by Ivana Katz

Whether you are starting a new business or running an existing one, no doubt you wear a lot of different hats and there never seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Over the years, I have come across some exceptional business software, which has made my life so much easier. The tools listed below are very affordable and in many cases even free. They will not only save you time and money, but sanity as well.

LastPass.

LastPass has to be one of my recent favourite discoveries. Each month I used to spend hours looking up username and passwords, not only for my business but also for my clients. I figured other people would have the same problem, so I did an online search for password management software and discovered LastPass – it manages all your passwords and login details. All you need to do is remember one password. The software is free to use and will save you hours of frustrations.
Find out more about LastPass – https://lastpass.com/

Paypal.

If you would like to accept online or credit card payments, but don’t have a merchant account set up with your bank, then check out Paypal. Bank fees for online merchant accounts can be costly, so Paypal is a great option. Your Paypal account can be quickly set up and you don’t need any extra software or hardware. Paypal has top security and many anti-fraud tools. You can accept payments in different currencies or even pay your suppliers
Find out more about Paypal – www.paypal.com.au

PicMonkey.

PicMonkey is a free photo editing software. You can easily apply special effects to your pictures or create great collages including Facebook cover photos. You don’t need to download any software – simply upload your photos to the website and when you are done with your masterpiece, save it to your computer.
Find out more about PicMonkey – http://www.picmonkey.com/

GoAnimate.

Business and Explainer videos have become a popular online marketing tool. To have an animated video created for your business can set you back thousands of dollars, so if you are a little tech savvy or have a teenager at home who can help you, check out GoAnimate software. From just $40 per month, you can create as many videos as you like.
Find out more about GoAnimate – http://goanimate.com/

GetResponse.

GetResponse makes email marketing simple. You can create newsletters and autoresponders which will display perfectly within different email applications. The software allows you do split testing, so you can optimise any part of your email messages. Getresponse also lets you create landing pages for different products and services, build forms and share data via your social networks.
Find out more about GetResponse http://www.getresponse.com/

Dropbox.

Dropbox is a lifesaver if you have a number of computers and devices from which you need to access your documents. It is simple to use – all you need to do is save your data into a Dropbox folder. Whenever you edit your file, all your devices are automatically synchronised with the latest version. Another advantage of using Dropbox is if your main computer ever crashes, you can carry on with your business without any interruptions. It is also useful if you are travelling and need to access files on your office computer. Dropbox provides 2GB free, so if you don’t have too many files, this should be sufficient. Otherwise you can sign up for one of their inexpensive business packages and get a terabyte (or even more) of storage space.
Find out more about Dropbox – https://www.dropbox.com

Lynda.

Lynda.com is a training website which offers lots of online courses on hundreds of different subjects. Do you want to learn how to upgrade your computer to a new operating system, how to optimise your website for search engines or how to set up your email? Lynda has short courses which cover all of that … and much more. For a small monthly fee you have access to all the tutorials. There are no contracts so you can cancel at any time. Courses are broken up into bite-size pieces, so you can do a little each day or as your schedule allows.
Find out more about Lynda – http://www.lynda.com

There are many small business tools and applications available online for just about anything you need to do. Most of them are simple to use and either free or very affordable, so invest some time in checking them out – you will be glad you did.

Ivana Katz makes it easy for you to get your business online very quickly. If you’re looking for a professional and affordable website designer, visit www.web4business.com.au and download a free website plan or connect with Ivana on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Websites4SmallBusiness