Running any kind of business can be hectic, especially if you have to do most of the tasks yourself. You might be at a stage where you can’t afford to outsource some tasks. Thankfully, with modern technology, you can run a business of any size from your phone.
We’re going to look at some free apps that you can use to cover all the tasks that your business may demand. Whether you’re running a physical or online business—these apps should come in handy.
1. Square Point of Sale & Payment
Square POS is self-descriptive—it’s a point-of-sale system to help you handle physical transactions at your store or shop. You can receive a variety of payments with Square—cash, chip cards, contactless cards, and mobile payments.
It’s worth noting that you’ll have to purchase the Square Reader from Square to make the cashless payments possible. You can then link the app to your bank account. Square is free, and you’ll only get charged for card transactions.
You can also keep track of your stock and inventory on Square, and at the end of each business day, week, or month, you can analyze performance in the Reports section of the app. Other tasks you can perform with Square include:
- Set discounts for your customers.
- Receive customer orders.
- Save customer information and email them their receipts if needed.
- Manage shops in different locations.
- Manage sales disputes.
Download: Android | iOS (Free)
2. CashBook
If you love simplicity when tracking your income and expenses, CashBook would be a good app for you. It lets you keep your workbook balance up to date and track your cash flow—the perfect tool for reconciling your finances accurately without having to write anything down or use an Excel sheet.
You could still easily export your data to Excel or Google Sheets if you need to perform advanced tasks on your PC. Also, you could quickly generate sales or income reports by exporting them as a PDF.
When a customer buys something on credit, CashBook allows you to add a credit remark and always have it in your record until the balance is settled. Whenever you’re recording expenses on the app, you can take photos of any relevant receipts for future reference. Other things you can do with Cashbook include:
- Use it as your personal expense manager.
- Budgeting.
- Categorize your payments and payment modes.
- Use it as an employee book.
- Track cash flow from a different branch of your business within one account.
Download: Android (Free)
3. WhatsApp Business
Online communication is key to succeeding in any modern business. There are many options available to facilitate communication, but WhatsApp Business easily stands out from the rest when it comes to running a business.
WhatsApp Business has all the features of the standard WhatsApp version, plus extra features tailored for small and large businesses. Some of these extra capabilities are:
- Creating a business profile—working hours, website, business name.
- Showcasing your product catalog with the option to check out within WhatsApp or an e-commerce store.
- Chat labels to keep track of customer orders.
- Automated replies and quick replies.
- Integration with Facebook Shops.
Given WhatsApp's considerable penetration in most demographics—it would be one of the most convenient ways to stay connected to your customers. They can make orders, ask questions, or check out new products on their phones.
Download: Android | iOS (Free)
4. PayPal Business
If you have a PayPal Business account, you can download its app to manage transactions and send out invoices from your phone. It would be more convenient this way if you’re running an online business and are constantly on the move.
With the PayPal Business app, you’ll have instant access to your sales reports in the palm of your hands—which helps in saving time when balancing your accounts. You’ll also have a list of all your customers in one place.
Download: Android | iOS (Free)
5. Adobe Scan
Keeping track of physical receipts is a tricky affair—you could easily lose them or make an error if they are not ordered correctly. One way of managing this problem is by scanning each receipt as soon as it’s generated.
Adobe Scan is one of the best free mobile scanner apps available on Android and iOS. Besides receipts, it lets you scan business cards, printed documents, photos, and any other type of paper document.
Once you scan a document, Adobe Scan will automatically save it to the cloud, but you must create an Adobe account for this to be possible. With an account, you can access your scanned receipts and documents from multiple devices. In the event that you damage or lose any of your documents—you’ll always have a copy in your Adobe account.
Download: Android | iOS (Free)
6. Canva
If online marketing is one of your promotion strategies—Canva is one of the tools available for free to help you design stunning graphics. You can use the app to create posters, ad banners, Instagram posts, Pinterest Pins, YouTube thumbnails, videos, etc.
Canva comes with a wallet-friendly paid option, but the free version may just suffice, given the free plan's thousands of design templates and elements at your disposal. Also, you don’t need to be highly skilled to come up with captivating graphics—you could take advantage of the free elements within the app and whip up great designs for your marketing campaigns.
Download: Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
7. Google Keep
There are many to-do list apps you could use on your phone, and Google Keep is one of the most effective ones. If you are in a fast-moving business, this app will help in noting down ideas and tasks to do later when everything settles down.
You can also take snaps of physical receipts, record voice memos, and access all of them in one place for bookkeeping. All the information you record will sync across all devices with your Google account.
The checklist feature on Google Keep is easily accessible, with multiple customization options to make each stand out if you have different categories of tasks. It’s free and available on all platforms, including PC, through your browser.
Download: Android | iOS (Free)
Automate Your Business Transactions and Bookkeeping
You could combine some of these suggested apps, depending on your business’ needs. The point is to reduce the number of tasks you have to worry about during or at the end of any particular day.
All the recommended apps support multi-device and multi-platform syncing so that all your data is secure and readily available at all times. Furthermore, they are all free, which means increased efficiency without incurring extra costs. Let your phone work for you.