16 Best Tools For Small Businesses

3 December, 2024 · 9 min read

Author

Nikita Filippov

Discover the best tools for small businesses, designed to streamline operations, boost productivity, and support growth effectively.

Why These Tools Matter for Small Businesses

Running a small business is rewarding but often feels overwhelming. From managing finances to keeping up with customer relationships, it’s easy to get bogged down in endless tasks.

The good news? The right tools can automate time-consuming processes, improve efficiency, and free you to focus on growing your business.

From industry-specific solutions to general-purpose platforms, there’s something for every business type.

Let's take a look at the 16 best tools for small businesses that will help you work smarter, not harder.

1. ANNA: Your All-in-One Business Companion

ANNA is more than a tool – it’s a comprehensive platform designed to simplify every aspect of starting and managing a business.

Here’s how:

Effortless Business Setup: ANNA takes care of the entire business registration process, including securing your ASIC registration, ABN, and business name. Small business owners can avoid hours of paperwork and uncertainty, getting started faster.
Integrated Tax Management: Filing taxes is stressful, especially for new businesses. ANNA automates GST calculations, sends reminders for tax deadlines, and even handles your first-year BAS filing.
Streamlined Financial Insights: With ANNA’s Bookkeeping Score, you get actionable tips to improve your financial health. This feature helps you categorise expenses, track spending trends, and optimise your tax deductions.
Professional Invoicing Tools: Small businesses often struggle with late payments. ANNA’s invoicing system allows you to create branded invoices in seconds and includes automated follow-up reminders to ensure quicker payments.
Comprehensive Banking Services: ANNA integrates your accounts, providing a single dashboard for tracking cash flow. Virtual and physical credit cards streamline team expenses, and integration with payment platforms like Google and Apple Pay adds convenience.

⚡ Example: Imagine you’re opening a café. ANNA helps you register your business, open a business account, track your daily expenses, and automatically calculate your GST liabilities – all while sending invoices to vendors.

2. ChatGPT: A Virtual Assistant for Small Businesses

ChatGPT leverages artificial intelligence to tackle the everyday challenges of small businesses through:

Customer Support: ChatGPT can handle FAQs, provide step-by-step troubleshooting, and even assist with order tracking, ensuring your customers get instant responses any time of the day.
Content Creation: Struggling to find time for marketing? ChatGPT drafts social media posts, email newsletters, and even blog articles tailored to your brand voice.
Idea Generation: Need ideas for a new product launch or promotional campaign? ChatGPT brainstorms innovative approaches, saving you the time and effort of starting from scratch.
Operational Efficiency: Use ChatGPT to create training manuals, draft legal disclaimers, or write internal communications quickly and accurately.

⚡ Example: If you have a small bakery, use ChatGPT to craft engaging Instagram posts, answer customer inquiries about delivery, and draft email campaigns to promote seasonal specials.

3. Slack: A Practical Tool for Small Business Collaboration

Communication breakdowns can derail productivity. Slack keeps teams connected with its intuitive and organised communication platform.

Centralised Messaging: Organise conversations into channels dedicated to specific projects, departments, or topics. This eliminates endless email threads.
Instant Updates: Real-time notifications keep everyone in the loop, whether it’s about a project deadline or an urgent client request.
File Sharing and Collaboration: Easily share documents, images, and links, and allow team members to collaborate within the Slack workspace.
Integration Powerhouse: Slack works seamlessly with other tools like Google Drive, Trello, and Asana, ensuring workflows remain uninterrupted.

⚡ Example: A small event planning company can use Slack channels to coordinate logistics, share vendor contracts, and keep their team on track during live events.

4. WordPress: Build a Website That Reflects Your Brand

A strong online presence is essential for small businesses, and WordPress provides a flexible, user-friendly platform for creating professional websites.

Custom Themes and Plugins: Choose from thousands of free and premium options to build a site tailored to your brand.
E-Commerce Integration: With plugins like WooCommerce, you can turn your site into a fully functional online store.
SEO Tools: Optimise your site’s search rankings with tools like Yoast SEO, which guide you on improving your site’s content and visibility.
Mobile-Responsive Design: WordPress themes are mobile-friendly by default, ensuring your site looks great on all devices.

⚡ Example: Let’s say you work online as a yoga instructor. You can use WordPress to showcase class schedules, accept online bookings, and sell yoga mats through an integrated e-commerce store.

