![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/circlehub.net\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/CircleHub-The-10-Most-Useful-Apps-for-a-Small-Business-Freshbooks.jpg\")
<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nEver wished that things were a little simpler when it comes to payroll, insurance and tax<\/strong>?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Well, they can be, but you will need to download the Gusto app first.<\/a> Then, prepare to be dazzled by the sheer array of services offered by the company, including:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Gusto is free to try for the first month. If you decide that you love the app, you can then sign up to a monthly subscription. Various price plans are available, with prices starting from around $40 a month.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Accounting is something that many small business owners dislike, so here\u2019s another app to help you cut back on the amount of time you spend poured over those figures. Freshbooks<\/a> is an app that makes it easy for small business owners, as well as freelancers, to keep track of invoices.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you hate chasing up customers for unpaid invoices, those days will be behind you, since Freshbooks will do all of that for you. Of course, the invoices you create can be customized in terms of color and style, so that the overall branding matches that of your business.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Expenses are covered with this app as well – simply take photos of your receipts and the app will organize them for you, enabling you to assign them to specific clients and add them to invoices.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n As an added bonus, it is also extremely easy to get a quick snapshot of exactly how profitable your business currently is with this app, with profit and loss accounts being just a click away.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Subscription prices for Freshbooks starts at just $15 a month<\/strong>, but the company regularly has special deals and offers on, so be sure to check for these when purchasing. They also offer a 30 day free trial to give you a fair chance to get acquainted with their services.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Do you sometimes find that all of the digital distractions in your life get in the way of your productivity?<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This is a common problem, and is one that RescueTime aims to fix. According to the app<\/a>, only 10% of people say that they feel \u201cin control\u201d of how they spend their days, <\/strong>and RescueTime wants to help with this. The app runs in the background of your phone, and tracks the amount of time you spend on different apps and websites. At the end of the day, the app will send you a detailed report, showing you exactly how you spent your time.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Wondering how this is helpful?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Because you can then set alerts in the app to notify you when you have spent a specific amount of time on a certain activity. For example, you can limit the amount of time you spend browsing social media platforms throughout the day, or you can even block certain websites, ones that you know distract you, during work hours.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In addition to using RescueTime for yourself, you can also use the app to help your entire team. <\/strong>Don\u2019t worry, it does not invade their privacy in any way, but instead makes a huge difference to productivity.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Just like most of the other apps on this list, RescueTime offers a free trial. They do also have a<\/strong> free subscription plan available<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>although many of the app\u2019s best features won\u2019t be available to you through this. If you\u2019re willing to pay, prices start at just $6 a month.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Whether you\u2019re a small business or a freelancer, chances are that you may have already used Slack<\/a> at some point in your career, with this app being extremely helpful.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Slack stands for Searchable Log of All Conversation and Knowledge, and was actually first created as an online tool for a game that is no longer running. In 2013, the app was launched as a business tool, focused on encouraging and facilitating online collaboration.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n How does the app do this?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n In a number of ways, such as:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Don\u2019t believe how much Slack could help your business?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Take a look at some of the big-name companies that are already using the app to help run their business:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If your team is still small, Slack has a free version <\/strong>that should work well for you. However, if you want a few extra benefits, and are managing a slightly larger team, then prices for the app begin at just $8.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you struggle to stay on top of your business\u2019 social media presence, then Brand24<\/a> could be a huge game-changer. As you probably already know, an online presence is so important for a small business, as well as for a freelancer, but, with everything else you have going on, who can blame you for slipping up when it comes to keeping track of how your brand is doing online?\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Well, Brand24 was created to help businesses protect, maintain and boost their online reputation.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n How?<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n By notifying you each time your brand is mentioned online, whether this may be on social media, on a forum, or anywhere else. If you happen to receive a negative mention, the app then makes it easy for you to easily click into that discussion, so that you can turn things around again.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The app will also help you to keep track of the interactions you receive across all of your social media platforms, creating reports and infographics to show you exactly what your social reach is. If you happen to use Slack (listed above) these two apps integrate well with each other.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Brand24 offers a two week free trial. After this, prices start at $49 per month<\/strong>, with plans allowing you to add other team members in.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n If you have ever looked into POS systems<\/strong> for your business, then chances are that you have already come across Square<\/a>. This was one of the very first companies to sell card readers that are able to attach to a smartphone, although PayPal quickly followed with a version of their own.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Of course, PayPal and Square are often compared, with the benefits to Square being:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n All in all, the POS system offered by Square is more advanced than PayPal\u2019s, making it no surprise that Square is the system most end up choosing.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Customer loyalty can make or break a small business, and Spendgo<\/a> understands that, which is why their app is designed to help create customer loyalty programs and launch promotions.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The app collects and organizes customer data (don\u2019t worry, they would never sell your customer data to any other company, and will do what is needed to keep you fully compliant) – whether your customers have physically visited your store, purchased something online, or simply used their smartphone to visit your website, Spendgo will know.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The app will then use this information to help you to create loyalty programs, such as a points-based rewards system for loyal customers. Push promotions are possible too, and their third party messaging platforms means that you can also send emails or text messages to your customers.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n You probably want to know how much Spendgo costs\u2026<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Since their prices are quite customized, you would need to contact the company directly for a quote.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n This is another app for those who often find themselves distracted by things they see online. Rather than wasting your precious working hours being unproductive, Pocket<\/a> is an app that makes it so easy for you to save all of those digital distractions, so that you can then look them over later, in your own time.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n The app allows you to save content from just about anywhere, whether it be a website, a PDF, an app (more than 1500 apps can be integrated with Pocket) or anything else. If you download the app on multiple devices, all of your saved items can be viewed on all devices – something that is especially convenient for those who have separate devices for work and leisure.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Pocket is free to use, <\/strong>but if you would like a version of the app that does not display any adverts, and that also offers a few extra features, you can opt for a monthly or annual membership, with prices beginning at only $3.95 a month.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Freshbooks<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
RescueTime<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Slack<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"Computer](\"https:\/\/circlehub.net\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/CircleHub-The-10-Most-Useful-Apps-for-a-Small-Business-Slack.jpg\")
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Brand24<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Square<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/circlehub.net\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/CircleHub-The-10-Most-Useful-Apps-for-a-Small-Business-Square.jpg\")
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Spendgo<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Pocket<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Google Drive<\/strong><\/h1>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
![\"Hand](\"https:\/\/circlehub.net\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/CircleHub-The-10-Most-Useful-Apps-for-a-Small-Business-Google-Drive.jpg\")
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