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18 Software Tools that Can Greatly Increase Your Business Productivity
18 Software Tools that Can Greatly Increase Your Business Productivity
In search of the most effective software tools to boost business productivity, we posed a question to a diverse group of professionals, including co-founders and managing directors. From boosting online visibility with SimplyBeFound.com to staying focused with the Momentum Chrome Extension, we’ve gathered eighteen insightful responses that could revolutionize the way you do business.
- Boost Online Visibility with SimplyBeFound.com
- Manage Emails Efficiently with Mozilla Thunderbird
- Grow Productivity with Virtual Coworking via Focusmate
- Streamline Communication with Slack
- Capture Ideas on the Go with Evernote
- Optimize Meetings with Calendly
- Track Time Effectively with Toggl
- Organize Tasks with Asana
- Level Up Scheduling with TeamUp
- Provide Visual Feedback with Loom
- Structure Projects Effectively with Trello
- Simplify Deployment with Heroku
- Cut Repetitive Text with Typedesk
- Prioritize Tasks with Motion
- Manage Businesses with Wrike
- Visualize Data with Looker Studio
- Automate Tasks with Snov.io
- Stay Focused with Momentum Chrome Extension
Boost Online Visibility with SimplyBeFound.com
SimplyBeFound.com, an easy-to-use local SEO platform, has greatly increased my business productivity. It helps small businesses get found online in 5-10 minutes per day. SimplyBeFound.com has helped thousands of small businesses, and I believe it is a valuable tool for any small business that wants to improve its online visibility and attract more customers.
As the co-founder of SimplyBeFound.com, I have seen firsthand how it has helped small businesses to grow and succeed. I am passionate about helping small businesses, and I believe that SimplyBeFound.com is a valuable tool for any small business that wants to improve its online visibility and attract more customers.
Robert Downey, Co-Founder, Simply Be Found
Manage Emails Efficiently with Mozilla Thunderbird
Business owners and executives often have to deal with more than one email address. Modern smartphones have plenty of mail applications that can integrate all of those accounts into one user interface, but on a laptop or desktop, many people think Outlook is their only viable option.
Mozilla Thunderbird is a completely free, secure, open-source Outlook alternative which just celebrated its 20th anniversary. It’s feature-rich and doesn’t lock you into a vendor ecosystem like Outlook, which tries to pull you into an Office 365 subscription. Thunderbird allows you to easily manage all of your email accounts on your laptop in one clean, easy interface the same way you can on a smartphone. Even better, Mozilla just released a comprehensive overhaul of Thunderbird a few months ago called Supernova that substantially upgraded the software.
I’ve deployed Thunderbird in multiple business settings and recommend it to most any entrepreneur or business owner who isn’t using Microsoft Exchange.
Nick Gausling, Managing Director, Romy Group LLC
Grow Productivity with Virtual Coworking via Focusmate
When I really need to buckle down and get work done, I use Focusmate to match me with a virtual coworking partner. These are real people doing real work, ready to support and motivate you the same way you help them.
The Focusmate community is incredible and full of successful entrepreneurs and business people of all stripes. There’s a huge value in working alongside someone who has their own goals and responsibilities but shares your dedication to maximizing productivity in the time you have. I’ve met some great people and gotten a lot done—it reminds me of why I became an entrepreneur in the first place.
Mark Varnas, Principal SQL Server DBA and Consultant, Red9
Streamline Communication with Slack
A software tool that has greatly increased my business productivity is Slack. It streamlines communication, allowing for quick, organized conversations and file sharing. This tool can be applied in other businesses to improve team collaboration and reduce email overload.
Ilija Sekulov, Marketing and SEO, Mailbutler
Capture Ideas on the Go with Evernote
Evernote may not be on everyone’s list of productivity tools, but I believe it is the best note-taking program for individuals who want to collect ideas on the fly. Instead of scribbling thoughts on a piece of paper, utilize the Evernote app to have access to those notes across different devices whenever you need them.
Evernote also allows you to tag your notes and instantly discover them using its powerful search capability. The cool features do not end there… Evernote allows you to upload files, clip site screenshots, scan papers, and share anything with those who matter in your team.
