It’s odd to think, in this world of apps and business technology, that the iPhone wasn’t originally designed as a business tool. However, around 150,000 apps later, the iPhone has become an essential business accessory, allowing you to transform your mobile into an office-on-the-go. Here are some small business iPhone apps you can start using right now.
Apps have really made things easier for the small business owner, but with so many apps to choose from, it can be hard to know which ones to pick. Let’s have a look at some of the best:
Cloud computing on the move
The rise of cloud computing has allowed businesses to communicate, share data, store data remotely and interact with their clients more freely than ever before. As a result, it wasn’t going to be long before appropriate apps came on the scene.
DropBox and Box.net have both developed apps that allow you to store big files remotely and access them from your iPhone. This not only allows you to bypass the cost of on-site storage devices but also means that using your mobile, you can access that information wherever you happen to be and at the time that’s most convenient to you. Additionally, you can use iCloud, OneDrive and Google Drive to work and store files remotely.
Accessing files is all well and good, but what about the instances when you need to be able to work on those files? Once again, it’s apps to the rescue; there is a number available that allows you to view and edit documents –even those on cloud-based services. Check out products such as QuickOffice Connect Suite and Documents To Go. Both of these allow you to access files, edit them and then store them back on your phone or in their original cloud locations.
Keeping ahead of the numbers game
Accounting is one of the most important aspects of the survival of any business. Intuit’s mobile accounting software apps, like QuickBooks accounting, is developed to create invoices, manage your expenses and cash flow, and view your profit and loss. It allows you to keep your business organized from the beginning, providing the mobile equivalent of a virtual accountant. This particular accounting software makes it easy to keep a record of your business’s income, expenditure. Also, with the app, you can be better prepared for tax time and get all the necessary tax deductions. Its attraction is that it’s supremely easy to use.
As a startup owner, you need to be able to exploit every opportunity that might allow your business to expand. QuickBooks accounting gives you access to an instant snapshot of how your business is performing, bringing you up to the minute information of recent transactions, storing photographs of invoices, receipts, and bills so that you don’t have to worry about hanging onto or losing those vital bits of paper.
Scan and send
Being able to scan a document is also an important part of daily business and, believe it or not, there are also apps available that will turn your iPhone into a scanner. JoNotScanner and ScannerPro both allow you to scan and store documents on your mobile and even convert them into emails, ready for sending.
The iPhone has become one of the most valuable platforms for business technology. SMEs can really benefit from the flexibility and cost-effectiveness offered by the expanding world of apps.
