Unfortunately, not all business organizations are familiar with operating digitally and have yet to discover how to take benefit of the most sophisticated automation technologies. Although most businesses still use antiquated technologies and management software which makes online work more challenging.
The main concern businesses must address in today’s world is digitization. Furthermore, with the rise of working from home, it’s essential for employees who are remote to stay in sync with one another. As a result, it’s critical to employ the most suitable software solutions to maintain efficient communication and collaboration.
This blog post will discuss 17 of the best business tools every business needs in 2022. These digital tools will help you automate your processes, support and increase efficiency, and make your business more profitable. So, are you ready for the digital age?
What Is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation encompasses everything from a company’s operational strategies to marketing and sales materials to create a more positive digital environment that spurs growth. In addition, business digitalization improves process speeds by improving data gathering and tracking, reinforces security protocols, and increases profits.
Flexera claims that 56 percent of businesses worldwide digitally changed in 2021 to stay up with the competition and take advantage of other aspects of remote work. To stay ahead of the competition and maintain a high level of productivity, companies must invest in quality business and management tools that will help them go digital.
Why Do You Need Business Tools and Software?
This is something that any business can benefit from, and its operations run efficiently with today’s cutting-edge business tools and technology. Modern tech provides real-time delivery and flow of information, allowing for immediate, reliable, and secure access to corporate data and information.
It’s also critical for businesses to concentrate on and optimize communication and collaboration since it is required for them to develop and compete.
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Communication
Communication tools are essential for any business but are more important for startups. You and your employees use these communication tools to interact with one another.
Implementing these changes will be the most effective way to improve efficiency and productivity. In addition, these fast-access tools can help you make better decisions by allowing you to access more possibilities.
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Collaboration
Collaborative technologies allow you to create a strong network of data that may be quickly shared. These are the technology tools that allow teams to get access to the information they need to work together effectively. In addition, these tools allow users to access and share data from any location.
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Productivity
The most important digital tools to grow your business today are those that help increase productivity. The most effective business tools allow you to work efficiently, not hard.
You can use these business tools to automate various functions, saving time and money. They also aid in the maintenance of a higher level of productivity.
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Marketing
Marketing-related software is some of the most important business tools for startups and small business owners. These business tools will allow you to run your business to reach a global audience of hundreds of millions of individuals.
These tools will help build your name online, build up recognition for your brand, and sell your product.
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Accounting
You’ll need to monitor your outgoing as well as incoming payments. To accomplish this, you’ll need to use modern accounting software. This is a handy tool for businesses as it takes a time-consuming task often susceptible to human error and completes it in only a few minutes.
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Operations Management
Some tools that small businesses use would be classified as operations management. These are the set of business tools you may use to meet all of your quality control objectives. For example, you can use them to introduce new employees and help them catch up quickly. Additionally, it is also useful for monitoring and improving morale.
17 Must-Have Business Tools to Accelerate Your Business Growth
Technology can help your employees work together more efficiently, share information with clients more effectively, and handle everyday processes more smartly. It also helps businesses keep up with their customers’ constantly changing demands.
The appropriate tools improve teams’ productivity and engagement with the assigned tasks at hand. The following are the 17 business tools you’ll need to use in 2022 to make it a reality:
1. EngageSPARK’s IVR survey
engageSPARK’s multi-level IVR technology provides customers with several benefits, such as the ability to direct calls to the appropriate department or agent, capture responses to FAQs, convert calls into text conversations, and more.
engageSPARK’s IVR software is highly flexible and allows you to quickly create menus with callers to input their selections and route them to the appropriate agent groups, voicemails, external phone numbers, or even other IVR menus.
The engageSPARK’s IVR survey software is simple and powerful, with the capability, flexibility, and ease of use you require.
Routing Calls Swiftly and Costs Effective
Connecting your clients to the most suitable agents in your call center can help you reduce wait time and increase efficiency. In addition, you will only be charged based on the minutes you use through engageSPARK’s IVR system. This allows your team to provide quality customer services without raising a high bill.
Do More With Less
Use pre-recorded greetings for FAQs such as opening hours or discounts to save time for your customers and employees. Enable your agents to serve multiple customers at once by switching an incoming phone call to a text conversation.
Set-up in Minutes
Use engageSPARK’s IVR software to quickly and easily create an IVR system in your browser. Then, easily record or upload personalized greetings, design menus and make changes to fits your customers’ needs. Because it’s handled entirely via your browser, you can access IVR from anywhere around the globe.
