3 mobile apps to improve efficiency

There are over 1-million apps available in Apple’s App Store. There are over 1-million apps available for Android. I’m not sure what percentage of these apps overlap, nevertheless, that is a holy-moly’s worth of apps.

We decided to take a look at what apps for business there were out there and how companies can start capitalising on them and increase their efficiency.

With that great a number of apps available, many of them being free, how do you possibly decide what’s useful? Or worth your money? Or not even worth the required download space? Well, after doing a bit of research, we’ve found three of the better apps that businesses can download to make their workforces flow smoothly.

Square

Square is an app that accepts credit card payments via your mobile phone or tablet. It’s perfect for businesses that sell products on the go. How does it work? Like a retailer’s POS terminal. When you sign up for an account, you’re sent an attachment (the POS terminal) that plugs straight into your mobile handset, allowing you to swipe someone’s card and collect a payment on the spot.

The fee Square charges is 2.75% per swipe. Which isn’t really that bad when you compare it to the likes of PayPal and other payment gateways; they often charge a rate of 2.9% + 30c per transaction. It’s quick, easy to set up, and beyond convenient. Oh. They don’t charge you for the credit card swiping attachment either. A nice little bonus. Check out the Square website.

TripIt

TripIt is an app designed for entrepreneurs and business people who are constantly on the go. It lets you forward your airline, hotel, car rental, and restaurant confirmation emails to a TripIt email address, plans@tripit.com, thereby creating an easy-on-the eyes daily itinerary.

You can also sync your plans with Apple Calendar, Outlook, or Google. Itineraries linked up to your TripIt account are accessible from any device, too. Even offline. For the perpetually travelling, pedantic organisers among us, who sleep better at night having their plans neatly laid out in one place – TripIt is a win. Check out the TripIt website.

Shoeboxed

If you hate trying to keep track of all your business expense receipts, Shoeboxed offers Australians a useful alternative. All you have to do is take a photo of your receipt, and email it to Shoeboxed. They’ll take care of the rest – meaning they will organise the receipts, much like an accountant would, under your personal account.

It syncs with Evernote and a few other “make-a-note” apps too, so if you’ve been using some other app to keep track of your business spending to this point, Shoeboxed has got you covered. It’s a bit pricey – ranging from $16.95 p/m to $249.95 p/m. But if you want to make dealing with your accountant come tax time hassle free – or potentially scrap your accountant altogether – it’s not a bad app to consider. Check out the Shoeboxed website.

This only scratches the surface of what apps for business exist, so stay tuned for more.