Compared to larger enterprises, small businesses need to rely on low-cost solutions to optimize work flow. Fortunately for you, there are plenty of affordable solutions that can help your business operate and grow efficiently. Here are three key technologies you should implement into your small business:
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Appointment Scheduling
Time is money. The more time you have to focus on scaling your business the better. When your team is small, you need to optimize your time.
Most businesses are used to booking appointments over the phone. This is inefficient for many reasons. Mainly, it takes up too much time. Often times it results in hiring someone specifically for scheduling. There are plenty of appointment scheduling options out there that are much more efficient and affordable than hiring a secretary.
With a good appointment scheduling solution in place, you can set up appointments without ever picking up the phone. Your clients will be able to book appointments online based on the free time you allotted. This also makes it easy to send reminders, reschedule, and follow-up with clients.
According to Capterra, Acuity Scheduling offers one of the best appointment scheduling solutions of 2016. Acuity offers a free trial with no credit card required so go ahead and give it a try before signing up!
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Teamwork and Collaboration
No matter how big or small your business is, teamwork and proper collaboration is key. In a small scale business, the majority of the team will be working together basically everyday. It is imperative that you implement these solutions so that your team can work together efficiently. Here are a few to take note of:
- Slack offers an excellent communication tool for teams of all sizes. Most small businesses will be able to get by using Slack’s free package. Get started right away with Slack to keep all communication in a central location.
- Trello offers awesome project management and team collaboration features for free. As your business grows, you can upgrade to a more advanced set of features for a very affordable price.
- Google drive also offers a free collaboration tool where your team can contribute and edit any documents stored on your google drive.
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Online Payments
Cash is king, well nowadays as payments move online, eCash is really king. If you haven’t already switched to an online payment platform, it’s probably a good idea to make the change. Whether you’re sending an invoice or managing company payroll and expenses, an online payment platform will simplify this process tenfold.
Especially when it comes to bookkeeping, you will save yourself tons of time and money when switching to online payments. Most payment platforms have a full suite of reporting features that allow you to easily keep track of important metrics.
These platforms will keep your paperwork and records organized and easily accessible. This may not seem necessary for smaller companies but as your organization scales you’ll want to have this payment technology well implemented into your business.
In the end of the day, you’ll need to find the right solutions for your specific business. Most businesses will need to implement these solutions, so take the time to shop around and get moving!
