Running a small business is not an easy task. For much of the time, it requires a huge amount of determination and drive, and often involves trying to find money and particularly time that just isn’t readily available.
As an IT solutions provider for small businesses, we at EC-MSP understand this all too well and that is why we always endeavour to offer advice and guidance that can help small businesses to best utilise technology in walking that daily tight rope that is their general existence. In this particular post, we have identified three key types of technology tool (software, apps etc.) that are ideal for all small and medium sized enterprises and which could make all the difference for your own company.
Productivity Tools
One of the unquestionably less controversial but perhaps most unfairly overlooked aspects of George Osborne’s recent budget announcement was the revelation that general productivity in the UK is improving far less quickly than it was hoped. Productivity is obviously a hot button issue for all small businesses, who need to be as efficient and to use time as effectively as possible, and fortunately there are a raft of tech tools in this area which can help.
These software solutions, apps and suites work by speeding up, simplifying and drawing together many diverse day to day business tasks, and as such improve the efficacy of a workforce and as a result the productivity of a business. Some of the best known and most useful include the likes of Microsoft Office 365, Google Apps and Evernote, but there are many others around too for a small business to choose from.
Project Management Tools
It is the very nature of businesses – be they large or small – to often require a number of diverse individuals to work together effectively on a range of different projects. Staying on top of those projects, their contributors and their progress therefore, is absolutely vital for the management of any company.
Project management software and tools are aimed at making this simpler and easier, by allowing you to track ongoing work, coordinate tasks, organise documents and collaborate with a project’s contributors all in one place. There are a variety of these types of tool around including the well-known Asana and Basecamp and whatever your sector, you are sure to be able to find one to suit your projects and your staff.
Financial Tools
Finances are in every way imaginable, a vital element of a small business’s operation. Financial planning, accounting and payments are just three examples of crucial areas that all businesses must manage and fortunately there are tech tools that can help you to do just that.
There is a plethora of choice around when it comes to accounting software, with both traditional and cloud-based suites providing a great service to businesses. What’s more, many solutions also provide financial management capability and e-wallet services such as Paypal can also be invaluable to small businesses when it comes to making and receiving quick and reliable payments.
Hopefully this whistle stop tour of some of the main types of tech tool that could help your business has opened up some interesting avenues, and if you want to talk more about how your company’s technology could be improved EC-MSP’s advisors are always close at hand.
