How to choose the right apps to manage your small business

At Sage, we meet with small business owners regularly to get a complete picture of how their businesses run. We’ve had countless discussions about the tools these business owners use and why they chose them. These are businesses of all types, sizes and ages; but do you know what is common among them?

To some degree, they all use a mix of tools that are either the wrong fit or not connected with each other…or both. One conversation that comes to mind was with a consultant who was using desktop accounting software that she described as “too much” for her needs. This business owner used three separate applications to track time, organize tasks, and collect online payments, none of which were connected to each other. She struggled with sharing pertinent information with her business partner who was in another city. The result was frustration and wasted time as she tried to make it all work, and she’s not alone.

Countless other businesses face the same challenges, but there are ways to tackle these issues. Here are a few tips for choosing the right tools to manage your business more effectively:

• First, make a list of the software and apps you use.


• Review the list for any redundancies.


• If you’re using separate apps for invoicing and accounting, check to see if your accounting app can also create invoices. Maybe your contact management app also has a to-do list. Keeping more of your data in one place reduces extra steps and saves you time.


• With your remaining list of apps, Google or check the website of each one to see if it connects with any of the others on your list.


• Get instructions for setting up the connections between your apps. You may be turned off by the time or seeming technical expertise required to get apps to work together, but the effort may pay for itself many times over. Web-based apps offer more choices for connecting with each other. Look for the “partners” or “add-ons” section of software providers’ websites to learn what connections are possible.


• Use your social networks to ask for recommendations for accounting and business management tools that are the correct fit for your business size, complexity, and industry. Your accountant or CPA may be able to recommend accounting software that allows him or her to view and share accounting data, making it faster and easier to review and adjust financials.

You and your business could probably benefit from having more of your attention put on finding opportunities and servicing customers, right? Well, if you’re like most small business owners, you will appreciate the time-savings and efficiency that consolidating some of your tools into one or two leaner, better-fitting apps will bring you.

About the Author

Mike Savory is a product manager for Sage, with product strategy responsibility for Sage One in North America, part of Sage’s global cloud solution for start-ups and small businesses. Additionally, he is focused on market research, voice of the customer, and helping to coordinate development with other Sage One global platform teams.

Nancy Harris is senior vice president and general manager, Canada, Sage North America. As general manager for the Canadian market, Nancy is responsible for building the Sage brand and growing market share in Canada. Her responsibilities include driving the strategy and day-to-day operations for the small business portfolio, including Sage 50—Canadian Edition and Sage One—Canadian Edition.

Sage One is an online accounting and invoicing solution that helps small businesses stay organized, easily bill and get paid, and track money coming in and going out of the business.

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