The 11 best small business tools every SMB needs to try

For entrepreneurs, small operational changes can save meaningful time and money. Any opportunity to reduce manual effort and gain efficiency is probably worth taking. 

Inserting good tools at the right points in your processes can seriously streamline your work. Which means getting more done in less time, and hopefully higher profit margins. 

I relied extensively on software to make my own work more efficient. All of us here at The Mobile First Company do.

In this article, I’ll explain how we choose the tools we build this small business with. And I share a list of ten tools that my colleagues and I have found useful in our own entrepreneurial journeys.

How to choose the right small business tools

Before diving into our selection of tools, we wanted to share some tips to choosing the best software for your business.

On our side, we always start with the same three elements: pricing, integrations and versatility.

Pricing

As small business employees, we know software can feel a bit too expensive.

Internally, when choosing our tools, we prioritize:

• Tools with a generous free plan.
• Otherwise, we’ll look for tools with a free trial to avoid spending money on a solution we won’t use.
• We’ll always make sure that the pricing is fair. In other words, we check how much the solution is going to cost us in a year from now if we keep growing at the same pace. 
  

Your goal? Avoid being locked into systems that charge a lot as you grow.

Integrations

We always pick tools that play well with the others in our stack. This helps us save time and avoid losing data.

When no integration is available, we check how difficult or expensive it would be to connect this new tool via Zapier:

The native integration with Slack is one of the reasons that made us choose HubSpot as our CRM.

‍

Versatility

Last, we always favor tools that cover a broad spectrum of uses and needs. For example, we use Slack for internal communications, but also to receive automatic alerts, or collaborate with clients. 

Versatile tools help you:

• Save time, because you don’t need to learn how to use multiple tools;
• Save money and effort by limiting the need for extra integrations.
  

Now, it’s time we explain how we picked the tools we recommend in this article.

How we chose the SMB tools on this list

We made sure to include only tools that we’ve used and tested ourselves. Nothing beats real-life experience when it comes to software selection.

As SMB employees ourselves, we know how convenient it is to use tools that offer a generous free plan, a free trial or a fair pricing policy. For this reason, you’ll see that most of the tools we picked offer a free plan.

To make sure we weren’t biased, we also consulted third-party reviews on websites like Capterra, G2 or Trustpilot. Even if we liked a tool, if it had too many mixed or bad reviews we removed it from our list.

Now, it’s time to start with our first pick.

11 great tools to run your small business

1. Best accounting tool: QuickBooks

Accounting has always been a struggle for SMB owners. But technology has come a long way, and good cloud accounting software has changed the equation.

QuickBooks was designed for small businesses. It helps you manage your finances and automate tasks such as invoicing, tracking sales, monitoring expenses, preparing taxes, and generating reports. 

It’s also the tool of choice for many external accountants. So as you grow and need help, you’ll have no trouble finding experts who are familiar and comfortable with it.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface: Designed with non-accountants in mind, it’s accessible to users with varying levels of accounting knowledge.
• Automation: It automates tasks like invoicing, payment reminders, and tax calculations, saving you time.
• Integration: Integrates with many other business tools like PayPal, Shopify, and various banking systems.
  
  

Cons:

• Steep learning curve for the most advanced features: While the basic functions are easy to use, more complex features may require a learning period or assistance from accountants.
• Lack of free tier: QuickBooks doesn’t offer a free plan. They offer a 30-day free trial though.
  

Reviews:

QuickBooks has a 4.4/5 score on Capterra.

Watch this great tutorial video to see QuickBooks in action.

2. Best HR and payroll tool: Gusto

QuickBooks also has payroll, and that might be plenty for smaller businesses. But if you've outgrown that or your needs are more complex, Gusto is one of the best-rated options.

Payroll tools let you keep track of employee salaries, paid time off, benefits, performance reviews, and much more. Gusto is very comprehensive, and there are very few HR tasks it can’t enhance. 

Pros:

• User-friendly interface: Simple, intuitive interface that is easy to navigate for HR professionals and small business owners alike.
• Easy payroll processing: Automates payroll with features like automatic tax filings, direct deposit, and wage garnishments, ensuring compliance with federal and state laws.
• Employee benefits management: Gusto offers benefits management, including health insurance, 401(k) retirement plans, and workers’ compensation, all integrated into one system.
  

Cons:

• US-first: Gusto mainly serves U.S.-based businesses, so it may lack robust support for companies with international employees.
  

Reviews:

Gusto’s score on G2: 4.5 out of 5.

Watch this video review of Gusto to learn more.

