10 Free Productivity Apps for Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
Whether you're a freelancer or own a business, these 10 Free productivity apps are here to help.
1. Sunrise Calendar
This app is a must if you rely on shared online calendars such as Google or iCal. It has a beautiful, easy-to-use interface, and it's free!
2. Dropbox
After the tragic death of my laptop in '14, I now use Dropbox to back up all my files as I go along. I have it installed on my desktop, so it feels like I'm using a normal Documents folder all day, and it syncs seamlessly with the app on my phone and iPad, so I can access my files wherever I am.
3. 1Password
If you have a million-and-one passwords and logins like myself, you need this app in your life! The app is locked with a master password, but I also 'encrypt' all the passwords I write down in there too - just to be extra safe. (By 'encrypt', I simply mean that I write out the password in terms only I would know such as 'birthplace and date of sister's birthday' etc.)
4. Pocket
I often come across articles throughout the day that I really want to read but just don't have time in that moment. This is where the Pocket plugin comes in; you install the button in your browser, and every time you see an article you want to read later, you click your Pocket button and it saves it to your account. You can then access you account later through your phone app.
5. Trello
It's no secret that Trello is my life. I need this project management tool with me everywhere I go, because I don't just log business stuff in there. I also use it for blog posts and to do lists.
6. TinyScan
This mini scanner in your pocket means that you can simply take photos of your receipts, invoices or important documents, turn them into scanned document files, and add them to your Dropbox folders; not a cable or dodgy connection in sight!
7. DocuSign
This is so useful if you're signing contracts or documents regularly, as it completely removes the annoying process of printing, signing, scanning and sending. You just create or upload your signature and add it to documents from your emails, Dropbox or Google Drive. Simples!
8. Hours by Tapity
Freelancers and people whose business is their time should get friendly with this app. Sit down to work on a project and start the timer, and press stop once you're done. Start another project, or come back to it a few days later, and the app will track your hours spent on the whole thing. It also creates handy reports in spreadsheet form that you can send to clients.
9. Google Docs
I use Google Docs to collaborate on documents, share documents, and create them quickly and easily whenever I have an idea throughout the day. Because it all syncs up, I can access it on the laptop later on too.
10. Reminders
Now I know this is kind of cheating, as it's a default app that comes with iPhones and iPads, but it really is incredibly useful! Once thing I like to do is set repeating reminders for Twitter chats, so that I never miss out:
Have I missed anything out?
Let me know in the comments.