Tim Parker, Director, Syntax Integration
Optimize Meetings with Calendly
Calendly was an incredibly useful addition to our tech stack here at GoodHire, helping both our staff and managers optimize meetings and greatly increase business productivity. Calendly is a calendar and meeting tool that can be of great help to every team or individual within an organization, while also boosting cross-team and customer-facing communication, management, and key business intelligence sharing.
Max Wesman, Chief Operating Officer, GoodHire
Track Time Effectively with Toggl
Being a company that trials and recommends tech to other companies, it’s imperative that we stay up to date on the latest and greatest technology trends. Working productively is essential, and we have found that Toggl is one of the best time-tracking tools for our business.
Being the CTO, I have had to trial a fair few options. But the time-tracking feature that Toggl is built upon is extremely helpful when logging how much time a project takes, and how much more time it needs until it’s complete. It also helps us all keep our product trials within reasonable timing bounds and helps us better establish expectations when it comes to trying out new products and software.
Before we began using Toggl, we wouldn’t know if a project was going to take three days or seven days. Now we can track minutes spent on different elements of a project to create reasonable expectations that allow us to better map our team productivity.
Jack Vivian, Chief Technology Officer, Increditools
Organize Tasks with Asana
In my capacity as a content editor, the software that significantly boosted my efficiency is Asana. Asana is a project-management tool that excels in organizing tasks, setting deadlines, and facilitating team collaboration. It’s particularly helpful in tracking the progress of multiple editing projects simultaneously.
An instance where Asana proved invaluable was during a complex editorial campaign involving several team members. It enabled us to clearly delineate responsibilities, monitor individual progress, and meet our collective deadlines effectively.
In other business environments, Asana can be equally transformative. It’s ideal for managing diverse projects in sectors like marketing, software development, and event planning. By offering a clear, visual representation of tasks and timelines, Asana helps businesses of all sizes maintain organization, enhance team accountability, and streamline their workflows.
Nidhi Thakur, Co-Founder and Editor, Earthtechy
Level Up Scheduling with TeamUp
For me, that tool was our very own cloud-based calendar solution, TeamUp.
We initially developed TeamUp to address our internal scheduling challenges. We were spending too much time coordinating meetings, managing resources, and juggling multiple calendars. We needed a solution that could streamline these processes, and that’s how TeamUp was born.
One of the very first features we developed for TeamUp was “access control for meeting rooms,” which revolutionized our scheduling process by reducing conflicts and improving room utilization. Recognizing its impact, we adapted this feature for fitness businesses, transforming it into “access control for facilities,” enabling them to efficiently manage access to their facilities based on class schedules.
While TeamUp was initially designed with a broad application, we’ve since tailored it specifically for fitness businesses. It’s been a game-changer for us and the fitness industry.
Laia Quintana, Head of Marketing and Sales, TeamUp
Provide Visual Feedback with Loom
Given that we are a SaaS company, recruiting top-tier developers is our main goal. Our industry-specific requirements led us to create test tasks that applicants must solve before their initial interview. We are eager to offer feedback to every applicant, although, regrettably, it is not always favorable, especially when we discover bugs.
To effectively illustrate these issues, we utilize the Loom video service. Unlike screenshots, which are quite limiting, short videos are the best way to demonstrate some bugs. Creating numerous screenshots can be time-consuming, and Loom streamlines this process by allowing us to record videos that are easily accessible online. This eliminates concerns about file size and quantity, which would be critical if such videos were shared as email attachments.
Leveraging Loom facilitates our ability to provide timely, visually supported feedback to applicants, helping us in finding the best team members in the market.
Daria Erina, Managing Director, Linked Helper
Structure Projects Effectively with Trello
It’s a simple tool, but Trello has done wonders for our business productivity. It has not only allowed us to structure different projects more effectively, but it has also provided our employees with a way to assess project progress, determine whether colleagues need assistance with different tasks, and identify bottlenecks in different processes.
Trello has become such an important part of the way that we operate at Oxygen Plus. Our employees love it, and it has helped us improve in a lot of ways.
