I don’t know about you, but I LOVE getting a look behind-the-scenes into the tools other businesses use. Anytime I see a post like this I learn something new. So, without further ado, these are the business tools we use every day!
Novo
Free Business Checking
When we started shopping for a business bank, we wanted to keep our money local. But all of the banks we looked at charged fees for business bank accounts and as a brand-new baby business with minimal income, we couldn’t afford to give away any of our hard-earned pennies.
Enter Novo.
Novo is an online bank that offers totally free business checking.
Obviously, free business checking is awesome, but some other features we like about the bank include:
- Direct connections to various business-friendly apps, including Square, Stripe, Shopify, Paypal, Venmo, QuickBooks, Gusto, Constant Contact, and more!
- Physical debit card AND a virtual debit card
- Online check deposits
- Ability to set up multiple Reserve accounts. This is especially important to us as we decided to run our business following the method outlined in the book Profit First. This means that every time we get paid, money is automatically allocated to our reserve accounts – rent, payroll, utilities… and an account to pay me and Jamie. (Side note: If you haven’t read Profit First, the premise is that business owners should always allocate some money to pay themselves. Even if it’s just a 5% cut at first… allocate that money to yourself and learn how to run the rest of the business on the other 95%. Great read – highly recommend!)
Quickbooks
Accounting Software
Throughout my career, I’ve always tried to keep things real. And I’m going to do that with you now. I do not *LOVE* Quickbooks. I think it’s confusing as all get out.
That said, I recognize and appreciate that it’s worth its weight in gold because of all of the heavy-duty accounting it’s doing for us. We use it for everything, from running payroll to automatically sending our tax payments (whomp whomp) to invoicing our clients and customers. Obviously, the invoicing part is the best (yay money!), but even beyond the most basic element of getting paid, I like that we can set up custom recurring billing schedules or create detailed invoices on the fly.
Oh, and receiving notifications on your phone when you get paid? Clutch!
If you want to check out Quickbooks, use our referral link to get 50% off your subscription for the first 3 months PLUS a $50 Visa gift card if you subscribe!
Amelia
Online Scheduling
Amelia is one of my all-time favorite WordPress scheduling tools. We’ve used it to create customized consultation schedules for each of us. We use it for registration for our ongoing services such as social media coaching, our various events like our small business book club, and even our free consultations.
We like that it sends automatic email reminders of upcoming events to registrants, and it can even do text reminders! Amelia can also send automatic follow-up emails. Another one of its many handy features is that employees can go into their accounts to enter their days off and nothing will be scheduled for them on those days. This is in addition to company-wide days off.
Canva Pro
Online Design Software
In a world where small business owners are expected to wear 100 different hats, Canva – more specifically Canva Pro – has made it incredibly easy and affordable to create beautiful graphics to share on social media, in fliers, on websites, and so much more!
I cannot recommend this tool enough. Whatever you need to make – Facebook Cover Photo, Reel, promotional flier, etc. – Canva has your back with templates, videos, stock photos, and graphical elements.
While the free version of Canva is great, Canva Pro is where it’s at. At $12.99 per month, you’ll gain access to Canva’s huge stock image catalog as well as its video catalog. You’ll be able to use the image (and video!) background eraser, quickly resize your designs to be a perfect fit for the various social media platforms, share your posts directly to your social media accounts, create presentations, etc. Canva Pro is constantly growing and I honestly couldn’t imagine running my business without it.
By the way, if you’re new to Canva or need some pointers on how to use it, check out our Canva Basics for Business Course.
Unsplash
Free Stock Images
NOTHING beats having a photographer you can call up to take amazing images for you. But, when that’s not possible or you’re looking for something super specific, there’s no shame in using stock images.
There are quite a few free stock image websites, but my favorite one, hands down, is Unsplash. The quality of photography they have is remarkable – most don’t look like stock images at all.
The free version of Unsplash should be enough for most small business owners. The database of images is huge and constantly growing. We recently upgraded to the paid version, Unsplash Plus, for $84 per year. I’m not yet certain if the paid version is a worthwhile investment because when I use stock photos, I haven’t found myself gravitating toward the ones that are only available to paid members.
Grammarly
Writing Tool
When I originally wrote this post, I somehow managed to leave off the one business tool I use every single day. Grammarly is life-changing. It corrects your spelling and grammar. It rewrites sentences so they sound better. It is self-esteem-boosting because it sends you encouraging emails about how you’re becoming a better writer.
Grammarly is the best tool for small business owners because it helps you write better, faster, and with more confidence. It’s like having a personal editor on your computer, pointing out your mistakes and suggesting ways to improve your writing. With Grammarly, you can catch spelling errors, grammar mistakes, and even get help with your tone and style.
Using Grammarly is easy. You simply install the app on your computer or mobile device, and it starts working right away. You can use it to write emails, social media posts, blog articles, and even marketing materials. The best part is that Grammarly works in real time, so you can see your mistakes as you make them and fix them on the spot.
Grammarly’s free version is VERY robust. No matter how good of a writer you are, I highly recommend it. A couple of years ago, though, I upgraded to the Premium Version, and there’s no looking back. It offers even more grammar, style, and tone checks.
Google Workspace
Email, Calendar, Etc.
I’m not sure I really need to go into all of the reasons we love Google Workspace because Google is pretty ubiquitous, but here are 10 reasons small businesses should use Google Workspace.
Generally speaking, there are two main players in the email industry at this point: Microsoft and Google. We went with Google at the Studio largely because of the lower pricepoint and because we’re part of the Google generation. All of us already had gmail email and were using Google calendars so, for us, this was a no brainer.
It takes a lot of tools to make a small business work and right now these are the business tools we use every day at Start Something Studio. If we encounter other amazing tools we will be sure to update this list!