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Allyson Kazmucha
The best iPhone and iPad apps to help your small business succeed!
Looking for the best iPhone apps or best iPad apps to help you run your small business? The right app can not only help you start up but keep costs down. From processing transactions to having customers sign documents to sharing files online, there are tons of great small business apps for iPhone and iPad to choose from. But which ones are the very best?
Square Register
Square Register is available for both iPhone and iPad and lets you seamlessly process credit card transactions from pretty much anywhere. Square accepts any kind of card a customer may have as well as Square Wallet customers. There's no monthly fees and no hidden costs. Just 2.75% per swipe or the higher tiered business plans, if you choose those. You can even create and mange an inventory in Square Register these days.
If your point-of-sale needs aren't terribly complex, Square is one of the best credit card processing services available for iOS.
- Free - Download Now
Buffer helps you keep a handle on all your social media needs by letting you queue up posts for later, view statistics on links you've posted, and lots more. Buffer supports Facebook, Twitter, App.net, and more. Take a few minutes to plan out your posts each day inside of Buffer and it handles the rest including the publishing part. Up to 5 social media accounts inside Buffer costs you nothing.
If you heavily depend on social media to market your business, you need Buffer.
- Free - Download Now
Dropbox is one of the most widely accepted cloud storage services in the known universe. It links in with almost any app you may use now or ever use in the future. Upload files, share links to specific documents, and much more. If you have employees that need to access some of the same files, it doesn't get any easier than using Dropbox together.
For file storage for your small business that needs to be accessed by multiple people across many platforms and devices, look no further than Dropbox.
Google Drive
While Dropbox serves raw storage needs just fine, it isn't a productivity suit. For that, there's Google Drive. Create spreadsheets, documents, and more that you can collaborate with others on, share easily, and more. I've even seen smaller businesses keep running inventories inside a spreadsheet created in Google Drive. Obviously you'll need to back up things like that regularly but you just can't beat the convenience Google Drive offers.
If you regularly share spreadsheets and documents that many employees need to edit and have access to, Google Drive is a great solution.
- Free - Download Now
Screens is a screen sharing app for both Mac and iOS that lets you access desktop Macs remotely. All of us have encountered an instance where we needed a file off our Mac that we forgot at the office or at home. With Screens you don't need to worry about that anymore. Fire up the Screens app for iPhone and iPad and access your Mac desktop. As long as it's connected to a network, you're good to go.
If you need remote login on iOS and OS X, Screens is one of the most elegant solutions available.
- $19.99 - Download Now
See also:
- Screes for Mac - $29.99 - Download Now
Many small businesses require customers to sign contracts or other types of forms on a regular basis. DocuSign Mobile lets you do it right from any iPhone or iPad. You can import templates and link in your existing storage services. And if you've been listening to my other suggested apps, this is where your data in Google Drive and Dropbox will play nicely will DocuSign Mobilefor a complete workflow.
If you require customers to sign documents and forms rather regularly, DocuSign Mobile is easy to use and more efficient than paper and pen.
- Free - Download Now
Those are some of my favorite apps for small business. If you pick one of them up, let me know how it works for you. If I missed out on one of your iPhone or iPad favorites, tell me which and why you like it!
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