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Do you want to be more productive when managing your business? Do you know which are the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers?
If you continue reading we will answer these questions, because below we are going to explain what criteria you must follow to choose the best business management tools. And also, we are going to give you a list with the best software for daily management of small and medium-sized companies with which you will be able to be more efficient managing your business with minimum cost. Information is power, and here it is.
Without a doubt, choosing the best software that helps you with the daily management with your SME or self-employed is not easy. There are many of them on the market, some are free and others are paid, but it is true that most of the paid programs have free versions so that you can try them before paying for them.
What is an SME management software for?
Today it is difficult to conceive of the idea of a company that, regardless of its size or industry, does not make use of the innumerable number of computer tools that exist just a click away.
But when we talk specifically about SMEs, management platforms basically make it possible to make workflows more flexible and automate, which can often take many hours and imply that people from other areas must take care of them.
Due to the nature of small and medium-sized companies, there is a high demand for tasks to be carried out and little labor to carry out said tasks. For this reason, many times, outsourcing or outsourcing of services is usually a good option.
While there is a belief that dedicated digital tools for businesses are expensive, this is not necessarily true. Most of this type of software includes free versions, demos, and freemium versions that limit some functionality or provide the software 100% but for a limited time. In addition to this, there are government programs such as the Digital Kit, which make their acquisition even easier.
Some of the tasks that can be performed with management software for SMEs are:
- Management and control of expenses.
- Filing and time control.
- Payroll incidents.
- Signing and administration of documentation.
- Internal communication.
- Personnel management.
16 best platforms for SME management
It is always very exciting to start a business project, but for it to be successful it is necessary not only to invest money but also to carry out a multitude of tasks effectively. And since this is not easy at all, it is essential to have a series of computer programs that allow you to manage a business in a much simpler and more organized way.
This will save time and improve productivity. But not all programs are valid. To properly manage a business it is necessary to have only the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers.
Accounting and billing: Quipu
Quipu is an accounting program in the cloud, which allows you to carry out the administrative and financial management of your business in a simple way. Its software allows you to control the real state of your accounts, automate the reading of income and expenses from its app, control bank movements or fill in taxes automatically.
Office: Google Drive
By simply creating a Gmail account you have a word processor, spreadsheets, and you can make presentations. All documents are Microsoft Office compatible. The biggest advantage you can find with Google Drive is the possibility of working online and with several people at the same time from any device (PC, tablet or mobile), because everything is in the cloud.
You can also use Google Drive as data storage, because it allows you to save all the information in the cloud safely and for free up to 15 GB.
CRM: Hubspot
Hubspot CRM stands out among the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers. The reason is because it allows you to manage numerous online tasks totally free, among them you will be able to store contacts, manage email and record your activities in an unlimited way. In short, it integrates everything you need to boost your sales.
Email marketing: Mailjet
Its free version allows you to send 200 emails a day using its gallery with many templates and creating your own with an intuitive editor. If you need to send more emails, this tool will still be 5 times cheaper than Mailchimp, because they charge you by the number of emails sent, and not by the number of people you have in your contact list.
Human resources: Factorial HR
It is an application to facilitate the tasks of human resources management. Its free version is for up to 10 invited employees and the paid version is one of the cheapest on the market. What it allows you is: manage absences and vacations, time control (which is now mandatory), payroll incidents, create HR reports.
On the other hand, it is a magnificent document manager and you have the possibility of using the electronic signature. With Factorial HR your employees will be able to consult their data and request absences or vacations. In the end you will be able to save with HR management.
Task management: Google Tasks + Keep
Surely you already know Google tools like Gmail or Google Calendar, but few people pay attention to the 2 buttons on the right sidebar with 2 extensions: Google Tasks and Google Keep. Google Tasks is for sharing, planning and organizing the progress of your tasks, while Google Keep allows you to create, edit and share notes with all kinds of information through the notes archive. These 2 apps along with Gmail and Calendar save you tons of time!
Project Management: Trello
It is a free online tool of the most complete that exists to organize work. Trello is ideal for coordinating work teams, it is easy and intuitive. The ability to collaborate, add images, files, comments, as well as having mobile applications for Android and iOS, make it the best free application to manage projects.
Design tools: Canva
It is one of the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers in terms of design. Canva allows you to create original designs very easily for the Internet or to print as invitations, presentations, social media covers, etc.
