21 Best Business Tools Entrepreneurs Must Consider

If you must succeed in your online business – and any business at all – you need the right tools at your disposal. And if it appears that you’re still struggling, then check the kind of tools you may be using. There are best business tools entrepreneurs must consider suitable for different kinds of businesses.

So, we have finally collated a list of the best business tools that can help you manage your businesses effectively, give you speed, help you save money, and in total, make your business highly profitable.

These tools are categorized in areas such as social media management, project management, market research, communication, email marketing, and many more, to help you easily uncover the tools you need for your own business.

 

What Are Business Tools

Business tools can be described as the systems, applications, controls, methodologies, calculating solutions, and many more employed by entrepreneurs to help their businesses attain market demands, survive the dynamics of the market system, and ultimately improve business performance.

There is a wide range of tools that are used in different departments of businesses which include tools that are used in the record, employee-related activities, processing, controls, planning, decision-making, and lots more.

So, regardless of the aspect of business, you may be focusing on, these tools will help your business succeed faster than you would have without them.

Now, let’s get started!

 

A. Best Business Tools For Accounts, Payment Processors, And Finance

1. Mint 

In the list of the best tools for business success, Mint ranks as one of the most versatile when it comes to finance. It helps you to easily pay and accept payment, manage your personal finances, categorize expenses, track your credit score, create budgets, and also do more with your business decisions.  

Users can take hold of their free plan to access many of their features. And with $16.99, you can opt in for their paid plan to enjoy their full features.  The payment also includes credit reports and Equifax scores.

 

2. PayPal 

PayPal has become a household name for a safe and fast way of sending and receiving payments online. With PayPal, you can easily link your local bank account to get your money sent into your bank. You can also link your Visa Debit Cards, credit cards, and setup merchant accounts.

Get started by visiting PayPal to sign up for free and set up an account. You can purchase for free as a U.S. resident, and selling on the platform attracts 2.9% + $0.30 charges for each transaction.

 

3. Freshbooks 

Freshbooks is accounting software that helps to ensure fast and safe business accounts in just a few clicks. You can also track your expenses, time, accept payment, invoicing, organize expenses, and do so many more automated tasks. And since Freshbooks is cloud-based, you can access it easily from anywhere around the globe and across a variety of devices.

Freelancers can also use the business too to receive payment for services they render online and also keep tabs on their outstanding invoices from their various clients. New users are provided access to their free trial and all of their business features, and with $15 per month thereafter. You may also want to consider their free version.

 

4. Stripe 

Stripe has impacted greatly on the way transactions are done online over the years.  They have made it easy for users to make payment for services and also receive payments across over 25 countries of the planet. Online business owners have consistently found this payment tool very helpful.

And while you may encounter different hidden charges with a poorly-regulated system with many finance tools, Stripe has a flat rate with no hidden fees for every transaction you make. They receive 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction, and are one of the best documented payment processors you’ll find around.

 

5. Square 

Square has suite tools that are very appealing to business owners who receive payments physically from their customers. They receive 2.7% transaction fee for each swiped card and 3.5% + $.15 on keys in transactions. Its collection of tools includes NFC readers, credit card readers, and chip card readers, among others.

The versatile tool for businesses has now expanded to provide online store builders that have a close semblance to Shopify. They also provide email marketing tools, an appointment booking software, and an app marketplace to help business owners channel their business activities properly.

 

B. Best Business Tools For Search Engine Ranking And Market Research

SEO is a crucial part of online business success. If your website and online pages are not able to rank on search engines such as Google and Bing, your business might just become frustrated and eventually shut. While this may be tough to figure out on your own, there are online business tools that can help optimize your blog or website to rank on Google and other search engines.

 

1. Ahrefs

Arhefs is one of the best business tools when it comes to link building and search engine optimization. You can sign up for the free version to see how things work on the platform. You’ll be met with diverse data directed to your site and also track a huge number of other metrics of your webpages.

