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Business apps you need to use right now

October 10, 2017

Apps are meant to make everything easier and enjoyable, but choosing the perfect one for your business can be quite a challenge, simply because there seems to be an endless supply to pick from.

This article should give you enough (updated) suggestions so that you can make an informed and useful decision without having to spend precious hours searching for your best option. Speaking of precious time, let’s get down to our first category:

Productivity

1. Evernote – Have you ever made some important notes but then forgot or lost them? Well say goodbye to pen and paper because Evernote is here to make sure you never forget any important information. Don’t get fooled by its simple interface, because I assure you this is not your usual app. It basically makes taking notes easy and more efficient, along with reminders, to-do lists, audio and picture attachments. You can even clip interesting information from your browser using a Chrome plug-in. Simple and effective, Evernote is the definition of what apps are meant for. Basic (Free), Plus and Premium versions are available. Try it out for free and take your pick.

2. Contactually – Some of the most important opportunities for your business usually come from networking, but you need your follow-up to be on point. This is where Contactually comes in. It helps you keep in touch with everyone you need, simplifying your management of these relationships. The whole process of keeping in touch becomes very simple with this app. All it takes for you to get started is to organize your contacts into “buckets” (groups, sort of), and then set the frequency of your follow-up. You can save templates for different types of congratulations, wishes or meeting follow-ups. The beauty of Contactually is that in its simplicity, there’s still a sense of personal touch that you can apply to almost everything. We found the perfect description in one review: light weight CRM. Can’t argue with that. Convince yourself with the free 30-day trial.

3. Expensify – We all know how time consuming expense reporting can be. Expensify’s mission is to make your reporting hassle-free. Once you start using this app on a regular basis, you can feel your time management improving.

Bonus: Product Hunt – In order to improve your productivity, you probably need an easy way to keep track of all the new apps out there. Enter Product Hunt – your simple way of staying up to date. Follow apps and startups, post your new products or download apps that you like and keep scrolling.

Communication

1. Asana – Teamwork without email – that’s the dream. Whenever I’m thinking of that vacation day when I might need to work away from home, I picture myself using Asana. You will be able to cut down emails by the bunch with this smart little app. Asana might be the new king of project-management. Though that’s the main purpose of the app, we have considered it as a communication app because that’s what it improves the most. You can use it to assign tasks, subtasks, follow deadlines and much more. Try Asana for free.

2. MobileDay – The usual productivity tip is to avoid meetings when you can. But what about those meetings you can’t avoid. Well, fortunately virtual meetings are on the rise, and there’s an app that can cut out every technical difficulty frustration that might occur. Introducing MobileDay, your one-click dialing app that makes everything look easy. The free download will allow you 10 dial-ins per month, more than enough for testing purposes.

3. Addappt – This quite innovative app, built by an experienced and passionate team, lets your associates and your contacts update their contact information in your address book. A fresh start (new number, new job etc.) no longer takes up your precious time. Think about all the messages, phone calls, emails you would have to write and send. With Addappt you don’t have to because you can update the info directly in the address book of other Addapt users. Test the app.

Travel

1. Uber – Despite some recent hate about the pricing surge, Uber is still a great option for any traveler. Reliable and on time, this upscale cab provides private car and driver with just a few taps on your smartphone. The payment can also be done via smartphone – you get an email with the receipt when you arrive at your destination. If you prefer local public transportation, then you should try HopStop – detailed directions for bus, train, subway or even biking and walking. Both apps are free to download and use.

2. FlightTrack– Traveling by plane will most likely come up at some point, or it may be a must for your business travels. FlightTrack is like having a flight info point in your pocket. Did your flight get canceled? Don’t worry, go grab a coffee and open FlightTrack for alternative flights. You can also view real-time departures, delays, gate numbers, and maps for almost any flight worldwide. Price: $4.99.

3. TripIT – There’s something missing from your travel app arsenal: a good organizer for your trip. There will probably come a time when a colleague of yours will take a business trip to the same destination, or perhaps you will decide to hand an account to someone else. With TripIT you can make others’ trip a lot more enjoyable too. Besides organizing your entire agenda of course, TripIT lets you share plans, impressions and recommendations. Free to download and use.

