Small and medium businesses have faced a multitude of obstacles in recent years, such as lockdown restrictions, supply chain issues, labor shortages, and the potential of a global economic recession. Software technology and automation have allowed small companies to adjust their business operations to fit the current climate. Online ordering, contactless transactions, and mobile payments are becoming more common, and small businesses should take advantage of software and technology to reduce costs, keep customers, and reach their goals without breaking the bank. Here are ten software tools designed to meet the needs of small businesses. These tools are user-friendly, cost-effective, adaptable, and come with reliable support options.

Best eCommerce software: Shopify

Shopify is a top eCommerce platform due to its all-in-one hosted solution for small companies. It allows users to create pages with an online editor and sell around the world in local languages. It also offers marketing tools, unique URLs, and integration with social media platforms, as well as plugins to simplify inventory management.

Best project management software: Trello

Trello is a versatile project management tool designed for businesses of all sizes. It can help track marketing campaigns, customer support, content development, data entery, sales tracking, and HR tracking. It does not, however, support budgeting or invoicing, though these documents can be attached. It has useful features such as due dates, card cover photos, users, task commenting, labels, priorities, and attachments such as files, images, or documents.

Best Accounting Software: Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting solution designed to help small businesses monitor performance and cash flow in real-time. It provides features to customize financial reports and track KPIs, the ability to accept online payments in multiple currencies, and tools to create and send invoices with automated payment reminders for overdue invoices.

Best time tracking software: Toggl

Toggl is a great, easy-to-use time tracker for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs. It allows for tracking time across multiple third-party apps and devices and is free, with paid tiers starting at $9/month for additional features. It is a simpler solution with fewer features than many other software solutions and is ideal for those who don’t need all of the extra features.

Best online payment software: PayPal

PayPal and Stripe are two of the most popular online payment solutions, with a shared processing fee. However, PayPal is better suited for small businesses and entrepreneurs due to its ease of use and quick setup. It allows customers to make payments using bank accounts, credit cards, PayPal credits, and Venmo and can be completed with one or two clicks. Overall, PayPal is one of the easiest payment services available.

Best collaboration tools: Slack

Slack is a multi-functional tool for team collaboration, capable of being used on any mobile or desktop device. It is especially useful for businesses with remote employees due to COVID-19 measures, providing features such as audio and video calling, file uploading and sharing, and integration with other business tools such as MailChimp and Google Drive. Slack is increasingly being used as an alternative to email due to its increased efficiency in tracking discussions and files.

Best cold email tool: Hunter.io

Hunter is a email tool used by three million+ professionals to help their businesses connect with important people. It has a suite of tools for small businesses to aid in the cold outreach process – from email lookup, validation, automation, and tracking. Hunter Campaigns allows users to personalize emails, set up follow-ups, track performance, and use a free template library for email insights.

Best human resources/payroll software: Gusto

Gusto is a payroll solution that specializes in providing a streamlined process for managing both full-time and contract or seasonal employees. It enables companies to easily incorporate a new employee and designate which type of worker they are, charges a flat monthly fee instead of a per-payroll cost, and offers additional HR services.

Best document management software: G-Suite

G-Suite is a free cloud computing, collaboration, and productivity solution offered by Google that is ideal for small businesses and freelancers, as it provides an all-in-one document management solution. It provides a suite of individual apps for document creation and sharing, video meetings, email, secure data, and a customizable email address. It also offers 15GB of free cloud storage space with user-defined recipient access and device accessibility.

Best customer relationship management (CRM) software: Act!

This solution is designed to meet the needs of small to medium businesses, allowing them to access the advantages of CRM tools without hidden costs. Key benefits include tiered plans, all-in-one CRM and marketing automation, advanced automation, easy setup, flexible deployment and mobile access, and tech support.