Being a business owner is more than just having an amazing product or service you give to others. When running your business you have to keep track of inventory, time, employees, customers, and vendors you shop from. In this day when everything can be digitized why not also have your business be digital.
Your digital office should consist of systems to keep track of all your needs. Here are some tools we have found useful.
Digital filing cabinet
There are many online drives you can use to organize all your electronic files. GoogleDrive, OneDrive, Dropbox are a few good cloud drives. We are not saying get rid of all paper files but having then also uploaded to a cloud drive allows you to access that data on the go. If you want to keep your bank info, gas receipts, and bills separate from client email attachments using Hubdoc, Expensify, or ReceiptBank are great to also have as they can connect to online bookkeeping software.
Digital Business Front
You have a great personality and a passion for what you sell. How do you get in front of more people and know its working? Having an online storefront helps you get in front of more people. Using Google My Business, Facebook Business Page, LinkedIn Business, and even a simple website will help people find you. Signing up for Yellow Pages, Yelp and similar sites are also beneficial. Find what works for your industry, services, and items. Most business pages, especially social media ones, allow you to track how many people have seen and are clicking on your business. If you have the apps you will get notified if a potential client messages you and you can help them wherever you are.
Digital Money
Not talking about Bitcoin here, but how your clients pay you. Who wants to chase down people to get paid. Allowing people to have multiple options to pay for your services will increase your cash flow. Many banks allow businesses to accept e-transfers instantaneously. Having software that clients can pay using a credit card will help you maintain cash flow if your services are a recurring service. Paying people using e-transfer helps you avoid late fees and interest charges. Using software such as Plooto, Bill.com, or even your bookkeeping software allows you to track and pay your bills as well as track and receive payment from your clients.
Digital Accounting
Speaking of bookkeeping software, having a digital accounting software allows you to not have a shoebox of receipts hiding in the corner of your closet or under your desk. Some well known and trusted software such as QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage help you track your business income and expenses in near real-time. Some bookkeeping software comes with phone apps so you can track and enter in receipts on the go. Not only is there paid cloud software but free ones too. Not everyone needs medium to large size company software. For those who have just started up or are dipping their toes into digital software can use Wave App, Zoho, and ZipBooks.
Additional Articles: