Today, small businesses have more resources at their fingertips than ever. As a small business owner, you’re probably juggling several roles and a long list of daily tasks. Fortunately, there are several tools available that can help you stay on top of important aspects of your business – from payroll to invoicing to project management. To help make life easier, and your business run more efficiently, we’ve gathered a list of different types of tools to ease your back office responsibilities. Some are apps, others are websites, but all of them can save you time, provide clarity across your organization and improve your relationships with your customers.

Project Management

Free yourself from endless email threads and having to chase project updates. With a project management tool, you and your team can see responsibilities clearly and stay on top of deadlines. Depending on the tool you choose, you can set up projects, assign tasks, track deadlines and share updates across the project with multiple collaborators.

You might look at:

• Trello
• Basecamp
• Asana

Time Management

Time is a valuable asset for any business, especially small businesses. You’re constantly managing time: your own, your teams’ and your clients’ appointments. There is a wide range of tools to help with tracking time worked, coordinating schedules and setting appointments. Some can even sync with payroll and billing software to further increase efficiency.

You might look at:

• Boomr
• TSheets
• When I Work

Payroll

Meeting payroll is crucial to maintaining a good relationship with your employees and contractors. It can be hard, though, with the added complexity of taxes, accounting and onboarding paperwork. With a payroll system, you can get a better handle on when, how and what your team members are being paid.

You might look at:

• Gusto (formerly ZenPayroll)
• Intuit Quickbooks Payroll
• OnPay

Point of Sale

These days, customers expect to be able to pay anywhere, and in any way. While you can only honor certain currencies, you can increase your flexibility with a point of sale system. These are often more secure options than accepting cash, and it’s important to look for a supplier that is PCI compliant. Depending on your needs, there is a variety of POS systems that can help you make more sales, and in a more secure way.

You might look at:

• Clover
• Vend
• Shopify POS

Paying Bills

No one likes to pay bills, but you can at least make it a little less painful. As you know, in order to pay your bills you also have to get paid, which involves invoices, checks and receipts. Accounts payable and accounts receivable are equally critical to running a business. A payments tool helps by handling key steps electronically – keeping you more organized. They can automate the entire process, handling everything from invoicing to payment reminders to paying your bills. These tools can help you focus on growing your business, rather than managing stacks of paper.

You might look at:

• CashFlow Complete
• Invoice 2go
• Expensify

Now that you’re aware of all of these options, the only thing left is to figure out the best tool for your business’s unique needs. We recommend evaluating which tools have the capabilities you need for your business. That includes making sure that an app or website is compatible with other software you’re already using. If you’re not sure of what tools you need, consider scheduling a back office review by a third party consultant to help you identify your processes.

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Also See:

• How to use Same Day ACH for your business.
• How business owners can use cash flow automation to their advantage.