30 Best Small Business Apps in 2020

When you’re a small business owner, you’re expected to have all the answers. Such as solving problems, communicating with employees and customers, marketing, managing finances, and the list goes on. There is no doubt you’re constantly searching for ways to increase productivity while competing with bigger companies but with little to no spare manpower. And let’s not forget that your customers expect the best customer experience, it makes no difference to them if you’re a small business or a large enterprise. So to make your life a bit easier, you need the best small business apps.

And we know that in today’s world, everyone has a smartphone, that’s why so many small business owners are making the move to small business apps – they need their employees to get work done from anywhere, at any time.

What you are looking for in small business apps?

Affordable.

No commitment plans.

Easy to use.

Can scale with your business.

Great customer service if you need assistance.

Must have a direct impact on investment very fast.

We created a list of the 30 best small business apps for 2020. Actually, we went a step further and categorized the apps into seven categories for clear and easy navigation! The seven categories include:

1. Small business management apps

2. Payment apps for small businesses

3. Finance and accounting apps

4. Time management apps

5. Project management apps

6. Job scheduling apps

7. Org chart software

8. Other favorites

Use the apps to communicate with all your employees, manage payroll, job scheduling and so much more. When you have the right small business apps in your pocket, you can accomplish more than you thought while growing your business.

The 30 best small business apps in 2020:

Small business management apps:

1. Connecteam

When we include Connecteam on this list, you can do far more than just manage your employees. For instance, you can communicate, operate and train your employees all from one place with an easy-to-use app.

Connecteam offers a full package so that you can easily manage all your employees from one place. From the minute an employee begins onboarding to daily communication to time tracking, job scheduling, and operational procedures, Connecteam has it all. This way, your employees are more productive, are easily kept in the loop, and you have full visibility on what is going on.

Connecteam’s operational features include an employee time clock so you can simply track work hours, checklists and forms so all workflows and procedures are online, and also employee scheduling.

Internal communication features include customizable chat options with private or group conversations, an employee directory available directly on the app, immediate updates through channels, surveys, a suggestion box and more.

Create professional courses for easy employee training, add policies with read & sign option, build a searchable library, conduct quizzes and more.

The best thing about it is that you can truly have an all-in-one solution to manage your employees, instead of integrating multiple solutions which will be far more complicated, time-consuming and expensive.

Connecteam is trusted by more than 8,000 companies and offers fixed monthly pricing plans, starting at $29 for up to 200 users. Start with the free plan to see what the best small business management app is all about!

2. SAP SuccessFactors

SAP SuccessFactors employee app

SAP SuccessFactors makes it simple to engage your entire workforce and complete HR tasks. A main feature of SAP is to boost productivity – connect all your employees so they receive key information and processes no matter where they are. It includes self-service tools for managers, employees, and HR, this way everyone stays on time of critical tasks.

With its HCM feature, “you can automate your people processes, improve visibility and efficiency, and transform your business turning strategy into execution every day.” If you’re interested, this small business app costs $84.53/year/user.

3. Gusto

Gusto management app

So you want to improve onboarding, compliance and more? Gusto’s HR Tools is what you need. Transition everything from pen and paper to online – from forms to contracts to onboarding material and beyond. Send out surveys and act on the feedback received. Gusto is integrated with payroll so you save loads of time, remain compliant and all employees are kept in the loop.

You can explore Gusto free for a month and then choose from three pricing plans: Concierge at $12/mo per person plus $149/mo base, Complete $12/mo per person plus $39/mo base, or Core $6/mo per person plus $39/mo base. Review what features each plan includes so you can ensure you’re really getting the total package.

4. Workday

Workday employee software

Workday boasts of a single small business app for HR and finance so you can make better choices based on data and not guesswork. With this app, you can easily engage all your employees and it is customizable at any moment. Through their Workday Human Capital Management (HCM), as a manager, you hold all the cards to efficiently and effectively plan, recruit, and develop talent in just a click. This easy to use, user-friendly small business app seamlessly takes your employees from day one to their last day. Chat with a representative to get a price quote.

5. Xero

Xero software

This New Zealand company allows you to monitor your cash flow in real-time. Send invoices (and see when they’ve been opened), create expense claims, and import and categorize all your latest bank transactions. There are dozens and dozens of more features that Xero offers and it also integrates with over 700 small business apps, like PayPal. Start a 30 day free trial and then choose from 3 plans: Early $9/month, Growing $30/month, or Established $60/month. Carefully review what each pricing plan includes as not each one is suitable for your business size and needs.