3. Best working capital tool: Defacto

25% of small businesses say that cash flow is a serious concern for their futures. You need the necessary capital to invest in initiatives and stimulate growth—and you need it fast. 

Defacto offers fast, flexible financing to SMEs. Just upload outstanding accounts payable or receivable invoices, and Defacto crafts the perfect credit option for your business. 

You’ll receive capital faster than any bank loan, so you can react to seasonal peaks or unexpected down times, and optimize working capital.

Pros: 

• Incredibly fast financing: It takes on average 27 seconds to apply and have your loan approved. 
• More flexible than banks or factoring: You choose the receivables or payables you want to involve in each agreement. 
• No paperwork at all: Simply connect your bank and your accounting tools, and Defacto instantly determines your eligibility and builds a credit offer. 
• Use credit as you need: Dip into your open credit line whenever you need it. You’re not obliged to use the full amount, and can end your loan any time. 
• You can also borrow through your Qonto, Malt, or Pennylane profiles.
  

Cons: 

• Defacto’s fees are among the lowest you’ll find, but there’s always a cost associated with borrowing. 
• Larger businesses may prefer a bank loan or overdraft.
  

Reviews: 

Read why small businesses choose Defacto.

4. Best expense management tool: Spendesk

Just like payroll or accounting, expense management is a hassle for most small business owners.Spendesk found a way to simplify this. 

It offers virtual or physical cards for employees to spend safely, and built a whole software suite to help you track expenses and streamline financial operations. 

For SMB owners, you get control and visibility over company spend. And as an SMB employee, their product has saved me a lot of trouble when I needed to purchase train tickets or software for work.

Pros:

• Comprehensive solution: Spendesk provides tools to manage all aspects of company spending, including corporate cards, invoice payments, and employee reimbursements.
• Real-time: Gives real-time visibility into company expenses with instant notifications, approvals, and customizable spending limits to prevent overspending.
  

Cons:

• Cost: Pricing can be high, especially for small businesses or startups. But it’s ideal if you know that your company is going to grow.
• Learning curve: Setting up and learning the platform's full functionality can take time, especially when implementing complex approval workflows or multiple cards.
  

Reviews:

Spendesk has an average score of 4.5/5 on G2.

See how Spendesk handles employee expenses.

5. Best project management tool: Notion

We put Notion under “project management tool,” but the truth is that you can use it as a lightweight CRM, a collaboration tool, for planning, and much more. You can even use it to create and publish a simple website.

Because it brings so many features together, it’s great to manage projects. You don’t need to jump from platform to platform—calendars, status updates, and communication are all in one place.

Pros:

• Generous free plan: the free plan should be enough, unless your company grows very fast. As a user, I’ve been pleasantly surprised that they don’t push upgrades more aggressively.
• All-in-one: Notion is great for project management as it lets you set deadlines, organize your data, assign tasks, etc. But it can do much more.
• Broad community: Notion has attracted a large community of users. They share templates, tutorials and tips that can make your life easier.
  

Cons:

• Learning curve: Notion is such a versatile product that it can take time to understand how much you can do with it. Take the time to watch a few tutorials before diving into it.
  

Reviews:

Notion has an average score of 4.7/5 on G2.

Watch this great video guide to using Notion.

6. Best phone management system: Allô

Answering the phone can feel like an unnecessary distraction when you’re building products, serving customers, and otherwise running your company. But it’s also a fundamental part of doing business, and needs to be done with care. 

Allô is a mobile app that uses AI to lower the burden of handling phone calls. Their tool can answer your calls for you, send you transcripts, let your people book a meeting with you, and more. It’s really a world-class AI answering service.

Pros:

• Reliability: I was a bit afraid to let an AI handle my calls. But a few weeks in, I can tell you it works perfectly.
• Versatility: it seems the app can handle all kinds of calls. And when it doesn’t know what to do, it prompts the user to get in touch with you directly.
  

Cons:

• Currently, the app doesn’t offer a free plan or a free trial.
• The app is only available in France, UK and the United States at the moment.
  

Here’s a nice Âllo introductory video.

7. Best internal communication tool: Slack

If you’re a Microsoft fan, chances are you’re using Teams internally. If you’re not, I recommend checking out Slack.

The internal chat is easy to use, integrates with tons of features and works very well on the go. You can create team channels, have private conversations, and build your own bots on top of it. It will quickly become the hub of your company’s internal communications—where everything important happens. 

Pros:

• User-friendly: Slack’s interface is clear, and their mobile app is very easy to use.
• Integrations: Slack’s superpower lies in its integrations. Connect it to your live chat, your Calendar, project management tools, and more.
• Generous free plan: if you’re on the free plan, you have access to pretty much everything. The main limit will concern how long you can store your conversation history.
  