Bonus: Localeur – Experience the heart and soul of any place you travel to, with help from locals. There’s really no one better qualified to guide your experience in a new city than a local. Localeur uses crowd-sourced suggestions to give you the best recommendations possible: places to eat or to visit, shops, activities and others. Free to download and use.

Payment

1. Apple Pay – OK, this was an obvious choice, but for good reasons. Apple’s payment system has become quite successful for two main reasons: security and user friendliness. Using the NFC (near-field communication) technology, Apple Pay is easy to use and also works on Apple Watch. You can secure your payments through fingerprint sensors (Touch ID) just to be extra safe. Launched in the U.S. in October 2014, Apple Pay is quickly becoming an everyday mobile tool. Try it out.

2. PayPal – Pay people and get paid, the easy way. Any business involves payment of some kind, so the easier you can make transactions, the better. An alternative would be Square, but frankly PayPal has become more popular. You can link your bank account to your PayPal account and make every transaction quick and easy. The basic service is free, but if you think about using it for your business, you should consider the Pro services at $30 per month. Explore all the possibilities offered by PayPal and decide for yourself which one suits you best: available for iOS, Android and Windows.

3. Tilt – Another popular payment app nowadays is Tilt – one of the best payment and crowdfunding apps you can get. Useful and easy to use, Tilt brings simplicity to a whole new level. Add the description (plus picture), set your goal, and collect. That’s it. You can continue collecting past the goal of course, until your campaign ends. Get started.

Bonus: ZenPayroll – This great app will save you hours every month. Imagined as a payroll for small businesses, ZenPayroll is a paperless service that calculates all income taxes so you don’t have to. Payroll becomes a hassle-free process for every business who uses this app.

Security

1. 360 Security – With near to perfect detection rate, 360 Security is a simple and clean app that keeps you safe from anything: malware, spyware, infection threats. Extremely resource-friendly, this clever little app also helps you run a tight ship by fixing other vulnerabilities, cleaning idle apps and boosting memory to free RAM, so that your phone runs smoother. Other great features include encrypted privacy, remote data wiping and phone locating, for that special time of the month when you misplace your device. Oh, another great thing about this app that I forgot to mention: it’s completely free. Available for Android, check it here.

2. AVL – This high-level malware protection uses as few resources as possible. If you want performance that won’t heat up your phone at all, this is your best option. Check it out.

3. LastPass – An important security issue has always been the threat of password cracking. Most of us don’t pay any attention to password strength and choose weak combinations, or use close variations of the same password for other accounts. It’s a common mistake, but it’s understandable. We try to pick something we can remember. As suggested by the name, the goal of the app is to help you use just one password for everything. Obviously, it won’t be the same password for every account. LastPass will store all your passwords on a secure online service, and it will automatically log you into your accounts. The app can also recommend secure passwords too. Have a look.

Scanning and printing

1. CamScanner – This very helpful app can turn your phone into a scanner so you can save up on paper, and keep track of everything you need – from receipts to notes. CamScanner is a great solution for document management on all devices. You could argue that you don’t really need an app for scanning, but with CamScanner you can do it much easier and more organized, because that’s what the app is meant for: storing, sharing, annotating and managing documents for different purposes. It simplifies your work and makes it more efficient. Try it out.

2. HP ePrint – With just a few taps on your phone you can now print anything, even if you are not near your printer. Using the HP ePrint App, you can connect via WiFi to send documents to your printer. From here, you either ask a colleague to pick up your print, or it will be waiting for you at your return. Download and test: App Store, Google Play.

3. Scannable by Evernote – There might be some Evernote fans out there, and if you find yourself among them, Scannable may be a better option for you than CamScanner. It works pretty much the same, but the big difference is that Scannable is synced to your Evernote account. The app has an auto-crop feature that automatically removes unwanted backgrounds and enhances the image so that you can read properly any text. Another great feature is the contact card transformation that saves you a lot of typing. If you scan a business card, you don’t have to do the typing yourself afterwards because Scannable automatically selects the info an transforms it into a contact card, so all you have to do is press call. Get the app.

These are some of the most useful mobile business apps available. There are a lot of great apps out there and you should always choose the option which is best suited for your business. Try our recommendations and share your favorite communication apps in the comment section bellow.