Key Features:
- API integration
- Scale at ease
- Multi-level IVR
- No internet/Wi-Fi needed
- Real-time reports
- Call recording
- Call quality notification
- Local and toll-free numbers
- Business hours
- Conferencing
- Request a callback
Pricing:
- Starter plan: $25
- Professional plan: $99
- Organization plan: $299
- Enterprise plan: $499
2. nTask
nTask understands small business owners may not always have lots of money, which is acceptable. nTask is one of the excellent project management tools for small businesses because it allows you to manage projects and tasks seamlessly, even when you’re low on funds.
nTask is designed with a user-friendly interface, making it easy for even the most tech-phobic individuals to understand and use. In addition, it has many useful features, such as Kanban boards to track and optimize work, Gantt charts to make tracking project deadlines simple, file sharing, timesheets, and more to help you manage projects effectively.
This project management tool for small businesses goes beyond project management by allowing you and your team to collaborate, schedule meetings, make progress reports, share data, files, and more.
nTask is an excellent service for startups and small business owners. You can use it for several tasks, and its low cost makes it ideal for businesses on a budget. Additionally, there are many great features that you can add as your company grows.
Key features:
- Unlimited workspaces
- Timesheets
- Unlimited tasks
- Multiple sub-tasks
- Custom filters
- Team collaboration
Pricing:
- Free version plan for individuals and freelancers
- Premium plans for;
Startups and SMEs ($2.99/user per month)
Business ($7.99/user per month)
An enterprise plan (custom pricing)
3. Asana
Asana is a one-stop-shop tool with all the features a small team may need to complete tasks on time and reach objectives. It’s a project management system designed specifically for small teams.
Asana is a simple yet effective tool for keeping track of individuals and their activities, which helps to ensure successful projects and tasks. You can not only manage projects with this system but also get a real-time update on the progress of your work.
You will see how each piece of the project comes together and fits in, as well as what the next steps are. Additionally, you would be able to identify any potential changes and see how they would affect future workflow.
Regardless of how small or big, your team is, you should be able to notice if someone is overworked or not given enough tasks. From there, you can more efficiently assign tasks. Finally, this software automates tasks so you can focus on other areas of your business.
If you want to find out how much time your teammates spend on various tasks, get summary reports, and invoice your clients, then integrate Asana with TaskBill.io.
Key features:
- Unlimited tasks and projects
- Project Overview
- Project briefs
- Workload management
- Automation
Pricing:
- Free plan for a small team (of 15 persons)
- Prices for bigger teams start at $10.99/user per month
4.Teamwork
Teamwork is an effective project management solution for small businesses that is simple to use. This tool could be your one-stop shop with easy-to-use time management, reporting, file sharing, and collaboration features.
Teamwork allows you to see your projects from multiple perspectives and adapt workflows to how your team already functions. In addition, Teamwork makes it easy to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
Integrating Teamwork with other management tools like Teamwork Spaces, CRM, and Chat allows you to monitor your budget as your business grows more efficiently. You will never outgrow this tool as your business expands–in fact, you’ll only discover more features to help you scale.
Key features:
- 20 Project templates
- Workload management
- Portfolio management
- Gantt charts
- Time-tracking
- Invoicing
Pricing:
- Teamwork offers a free basic plan for those just getting started with project management, then charges $10/user per month and up for access to their paid plans.
5. Trello
Trello may be the solution you’ve been looking for to take your startup or small business to the next level. This small business tool is the perfect way to take your ideas and turn them into reality. In addition, this tool can manage human resources, hire employees, reach revenue goals, and much more.
Trello is simple to use and visualize, with a library of pre-made templates you can use to get your business started. It’s made up of boards, lists, and cards that allow you to plan and manage workflows, keep operations moving ahead, and scale consistently.
Trello is a fantastic tool for small businesses because it automates time-consuming, routine operations that might take your attention away from what truly matters. Connect Trello with Slack, Jira, or Confluence to better communicate with your team and propel your business growth.
Key features:
- Templates
- Multiple data views
- Assignee and due dates
- Timeline
- Calendars
- Custom backgrounds and stickers
Pricing:
- Trello is free software that individuals and small teams may use. You may upgrade your account to a premium plan ($10 per user per month) as soon as your business starts developing and you manage many projects simultaneously.
