Business productivity applications are those that can help you to stay productive and organized. They will help you to go on the track keeping on the tasks you have on the hand. There are virtual collaboration tools that are dedicated to time management, while some of them are focusing on boosting collaboration. Some of them are completely free of cost; on the other hand, some need you to spare some dollars.

These applications make it easier to manage multiple tasks at a time. The productivity apps make it easier to create a single centralized place where you and your team gets the things done.

Finding the apps that best suit your business is not that difficult. It actually depends on the tools that deliver the maximum benefits for your business. Some of the tools are great at accounting tasks, some are good at collaboration, on the other hand, some are good at making a good communication with a team that is working in a distributed environment.

Here are some applications that will help you manage your small business depending on their utility.

Project Management Applications

• Asana: It is a project management tool that aims at helping teams to stay on track with their projects, tasks and meet their deadlines on time. It enables goal setting with deadlines. It helps you create projects and tasks and helps you to manage them. The tools also provide small business owners capability to manage all their important goals at a single place. Its key features include project management, goal setting, and task management. The basic version of the tool is free.
• Basecamp: It is one of the topmost collaboration solutions for several organizations. It allows a free-flowing communication which allows you to manage projects, your team members, and company-wide communication. Its to-do list, message board, project schedule feature, and places to save files, along with its chat option, gives its users a unique and simplified experience in project management. Its key features include project management and communication. The Personal Version of the tool is free of cost.

Note Taking Apps

• OneNote: It is one of the most powerful note-taking applications, which is a great solution for the business owners who need to process a lot of information on a number of projects at a single platform. Its intuitive notebook layout makes it easy to break topics or projects in sections. The application comes with Office 365 and is completely free of charge.

Focus Apps

• Focus Will: It is a personalized sound profile based on the type of work you do. It provides customized music application that will help you increase your productivity. The music can be streamed based on the type of personality you are, the ways in which you think, and ways in which you approach your problems. It observes how easily you get distracted and evaluates if it can be loud based on your sitting arrangements. The basic feature of the application is developing a focus. It charges a fee of $52.49/year.
• Tide: The app uses calming sounds to keep you focussed and alert. Its soothing nature sounds, and its great feature to regulate sounds as per the duration for which you are working and the duration for which you take a break allows you to be more productive. It helps you build concentration, also letting you stay fresh while you work. The application is absolutely free of cost.   

List Apps

• Todoist: It is one of the best time management applications operating on both iPhones and Android devices. It helps you make a list of all the personal items that you need to do just by simple gestures. Simple taps let you start new tasks and click helps you close them when they are done. The application is great for teams, as you can assign tasks to your co-workers. It also helps you to set deadlines and add details so that everyone is on the same page. The application has some of the best visualization tools allowing you to view your progress on your tasks. Its basic feature includes time and project management. The starter pack of the application is absolutely free.

Automation and Integration Apps

• IFTTT: It is an application that can connect with different applications and programs so that all your devices are synced and operate on the same page. For instance, the application can be used to save new email attachments from Gmail directly to the Google drive. The application is also used for logging each and every call that you make to the Google spreadsheet. The application suits best for the businesses that peruse in-depth integrations with a set of cloud-based services. The key features of the application include automation and app cross-compatibility. Its standard version id free of cost.
• Zapier: It is a web-based application that connects the applications to use in your business. The application is similar to IFTTT, but its greater focus lays on web-based business applications. It allows you to sync all your business applications such as Gmail, DropBox, and Slack at a central location, saving your valuable time. The key feature of the application includes Automation and App Cross Compatibility. The basic version of the application is free of cost.

Communication and Collaboration Apps

• Slack: It is one of the import6ant applications to promote productivity for small and medium-sized businesses. It promotes more real-time conversations with their team members. The application benefits businesses by making groups of people and including them into a chat room to make it easy to make announcements, discussions, or more informal chats regarding the projects. Slack also allows social media integrations where the core service is free, whereas the paid plans offer some additional features. The key feature of the application is communication.
• Microsoft Teams: The application has very strong integration with the Microsoft ecosystem. The application offers real-time chat features with good sync with the rest of the Microsoft Office Suite. The tool also has applications for Android as well as iOS devices. The key feature of the application is communication, and its basic plans are free.

All these applications will help a small and medium-sized business to boost its productivity. You can use all of them or select the ones that best suit your business. You can also choose the paid plans that perfectly fits your business.

Source – Business News Daily