Running a small business is not easy, but thanks to the strides we have made in technology, there are many ways to help increase your productivity, even from your smartphone. There are various software apps available that can give you the tools you need, making them one of the most important pieces of technology for a small business owner.
While there is software that is best run through a computer or is simply easier to use when you have a physical keyboard in front of you, there is a lot of software out there that can be run through both your phone and computer. Cloud-based software has made this even better since you can switch between your phone and computer with ease so that you can work on the go.
Software apps allow business owners to speed up a lot of tedious tasks, getting some things done in minutes instead of hours, and you can use them for almost everything a business needs to thrive.
Across Platform Apps
There are a lot of apps available that work seamlessly between your phone and computer, and those are the best apps to use when running your business through your phone. G Suite from Google or Microsoft Office 365 are excellent choices. You also have collaboration tools like Slack that can be run through your phone, and even QuickBooks has an app so you can do your basic bookkeeping on your phone and computer.
While there is software that is only usable on the computer or through the phone, for the most part, you can find software that works on both for your business needs. It is also much more convenient to keep everything in the same software, so things can run more seamlessly for you.
Remote Desktop Apps
How many times have you had to get on your computer because you did not have a certain file on your phone? By looking at remote desktop apps, you can easily access your computer from anywhere, so you can always access all of your important business information no matter where you are.
Mobile Security
While you have more freedom running your business without a physical office, it is also important to keep in mind how to handle security for your phone. Everyone keeps important information on their phones these days, but if your phone is full of important data for your business, security is especially important.
What happens if you lose your phone, or it gets stolen? What about if it breaks? Having these scenarios in mind when using your smartphone for your business is crucial to ensuring your business is safe and you do not lose important information if you lose your phone in some way.
Cloud storage and security is one of the best ways to go about this. There are plenty of cloud storage software options available, so if you have your important business data stored in the cloud, you will not lose everything if you lose the phone. Most cloud software usually works seamlessly between the mobile and desktop versions, so as long as you have everything synced, you will not even lose a day of work without the phone.
Of course, you will need to change all of your passwords as soon as possible when you get a new phone or get to your computer, but that will help ensure that your business data is secure. Setting up two-factor identification for all of your important business apps is also a good idea, so it is harder for someone to gain access to your sensitive business data.
Have a Separate Smartphone for Business
It is also a good idea to consider having a personal device and a business device for security purposes. This will help keep unimportant apps off your business phone, which can sometimes be a security risk. It will also keep personal distractions out of sight when you are on the clock.
Having a separate phone for business also allows you to walk away from business at the end of the day. You can simply shut the phone off, or turn it to silent, and ignore it for the night. This is much more difficult to do if you are only using one phone for both, and any business owner needs to have a good work-life balance.
Voice-to-Text Technology
Voice-to-text technology has made great strides in the last few years, and voice assistants can now understand what we are saying much better than ever before. You can now just talk to your phone to compose an email, which is much quicker than typing everything out since most people speak faster than they type. While typing on a computer keyboard is faster than on a small phone keyboard, speaking is usually faster than the computer keyboard. There are many benefits to using voice-to-text technology for a business, especially if you mostly operate through your phone.
Mobile Card Readers
You can use your smartphone to take accent credit cards, which can be less expensive for a business than a traditional point-of-sale terminal. The card reader apps also can be used anywhere, whereas a point-of-sale terminal that takes cards is usually tied to the internet, so it cannot be used at a market stall. Some mobile card readers will even allow you to make the sales when you have no signal, and they complete the transaction when you have reception again.
Track Your Time
There are also apps available for time tracking for both you and your employees that can be used on your computers. This will allow you to manage your projects better and learn how much time you devote to specific tasks or clients. Some even allow you to include a dollar value to your time, so you can watch how much you are earning or spending on a single task. This can take some of the stress off of you as a small business owner because you are not trying to estimate the amount of time you spent on something after the fact, and you can learn more about the amount of time a certain type of task takes, letting you put a better value on your services.
We hopes these tips for using your smartphone to run your small business and some of the challenges to keep in mind when doing so have helped. When you’re ready take your business to the next level and utilize a website, New York Software Developers has been doing web development for over 30 years. Give us a call and we will be happy to show you how we can help.
