Nearly everything that is being created these days is geared towards making our lives easier, even in business. Take messages or mail for instance. Just thinking about how much work it was to get information or messages to people a century or two ago is enough to make you thankful that you were born in this day and age. Yes, thanks to technological advancements people can now do their daily tasks in a shorter amount of time, and with less effort.
Messaging one another in an easier way is not the only thing we’ve been able to find convenience in. Another way we have been able to advance technologically is with multitasking, and if you’re a businessman, or businesswoman, multitasking is essential. For obvious reasons, carrying a bulky laptop that takes some time to fire up is a hassle. This is why a smartphone is so convenient. Apart from your typical call, text, and email, it truly becomes a business phone, especially if you have the right apps.
It’s indeed amazing what a smartphone can do, and how much power it has in our lives. Although, that kind of technology has a price tag, there are a few amazing people that decided that conveniences in these areas of our lives, could be and should be, accessible to everybody. They did that by making some apps to help us in our business life. Here are a few time and energy saving free apps for businessmen that have become my favorites, and that others have also grown to love.
The Best Free Business Apps to Download
Square Register
This awesome app processes customer payments on the go, and accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Although not completely free, the app itself has no charge, there are no monthly fees and merchant contracts, and you only pay when you process with only 2.75% per swiped transaction. It allows you to add discounts, tips, and tax, and records all cash payments; it is also capable of texting and emailing the receipts. What’s even more awesome is that funds are deposited within 1-2 business days. Square Register will send you a little plugin scanner for your smartphone, free of charge, so you can swipe credit cards anywhere. I just received mine and I can’t be happier with it.
AK Notepad
This is one of those free business apps that can turn your smartphone into your own personal assistant. This free notes app has a reminder feature, which will send you alerts depending on your set time frame. You can even send notes to yourself through SMS or email, or stick the notes on your home screen for easy reference. You can, quite literally, set it to nag you with your to-do list until you’ve accomplished your tasks for the day.
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Bump
As a businessperson, you know the importance of having a business card and having to track all of the cards of your clients and suppliers. What if I told you there was no more need for hundreds of business cards to be bulking up your wallet? Not only that, that there’s also no more need for the slightly awkward way of exchanging business cards? You’re definitely going to love this one as much as I do because it does get rid of all of that, the cards and the awkwardness. How does it work? Bump works by allowing you a nifty way to exchange contact information, including photos, by literally bumping two phones together. It’s a really fun way to swap digits and the best part is that it works both with Android and iPhones.
Kingsoft Office
Employed or not, everyone agrees that Office software is very essential to our daily lives. This is how embedded it is in our lives – All our homework, memos, contracts, and whatnot are done through Word Processing software, all accounting, statistics, and other forms of tallying are done through a spreadsheet, and probably most (if not all) of your presentations require PowerPoint (or equivalent). Unfortunately, for a lot of us, who are MS Office users, the MS Office app comes with a subscription price to get all the full features. Thankfully, Kingsoft Office for mobile allows you to fully experience (with full-features) the extent of creating, viewing, editing, saving, and sharing your office files on-the-go, absolutely free. It’s compatible with .doc, .docx, .txt, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, and .pdf. As a Mac user, I find this app totally necessary for my business life, and sometimes even my personal life, since most of those I do business with are still Window’s users.
RingCentral
This is one of my favorite apps, especially because you can also use their service from your computer. By using the RingCentral app you can save minutes on your phone, have a fax service and also get a separate business number, especially nice if you’re a small business owner (like me). The app is free, but for services that come with it, you get a 30 day free trial that then you choose a package from if you wish to keep it. The way it saves me money is that I got rid of my second phone line and my fax machine. I now receive my faxes through RingCentral (you can get them online or on your phone) and I also have a business number I can use from my iPhone that shows up on the receivers caller id. You can use their VOip service through your Wifi so you won’t use your minutes up, but I have unlimited minutes so I am not currently using that part. There are many other business features, too many to describe here, but I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like.
FlightTrack Free
For the businessman or woman who frequents the airlines, FlightTrack (as the name suggests) allows you to track flights with maps, with real-time status for gates, delays, and cancellations. It covers 1,400 airlines and 16,000 airports worldwide, and (according to reviews) this app is great for tracking your loved ones in their international flights. One fun feature in the app is that once the flight is in the air it shows the plane moving over the map and even gives you an ETA of the flight. No need to bother your assistant from his or her other duties. With flying anyway, this time you can say “I got this”.
These are only a few of the thousands of free apps for businessmen out there. If you’re doing business in this new high-tech world, then it’s time for you to explore the endless ways of making your work easier – so download an app, or six.
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