6. Google Drive
Google Drive may suffice if you have a small team and don’t need to manage much paperwork. Google Drive is a free online storage and document collaboration tool that offers office apps for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more. Google Drive provides 15GB of free storage with their basic plan, which is accessible on Android and iOS.
Key features of Google Drive:
- AI-enabled search
- Integrates with Google Docs, Sheets, and Google Slides
- Mobile apps available
Pricing:
- The free basic plan comes with limited features
- The Pro plan starts at 100GB for $89 per month, 1TB for $479 per month, and 10TB for $4799 per month.
7. Salesforce
Salesforce is a well-known name in the sales business that can assist large and small business organizations to sell more effectively while improving customer support. This small business sales tool offers four pricing plans, each with various features that can make customer service and CRM (customer relationship management) much easier.
Salesforce’s more comprehensive plans provide access to an entire customer service solution, giving small businesses the support and resources they need to excel in sales. In addition, the Salesforce fully-featured package contains an extensive suite of sales solutions and marketing automation tools that can help any small business owner get off the ground and succeed.
You may deal with your business activities, interact with clients and prospects, and provide an exceptional online service that no one else can. Salesforce can also help you scale by providing whatever more resources you may need to win and retain even more clients as your business grows.
Key features:
- Lead management
- Email templates
- Mass email marketing
- Task management
- Team chat
- Mobile app
Pricing:
- Salesforce subscription plan starts at only $25 per month for each user.
8. Salesmate
Salesmate is a customer relationship management software that helps small business owners easily monitor their clients. This tool creates a more personal approach to your client interactions, helps you nurture them, and increases your revenue.
Salesmate allows you to automate emails, texts, and follow-ups with potential customers for a more personalized experience that hopefully converts them into buyers.
It allows you to use your CRM when starting a new business, track sales activities and contacts, and eliminate time-consuming tasks to focus on selling, upselling, and exceeding targets. Salesforce reports and intelligence can help you improve your business strategies and grow your company.
Key features:
- Workflow management
- Multiple pipeline management
- Email templates
- Email tracking
- Web forms
- Advanced Reporting
Pricing:
- Starter plan – $12/user per month
- Growth plan – $24/user per month
9. HubSpot
HubSpot is a powerful marketing toolkit that helps small businesses to attract an audience and convert website visitors into leads. This software tool is easy to use and provides multiple features that allow you to scale your campaigns according to your needs.
HubSpot allows you to develop a content strategy and create great content to capture your ideal customer’s attention. In addition, HubSpot tracks your marketing efforts and tells you what strategies are working and making the most impact.
It provides multiple features that can assist you in achieving a higher conversion rate and ROI. For example, you may create mobile-optimized landing pages and forms, automate cross-functional processes, conduct A/B tests, and track and manage leads.
Key features:
- Marketing automation
- Campaign management
- Email marketing
- Live chat
- Landing pages
- Collaboration tools
- Predictive lead scoring
Pricing:
- HubSpot has 4 plans– a free basic limited plan and three other paid plans starting at $45 per month.
10. BuzzSumo
Marketers that are successful use tools like BuzzSumo to delve into the details of the most popular content, but they also want to learn more about what’s going on online. BuzzSumo makes it easy for you to find the right words and phrases your target audience is searching for, get an idea of which keywords are popular in different regions, and predict future viral hits.
BuzzSumo is the perfect small business tool for keeping up with industry news, important events, brand mentions, and your competitors. You can set alerts for relevant updates to your business, whether it be keywords, topics, or brands.
Key Features:
- Content analysis reports
- Backlinks
- Domain reports
- Facebook page analyzer
- Automation
Pricing:
You can use BuzzSumo for free, but only with limited access. Their paid plans start at $99/month if you want full access.
11. QuickBooks
QuickBooks is accounting software that helps small and medium businesses manage their finances effectively, no matter where they are situated. You may use QuickBooks to track costs, manage money, run payroll, and more.
QuickBooks lets you link your bank and credit card accounts to understand better where your money goes. With this small business tool, you may quickly produce a balance sheet or a profit and loss report with only a few clicks.
Furthermore, all transactions are immediately imported, so all you have to do is to allocate them and attach receipts and invoices. In addition, QuickBooks is the perfect choice for simplifying bookkeeping, reducing stress and work, as well prepared for tax season as possible.