Payment apps for small businesses:

6. PayPal

PayPal business account

If you haven’t heard of PayPal, it’s time to get educated as millions of people and companies use it worldwide. Their “Personal” plan makes it easy to send and receive money from friends and family. Through their “Business” plan, you can easily get paid directly on your website or app, in your store or on the move, and also by email or phone. Over 19 million stores accept PayPal and you can too.

With PayPal’s business plan, you can efficiently get paid online or in-person, get online invoicing, a customized checkout, or a card reader on-the-go transactions. You can even manage your day-to-day business needs like tracking payments. Sign up is free for this payment apps for small businesses but there are fees for selling and accepting payments – review their Merchant fees page to learn more.

7. Square

Square mobile payments

Doesn’t matter where you sell, Square allows you to easily accept all payments; from accepting credit and debit card payments on your phone to building a custom solution on Square’s payment platform, or selling your products online. Additionally, you can, “Get real-time analytics and sales data, send a marketing email and online invoices to your customers, manage your locations and employees, and even run it all on our hardware.” Check out their pricing page to know exactly what it will cost your business.

8. Venmo

Venmo for business

Last on our list of payment apps for small businesses is Venmo. Venmo isn’t just for splitting cab fares or sharing payments with friends, their social commerce platform allows you to do so much more. When customers checkout on mobile or desktop, Venmo steps in to connect real friends who can share what they experienced and bought. That network of friends can then view, like, and comment on a shared purchase – which means your brand gains a lot more exposure.

In other words, “Paying with Venmo allows customers on iOS and Android devices to make purchases using their Venmo account. Customers can connect their Venmo wallet to your mobile app or mobile website, and then seamlessly pay for all future transactions via Venmo without having to reauthorize in the Venmo app.” Standard pricing applies, 2.9% + $.30 per transaction.

Finance and accounting apps:

9. QuickBooks

quickbooks online software

Quickbooks Online makes it super easy to manage all business needs, no matter the size of your company. Easily track expenses, create and send forms (such as quotes, invoices, accounting reports, etc.), know where your cash flow stands – its user-friendly dashboard presents everything in a way that’s simple to understand.

Start a free 30-day trial and then you need to choose from a pricing plan: simple start ($15/month), essentials ($23/month), or plus ($31/month).

10. Wave

wave free payment software

With Wave, you can track income and expenses, create and send invoices (from desktop or mobile), recurring billing, and scan receipts from anywhere. The Wave dashboard is easy to navigate and was built especially for small business owners. Maybe that’s why this small business app is completely free – yes, you read that right.

Time management apps:

11. RescueTime

rescuetime time management apps

RescueTime runs in the background of your mobile phone or desktop, it tracks the time you spend on applications and websites so you have an accurate picture of your day, and it sends you a detailed report based on your activity. RescueTime will set alerts so you know how much time was spent on an activity, block distracting websites, you can pause RescueTime at any time (like if you’re on vacation), detailed answers on how much time you spent reading emails, scrolling social media, etc. Once you know where you’re wasting time and how much of it, you can be far more productive!

Choose their free for life plan to really understand how you spend your time or choose their Premium plan that costs $9/month (includes a 14-day free trial) and is way more in-depth than the free plan.

12. My Minutes

myminutes software

You can set personal goals like the minimum or maximum amount of time you actually want to put into a task. For example, spending “at least”1-hour exercising, or “at most” 30 minutes checking your email. Set days for when your tasks repeat and My Minutes will remind you about them. As your “streaks” change to green, you will be more motivated to tackle them again and again. This small business app is free to use and helps you manage your personal time far more productively.

13. Toggl

toggl software

Toggl can help boost productivity, it is “The simplest time tracker to help you get things done. Ideal for teams, freelancers & agencies.” All you need to do is push a button. Toggl will quickly break down the numbers and the data is laid out at your feet in a clear, easy to understand format. Plus, the Toggl Button browser extension efficiently allows you to track your time in over 80 online tools. Once all the data is accessible and you see where all your time is spent, you can adjust as you need. Pricing starts at $9/month/per user, $18/month/per user, or chat with a representative about their Enterprise plan.

14. When I Work

when i work software

If you have up to 75 employees, When I Work is the solution for you. While it might be a job scheduling app more than a personal time tracker, it will help you track where and how your employees are spending their time. You can help stop buddy punching with GPS location clock in and clock out, easily see where bottlenecks are in your company and create a job schedule that works for everyone. If you have up to 75 employees, this time management app is totally free. However, if you need a plan for over 75 employees, you need to contact a representative.

15. Schedule Planner

schedule planner software

If you need daily planning helped, Schedule Planner is the answer. All tasks are organized by category and priority. Schedule Planner is easy to use, practical and has a sleek user interface. Users can create plans from scratch or choose a pre-existing one. Chat with a customer service representative about pricing.

