Opinion: These mobile tools keep businesses running

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. In Missouri, there are 532,277 small businesses accounting for 99.4% of Missouri companies employing more than 1.2 million people, according to statistics from a 2019 report by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Small businesses create new jobs, lead the way in technology and product innovation, and often reflect the diversity of our communities. There are many apps, software, devices and powerful wireless networks to help entrepreneurs manage their business operations. And in today’s environment, working remotely using mobile tools has helped businesses stay moving.

Whether you’re a business owner with a brick-and-mortar office, an entrepreneur who runs a business from a smartphone or an employee working from a home office due to the coronavirus pandemic, the following tools can help support your business needs.

Cloud-based communications: These tools blend multiple communication functions and features together, like desk phones, smartphones, email, chat, video and text. Some recommendations to check out are Telnyx, Bandwidth and Twilio.

Project management: Keep track of projects from start to finish and who is working on what with project management tools, such as Trello. It allows users to collaborate with a project team, stay on top of tasks, track progress and see who is delivering what.

Trello also allows you to link with other tools like Google Drive and DropBox. Another option, called Monday.com, allows for team collaboration and a 360-degree view of the project process.

Accounting: A number of apps are available to help small businesses keep on top of finances. Xero is an accounting app that lets users make employee payments, review billing details and manage tasks like purchase orders and other details in an effective manner. It also offers cloud functionality to easily save data and important files and folders in a safe location and to also view cash flow with real-time updates.

Expensify helps businesses track receipts and manage expenses on the go. Expensify can categorize and code each receipt, and it can automatically submit business expenses for approval and reimbursement.

Document sharing: Businesses today can operate from many different locations using file sharing and collaboration tools. Google’s G Suite offers a number of productivity enhancing features, including document sharing, calendars, online ad campaigns and tracking traffic stats for websites.

A mobile solution, called doForms, allows companies to easily capture information in the field on smartphones, tablets and other devices. The information is sent back to the office via the cloud and seamlessly integrates into existing operating systems.

Marketing: MailChimp is an all-in-one marketing platform for small business. Users can create an email list and send visually engaging emails, newsletters and postcards to customers. MailChimp provides advanced analytics reports showing click rates and allows users to learn from past campaigns. Other tools like Hootsuite, allow users to post to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all from one post, saving time. Also, Google Analytics helps users track everything from website performance to content and marketing campaigns.

David King is a store manager for U.S. Cellular in Springfield. He can be reached at david.king@uscellular.com.