April 12, 2022
With schedules growing ever more hectic, many entrepreneurs find it difficult to remain productive. They need not only project management, financial and accounting tools but also business planning, communication, and collaboration platforms. Below, we will categorise the top must-have productivity tools into different subtypes to help entrepreneurs manage their time and daily routines.
As an entrepreneur, you need business planning tools to put your tasks in order. Have a look below to see which ones are the most effective at accountability and easy to use.
In the business planning category, the top choice is Trello. This platform is not only easy to use but also very popular. It allows you to organise your projects and everything you have worked on into boards. With Trello, you can find information on current projects, team members’ activities, project progress, and much more. It is an incredibly useful tool for setting objectives and monitoring their execution, especially when you understand the essence of goal setting and are prepared to see your projects through as a team.
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This strategic management tool helps businesses visualise and analyse their money-making strategies. When using BMC, organisations understand their business model better, identify improvement areas, and develop new growth strategies. The best thing about this program is that it’s highly visual. You can use it efficiently even if you aren’t that keen on technology. BMC also offers strategy and business modelling services. Note that this tool is complex, so make sure you get some training before starting to use it.
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For accounting and tax purposes, we recommend:
In the beginning, FreshBooks was a simple program for invoicing. But over the years, its scope expanded, and new tools have been added. Now, FreshBooks is a fully-featured tool for small and mid-size businesses. This service ensures excellent user experience and finance management. Besides, FreshBooks regularly scans its servers for vulnerabilities to protect sensitive information.
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According to Forbes, QuickBooks is the best accountability tool for online businesses. It checks accounting and expense tracking boxes, computes taxes, and stands out from the crowd for its incredible support team. Many bookkeepers, certified public accountants (CPAs), and accountants use it every day.
The Simple Start Plan’s first tier is $15 per month, and after 3 months, the price jumps to $30 per month. The Essentials Plan’s first tier is $30 per month, and after 3 months, the price rises to $60 per month. Lastly, the Plus Plan is $45 and $90 per month.
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Whether you are a small business owner or run a larger business, you still need project management tools. Let’s check out the most functional ones below.
Basecamp
As far as project management goes, Basecamp is the rockstar. Available at a very competitive price, this tool is highly flexible and includes many functional features. The Basecamp home screen is customisable and simplified, so even beginner users can work with this software without any problem. While you can’t call this service traditional, you can still run it if you’re not that tech-savvy.
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Monday.com is one of the best online work management and collaboration tools you can use not only as an entrepreneur but also as a project manager or a team member. The good news is that this tool doesn’t charge per person but per team. There are 5 service tiers: Free, Basic, Standard, Pro, and Enterprise. Monday.com can manage very large projects, too, but it is still mostly suitable for small and mid-size teams rather than large enterprises. The specialised sales features of Monday.com are mass emailing, solid CRM tools for reporting, and shared email templates.
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Since many entrepreneurs work remotely, they also need various communication and collaboration tools. Here are some of the best tools and their top features.
Google Workspace is the top choice for entrepreneurs and business coaches, as well as teams working in all sorts of industries worldwide. The online app suite is powerful and versatile, allowing to sync all team data and real-time and downsize the usage of desktop apps. Most services are free, but if you want a dedicated email address for each team member, you will only pay $6 per month for each user.
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Not everyone is equally fond of Slack, but this doesn’t mean this business messaging app doesn’t have its benefits. First, it works both asynchronously and in real time, so it’s perfect for all-remote and hybrid activities, too. A more advanced version is somewhat expensive, but a free account can accommodate most teamworking activities an average business needs.
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In this category, we have shortlisted two of the most powerful services, which are:
As a talent acquisition platform, SignalHire also can find contact details, including emails, phone numbers, and links to social media accounts. All emails in this major database have been verified, so the risk of hitting the wrong email is practically non-existent. Also, the service features the most powerful search filters and allows you to find email addresses by name, location, job title, and many other customisable parameters. The bulk search feature is very useful for compiling targeted email lists for marketing and business development purposes. You can also install the SignalHire extension in Chrome and Mozilla to pull contact data directly from social media.
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This marketing tool has been a leading service for over 10 years. The product still works with emails, but now it’s also a customer relationship management (CRM) software and Customer Journey Builder. MailChimp also features email templates and offers numerous marketing conveniences. The service is easy to use and has 3 paid service tiers suitable for all sorts of teams and business purposes.
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Those were some of the best productivity tools for entrepreneurs in different industries. Use any combination of these services, suitable for your business goals to work more effectively and achieve success in your business. And, if you are not ready to commit financially, most of these services have a free trial version so you can always check it out before deciding if the paid plan is worth it.
