Running a home-based business isn’t easy. Whether you are starting your own business or you have purchased a franchise, you will still be fully or partly responsible for management, operations, marketing, accounting and all other tasks. If you’ve never run a business before, the amount of responsibilities can be difficult to keep track of and disorienting.
RELATED: TOP 6 PODCASTS FOR ENTREPRENEURS
Fortunately, there are now many different tech solutions that can make it easier than ever to manage your home-based business. Applications for your computer and your smartphone can save you time, keep you organized and help you provide better services to your customers. Some of these apps do charge fees to use them, but many of them are completely free.
Evernote is one of the most popular smartphone apps in the world and is used by professionals, entrepreneurs, students and artists. The app turns your phone into a notebook, calendar, checklist and more. You’ll be able to write information, take pictures of receipts, schedule important meetings and record audio or video.
From the moment you start your business, you want to make sure that you have a way to accept all types of payments, including credit cards. Square is an app that actually allows you to swipe credit cards with your smartphone. You’ll never have to worry about turning away customers who don’t have cash.
Another popular app with businesses, Dropbox makes it easy for you to store your important documents and work in the cloud. It can be a useful way for you to organize and secure documents, but its true value is in its ability to help you share documents with coworkers. Using the online application, you and your employees will be able to edit and share documents in real time. You’ll be able to view all of these documents from your phone, rename them, move them and make small changes to them.
Regardless of what type of phone you purchase, you’ll have a map application. Many home-based franchises require you to drive to your clients, and you will want to have a map application that will make sure you always find your way to your next customer.
Regardless of what type of small business you have or whether or not you purchased a franchise, you will want to invest time in social media marketing. It can be an effective way to reach out to local customers as well as find new ones. Hootsuite makes it very easy to manage your social media accounts. Using the app, you’ll be able to post to Facebook, Twitter, and other accounts all at the same time.
Bookkeeping and accounting can be very difficult for a new business owner. You will be better off outsourcing the most complicated tasks, but you still need a way to keep track of your expenses. With Expensify, you can take pictures of receipts and invoices as soon as you receive them. The app will store them online and can even organize them for you.
RELATED: THE 4 BEST BOOKS FOR ENTREPRENEURS