Apps and Softwares to Help Save Time, Increase Productivity: From PDF tools to Invoicing Apps

When you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, every second counts. That’s why technology has emerged that helps us to automate tasks, manage projects efficiently, track finances, and more. If you’re looking to accrue back some hours during the week, this article from the Palisade Chamber of Commerce is for you.

Productivity

If you’re a chronic procrastinator or you simply struggle to remain on task with so many competing demands during the work day, you may want to look into productivity apps. These handy clocks, alarms, and trackers are designed to keep you on task and monitor progress to ensure that you aren’t over misdelegating your time. Some even use inventive methods (such as planting virtual trees for each unbroken work session) to encourage prolonged attention.

File Management

There’s nothing more frustrating than losing track of important files, and you can often lose hours trying to find them again. Putting in place some key practices can help with this - mobile scanning apps, for example, allow you to quickly scan and send documents straight from your smartphone; thus, helping you to centralize your documents on your desktop.

It can also help to keep files in a single format so they can be edited, secured, viewed, and shared easily and quickly on all devices. PDFs are useful for this reason, and, using a PDF merger tool, it’s also possible to keep documents together in a single file and arrange pages to ensure content is viewed in the correct order.

Communications

As our preferences for communication change online, so should our methods. The right comms app can help you to collaborate internally with team members and reach out to external clients/partners with improved efficiency. Many programs also support the sending of various media file types, as well as video conferencing and instant messaging - this can help to save time in the long-term as you keep updated on projects as they are in progress, adjusting your approach and reducing wait times for assets.

Financial Management

One of the most begrudged areas for business owners is financial management, but optimizing your approach to accounting, budgeting, invoicing, and more can be hugely beneficial in the long term. Many programs, for example, automate the menial tasks involved in recording expenses or drafting invoices to ensure you have more time to run the business itself. Some tools even assist you as you build your budget, helping you to forecast and generate financial statements.

Social Media Management

When you’re operating on numerous social channels simultaneously, management tools really come into their own, allowing you to post simultaneously on various platforms or schedule posts (including with text, images, hashtags, etc.) for future dates. This means that you’re automating much of the groundwork, and you have a clearer overview of your strategy. Adding to this, some programs allow you to look back through your history of posting, categorizing content, and even providing analytics so that you can see how content types correlate with results.

If you want to save time as a business owner, you’ll have to work smarter, not harder. Fortunately, there is no shortage of technology to aid you in your endeavors. Just be certain to carry out plenty of research in advance and ensure that whatever you download isn’t more hassle than it’s worth.