Small and medium businesses are often running lean machines where productivity is key. Yet tedious tasks routinely chew up precious time and attention. Here are five business technology apps and tools to free up your time while boosting cash flow and profitability.
ezyCollect for accounts receivables management
ezyCollect is set-and-forget software that helps businesses to systemize and automate the process of chasing unpaid invoices. It’s web-based and connects with MYOB and Xero to offer a number of advanced and proactive payment solutions:
a) Automatically chases overdue accounts ‘til they get paid (via emails, SMS, postal letters)
b) Scheduling phone calls from staff to customers
c) Tracking conversations and payment promises in the customer dashboard
d) Escalating to lawyers and debt collectors with the click of a button
d) Thanking customers that do pay on time
Pricing: 30 day free trial + prices starting from $35/month with a money back guarantee
MailChimp for email marketing
MailChimp allows you to send marketing emails, automated messages, and targeted campaigns to a list of prospects. The system can trigger a sequence of follow up messages. You can even recommend products to individual customers based on their purchase behaviour.
Pricing: Up to 2,000 subscribers are free, then charges apply
Leadpages for sales leads
Easily create landing pages for your campaigns using hundreds of templates which can be customised to suit your brand. By creating a unique landing page for each new campaign or offer, you’ll be able to assess where your website traffic is coming from and how effective your marketing strategy has been. Mobile-friendly templates suit smartphone screens as well as desktop displays. A/B testing and analytics allow you to see how each page is performing.
Leadpages provides tons of free courses on how to use different social media platforms to boost sales.
Pricing: Plans start from $25/month
Shoeboxed for digital record keeping
Shoeboxed scans and organises your receipts, invoices and documents securely online. Use the mobile app to snap an image of receipts at the point-of-sale, or forward invoices and documents you receive via email right into your Shoeboxed account. Send digitised information stored in the cloud directly to your preferred accounting platform. Great at tax time!
Pricing: 30 day free trials + Plans start from $26.95/month
Stripe for online payments
This is a real game changer for businesses that are looking to accept online payments simply and cost effectively. You can get set up in minutes and start accepting payments online, including recurring debits for regular customers. Businesses use Stripe for their subscription service, on-demand marketplace, e-commerce store or even as a crowdfunding platform.
Pricing: Pricing based on transactional volume, no monthly fees