When you build backlinks, your website will have increased reputation in the sight of search engines and will in return build your rankings and performance.  There are different plans on Ahrefs. They include $99 for their Lite plan, $179 for their Standard plan, $399 for Advanced plan, and $999 for their Agency plan,

 

2. Yoast SEO Plugin 

Almost all bloggers have come across Yoast SEO Plugin. They have helped countless online pages rank high on search engines. Besides, the online tool is very easy to use. You’ll be able to add your target keywords, meta title, meta description, build internal links to relevant pages, and also analyze your content with the required recommendations that will help your pages get on top of search engines. When you have a job well done, you’ll get a green light!

Yoast SEO offers a free plan for users who would simply like to enjoy the simple tools. Their advanced tools are, however, not difficult to use. They include extra features such as link building, in-depth analysis of your page, and more. Get the Yoast SEO Premium at $89, €89, or £89 per year. This payment includes VAT for the year and it also comes with updates and 24/7 customer support.

 

3. SEMrush 

SEMrush is not necessarily the third in this list of best business tools for SEO. It is a great tool for keyword research and very effective for content marketing and a viable digital marketing full-suite toolkit.

Some of the benefits of using this tool includes checking out what your competitors are doing in detailed analysis, doing a search volume for certain keyphrases and keywords ahead of time, traffic analysis, paid ads analysis, and drafting an online on some of your competitive blog articles. You can subscribe for the Pro plan with a monthly fee of $99.95. Their Guru plan goes for $199.95 per month while Business plan costs $399.95 per month.

 

4. Buzzsumo 

Consider Buzzsumo for researching blog posts’ topics. With this research tool, you’ll be able to see what your competitors are doing on the social shares of their blog posts for insight on what you should do to get the best decision on the social channels for your blog topics and posts. This platform is very efficient to save you from being unable to figure out what content you should create or dishing out unrelated blog posts.

Buzzsumo also helps you figure out key influencers that can help you with discovering opportunities that can boost your overall online success. Their Pro plan costs $99 per month, Plus plan goes for $179 per month, Large plan goes for $299 per month, and Enterprise plan goes for $499 per month and is best for large businesses.

 

C. Best Business Tools For Communication

Communication is an integral part of any business success. Business owners need to communicate at one point or the other with other members of their team, with customers, vendors, and other key players of the business. There are tools that make communication effective and successful in your business, and some of the best are listed below.

 

1. Zoom 

Zoom gained so much popularity during the lockdown, and has become the go-to communication tool for most businesses around the globe. In fact, experts and consultants across different industries now see Zoom as a viable stream of income. It is a cloud-based conferencing tool that offers users high quality interactive features in the form of videos, chats, and audios from anywhere around the globe.  And if you are a beginner Zoom user, you’ll find it easy to use.

The company allows free users on their Basic plan, with up to 100 participants, 40 minutes, and an unlimited meeting schedule. Their Pro plan goes for $149.90 per year or $14.99/£11.99 per month for each host. The business plan goes for $199 per year or $19.99/£15.99 per month for each host. It is best for small and medium businesses and can accept up to 300 participants. Enterprise plan goes for $199 per year and is best for businesses with over a thousand employees.

 

2. Skype 

Everyone knows about Skype. But if you don’t, then you have been missing out on one of the best business tools essential for business success. Skype is free to an extent and it allows users to send free text and make free calls. You’ll also be able to do video calls, group video calls, instant messaging, and screen sharing. And can activate it on almost every device.

You’ll find most of the features on the app free to use, but you’ll be required to subscribe for extra features such as making calls to mobile devices that do not use the app or to landlines. The monthly subscription fee is $2.99.  

 

3. Slack 

You may not have heard of Slack, but it is one very efficient messaging app for businesses that can be considered for different platforms, users, and companies across the globe. Slack is a collaborative tool that is cloud-based and efficient in managing communication among organization work-teams and other internal groups.   

The app provides every work-place player a shared workspace, organizes team conversations, and also helps to organize the list of email threads. You can get started with the free version and have access to great features. Its Standard plan however comes with $8 per month, and the Plus plan goes for $15 per month.