5. Hootsuite: Social Media Management Made Simple

For small businesses with a limited marketing budget, Hootsuite is a lifesaver when managing social media campaigns across multiple platforms:

Content Scheduling: Plan weeks or months’ worth of posts in advance for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Social Listening: Monitor mentions of your brand or competitors to stay ahead of trends and address customer feedback promptly.
Analytics and Insights: Measure your campaign’s success with detailed metrics like engagement rates, click-throughs, and audience growth.

⚡ Example: If you run a handmade jewellery business, use Hootsuite to schedule promotional posts during the holiday season, track customer comments, and measure which campaigns lead to the most sales.

6. Evernote: Stay Organised on the Go

Evernote is the ultimate digital notebook for business owners who need to organise ideas, tasks, and notes all in one place.

Capture and Store: Save meeting notes, create to-do lists, and snap photos of receipts for tax records.
Searchable Notes: Use tags to find notes quickly, even if you have hundreds of entries.
Collaborate Easily: Share notebooks with team members, making it easy to brainstorm or review project updates.

⚡ Example: If you’re a freelance designer, use Evernote to track client ideas, attach visual references, and manage deadlines, all accessible from a smartphone.

7. Cin7: End-to-End Inventory Management

Cin7 is perfect for small businesses that need to manage complex inventory and sales operations:

Inventory Tracking: Keep tabs on stock levels across multiple sales channels, ensuring you never run out of popular products.
Order Fulfilment: Automate order routing based on stock availability and location, speeding up delivery times.
Reporting Tools: Access in-depth reports on inventory turnover, sales performance, and profitability.

⚡ Example: If you have an e-commerce business selling pet supplies, you can use Cin7 to manage stock across Amazon, Shopify, and your physical store, reducing errors and delays.

You can also link your ANNA account to your e-commerce platform, whether it’s Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, WooCommerce, or another.

ANNA automatically imports your sales data to handle tax calculations and filing with the ATO.

8. Zendesk: Exceptional Customer Support Simplified

Zendesk helps small businesses handle customer inquiries more effectively:

All-in-One Ticketing: Organise customer messages from email, social media, and chat in one central system.
Automation Features: Automatically assign tickets to the right team member and set follow-up reminders.
Self-Service Portals: Create FAQ pages or knowledge bases to let customers solve common issues themselves.

⚡ Example: A subscription box company can use Zendesk to manage customer concerns about deliveries while maintaining high satisfaction ratings.

9. Smartsheet: Flexible Project Management

Smartsheet combines the familiarity of spreadsheets with advanced project management tools to keep teams organised:

Customisable Workflows: Use Gantt charts, Kanban boards, or task lists to track projects.
Real-Time Collaboration: Allow team members to update tasks, share files, and leave comments instantly.
Automation Tools: Set reminders for task deadlines or project milestones.

⚡ Example: A marketing agency can use Smartsheet to plan campaigns, track deliverables, and keep clients updated on project progress.

10. Google Drive: A File Management Essential

Google Drive is a simple yet powerful cloud-based storage solution for small businesses:

Secure Cloud Storage: Keep all your files in one place, accessible from any device.
Real-Time Collaboration: Work on Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides with your team simultaneously.
Integrated Ecosystem: Link Drive files to Gmail and Google Calendar for streamlined workflows.

⚡ Example: A travel agency stores contracts, vacation home photos, and client details on Google Drive for quick access during client meetings.

11. BambooHR: Focus on People, Not Paperwork

If you’ve ever struggled to keep employee records organised, juggle payroll, or manage leave requests, BambooHR is a must-have for your small business:

Centralised Employee Data: Store all employee information securely in one place – no more digging through folders or spreadsheets.
Recruitment Made Simple: BambooHR tracks job postings and applicant statuses, helping you find the perfect candidate without hassle.
Time-Off Management: Employees can request leave directly in the system, and you can approve or track it with just a few clicks.

⚡ Example: Let’s say you run a boutique bakery and just hired three employees to help with the holiday rush.

BambooHR keeps their onboarding forms, tax details, and work schedules in one easily accessible system. When one of them requests a leave, you’ll get an instant notification.

12. DocuSign: Close Deals Faster

Gone are the days of waiting for signed contracts to be mailed back. With DocuSign, you can finalise agreements in minutes instead of days:

Effortless Signing: Upload documents, place signature fields, and send them to clients or partners with a few clicks.
Templates for Repeated Documents: Create reusable templates for contracts, NDAs, or agreements, saving you time.
Secure and Compliant: DocuSign ensures that your digital signatures are legally binding and adheres to global security standards.

