers. As a full service payment provider, Pay.com makes it easy to accept many different payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
With a simple and straightforward onboarding process, you can start accepting payments in no time. The user-friendly Pay Dashboard makes it convenient to track pending and paid transactions, as well as alert you of any payment issues or chargebacks, so you never have to worry about missing crucial information.
Being on top of your payment transactions as a small business owner has never been more straightforward or simple than with Pay.com. Click here to sign up now!
The Bottom Line
It’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the ins and outs of running a small business. Mobile apps can help simplify the processes and allow you to manage and monitor financial, administrative, and customer service aspects from the palm of your hand.
While not all of these apps are going to be right for every business, these are the ones leading the way in digital business management that can make your life easier and help grow your business. Most have free plans or trials, so you can see what works for you without too much of a financial commitment upfront.
Finally, don’t forget that Pay.com is a great payment service provider whether you’re running an online ecommerce store or working as a contractor on the go. You can accept multiple payment methods, track your transactions, and send Pay Links directly to your customers, quickly and conveniently.
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