9 Software that can help scale your small business

Do you know that, on average, a small business entrepreneur spends a whopping 68% of his time just handling day-to-day tasks? This leaves him with very little time for strategic planning and other crucial business functions that can help in growing the business.

Therefore, such businesses should consider investing in advanced software and tools. It can help them in achieving the results faster by keeping the work organised, teams synced, and business thriving. We have curated a list of small business software that can help immensely in scaling your small business. Let us have a look at them.

1. Wix – Software for creating Website

A website is crucial to showcase your products and services and foster long-term relationships with the consumers. But small businesses generally do not have enough funds in hand to design and build their website. It is where Wix steps in.

It is a website building tool that gives you the freedom to create, develop, and manage your web presence. Besides, it will also help in promoting business, opening stores, showcasing work, and publishing content. Its versatile and useful features will give you an excellent user experience.

Key features of Wix

· Hundreds of designer-made templates

· Intuitive website designer

· One-pagers

· Reliable and free hosting

· Mobile-friendly

· Drag and drop website editor

· Image editor

2. Mailerlite – Software for Email Marketing

Do you know that 9 out of 10 small businesses use email marketing to share their content organically? Not only this, 81% of the small businesses still depend heavily on this medium for customer acquisition and retention.

Mailerlite is a popular email marketing software that can help scale your small business. It provides a powerful online platform for small and medium businesses to cushion their email marketing strategies. Furthermore, it will help you in evaluating the outcome of your email marketing campaign by giving details about the opened, clicked, or unsubscribed users.

Key features of Mailerlite

· Custom HTML editor

· Drag-and-drop editor

· The built-in picture editing feature

· File manager

· Newsletter design templates

· Subscriber management

3. ProfitBooks – Accounting Software

Stronghold on accounts and finance will leave minimal scope for fund wastage. ProfitBooks is a popular accounting software tool that is easy-to-use. Moreover, it allows you to create invoices, manage inventory, and track expenses. It is an excellent choice for entrepreneurs who have limited accounting knowledge.

Likewise, this tool also allows you to make professional estimates and track all the outstanding payments to date. Be it production, distribution, servicing, selling, or managing inventory, ProfitBooks can handle everything for you smoothly. In other words, just a few clicks and your accounts and finance are sorted.

Key features of ProfitBooks

· Create unlimited invoices in multiple currencies

· Record advance payments

· Maintain product batches

· Track product processes

· Tracks inventory

· Generate tax details

· Tracks business expenses

4. Canva – Image editing software

Are you looking for a multimedia designing platform that can help you design media graphics, posters, and presentations? If yes, Canva can be the ultimate software for you. It is an excellent platform for small and medium scale businesses to create professional graphic designs.

Similarly, it also rolls out a wide range of powerful features like 1 million photos, fonts, and graphics. Let us have a look at the striking features of this easy-to-use software.

Key features of Canva

· Speech bubble maker

· Adding text to photographs

· Photo blur feature

· Design grid

· Photo vignette

· Photo frames

· Free icons

· Photo enhancer

· Image cropper

5. Buffer – Social Media Managing Tool

Over 73% of small businesses believe that social media can play a vital role in scaling up their business. Are you also one of them but somehow do not know how to manage your social media handles? If yes, Buffer can be the right tool for you.

A buffer is an internet-based software that is primarily responsible for managing social media content. It allows businesses to share their content on multiple platforms at the same time. In other words, you need not traditionally login on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook every time to share your content. Buffer will upload everything with a single click.

Key features of Buffer

· Social profile sharing

· Content sharing management

· Handles multiple tweets and posts

· Profile management

· Insights and analytics

· Stats comparison

· RSS feed connectivity

· Team collaboration

6. Calendly – Software for scheduling meetings

Networking is crucial for small and medium businesses. Meeting clients and rolling out attractive collaboration offers to them can significantly impact their ROI. Calendly is a leading software that can help in scheduling activities and accelerate sales. It does not use old-school methods of phone tags and emails for scheduling calls, demos, and appointments.

On the contrary, it allows the prospects to connect straight away to the business. You only need to enter your availability preference and share the link with your clients. Similarly, their confirmations will also be automatically updated in the calendar. Calendly is easy to use and can play a crucial role in growing your business.

Key features of Calendly

· Open API

· Calendar integration

· Group events

· Team scheduling

· Reporting and metrics

· Custom and automatic notifications

· Better controls and privacy

7. HubSpot – CRM Tool

Many small scale businesses manage their leads manually. This process is not only time consuming but also distracts them from other crucial business functions. HubSpot CRM is a leading platform that aids the sales team in accelerating their sales and marketing efforts.

It will design attractive online profiles for your company. Furthermore, it will also neatly organise every relevant detail about your customers, prospects, and leads. Apart from this, it will track all your deals and control agent performances through a simple and detailed dashboard.

Key features of Hubspot

· Trustworthy reporting

· Proactive services

· Website integration

· Customise view

· Task and deal board

· Email connections

8. Slack – Team communication software

Slack is advanced software that provides an integrated and comprehensive communication platform for modern teams. It offers real-time file sharing, messaging, searching, and archiving. It makes communication possible at a single online location that is immediately accessible from any connected devices.

Most importantly, it comes with multiple internal and external sharing options that allow you to receive and share documents with anyone. Last but not least, it also offers advanced filters, searches, and sorting options for users.

Key features of Slack

· Tracks and manages documents

· File sharing across workspaces

· RSS feed subscription

· Pinning messages and reference links to channels

· Advanced search modifiers

· Quick navigation

· Data security

· Two-factor authentication

9. Trello – Software for Managing Projects

Are you looking out for software that can place your project details, tasks, and files all in one place? If yes, Trello can be the right software for you. It allows you to check who is working on which project and what is its current status.

Moreover, you can also get the complete details of projects from start to finish on this software. The best part is, Trello helps you in identifying bottlenecks before they occur. For example, you can reassign the tasks of an already overburdened employee to another team member.

Key features of Trello

· In-line editing

· Progress meter checklist

· Drag and drop editing

· Card records archive

· Easy uploading of attachments and files

· Quick overview on back and front of cards

· Data filtering

· Deadline reminders

Takeaway

These were some of the top software options that can help scale your small business. You see, the options are many, but you should go for the software that can help in optimising your business operations. Also, make sure the software you choose has a user-friendly interface with advanced business features.

The right software will help you in building an agile business that can weather any challenge. So, without much ado, pick the right set of software and tools and gain a competitive edge over other players in the market. Good Luck!

Also read:

1) Should You Lease or Buy Equipment for Your Small Business or Startup?
2) Business Ideas: 8 businesses you can start from home easily
3) PoS Machine: Types, Benefits for small businesses & more
4) All About Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs)

FAQs

Q. What are the advantages of software for small businesses?

Ans. The software helps in reducing the workload of the business owners. They help in finishing the tasks at a faster pace, giving them ample time to manage other core business functions.

Q. Which is the best software for managing projects?

Ans. Trello is one of the most popular software when it comes to managing projects. You can manage all the details of past, current, and ongoing projects on this software.

Q. Which is the best software for CRM?

Ans. HubSpot is the best software tool for CRM. It comes with advanced features and a superb user interface.