Lauren Carlstrom, COO, Oxygen Plus
Simplify Deployment with Heroku
I use Heroku as a nearly all-purpose deployment option for small applications that my team builds to manage automation on the operations side. Heroku makes build and deployment very simple. The pricing is very reasonable. We can easily run jobs and host sites that require a UI or API. It’s amazing how much we can get done with this great and longstanding tool.
Trevor Ewen, COO, QBench
Cut Repetitive Text with Typedesk
You can save hours in your workweek by cutting out repetitive text using Typedesk. Whenever I get an email that needs a quick confirmation, or needs to do something repetitive like send a Calendly link, I use Typedesk to turn minutes into a single second.
A macro like “;confirm” or “;calendly” will fill out all the details based on clickable criteria you prescribe. One word, a few button clicks, and a confirmation. I’m more productive and am left with more time available to focus on my real, fulfilling work.
Michael Power, CMO, DTF Transfers
Prioritize Tasks with Motion
Motion has greatly improved my decision-making process by doing the “thinking” for me. I now have a pre-made to-do list prioritized in order of importance.
Tasks with deadlines, time estimations, priority, and reoccurrence are input into Motion. The predictive AI then aggregates these tasks and provides a daily task list, effectively implementing automatic calendar time-blocking.
Motion is particularly useful when there’s a lot to do, especially with small tasks that can feel overwhelming. It allows me to jump straight into the doing and spend less time feeling overwhelmed by the tasks. While inputting all your tasks initially can be time-consuming, it becomes easier as many tasks will be recurring.
Additionally, when I have ideas on the go, I can quickly input them into Motion via the mobile app, and the AI will schedule the task for completion. This ensures that my to-do list doesn’t get lost on a piece of paper or buried within a notes app on my phone. I highly recommend it.
Zoe Ashbridge, Co-Founder and Senior SEO Strategist, Forank
Manage Businesses with Wrike
Wrike is my go-to software for improving business and employees’ productivity. Managing small businesses requires due diligence, and a single mistake could cost the business a fortune. This tool is valuable and supportive as it offers customized workflows, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, and other features required to manage businesses.
It’s an open board for employees, which helps them stay updated in real-time. If you want to streamline your business activities and reduce repetitive tasks, Wrike has the solution for you.
Janice Hawkins, Group Sales and Marketing Manager, Future Care Group
Visualize Data with Looker Studio
A core aspect of business productivity involves looking into the data and numbers behind your input and output to identify gaps and make necessary changes. One tool that has been pivotal in helping us gain this clarity is Looker Studio.
With the option to create custom dashboards, custom reporting systems, and pull data from any source you link it to, it streamlines data visualization, making complex analytics accessible. Companies can leverage this visual overview to make comparisons and evaluations of their productivity before they take action.
Whether in marketing, finance, or operations, productivity comes down to numbers, and this data visualization feature is a handy tool to understand the input versus output pertaining to employee data and productivity in your company. Regardless of your industry, once you’ve transformed raw data into actionable insights, you’re in a better position to deploy informed and agile business strategies that ultimately enhance productivity.
Jess Rodley, Director of Operations, Dialed Labs
Automate Tasks with Snov.io
If your business regularly uses emails for different outreach and marketing purposes, I would highly recommend you get the premium version of Snov.io.
Finding emails, creating automated email campaigns, and streamlining all my lead generation tasks has never been easier. Snov.io can be your ultimate marketing software tool that can decrease your work time by 60% just by automating tasks and completing them in bulk. Snov.io is a tool that can work for any niche and get your tasks done with maximum ROI if email outreach is your preferred method of contacting others.
While we apply it for ourselves for cold outreach businesses and pitching our agency services, it can help professionals set up more appointments, assist businesses with their email newsletters, and aid SEO teams with link-building. For every positive outcome for your business, Snov.io has a tool to help you get there.
Jon Kelly, SEO Specialist, 1st On The List
Stay Focused with Momentum Chrome Extension
The Momentum Chrome extension is brilliant when it comes to keeping you focused on specific tasks. You can set your daily goal, and it will show you how close you are to the end of your day, so you know each time you open a Chrome tab how much time you have to get that one goal completed. It really helps you stop checking social media or other websites during working hours.
Justin Silverman, Founder and CEO, Merchynt