Cons:

• Annoying upgrade prompts: Slack has started to push for upgrades more aggressively. This results in more “we’ve activated your free Pro trial” in-app messages.
  

Reviews:

Slack boasts a 4.5/5 score on G2.

8. Best CRM: HubSpot

Small businesses, like all businesses, need fresh leads to build a sustainable business. HubSpot will help you with just that. It stores and organizes contacts, keeps a log of interactions, and helps you build out your customer “funnel” in practical terms.

Use it to build your marketing pages, capture leads on your website, send email newsletters, and more. It’s built to be the only marketing tool most small businesses need, and it delivers on that goal. 

Pros:

• Ease-of-use: if you’ve ever tested Salesforce, you know how difficult a CRM can be. With HubSpot, everything is easy.
• All-in-one: they offer a CRM, but also a content management system (CMS), an email marketing platform, a booking page, etc.
• Generous free plan: most SMBs can stay on the free plan.
  

Cons:

• Basic: HubSpot is an all-in-one tool. As such, it’s not built to be easily customizable. I struggled to implement my company’s branding in emails at first, and couldn’t get my meeting booking page exactly like I wanted.
• Expensive pricing: if you ever have to upgrade, their plans are quite expensive and might require a mandatory paid training call.
  

Reviews: 

HubSpot has an average score of 4.4/5 on G2. 

Watch this HubSpot CRM introductory tutorial. 

9. Best design tool: Canva

Have you ever needed to design an illustration for your company’s Instagram account? To prepare an eye-catching presentation? To design a flyer?

If so, you probably found it harder than you’d like. You should have used Canva, the only design tool that doesn’t require you to watch dozens of hours of tutorials to know how to use it (Photoshop users, you know what we’re talking about).

It makes design easy for those of us who aren’t trained designers. Which removes a serious bottleneck in marketing and promoting your business.

Pros:

• Powerful yet user friendly: Canva is powerful enough for an SMB user. And yet, you know instantly how to use it. It’s almost as complete as Photoshop, and as easy-to-use as Powerpoint.
• Templates: they provide tons of templates that work very well for small businesses.
• Supports video: on their paid plans, you can also edit videos. 
  

Cons:

• The free version can be a bit limiting. You might have to upgrade at some point. But don’t worry, plans start at $12/month.
  

Reviews:

Canva has an impressive 4.7/5 score on G2.

Watch this quick Canva tutorial video for beginners.

10. Best social media tool: Buffer

Managing social media has become increasingly difficult. While it was previously okay to just have a Facebook page, most small businesses now have to be on multiple social media like Instagram, Snapchat and Linkedin.

Buffer makes it easier to find ideas for good content (using AI) and schedule your posts across your different channels. You can set social media policies and arrange your promotion plan for weeks in advance, and anyone in the team can easily adjust or post when they need to. 

It’s a safer, more efficient way to post as a business.

Pros:

• They offer a generous free plan.
• They support most social networks, including less popular ones like Mastodon.
  

Cons:

• I found their integration with LinkedIn underwhelming. But LinkedIn is known to be difficult for third-party developers like Buffer.
• A few recent reviews mentioned bugs, but we haven’t experienced them ourselves.
  

Reviews:

Buffer averages 4.3/5 on G2.

11. Best e-signature solution: Yousign

If you require clients to sign offers or contracts, you need an e-signature app. Ideally it’ll be easy, affordable, and efficient to use. Which describes Yousign exactly. 

It’s easier to use and cheaper than DocuSign, and it works just as well. What’s not to love?

Pros:

• User friendly: Yousign is very intuitive and well-designed.
• Team friendly: Collaborating on documents is easy.
  

Cons:

• Their free plan will let you collect only two signatures per month.
• Many reviews mention difficulties in canceling their paid plan. Make sure to check the cancellation terms.
  

Watch this tutorial video to see how to use Yousign.

Reviews:

Yousign has an average 4.1/5 score on Trustpilot.

Find the tools that empower your small business

I sincerely hope this list has helped. In the end, the right platforms and software depend a lot on your specific small business and its biggest challenges. 

Look for tools that: 

• Save you real time and energy, and aren’t just shiny “nice-to-haves”
• Also save you money. Either because they’re cheap or free, or because they add to your profit margins.
• Are easy and enjoyable to use. Even if you’re a tech native and can figure things out quickly, others on your team won’t be so lucky. 
  

So start experimenting, and have fun!

‍

About the author

Maria Correa is Content Manager and UX Writer at The Mobile First Company, which helps builds B2B businesses build mobile apps and services.