The iGuy’s must-have apps for your business

Tech blogger and gadget guru, Marc Forrest a.k.a. The iGuy from Ballito, recently gave small business owners tips on which apps to use as tools to help them improve their workflow and overall management at the Ilembe Chamber Business Club.

Here are the four areas you can work on in your business and some of the apps Forrest recommends for each:

1. Productivity:

Evernote is an instant note taking tool that is synced to all your devices for easy access.

Trello helps you to get more done through multiple task boards which you can share with your teams.

JOTNOT Pro removes the need for a scanner, as you can take a photo with your phone and the app will create a pdf or jpeg which you can send on.

2. Financial management:

Expensify is a great tool to keep your receipts organised, as you can take a pic of one and it cleverly catches the amounts on the receipt and gives you a breakdown of your expenses.

FreshBooks is an online app that allows you to do your invoicing easily.

Sage One is an SA developed product, built by Pastel, and helps with instant invoicing, recurring billing, has an accountant section and everything is backed up.

3. Collaboration 

Slack moves away from emails and allows you to chat within your business. It is a handy tool growing massively in the US especially in the start up culture. There are multiple channels for different teams or groups where you can chat and share documents.

WhatsApp is a tool most people use in their personal lives, but Forrest said he believes it is a great business tool too.

“For me this is the leader in instant messaging across devices. It is great for group communication because you can broadcast messages and use web.whatsapp.com so that you can reply on your computer and the messages are secure and encrypted.

4. Marketing 

Tawk.to – Often you will see a chat to us pop up on websites, which allows you to instantly engage with your customers. This live chat app is great if you sell stuff online.

MailChimp is one of the easiest tools to use when it comes to sending out personalised bulk mails and really cost effective, as you can send 12 000 mails a month to up to 2000 subscribers for free. The only draw back is that it is not that great when it comes to designing the email.

Canva is a great app to make design simple for everyone. Create designs for your web or print material for free. You are never going to become a Photoshop designer with this tool, but you can create quick artwork that looks professional.

Prezi – If you want to make your presentation look cool use Prezi. It is one of those tools that you play around with and learn more every time.

Get to know more about Marc Forrest in this week’s newspaper.

>>  Expect to find the latest trends in Health, Wellness and Beauty in Ballito.

>> Meet the top players in the North Coast property industry. See our Property People feature.

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