Running a small business means handling an endless onslaught of tasks and juggling multiple – sometimes competing – priorities. Staying organized, focused and sane through it all is challenging for every small business owner. Fortunately, productivity apps make it easy to create one centralized place where you and your team can get things done. When you let these programs do the day-to-day busywork, you can use the extra time you've earned back to focus on growing your business and satisfying your customers.
*Please note, all apps are free however will require an upgrade for premium features.
1) OneNote
Credit: OneNote
Microsoft OneNote is a robust note-taking app. It's a great solution for business owners who need to compile a lot of information on various projects in one place. The intuitive notebook layout makes breaking topics or projects into notebooks and sections easy. The program provides a lot of small features. If you copy a quote from an online source, for example, OneNote automatically includes the URL so you can reference it later. OneNote is also stylus-friendly, so on devices like an iPad, Surface, or stylus-friendly tablet, you're able to handwrite notes or mark up your material. OneNote is free, with an Office 365 subscription required for deeper integration with the rest of the suite.
OneNote Key Features
Note taking
OneNote Price
Free
2) Asana
Credit: Asana
Asana is a project management tool and business productivity app aimed at helping teams stay focused on goals, projects and hitting deadlines. Asana integrates goal-setting with a deadline schedule, so you can create projects, set goals and then manage each step of the process. Asana is also a great solution for task management, as you can create different boards to shift tasks as they are completed or communicate with team members in threads under each task. Asana provides some tools to visualize where you are in your project, like project timelines or a team calendar view.
As a productivity tool, Asana provides small business owners with the capability to manage all their important tasks and goals in one place. It integrates with other workplace apps, such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, G Suite and others. Asana provides a free version with limited features for those who want to give it a try, with Premium, Business and Enterprise pricing for larger organizations that want an extended feature set.
Asana Key Features
Project management
Goal setting
Task management
Asana Price
Basic: Free
Premium: $10.99/month billed annuall
Business: $24.99/month billed annually
3) Trello
Credit: Trello
Trello is a good productivity app for process-based projects and tasks. Using Trello involves creating boards and dragging various tasks in between steps. It's a quick, easy and visual way to understand where your workers are in the process. You can set priorities on each task, add attachments, type messages, or assign each task to a group or label. You can also create individual boards for each project. Trello has a free tier with business and enterprise pricing.
Trello Key Features
Project management
Kanban process
Trello Price
Basic: Free
Business Class: $9.99/user per month
Enterprise: $17.50/user per month
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