QuickBooks is a software designed for small businesses that automatically produce your tax returns, which might explain its popularity among startups.
Key features:
- Cash flow management
- Tracking sales and sales tax
- Income and expense tracking
- General and enhanced reports
- Automated workflows
Pricing:
- Starter plan – $12.50/month
12. Wave
Wave Financial is accounting software designed specifically for small businesses. It’s easy to use, reliable and can help you get a handle on your finances from day one. This software is ideal for keeping track of your cash flow and data, balancing your books, and preparing yourself for tax season.
Wave’s smart dashboard allows you to track, comprehend, and manage your spending, bills, and revenue; connect it to other Wave product features (payments, payroll, etc.); and automate many routine tasks so you can focus on what matters most.
You may use this small business tool to produce and deliver bills on the move, operate your company from any place, and keep track of your cash flow. The mobile app will keep you in the loop with real-time updates on your invoices’ statuses.
Key features:
- One account, multiple businesses
- Automatic backups
- Unlimited income and expense tracking
- Double entry system
- Invoice in any currency
- Unlimited bank and credit card connections
- Powerful reports
Pricing:
- Wave Financial is free accounting software specifically designed for small businesses.
13. Bamboo HR
BambooHR is one of the best small business tools for keeping track of your most vital asset— employees. This software is designed to help you manage employee data and simplify the hiring and onboarding new team members. So switch to BambooHR and eliminate long, inefficient recruiting processes.
This tool ensures efficient communication, eliminates potential bottlenecks, and guarantees that you won’t miss out on any good matches. In addition, BambooHR is amazing for onboarding because you can personalize the process for every new hire, fast-track unimportant tasks, and guarantee that your new teammates have a great experience joining the team.
BambooHR makes it easy to keep track of time and attendance and employee data, request time off, and prepare payroll. Plus, its delightful experience will make you and your squad happy.
This HR software for small businesses allows you to understand your employees better, including their expectations and needs. In addition, BambooHR allows small businesses to monitor employee satisfaction and performance. Finally, you can create a plan to help your business grow with this knowledge.
Key features:
- Applicant tracking system
- Time-tracking
- Employee records
- Company calendar
- Time-off management
- Employee satisfaction
- Reporting
Pricing:
- BambooHR offers a free quote for businesses of different types and sizes.
14. 15Five
15Five is an all-inclusive human resources (HR) and employee management software for small businesses. It offers a foolproof solution for building remote teams, boosting engagement, and improving management efficiency.
To support your staff in flourishing, you must first understand what motivates them, how they’re faring, and whether they require additional assistance. 15Five ensures that you drive real engagement with surveys and make decisions that can improve team satisfaction and performance.
Regarding performance, 15Five also allows you to assess it via various methods and provide support and encouragement for your team’s development. This small business tool knows that employee recognition is essential. Celebrating your people’s accomplishments makes them feel appreciated, strengthening their motivation to perform even better.
Above all, 15Five empowers you to create and grow a vibrant, growing community that will result in outcomes and change your organization in a meaningful way by providing training and assistance.
Key features:
- Employee performance tracking
- Real-time feedback
- Hive Fives
- Alerts
- Heat mapping
- 6-Month check-in history/records
- Reports
Pricing:
- Basic plan – $7/user/month and $14/user/month
- Performance plan – with custom pricing
15. Calendly
Calendly is an excellent tool for small businesses that need assistance with scheduling and appointment setting. It eliminates the time-consuming process of arranging meetings, making it as simple as ABC to schedule (essentially with just one click).
This small business tool not only allows you to plan your events but also schedule them by giving you the ability to create availability, send selected times, pick the type of meeting (group or individual), and share it online (on your website, web chat, or through email).
Your invitee may choose their preferred meeting date and time, and the tool will organize the most convenient meeting for all participants. Schedule events or meetings appear on a calendar immediately so that you may always keep track of your availability.
This beneficial tool not only assists you in measuring your booking funnel but also aids perfection of your conversion strategy for an optimal flow. You may also link Calendly to Zapier and use it in your CRM software to automate tedious paperwork while focusing on critical tasks.
This small business tool is convenient to use on the go via mobile apps, which makes it quick and easy to manage your schedules, reschedules, and cancellations. You may even integrate it with PayPal and Stripe to ensure you get paid each time someone books an appointment.