In addition, it has a library of designs so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs, and you can customize it with your brand. Its free version is more than enough because it is very powerful.
Social networks: Hootsuite
It is a web and mobile platform to manage social networks from a single place. From Hootsuite you will be able to know what people are saying about your brand, schedule posts for various accounts and follow the interactions that take place. It has different payment plans but it has a free version.
Web analytics: Google Analytics
It is completely free and provides a multitude of metrics so that you can measure the efficiency of your advertising campaigns as well as analyze your website traffic. With Google Analytics you will be able to know the performance of your website.
SEO: Semrush
It is the most complete tool that exists to analyze the effectiveness of your seo and sem strategies. It also allows you to analyze your competition. The only downside to Semrush is that its free version is quite limited.
Market research: Google Trends
It is a free tool to know the trends on the Internet. Google Trends shows which keywords are the most searched by people at that time.
keyword planner: Google Ads + Search Console
This keyword planner is a free google ads tool to find the most searched keywords around a specific topic. Google Search Console is a free web application that is essential for any business, since it allows you to analyze which of the contents of your website are the ones that interest your leads the most.
Video conferences: Skype or Zoom
Skype is one of the best free applications to communicate by video or voice. There is quite new software, it is called Zoom , similar to Skype, but it is used to make video conferences between two or more people, and it also has an online whiteboard and chat.
Time manager: Rescue Time
It is one of the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers to measure the productivity of your work. With Rescue Time you will be able to analyze how you use the hours of your work. It also provides tools to help improve your productivity.
Create Website: WordPress
It is the best platform to create websites and blogs given its ease of use. It has payment plans and a limited free version in its wordpress.com version , which includes hosting and domain. In its wordpress.org version , its plans are all free, but you must contract a hosting and domain separately.
How to choose software for managing SMEs
Having a business management program is an investment. And for this investment to be profitable for your business, you must be very careful when choosing your program among those available on the market.
As general advice I will tell you that the best tools for SMEs are those that best adapt to their needs.
But there are more important criteria that you should also take into account when selecting the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers:
- Budget: It is not advisable to use pirated computer applications, they will be of little use to your business. In addition, today there are quality programs that are free and even those that are paid have free versions for you to try. It is better to start with free applications, and as your business grows you can invest in a paid program.
- Cloud programs: Today cloud programs are widely used, they are programs that allow data to be stored and accessed through the Internet instead of being stored on a computer’s hard drive. This saves space on your computer.
- Serious provider: Always choose a computer application provided by a provider that you have good references and that has years of experience.
- Program adapted to your business: Always take into account the different characteristics of your business project, and based on this, choose the software that will best adapt to these characteristics. For example, consider the size of your business, if you have workers under your charge, if your business is physical or online, etc.
- Software comparators: if you are hesitating between several programs for your company, a software comparator can help you make the decision and choose the one that best suits your functionalities.
Benefits of having SME management software
A few years ago, it was very cumbersome to manage an SME or a business, because there were no computer applications to do the accounting, to bill or to carry out a marketing plan. Everything was practically done by hand, and this made the person who carried out these tasks waste a lot of time.
Fortunately, advances in technology, and specifically the Internet, have allowed the existence of computer applications of all kinds with which business management has been automated. No self-employed person or SME should be left without them to undertake successfully.
Some of the main advantages of having a management platform for SMEs are:
- Resource savings.
It may be a hackneyed phrase but anyone who is dedicated to undertaking knows that “time is money” is an irrefutable mantra. Management software contributes to doing more in less time, whether thanks to the cloud or big data, automating tasks so that workers can dedicate themselves to tasks that add value and contribute to achieving business objectives. - Improve the work environment.
Being able to manage time efficiently implies distributing the workload more efficiently and, therefore, effectively improving the work environment. This translates into an optimal employee experience for your employees who will not have to face the stress of day-to-day work every day. - Increased productivity.
More time for tasks oriented towards commercial objectives and a better mood thanks to the organization’s climate, make work motivation reign and therefore productivity. This means workers who perform better and at ease.
Managing a business or an SME involves carrying out a multitude of complex tasks that require a lot of time. To be more productive and efficient in this management, it is essential to have the best software for daily management of SMEs and freelancers.
It is not easy to choose them from among all those sold in the market. To facilitate this choice, it is recommended that you know what the needs of a certain business project are and thus you can choose the ones that best suit those needs.