Ten minutes before a very important online meeting… Your laptop is in your bag while you’re stuck in traffic with no hopes of getting to a near-by coffee shop without leaving your car in the middle of the street. What do you do?!
We’ve all had days like this… days when we wish we could transport to our office as soon as possible. For business owners though, the struggle is very real. A single missed call from a client may mean arguments, or worse, end of partnership.
Thankfully, with the advancement of technology, we can now handle our business while on the move by making use of our cellular phones. So here are our best picks for the most useful apps that you can download so you can stay in touch with your employees and customers at any time.
Skype
You know what would have saved you in the situation above? A Skype app on your phone. With Skype for Mobile, you can text, chat, send a video, and do a voice call over the internet. Even when you’re stuck in traffic, you can quickly do client meetings or get an update from your team by using your phone.
Price: Skype is FREE to download on all devices.
DropBox
Losing finance and company-related files is a small business owner’s nightmare. I remember back in the day when my beautiful mum was the CFO of Global Speciality Chemicals she had been preparing a document for weeks just to have the computer crash a wipe everything 24 hours before go time. This is why they always say that it’s wise to create several copies of these documents. But really, who has the time to transfer files, especially large ones, to all your devices?
Enter the solution: If you’ve lost your files before and have learned your lesson, Dropbox is for you! This app lets you backup your most important documents and sync them over to all your devices – mobile, computer, tablet. You may also configure the sync to daily, weekly, or monthly.
So whenever you need to finish a presentation, you may save it via Mozy and access it through your mobile device so you can get the job done wherever you are.
Price: Try it out for free. You’ll want to upgrade, it’s really the best.
EverNote
Have you ever wondered why so many ideas come into mind when you’re flying an airplane or in the shower? So many things you mentally take note of only to forget them the moment you take the first step to your destination.
With EverNote, you will no longer knock yourself out in trying to remember your million-dollar ideas. The app lets you store, organize, share text, photos, and voice notes so you never forget how and why you thought of such things. You can also forward these ideas to your team so they can start working on it even when you’re still away. It’s the best way to remember everything and keep track of all your brilliant ideas.
Price: EverNote is available for FREE for personal use, but can be upgraded to ‘Business’ to be able to collaborate with coworkers at $10 / month / user.
Google Drive
If you aren’t using Google Drive for your business, you should. Similar to DropBox, Google Drive, according to Google, “is a cloud storage service that allows you to store your documents, photos, videos, and more online.” The difference, however, is “you can also use Google Docs, Google Sheets, and other applications to create and edit various types of files.”
Google Drive is available for you to download on your mobile phone. Even only it mobile, it can still provide you with a fully-featured office suite. So if you have to edit an excel file before you send it but have no access to your computer, just open it via Google Sheets and you should be able to easily make the changes.
I use this tool every single day. I can see who has been in what file, edited documents and even see my team editing documents live. I could go on for days about how good this tool is and how much it will increase productivity between collaborative teams… But I won’t. So just use it!
Price: Google Drive is FREE to download for all mobile phones.
DocuSign Ink
Want signing documents to be hassle free? Install DocuSign Ink, the mobile version of DocuSign, which provides consumers and professionals a simple way to legally sign and return documents. This app also lets you send documents to others, requesting for their signatures.
When using DocuSign Ink, you can provide your team the necessary authorisation they need to proceed with specific tasks – complete contracts, open accounts, set up and confirm deliveries, finish employment forms, and more – even when you’re out of the office.
Price: DocuSign Ink lets you try the app for FREE during a trial period. After that, the best rate for a business is $20 / user / month.
Expensify
As a business owner, it’s so hard to handle expenses without going budget overboard. For your team, it’s even harder to not mix their personal cash with the allocated budget you set them for the trip.
So do your team manage their budget well while you keep track of their expenses? This is the single most annoying piece of paperwork in any executives work. One word: Expensify. This app keeps track of business expenses and mileage by scanning and uploading the receipts. Your subordinates can then send them to you via a report with just a click of a button. Seriously easy, seriously awesome.
Price: Expensify is FREE to use by all smartphones.
Trello
The 1 tool I can’t live without! When you want to manage your team easily, Trello is your guy. By creating a board for your business, you can easily assign tasks to your members, give updates for each tasks by leaving comments, attaching important URLs, documents, photos, etc, and labeling them accordingly. All these features are available in their mobile app as well.
Price: Trello is FREE for all users.
Mynd
Why Mynd? It calls itself a “calendar with a mind”. From the app, its users can directly make a call, discover trip times, or research about the person they’re meeting with via LinkedIn profile if available. If you’ve got an appointment, Mynd will tell you when to leave given local traffic and transport reports.
No wonder this app won as one of the Ten Best iOS Calendar Apps.
Price: This app is FREE to download but offers in-app purchases.
30/30
Do you have a problem managing your time? If so, see if 30/30 can help you. The idea behind the app is that you will have to focus on your task (and nothing else) for 30 minutes, and then you get to relax and do other things for the next 30 minutes. You repeat this until you get used to being focused on your tasks.
The app has gotten a lot of good responses from its users; some say it has helped them change their attitude towards work tremendously.
Price: 30/30 is FREE to use.
Apps have become a major help to me in my business, team and contractors. Whenever I have errands to do and can’t make it to the office, I stay connected with my team on my phone. The apps above are very useful are will surely make managing your business easier!
Which of the app is your favorite? What apps do you want to add to the list? Let me know in the comments below. Let us know if you want to know more about the app’s I use for Milk and clients. Maybe you want to know more about the social media management apps I use? Let me know!