Small Business Smartphone Apps

We use our cellphones for everything these days from surfing the Internet to mobile banking and of course making phone calls, but did you know your Smartphone can also be a great tool for managing the day to day operations of your business. In the palm of your hand you can run your business, Smartphones have the same capabilities of a PC which means you can increase your productivity and your profitability.  We have put together a list of great ways Smartphones can help you as a business owner.

1) Bookkeeping -  Check if there is a mobile app for the current bookkeeping software that you use in your office. So you can keep up with things when your are out on the road, selling, or traveling. There are also independent apps which you can use to keep track of receipts. You can take pictures of your receipts and document your expenses then print out a report and give it to your bookkeeper.

2) Credit Card Processing - You can take credit card payments now on your cellphone. Remember the manual machines? and if you didn't get a clear imprint you could lose the payment? well those days are over, there are now apps and extensions that allow you swipe credit cards and get an approval, this also feeds into your bookkeeping system.

3) Organizing - There are a lot of apps that can help you organize. Of course there are different categories, such as travel. Most of the airlines have travel applications, you can also merge all your travel itineraries  together. There is a free app called TripIt which keeps all of your itineraries such as airfares, appointments, hotels, etc. together. There are also now mobile boarding passes, but this is limited to certain airports..

4) Fleet Management and Navigation - If you have a business that has a lot of delivery trucks out on the road, this system can keep track of where they are. It helps you save energy because you can track your routes better and helps provide better customer response if you need to get some place quickly. And for navigation, if you rent a car and it has no GPS system in it you can use your Smartphone. If you get lost anywhere you can use the your Smartphone GPS to help find your way.

5) Sales Management - You can have time and sales management tools on your phone. So if have a company that relies on billable hours, a service company, use your Smartphone to keep track of their billable hours. This will reduce time sheets and paper work. There are applications that will coincide with your Customer Relations Management system, so you document sales calls and don't have to wait to get back to the office to record the data.

6) Staying Connected -  Of course Smartphones help you stay connected 24/7 with your customers and everyone via phone calls, emails, and text message. So you can get out of the office if needed and still be connected.

7) Marketing  - Smartphones can help you market your business. A lot of companies are starting to incorporate text messaging into their print, advertising, radio, and any marketing materials. In addition to text messaging is social media, there are tons of social media apps which allow you to engage customers and clients on your phone from any location.You should also make your business website mobile friendly.

8) Security and Backup - What happens if you lose your Smartphone or it crashes? This is one of the major concerns of small business owners. There are many apps that will encrypt the data on your phone and protect it. There is also an app called backup and go, it is a cloud computing service offered by cell phone providers. It gives you the opportunity to backup and sync data with your office.