The right tech tools can help any business operate more efficiently, but the costs can quickly add up. Here are six small business tech tools that offer free plans for small businesses.
Slack is one of the best internal communication apps for small businesses. It allows you to communicate with your employees without getting caught in endless email threads. You can have different Slack channels for different parts of your business and can even invite clients to join. Slack offers a free plan with up to 5GB of file storage per workplace. You can send group messages, store files, and send one-on-one messages directly within the Slack app, and initiate voice or video calls with one other person.
Every business needs good accounting software to manage its finances. But that can be pricey, making Wave a good option. Free to use, Wave allows you to track income and expenses and generate financial statements. You can easily monitor how your business is doing from Wave’s dashboard. Wave offers free unlimited invoicing and the option to set up recurring payments for customers.
If you regularly create social media or marketing graphics, you need to check out Canva. It’s an online graphic design tool that’s free to use. It comes with over 250,000 free templates and over 100 design types. The free version lets you add team members and collaborate on projects. Team members can add comments, assign tasks, and resolve suggestions directly within Canva.
Project management software Wrike has a free plan that is best for businesses with one to five users. It comes with valuable features like task and subtask management and interactive board and spreadsheet views. You can access Wrike via desktop computer, online, or mobile app to manage the various aspects of your project. Wrike has storage cloud integrations with Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
Trello is another free project management and team collaboration app. The engaging interface gives you a bird’s-eye view of your project while managing the details. You get ten boards per workspace and unlimited cards with the free plan. You can add due dates, create checklists, and assign tasks to other team members within each card. Plus you have unlimited storage and activity logs, so you’ll never have to worry about losing your data.
IFTTT stands for “if this, then that”. It allows you to set up custom workflows that make your apps work together. You can connect over 700 different apps like Twitter, Dropbox, and Evernote. There’s zero coding required to get started and you can connect apps to do things they can’t do on their own. When you sign up for the free plan, you’ll get up to five applets with unlimited runs.
However, the best app for businesses of every size may be the application you fill out to join the Chamber. We’d love to discuss all the ways investing in the Chamber can strengthen your business and expand your network. Give us a call at 620-342-1600, email us at chamber@emporiakschamber.org, or swing by the Trusler Business Center at 719 Commercial Street.
It’s a great day in Emporia!
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“Let’s Talk Business” is a weekly column of the Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Visit Emporia. The mission of the Chamber is to be proactive in creating an environment for business and community success, guided by the vision that positive attitudes promote positive actions. Contact us at 620-342-1600 or chamber@emporiakschamber.org and visit our website at www.emporiakschamber.org.