⚡ Example: Imagine you own a property management business. A tenant wants to lease a commercial space but lives in another state. With DocuSign, you send the lease agreement digitally, they sign it on their phone, and you close the deal – all within hours.

13. Toggl Track: Take Control of Your Time

As a small business owner, your time is one of your most valuable assets. Toggl Track helps you figure out where it’s going and how to use it more effectively:

Simple Time Logging: Start a timer with one click or manually input how long tasks take.
Detailed Reports: Break down your day or team’s time usage to identify inefficiencies or billable hours.
Integrations: Sync Toggl Track with Asana, Trello, or Slack to ensure no task gets overlooked.

⚡ Example: Let’s say you’re a freelance content writer working on three client projects.

Toggl Track shows you exactly how much time you’ve spent on each task, helping you adjust priorities or invoice clients accurately.

14. Mailchimp: Keep Customers Engaged

Building strong customer relationships requires consistent communication, and Mailchimp makes email marketing easy and effective.

Email Campaigns Made Simple: Design stunning newsletters with drag-and-drop tools, all with no coding needed.
Automation for Personalisation: Send welcome emails to new subscribers, follow-up messages to past customers, or cart-abandonment reminders to shoppers.
Analytics for Growth: See open rates, clicks, and conversions to understand what works best for your audience.

⚡ Example: If you own a small handmade candle business, Mailchimp can send automatic emails about seasonal collections or personalised recommendations based on past purchases. Customers feel valued, and you see increased sales.

15. MidJourney: Visuals Without a Designer

In our visually driven world, having stunning images is non-negotiable. MidJourney uses AI to generate professional-quality visuals from text descriptions, making it perfect for small businesses that lack a designer:

Creative Freedom: Adjust styles, colours, and themes to suit your brand’s identity.
High-Resolution Outputs: Use the images for websites, social media, or marketing campaigns.
Quick Turnaround: Create visuals in minutes, ideal for tight deadlines.

⚡ Example: If you own a boutique fashion store, you can use MidJourney to create unique product images for Instagram, styled exactly how you envision, without needing a photographer.

16. Udemy: Upskill Yourself and Your Team

Learning new skills is essential to staying competitive as a small business owner. Whether you want to brush up on leadership or teach your team about social media marketing, Udemy offers thousands of courses:

Flexible Learning: Courses are available on-demand, so you can learn at your own pace.
Wide Range of Topics: From project management to SEO, there’s a course for almost every business need.
Affordable Options: Many courses are budget-friendly, and discounts are frequent.

⚡ Example: Say you run a landscaping company and want to learn how to create promotional videos. You can take a Udemy course on video editing to produce engaging content for your social media.

Why These Tools Matter for Small Businesses

Small business owners face unique challenges, from limited budgets to wearing multiple hats daily.

These 16 tools are designed to address those challenges head-on.

They simplify tasks, improve efficiency, and provide opportunities for growth without the need to expand your team or increase costs significantly.

Let’s revisit how these tools can fit into your business:

ANNA: For business owners overwhelmed by admin tasks like registration, bookkeeping, and tax compliance.
ChatGPT: Your go-to for customer support, content creation, and brainstorming ideas.
Slack: Ideal for teams who need better communication and collaboration, especially if working remotely.
WordPress: Perfect for businesses needing a professional, flexible, and scalable website.
Hootsuite: A lifesaver for social media planning, engagement, and analytics.
Evernote: Helps you keep track of ideas, tasks, and important documents all in one place.
Cin7: Essential for businesses managing inventory across multiple channels.
Zendesk: For delivering fast, reliable, and consistent customer support.
Smartsheet: Ideal for managing complex projects, campaigns, or workflows.
Google Drive: A reliable cloud-based solution for secure file storage and collaboration.
BambooHR: Makes HR tasks like recruitment and time-off management seamless.
DocuSign: Cuts down on delays by digitising document signing and approval processes.
Toggl Track: Gives you insights into how your time – and your team’s – is being spent.
Mailchimp: A powerful tool for creating and automating customer engagement emails.
MidJourney: Ideal for creating professional visuals without hiring a designer.
Udemy: For business owners looking to upskill themselves or their employees.