Project management apps:

16. Monday

Monday software

Monday is a project management app that clearly organizes all tasks and boosts team communication. Just create a project, add tasks to said project and finally, add steps to each task. As your employees complete a task or steps of a task, the status is updated so everyone can easily see where a project or task currently stand. In addition, you can create knowledge bases to store documents and anything else project related.

Monday is available on desktop and mobile and you can receive notifications in real-time so you never miss a beat. The pricing plans available differ by the number of users, for example, 5 users cost $29/month or for up to 10 users costs $59/month. There are also Standard, Pro and Enterprise plans.

17. Asana

asana project management app

Asana is a bit different when it comes to a project management app. Why? Well, it took some of the greatest programs, like Trello and Basecamp, and combined all their greatest features into one program. Essentially, Asana merges all the goals established with a deadline schedule allowing you to create projects, set goals and stay on track to complete each step. Create multiple boards so that all the tasks are divided by department or project and you can also use the project timeline or team calendar to visualize progress.

Manage all crucial tasks and goals from one place and you can also choose to integrate Asana with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive and Gmail. There is a limited free version but the premium version will cost $9.99 per month per user after a free trial.

18. Trello

trello project management software

Use Trello for all business needs like project management, a daily/monthly task list, organization, meal prep, maintaining a blog, and so on. All of their Kanban boards are shareable, flexible, and so much detail can be added to each card.

You don’t even need to use Trello just for work purposes, use it to organize it your life too! Choose from Trello’s two pricing plans: free or $12.50/monthly per user.

19. Basecamp

basecamp software

Basecamp describes their product clearly, “Basecamp combines all the tools teams need to get work done in a single, streamlined package. With everything in one place, your team will know what to do, where things stand, and where to find things they need.” Create, assign tasks, and set due dates with a to-do list, create a message board on a single topic, schedules clearly display all projects, all files and documents are conveniently located in one place, chat in real-time, “check-in questions” allow you to ask questions daily, weekly or monthly, share access with your clients, hill charts show project status, Pings is a direct messaging option, forward emails into Basecamp, and SO much more.

Start a free 30-day trial and then you need to choose if the $99/month for your entire team is right for you.

Job scheduling apps:

20. ZoomShift

zoomshift schedule softwareEverything you need for job scheduling, like availability, time offs, and shift swaps, is available on one app, ZoomShift. Use existing templates to create a schedule in minutes, you can also drag and drop shifts on the calendar. Share the schedule via text message, email or push notification. All team members can view their schedules, set availability preferences, request time off, and can pick up open shifts.

If you’re looking to replace Excel, sign up for their free plan. Otherwise, you are looking to pay either $2 or $3 per user every month, depending on exactly which plan you choose.

21. Proofhub

Proofhub software

ProofHub is a project management app gives you access to all your projects on the go. It is one place for all your projects and team collaboration. Managers can delegate from a distance. They can assign tasks, check the current status of any task, have a look at the planning aspect in no time with the ProofHub app.

Apart from this, the features like in-app notifications help in keeping everyone on the same page regarding duties and task updates. With an Android app, everyone can join in the Discussions and chat whenever the need to communicate arises.

ProofHub is supported on iOS, Android and Windows platforms. And the fact that it’s super affordable doesn’t hurt either. It is available for $89 per month for unlimited users.

Marketing apps:

22. Wix

wix software

Within minutes, through Wix you can easily create the website of your dreams. Choose from thousands of templates or start from scratch, then simply add content, and publish. It really is that simple. With an amazing website, customers enjoy their online experience and you can generate more leads.

With more than 110 million customers, Wix helps you create your own stunning website, “We have the only drag and drop website building platform with HTML5 capabilities, 500+ designer-made templates, top grade hosting, innovative Apps, and 1000s of features for free.” Wix offers a free plan that you can start off with and then you can upgrade to “unlimited” so you can enjoy even more features to further your business at $12.50/month.

23. Buffer

buffer software

Schedule and manage every one of your social media posts from a single place. Easily send your message to your social platforms, without any of the added hassles. Create posts, analyze the data and engage your followers.

Up to 25 users can be added to your Buffer account, and you can choose who has full posting access or needs permissions. Choose from free or $15/month starter plans or their business plans. However, based on what your needs are, take a close look at each of the plans so you can choose the right fit for you.

24. Hootsuite

hootsuite software

You’re looking at a social media management system. Hootsuite helps you track and manage all your social network channels. It enables you to monitor what people are saying about your brand and helps you instantly respond to them. View streams from various networks like Facebook, Twitter and Google+ and post an update or reply directly. What is best about Hootsuite is that you really can monitor multiple streams from one place, currently, it supports Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ Pages, Foursquare, Instagram, WordPress blogs, Vimeo, Tumblr, Evernote, Flickr, Mailchimp, Slideshare, Storify, and more.

