I love technology and discovering new tools and apps, especially if they can help me save time and money. I’m excited to be headed to New York for BIZBASH Live next week but disappointed to miss MPI’s popular Wine and Apps Event next week. In lieu of sharing at the event, here are my top five fav tech tools for 2018
Doodle
We’ve all had the headache of emails going back and forth, trying to determine a meeting date and time that works for everyone. Doodle is an online scheduling tool that is a good way to figure out a time to meet with multiple people at a time. Or in some cases, even pick a date for an event. It’s quick and easy to use. Our team uses it when we’re working with committees and for larger projects when we need to schedule a meeting with a variety of contractors, suppliers and volunteers.
SLACK
Known as an easy-to-use instant chat messenger between teams, I’ve discovered Slack is so much more than that. It actually helps me keep a pulse on many aspects of our business each day without having to login and monitor a bunch of different services. If you are using SLACK for team communication but want some insight into other ways it integrates with tools to help you run your business, check out this article : https://www.abetterlemonadestand.com/slack-review/
ReceiptBank
Our tech-savvy accounting firm set us up with this awesome tool. Receipt Bank is an app that enables us to snap our items, email them in, or upload receipts and invoices directly. The technology quickly scans, extracts and organizes key information from all your invoices, receipts and utility bills. It integrates with our QBO and it saves both our bookkeeper and us a lot of time, not to mention paper. Any time we can go green, it’s a win-win.
ZOOM
We started using Zoom earlier this year for all our online meetings. It combines HD video conferencing, online business meetings, webinars, and mobile capabilities into one collaborative solution. For me, the best part is that only one person has to download Zoom. Everyone else can simply click on the meeting link (reoccuring or unique) and jump right in from their phone, tablet, or desktop. And there's no need for expensive video conferencing infrastructure either. Note, as with most app, there is a free version and a paid version. If you’ve been using Zoom already, check out these tips and tricks : https://www.groovehq.com/blog/zoom-tips-and-tricks
MileIQ
As a entrepreneur, I’m off to dozens of meetings & off-site visits every month. I use MileIQ app for stress-free accurate mileage reporting. There is a free version and if you exceed 40 “drives” a month, you can upgrade to the paid version, which I did earlier this year. It’s super intuitive , easy to set-up and use and worth every penny.
My favorite apps from 2017:
Evernote
Mailchimp
Spotify
IFTTT
Canva
