10 Great Business Management Tools for Small Business

Choosing the right software packages for your business is no easy task. The primary goal of business management tools is to increase productivity, so it pays to spend a little bit of time choosing the right tools for your business.

The good news for business owners is that there is no shortage of choice. You can choose from general business management software to help with everything from payroll to invoicing to time tracking for small business. Or you can choose more specific tools with functionality more relevant to your industry. From salons to law firms, there’s something for everyone. Read on to discover the best business management tools for a range of purposes.

General business management

WORKetc

This cloud based CRM system is specifically designed to solve problems faced by small to medium sized businesses. It allows you to manage everything in your business from one central location, offering everything from team management to billing tools. Rather than purchasing individual tools to manage all sections of your business, you can manage it all in one place. This is a great option for start ups and growing businesses that need a little support to scale their operations.

BlueCamroo

If you want to spend less time on clerical tasks and spend more time focussing on the bigger picture, BlueCamroo can help. This CRM and project management suite uses automation to help streamline your workload. It can be used by sales and marketing teams, to help manage workflow and to manage customer support. If you want powerful intuition on your side, this is the way to go.

Bitrix

Paid business management software will often include some pretty useful features, but it’s helpful to know there are free options available. Bitrix offers free and paid versions of its business management tools that are perfect for growing businesses. You can use the platform to manage clients, internal communications, project management and much more.

Indy

Indy is a comprehensive business management software that includes everything you need to stay on top of your projects, from marketing to management to billing. You can keep track of different tasks for multiple projects by assigning filters or moving tasks from one project to another. The tasks tool also allows you to assign tags, making it easy to see at a glance which project has the most tasks remaining. The deadline and reminders feature ensures you also deliver your work on time. At the end of the week or month, you can link your hours to an invoice by adding your hourly rate before sending the document to a client.

Medius

Medius is an all-in-one spend management solution that lets you pick as few or as many tools as you need to control your organization’s spend and stay in compliance. It is a cloud-based software suite that works with your ERP to manage spend, automate routine tasks, and provide insights to help you make smarter spend decisions. Use medius to maximize efficiency in supplier management, sourcing, contract management, procurement, AP automation, and payment automation.

Service-based business management

YourTradeBase

Tradespeople have enough to worry about without thinking about paperwork and filing. By moving all billing and organisation to this online app, you can start to think about expanding your business. 

This service-based business management tool can help with everything from estimates to invoicing. It can also help you to find more work by making it quick and simple to draw up quotes for work. Rather than losing precious time to creating, sending and chasing quotes, you can focus on what you do best.

mHelpDesk

When you’re always on the go, it can be difficult to maintain the appearance of a well-organised business. With mHelpDesk, you can take your office with you and operate from anywhere. It offers communication tools, client scheduling, estimates, invoicing and appointment booking for trades and service businesses. The intuitive dashboard will make sure you’re always in control and in-the-know.

Industry specific tools

Automotive shop: Shop Boss Pro

Designed by automotive repair workers for automotive repair workers, this all-inclusive online app offers everything you need to keep things running smoothly. It is web-based and mobile friendly, so you don’t have to feel chained to your desk. 

You can also integrate it with other platforms such as Epicore and Carfax, offering even greater functionality. One of the best perks of this platform is the automated text and email reminders that will give customers updates on their work.

Salon or spa: Salon Iris

Salon management has come a long way since the days of a paper appointment book. By moving to cloud based salon management software, you can supercharge your marketing efforts and keep customers coming back time and time again. Salon Iris is an excellent choice of any sized salon or spa. 

You can use it for multiple locations, or use it for your mobile salon services. It offers appointment booking, a secure customer database and text reminders to help reduce no-shows. If you’re a fully established salon or a start-up looking to expand, Salon Iris can help you to keep track of your customers and drive more sales through smart and timely promotions.

Technology company: Harmony PSA

As a technology provider, you need reliable and intuitive tools on your side. Harmony PSA is a cloud-based platform that combines a service desk with project management tools. This professional services automation platform allows you to manage every aspect of software development and technology services from one place. 

The automated billing function will ensure you always get paid on time, which ensures no one on your team is left chasing late payments. The internal management tools include Kanban boards to help keep your team on track every step on the way.

Law firm: CosmoLex

With case files going digital, you need a secure and flexible way to manage them. CosmoLex offers everything you need to manage your law practice, from client communication tools right up to billing and accounting tools. The client-side tools include calendar management and document management. 

By keeping all of this information secure in the cloud, you can be sure it’s accessible when you need it, but also secure. You can also use CosmoLex to keep a paper trail of all meetings and interactions to ensure disputes are kept to a minimum or quickly resolved. 

For behind the scenes, you can use this powerful software suite to create custom team workflows and keep track of billable email communications.

Manufacturers: OfficeBooks

Manufacturing companies can suffer from poor communication between office staff and production floor staff. With OfficeBooks, everyone can stay on the same page. This cloud based management software can be accessed on any device, meaning that production staff don’t have to be chained to a computer to keep up to speed. 

The smart inventory control system can help to boost productivity and ensure on time delivery. When your reputation rests on quality and on-time delivery, this can help to ensure you never fall short of your customer’s expectations. 

OfficeBooks also helps to open the lines of communication with your customers. By improving customer interactions and ensuring they are always kept in the loop, you can grow your brand and increase recommendations and repeat custom.

Try before you buy

The majority of these packages will include an option to try before you buy. This can be a great way to determine if the business management tool offers all of the functionality you need. Remember that business management tools are only effective if the people in your company will commit to using them.