For $19/month, you get one user and up to 5 social platforms with unlimited scheduling. $99/month gets you 10 social profiles with 3 users and unlimited scheduling. $559/month gets you 35 social profiles for 5 users (up to 10) and unlimited scheduling. If you need an Enterprise plan, chat with a Hootsuite professional.

25. Mention

mention software

If you want real-time media monitoring on your brand, you need Mention. You can easily g live updates about your brand from all over the web and social media. With Boolean alerts, you can closely monitor your brand, competitors, and customers. This allows you to attract customers, build brand awareness, and improve the reputation of your business.

Choose from 3 plans: $25/month (2 basic alerts, 3,000 mentions, 2 social accounts and 1 user), $83/month (5 basic alerts, 5,000 mentions, 5 social accounts and 3 users) or $600+/month (Boolean alerts, custom mentions, 10+ social accounts and unlimited users).

26. Mailchimp

mailchimp software

So you want to send out newsletters straight to your customer’s email? Or create landing pages, signup forms, and Facebook ads? Mailchimp is the solution! The interface is easy to navigate, their unique templates are professionally designed, and you can even start for free. Easily reach your clients and get new ones as you increase your marketing efforts in a snap.

As your audience grows, Mailchimp grows with you. The small business app has even more features that can help automate all your marketing goals and it isn’t complicated to understand. Their customer service is always available and membership is free, then costs you $10/monthly.

Org Chart Software:

26. Pingboard

Pingboard software

Pingboard is an amazing tool that provides real-time, collaborative org chart software so it’s that much easier to organize teams, plan for growth, and keep everyone on the same page. Simply create multiple private org charts to better manage hiring, execute succession planning, build interactive charts with real-time data and benefit from the employee directory that’s available on iOS and Android.

You can start for free and then choose a pricing plan that best suits your budget and needs. On Pingboard’s pricing page, it separates pricing by how many employees you have so you can get a more calculated total.

Other Favorites:

27. BlogIn

BlogIn internal company blog

BlogIn is a beautifully simple internal blog and knowledge-sharing platform for teams of all sizes. The internal blog acts as a central information hub or a ‘virtual bulletin board’ for the company, allowing all employees to stay in the loop with what’s going on in and around the office. In addition, the blog opens a new, transparent, two-way communication channel inside an organization, where everyone can ask a question and get the information they need to make faster and smarter decisions. The internal blog is intuitive and easy to use, so everyone can quickly get on board, which is one of the reasons why it works so well as the internal communication tool.

What are some key benefits to your company? Share internal news and knowledge, improve internal communication, boost company culture and enable transparent, two-way communication.

28. Slack

slack software

If you’re a small team working in the world of hi-tech, Slack is a perfect solution. With its unique interface, Slack serves as an enterprise messaging and collaboration app. It is highly regarded for its amazing integration capabilities and even allows for one-on-one and group chat, audio calls and video conferencing. To get started, you need an employee’s email address to invite them to join Slack. Choose from three pricing plans: free at $8/per user/month) or plus at $15/per user/month). Slack has many beneficial add-ons, but you will need to review the cost and see if it truly benefits your business.

29. Dropbox

Dropbox software

With over 500 million users and 200,000 businesses, Dropbox is easily the most popular platform to store and share files in the cloud. Companies who are looking for a reliable way to share information with telecommuters need to look no further. Choose a limited free plan, $8.25/month annually or $16.58/month annually.

30. Hubspot

hubspot software

Forget about cluttered Excel spreadsheets or a complex onboarding process, Hubspot is the perfect CRM for you. Why? Well, all interactions are automatic, you receive up to 1,000,000 contacts, users, and storage until the end of time and best of all, it’s free! Just link the CRM to all locations (website, social media, email service providers, etc.) HubSpot said it best, “Organize your contacts, get deeper insights on every lead, and monitor deals with ease — all for free.”

HubSpot makes it easy to streamline all the data for current and future customers so that your team can focus on making money instead of navigating through endless paperwork. On-boarding is super easy as well so it’s a small business app your entire team will want to use over and over.

In conclusion…

There is no doubt that the best small business apps help boost productivity (for both you and your employees) and definitely make your life as a small business owner more efficient and easy. We listed our favorite 30 small business apps above and know that when you take on any of these apps, your workday will be better for it! After all, there’s basically an app for everything. From organizing ideas to sending invoices to tracking time and creating a job schedule and so much more. Everything you could have dreamed of to lift the weight off your shoulders has been listed in our top 30 small business apps.