 

4. Acquire

Acquire has features that help to bridge the gap between your business and your prospective customers and clients. Some of the great features available on the platform include live chat, co-browsing, intelligent animation bot for providing answers to common queries and many others.

The versatile business tool is currently being used by over 12,000 companies for streamlining their customer communications. These include multinationals like Lexus, Audi, Cigna, Samsung, and many others. You can use it with $40 for at least 5 agents for $200, and you are able to also use individual features at different prices.

 

D. Best Business Tools For Email Marketing List Building, Landing Pages & CRM

Building your business email lists is very important to the success of your business. Your email list is the most valuable treasure of your online business. Here are some of the top customer relationship management and email marketing service tools to consider.  

 

1. MailMunch 

MailMunch is one of the top tools that should be considered for generating leads and conversions for businesses. Users will have access to customization features for creating forms and building landing pages for a more personalized audience. You can also sync in real time with your email service provider.   

The platform also allows you to send email campaigns, create custom landing pages and also split test forms.

MailMunch is easy to install and once done, you’ll be able to convert your blog or website visitors into long-term customers and subscribers. While it doesn’t offer free trials like many similar platforms, pricing is however not expensive. You can get it for $12 per month, or consider the free version.

 

2. MailChimp 

MailChimp is one other tool that is effective for building your email list. It has great marketing automation features and tools that can be used by both newbies and professionals at a price-point that is accessible to everyone.

If you are considering the platform for just 2000 contacts and up to 10,000 emails, you’ll have access to it for free. Their price plan starts at $9.99 per month for the Essential plan. Essential plan allows up to 500,000 emails and 500 contacts. They also have a Standard plan that costs $14.99 per month and it allows up to 1.2 million emails. Their Premium plan costs $299 per month and you can use up to 3 million emails on it.   

 

3. ConvertKit 

This tool can help you manage your email list and autorespond to emails while you are busy with other things. The app is easy to use and also allows you to group your email subscribers so that you’ll only be sending relevant contents to your list.

ConvertKit is currently being used by several thousands of online entrepreneurs around the globe. Pricing is relatively low at $29 per month for up to 1000 subscribers, $49 per month for up to 3,000 subscribers, and $79 per month for up to 5,000 subscribers.

 

4. OptinMonster 

Just as the name implies, OptinMonster is a monster when it comes to email list building. It has great features such as exit-intent technology, inactivity sensor, and MonsterLinks among others. The tool can be used on a variety of webpages, including WordPress pages. There is also an additional feature that allows you to A/B test different messages for the most effective email capturing mechanism even without having special web development skills.  

Pricing starts at $9 per month, and you’ll have access to all the basic tools for a single site license. More advanced features can be gotten on the Plus plan that goes for $19 per month.

 

E. Best Business Tools For Graphic Designs

Graphic design is essential for your web pages, social media pages, and other online platforms. Even if your business is largely offline, you’ll still need graphic designs to communicate everything your business stands for. Here are online tools that will help you create logos, cover arts, and other designs.

 

1. Canva 

Canva is a top tool that you should take really seriously for your online designs. They have a wide range of features that are specifically essential for certain industries and niches. For instance, you’ll get features that will help create designs that are great for pinning on Pinterest, for Twitter ads, Facebook, Instagram stories, flyers, banners, business cards, ebook cover arts, and so much more.

You’ll get many of the features for free, but you can also upgrade to Canva Pro at $12.95 per month and at $9.95 when you pay annually.

 

2. Penji 

Penji is also very reliable for design solutions for agencies, content creators, and bloggers. Their pricing starts at $96 per year. You can also get the Basic plan for $8 per month and the Advanced plan for $20 per month.

 

3. 99 Designs 

99 Designs is not particularly a tool but a marketplace for a variety of freelance graphic designers. If you need to get a design done, you’ll simply have to submit a task to the designers that will be presented to you on the platform. You’ll pay for the one you prefer most.  

 

4. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop provides you with tools to create designs in 2D image and 3D image. You can also do video editing, photorealistic, image analysis, and composting. It goes for $9.99 per month and you’ll be offered a free trial to test the waters on the platform.