The ever-changing world of apps and technology allows you to work seamlessly in any industry, from any location. Here’s a look at 11 must-have business apps to increase productivity in 2015.
Image via Flickr by mikecogh
Mint
A valuable tool for business or personal finances, the Mint app pulls all your financial data from multiple accounts into one comprehensive screen. Run expense and revenue reports, create budgets, and keep track of your credit, all in one secure location that you can access anywhere.
Invoice2Go
If you are a contractor or small business owner who issues your own invoices, the Invoice2Go app lets you create and keep track of invoices from a range of devices. Charts and reports also let you easily keep track of which invoices are paid and who still owes you money.
EchoSign
Many businesses have left the paper trail in 2014. Theapp EchoSign is free. It was developed by Adobe and allows you to track your documents so that you know when the email is opened, signed, and returned.
If you’re looking for a job, having a profile on LinkedIn is a no-brainer. But the LinkedIn mobile app has a suite of options good for entrepreneurs and employees, too. For example, the Recruiter app is a tool to find and respond to talent, and Sales Navigator is a handy way to connect with people and keep up with your accounts.
The overwhelming onslaught of articles, videos, and blogs is a well-known killer of productivity. The goal of the Pocket app is to rescue you. The app lets you file content to read or view later, and you can save the links directly from your browser or social media sites like Twitter, Pulse, and Zite.
You can also access your saved content (except for video) even if you don’t have an Internet connection.
Asana
The methods of project management have moved almost entirely to the cloud, which is easily accessible through a reliable, high-end cell phone. With the latest smartphone and a trustworthy network, the days of attachments, back-and-forth emails, and mixing up new files with old ones are gone.
Going mobile with the Asana app lets you collaborate with colleagues and update project goals and timelines without the office. Assign tasks, give feedback, and have a virtual conference that informs everyone of progress.
HootSuite
If you’re serious about social media in your business, you’re on at least three platforms: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But Internet immersion often doesn’t stop with the Big Three, so maybe you’re also on Instagram, Vine, and Pinterest.
Whatever social media accounts that you are responsible for, the HootSuite app remains a useful tool for social media management. You can link accounts, schedule posts, and keep up with all your connections in one platform.
Mailbox
It’s so easy to get lost in email, especially if you have to keep up with multiple accounts. The Mailbox app is a mobile-friendly approach to organizing email in your inbox, rather than moving it to external to-do lists.
A partnership with Dropbox also allows the app to sync easily with the online file storage system.
Dropbox
Speaking of Dropbox, the Dropbox app brings most of the desktop features to your phone and tablet. Save space on your hard drive by keeping track of project files, videos, and photos in the cloud. Dropbox also keeps those files secure and when you update a version of a file on your mobile device, it updates on your other devices as well.
Sunrise
Every employee, entrepreneur, or freelancer knows how important it is to have a reliable calendar. The Sunrise appworks with data from calendars that you already have on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google. The app consolidates all of the information in one place and streamlines your meetings, events, and deadlines for the day.
Contactually
You may meet hundreds of people while you’re out doing business, and it’s hard to keep track of all of them — especially the ones you have connected with across multiple social media sites. The Contactually app will remember the details for you, syncing your data across platforms to maintain connections with your contacts.
Which of these business apps have you been using, and what do you think of them? Which apps will you try next?
