In January, we talked about apps to make you more productive this year. Now it’s time to organize your business as well. As a company focused on helping businesses monitor and inventory their “stuff,” we thought it would be worthwhile to look at a set of mobile apps to assist with organization. In no particular order, here are 10 top picks we’ve discovered that you might want to try:
1. Wunderlist
This free app for iOS will keep you organized in the most basic way possible – a to-do list. The Smart Lists hide what doesn’t need to be shown and recurring tasks and sub-tasks are simple to create. Be even more organized by assigning your tasks to others and then getting a message when they are complete.
2. Bump
Being able to quickly share information is key to organization and the simplest way to do that is with the free Bump app for iPhone and Android. Share contacts, calendars, files and photos wirelessly from one phone to another.
3. YouSendIt
If you need to share with a little more oomph, the latest free iOS app from YouSendIt provides a comprehensive and enhanced mobile service for accessing documents, presentations, video and more from anywhere. Beyond sending files, you can also store files to shared folders and sign documents. Any changes are securely synced and instantly available for other devices and people. A mobile suite of services is also available for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Android.
4. Expensify
There is nothing like a bunch of receipts to make you feel unorganized. This free app is available for virtually every platform and makes it easy totrack all kinds of expenses. Perhaps best of all, it lets you snap a photo of receipts and categorize expenses, and can sync to QuickBooks online. It’s a great panacea for the pain and mess of expense reports.
If you’re tracking more than expenses, this is a simple app for small businesses to use to organize their spending on-the-go for up to six accounts. It can be used for tracking project budgets, business/travel expenses, cash accounts, and debit or credit cards. Entering an amount with a large custom numeric keypad, selecting a description from the editable selection wheel and tapping “Add” or “Spend” is all it takes. At any interval you can email a report of all the transactions for any account and also include a CSV file to import into any spreadsheet. No web accounts or user IDs to navigate or remember, just a simple, on-the-go, exportable running total. Available on iOS for $3.99.
6. WhatsApp
Texting can get you the answers you need quickly, but it’s not always the best way to talk in a group or create a paper trail. WhatsApp, free for the first year and available on multiple phone platforms, allows you to group chat with colleagues and even share photos, screenshots and notes. You can also export and save logs from a group chat, including images so no one needs to take notes.
If you’d rather talk than text, you can use Dragon Dictation to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages. This free and easy-to-use voice recognition application for iOS is powered by Dragon NaturallySpeaking and the transcriptions can be sent as SMS, email, or pasted into any application using the clipboard. A convenient editing feature lists suggested alternatives and has a voice driven correction interface. On the Android, Dragon Mobile Assistant sends texts, makes calls and sets appointments.
8. Base CRM and Sales Tracking
Some tools get too complicated to use, but Base uses powerful simplicity to make sure you never lose track of the conversation. Track every lead from the first contact and grab leads from social networks with a single clip. You can save all interactions in one place, automatically organizing related deals, emails, calls, tasks, notes and files in a single, universal contact card. Customize sales stages with an easy drag-and-drop interface and invite your team to work with you on current opportunities and share deals, contacts and notes. Free on iOS and Android.
There’s no better resource than your employees, but if you don’t know where someone is when you need them it can be very unsettling. Painlessly keep track of schedules with Simple In/Out. This digital in/out board is free for up to three users and uses GeoFencing to automatically check you in or out of your office or other specified locations. Leave simple messages about where you are – such as “in a meeting,” “at the warehouse,” or “closing the deal of the century.” Available free on iPhone and Android.
10. Sprout Social
Keeping track of a few employees may seem difficult, but only until you compare it with keeping up with social networks. Staying organized “socially” can be tough. Sprout Social is a social media aggregator and publisher that helps you keep tabs on multiple Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. You can also easily manage publishing content with the ability to draft, approve and schedule social media messages. The free mobile app is available with a monthly subscription to the online service.
You may have heard of some of these applications, but likely there are others in this list that are new. If there are other apps you’d like to include we’d like to hear about those additions as well.
Contributions for this article were provided byFishbowl President, Mary Michelle Scott and theFishbowl Marketing team.