The key types of software that will increase productivity in your small business

By Henry Brown

When you want to increase productivity for your business, turning to technology is one of the best things that you can do. The right software can help you to automate key tasks and make other jobs a lot easier for your staff. There are all kinds of software types that you can implement for your business, and you can even integrate some of them so that they work smoothly together.

For example, as an event or tour operator, channel management software is essential. This special type of app forms a secure and reliable booking and ticketing bridge between your customers and any resellers you work with such as Tripadvisor or Google Things To Do.

However, with so many different types of software out there, knowing what your business needs and what will benefit you can be difficult. If your aim is to increase productivity, many types of software can help with this. But where should you start if you want to make your business more productive with the right software?

Financial software

Watching carefully over your finances is obviously one of the most important things that your business needs to do. This can involve a number of different things, from payroll to bookkeeping and billing.

Knowing what software you need is important if you want to be able to manage your finances efficiently. You might even need specialist industry software such as revenue cycle management software for healthcare, which will help you to keep track of your business’s finances. If you outsource some of your accounting, there are some types of software that your business might not need. But financial software can help you to be a lot more organized and therefore a lot more productive.

Also, being able to create and track invoices is an important component of small business success since a steady cash flow is critical. You’ll want to get the best invoicing software available to make sure this essential function is handled efficiently.

Customer relationship software

Customer relationship management is essential for keeping track of interactions and relationships with customers. It helps you to gain a better understanding of your customers so that you can apply that knowledge to grow your business.

Customer relationship management (CRM) software will help you to do this, providing you with valuable information, helping you to identify trends, and making it easier to manage customer interactions. It can also help you to automate some tasks, such as sending an email as the first point of contact to people who fill in your lead form.

Time tracking software

How can you tell how productive your employees are? Knowing how much they’re working enables you to manage their time more effectively. It’s also useful for calculating pay if your employees are paid on an hourly basis.

Time tracking software enables you to keep track of when your employees are working and even what they are working on. You’ll be able to gain a better understanding of how your business can use its time, and where you might be wasting time that could be spent more productively. It can also help you to monitor resources better and therefore charge clients more accurately.

Project management software

Having the right people managing a project is important, but it’s also essential to have the right tools. Project management software can be invaluable for keeping a project on track.

Even complex projects can be easily broken down into more manageable tasks so that they can be assigned to the right people and their progress can be monitored. There are all kinds of project management software options, from free tools to more complicated paid options that can allow you to do more and integrate with other tools. For example, combine your project management software with time tracking software to increase your productivity.

Communication software

Good communication is a must if you want your business to be productive. Poor communication can really slow things down, and can even result in mistakes being made. The right software can improve communication hugely, especially between people in different departments or for people who are working remotely. There are various communication tools that can be useful for staff.

Tools like Slack allow them to discuss certain projects and topics, as well as communicate with each other directly. Something like Skype or Zoom makes phone or video calls easy, particularly for people in different locations.

Sales and marketing software

One of the best things that sales and marketing software can do is enable the automation of a variety of tasks. This is a great way to save time and increase productivity, and it can also have other benefits, such as reducing human error. Repetitive tasks don’t require people to perform them manually when they could simply be automated. Sales and marketing software can also help you to keep your activities organized and make it easier to collect important sales and marketing data.

Content creation is also a big part of marketing since you need content for brochures, sales sheets, websites, blogs, proposals and other marketing activities. New software is constantly being introduced to speed and simplify content creation. For example, innovative snipping or screenshot software can increase your productivity and save hours of work time whether you are creating visual marketing content or writing for a website or blog. If you are interested in seeing how an application such as this can aid your content creation, this snipping tool offers a free 7 day trial so you can really put the software to the test and determine whether it will be able to meet all your needs.

Choosing the best software for your small business can boost productivity, helping you to get more done while still ensuring quality work.

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Henry Brown is an online marketing executive. When he isn’t talking shop, he’s roaming the streets of London, uncovering the extra-ordinary in the ordinary.

 

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