Key features
- Scheduled meetings
- One-on-one meetings
- Team Pages
- Meeting notifications
- Custom email and SMS alerts
- Workflows
- Redirect invitees
- Web, iOS, and Android mobile apps
Pricing
Calendly has free and 3 paid plans starting at $8 per month.
16. Buffer
Buffer is a super-lightweight social media marketing tool that may help you share your experience with the world and develop your audience on social media. Buffer is a software app that optimizes the display of your content to get the maximum reach on social networks like Facebook and Instagram.
It may be the software app you need to defeat algorithms finally. Then, you can plan, create, and schedule thumb-stopping content to generate meaningful interaction on your social media platforms. This may be done via various means, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Buffer has made it easier to produce and publish high-quality material that will connect with your target audience to give maximum customer support.
Buffer doesn’t just stop at scheduling your content. It provides detailed reports that can help you expand the reach and traction of your content. This social media tool keeps you updated on current discussions and helps convert followers into raving fans or customers.
Key features:
- Multiple social channels
- Calendar view
- Direct post scheduling
- Custom video thumbnails
- Stories analytics
- Post reports
- iOS and Android Apps
Pricing:
- Free plan
- Paid plan – $15/month and up
- Buffer Analytics is available for $35/$50 per month. There’s also a two-week free trial to get a feel for the package.
17. Zoom
Zoom has grown in popularity during worldwide lockdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and for a solid reason. There’s no doubt that Zoom is one of, if not the most popular, video conferencing platforms online.
Zoom is your solution if you want to conduct an online meeting with your team, produce a video webinar, share screens with your IT team, or conduct virtual training sessions.
Zoom’s daily active users increased from 10 million to over 200 million in just three months in March 2020. Zoom is a video conferencing tool utilized by many business organizations, including corporations, but it’s also popular among educators who use it to teach their students in online classes.
Key features:
- Collaboration
- Screen and application sharing
- Dynamic voice detection
- Scheduling
- Video recording
- Large room and webinar
- Mobile devices
Pricing:
- Free with limited features
- Pro plans start at;
Pro – 14.99/month
Business – 19.99/month
Enterprise – 19.99/month
How to Choose the Appropriate Tools for Your Business?
As a small business owner or entrepreneur, here are some factors to consider when choosing business tools:
- Choose a Tool Tailored to Your Company’s Needs: Evaluate your business’s current operations. For example, if your business needs entail email marketing, social media management, or accounting, only look for tools that cater to those needs. Otherwise, narrow down your product possibilities to things you currently do.
- Invest in Business Tools That Offer Mobile Apps if Possible: A mobile app will allow you to stay in touch with your employees no matter where they are or whether or not your team is working in the fields. Therefore, it would be beneficial to invest in tools for small business that comes with a mobile app.
- Select a Business Tool With All the Essential Core Features: A tool with a targeted range of features will be more useful than one with many functions. For example, if your business necessitates appointment bookings, software that works with other calendar apps is preferable to one that only supports social media integration.
Final Words: The Perfect Online Business Tool Does Exist
You can get to the top position in this contemporary business environment using the right business technology solutions. Ensure your company uses cutting-edge trends and technology rather than continuing with antiquated processes. This, in turn, will make your business more appealing to employees.
You can integrate more effectively by using the tools at your disposal. Most business tools help you manage stress, time, and work pressure. In addition, it can improve a company’s profit margin and help it attain even more success or greater heights. Some tools fit small businesses, while others come at a reasonable price.
FAQs
How Can I Increase My Small Business?
The goal or objective of every business should be to expand its customer base to achieve success. To be successful, you must tap the power of client management, project and task management, accounting, and marketing software designed for small businesses. These tools will help improve your business operations, automate processes, enhance communication with team members, prepare for tax time, and boost your earnings potential.
Can a Small Business Develop Without Relying on Tools Designed for Small Businesses?
Yes, it can. However, if you want to expedite the growth of your small business, using at least one small business tool is essential.
What Are the Best Project Management Tools for Small Businesses Out There?
There are several outstanding project management tools available on the market. However, Trello and Asana are some of the most commonly used project management systems for small businesses and enterprises.
Can I Be Productive in My Business by Using the Best Business Tools?
Though these tools are necessary, they alone will not make you more productive. “It’s not the tools you have faith in – they are just tools. They work, or they don’t work. It’s people you have faith in or not.” by Steve Jobs. So whether or not you’re productive in your business is generally determined by how well you can make the tools available to you.