Increasing productivity… The idea is as old as money itself. Achieving that ‘more-done-in-less-time’ goal sometimes seems like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. Luckily, there are answers – an array of apps are available to help.
We list the best business productivity apps of 2020 designed to increase your capacity.
About: This versatile tool turns complex jumbles of ‘to-dos’ into manageable listed tasks. Todoist aims to prioritise your tasks, display them clearly – both in time spent and status. You’ll be able to receive simple reminders and easily access, edit and update statuses of your daily tasks. Users can set the priority of tasks with specific deadlines and view progress in simple graphs. Integration with other services like Dropbox really adds to the above mentioned versatility.
Key Features:
- – One password safely for multiple services
- – Huge number of app integration
- – Securely share access with trusted friends and family
Cost: Free with paid upgrade options
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: LastPass is a passwords manager, allowing users to securely store their passwords online. Simply log into your platforms as usual (such as Dropbox, Google, social media accounts, etc.), and LastPass will prompt you to add the login credentials to your LastPass account. Once stored, LastPass will then remember your login credentials for all added platforms – meaning you’ll never have to remember all those obscure passwords again! Allowing you to get on with your day.
Key Features:
- – One password safely for multiple services
- – Huge number of app integration
- – Securely share access with trusted friends and family
Cost: Free with paid option to unlock all features
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: If ‘time is money’ is something you find yourself saying often, Toggl may be for you. The app allows you to start, stop and log times you spend on tasks then track them with graphs and time scales. Poor time management? Toggl is your friend. It even sends you reminders prompting you to use it. Teamwork is also supported as Toggl allows users to multiple uses to access shared data. You can still track your time on projects while offline.
Key Features:
- – Calendar integration
- – Profits Vs Labour Costs calculator
- – Team member integration with required fields
Cost: Free basic package, paid premium option.
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: Arguably the most popular online word processors, Google Docs is of course a big name in productivity. Those used to Microsoft Word may need to do a bit of Googling for ‘how to…’ when getting familiar with Docs but the uncluttered user interface makes actual word processing ultra simple. The collaboration features are a huge standout, share a document with another person by adding them via an email address and work together. Google Docs is fast becoming a standard in word processing.
Key Features:
- – Auto-save
- – Collaboration with other users
- – Compatibility with MS Word
- – Docs are downloadable in a variety of formats
Cost: Free
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: Social media giant Facebook is, of course, a hugely popular customer source. Facebook Pages Manager is designed to allow users to manage their business pages simply and seamlessly. To accomplish this, users can simply update pages, submit posts, share media, interact with other page members and view insights and analytics. This data, crucial to any business owner, helps devise strategies, identify customer demographics and behaviours and meet demands.
Key Features:
- – Simple Page manipulation and analysis
- – Media and post scheduling
- – Campaign management
Cost: Free
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: Hugely comprehensive, Google Analytics is the first port of call for most business owners with any form of online presence. Getting set up and ‘plugging’ it into your website can be a little fiddly, so budget some time (and coffee) to really learn it in order to get the most out of it. The in-depth data on offer is presented simply and clearly, so users can understand masses of data, including or view/hit peaks and troughs. You can view data by demographic, location, how traffic arrives and leaves a website, dates and times users spend viewing particular pages, search words – in fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find something not covered.
Key Features:
- – Ability to view an array of specific data
- – Audience reports
- – Customer journey analysis
- – Custom data reports
Cost: Free
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: Google My Business allows you to manage how your business appears on Google search results and Google Maps. You can update information that searchers will find on Google Maps, allow customers to call, visit a website and find directions (among other actions). Did you know that over 50% of people who search for a local business complete the entire journey and become ‘customers’? You’ll need to tell Google a lot about your business such as business type, products, brands, location, etc – but remember; the more information people have, the more likely they are to find you.
Key Features:
- – Search results information
- – Updates and descriptions on Google Maps
- – Customer Q&A
- – Analytics and results from searches
Cost: Free
Platforms: iOS, Android
About: Covid-19 has been extremely kind to Zoom (and other online resources). Zoom is a simple, business / professional oriented video conferencing service. The app provides straight-forward joining steps for audience members or those you wish to add to a meeting. You can host webinars, video meetings, text messaging and traditional phone calls. Note that the free package allows unlimited meetings, webinars with up to 100 participants but a 40-minute max on group meetings.
Key Features:
- – Simple, ‘no-faffing around’ join options
- – High quality video and audio (depending on your connection)
- – Screen sharing and presentation ability
- – Solid security
Cost: Free with paid upgrades.
Platforms: iOS, Android
Which apps complement your business? However you define ‘increasing productivity’, these apps are sure to make it happen. Check them out to make sure you select the right one for your workday and be sure to stick to a plan that works for you.
