Best Tools to Manage a Business Online (Free & Paid)
To manage a business efficiently, you will need to move away from filling out spreadsheets and keeping paper records to using some sort of cloud-based software.
Whether CRM, Project Management, or Accounting, the right types of management tools have many features that all businesses could benefit from.
These tools come with many benefits that can help you keep track of every aspect of your business, centralize your data, make it easier to access from wherever you are, and let teams collaborate on projects.
This helps your business improve its efficiency, save time, and save money.
But what types of business management tools are there? And which ones are worthy of your attention?
We’ve put together a list of some popular small business tools that will help you manage your business the right way, making your life and your employees’ lives easier now and in the future.
Best Tools to Manage a Business
All in One CRM Tools – manage your customers & clients
Keeping track of your customers can be a headache for many businesses. Thankfully there are plenty of customer relationship management tools that can aid you to keep full records of your customers, from basic contact details to orders to tracking how they interact with your business.
No matter which type of business you run, keeping records of your clients, customers, or partnering websites can be a time-consuming process. If you don’t capture data correctly or make it easily accessible, it could cost you more time, money, and your business’s reputation.
The best CRM for small business combines many features that give freelancers, sales, and marketing teams the ability to access data easily, quickly, and collaborate, as well as log activity for auditing.
CRM features
- Manage contacts details & customer interactions
- Import data from spreadsheets or other CRM systems
- Attach and store documents to client profiles
- Accessible by team members to drive more sales
- Reporting and analytics to provide insights into your customers
- Accessible anywhere no matter the device or platform
Best CRM software
- User friendly interface online & mobile with visual pipelines
- Sales assistant offers areas where you can improve and where you could focus more
- Automations to help save time and collect data from sources with a click
- Create customizable project workflows from ready made templates
- Organize and tag contacts, projects & team members easily to help streamline processes
- Build marketing automations to help save time
- Easily manage your projects and tasks with workflows, gantt charts and automations
- Cloud-based CRM software helps manage contacts, sales funnels, and automate processes
- Buil-in financial management tools let you create invoices, track expenses and accept online payments
Project Management Tools – easily manage projects online
As a business, it’s not only customers and clients that you need to manage.
Depending on what type of business you’re in, whether it’s creating websites, running an ecommerce store, or developing a new product, project management software can help you schedule your time and resources.
Built to help keep track of every aspect of a project, the best project management software offers a variety of features. These can help you keep track of how your projects are performing, budgetary requirements, resources (people and items), and individual tasks on a detailed level.
Project management features that will keep any project manager happy
- Task management to help you manage all project tasks
- Time tracking to help find bottle necks and make resource scheduling easier
- Reporting to get an overview of performance across various criteria
- Gantt charts and workflows for quick visual overview of your projects
- Activity logs to help track changes to projects
- Document storage to provide added value like requirements, images and documentation to tasks
Best project management tools
- Create customizable project workflows from ready made templates
- Organize and tag contacts, projects & team members easily to help streamline processes
- Build marketing automations to help save time
- Manage and track all types of projects from start to finish
- Collaborate with team members via chat in real-time
- In-built reporting dashboard with real-time data
- See team tasks and statuses at a glance with visual cards
- Organize and manage your tasks through cards and boards
- Comment, collaborate, & add files to tasks for better feedback
Project Management Software
Related: How to choose the right Project Management Software for teams.
Accounting Software – manage your business finances
Managing a business the right way isn’t all about keeping track of projects and customers. It also pays to manage your finances, which is where accounting software can help.
Whether you’re a freelancer looking to create quotes and send invoices or a small business looking to keep track of payments and payroll, accounting systems offer you the tools to do that and more.
Accounting software isn’t just for accountants and finance managers, with many of the best online accounting platforms offering a variety of features that make it easy for anyone to keep an eye on their finances. It’ll help you save time each day and when it comes to calculating your taxes.
Common online accounting software features
- Helps you keep track of payments and expenses
- Securely connects with your bank to automatically import transactions
- Keep track of quotes and invoices
- Setup and automate payroll for employees
- Helps calculate tax whether thats sales tax, VAT or end of year
- Reporting helps you get a real time overview of your business cashflow, profit and loss
Best accounting software
- Create and send unlimited invoices
- Track unlimited expenses
- Automate and setup recurring billing
- Track sales tax, VAT, Self Assessment & CIS
- Manage expenses, store receipts and track mileage
- Send invoices & accept payments
- Unlimited income and expense tracking
- Connect bank and credit card details
- Create estimates and generate invoices
Video Conferencing Software – manage face to face meetings online
Keeping in touch with clients and colleagues no matter where they are in the world has been made easier thanks to the growth of online video conferencing software.
Whether it’s an hour-long online meeting with a client, an interview for a new employee, weekly catchup with your colleagues, or working from home; video conferencing solutions are a great tool to have in your business management tool kit.
Many have free versions available, are secure and let you talk with multiple people simultaneously. It’s been a tool that many small businesses have managed to find new ways to use, from teaching online classes remotely to adding face-to-face customer support to their services.
Video conferencing features
- 1 or more persons
- In meeting chat
- Screen sharing abilities
- Available across all platforms (online & mobile)
- Meeting scheduling
- Meeting recordings
Best video conferencing software
- HD video and audio for up to 1000 participants
- Record meetings & live transcriptions
- Screen sharing and chat tools
- 1GB cloud storage per license
- No time limits on meetings
- Screen sharing & in-session chat
- Unlimited cloud recording
- Encrypted sessions with noise suppression
- Screen and file sharing
- Ability to record meetings
- Built-in Chat, CTAs, Polling
- Up to 3,000 attendees
Check out more of our best video conferencing software.
Time to manage your business the right way
These business management tools don’t make your business more efficient magically or save you time or money by themselves.
You’ll have to put in some time and effort to learn how to use them the best way and figure out what works for you. Do you research, read software reviews and find the best tools for you.
If you can be sure to take free trials to get a feel for how easy it is to use them and how big the learning curve is.
When you’re ready to buy be sure to look around for deals and remember that yearly plans are nearly always cheaper than monthly plans.
Business Management FAQs
What are the best tools to manage a business online for free?
Some of the best free tools for managing an online business include Trello for project management, Google Workspace for document collaboration, Mailchimp for email marketing (with a free plan), and Buffer for social media management.
Which paid tools are essential for managing an online business effectively?
Paid tools like HubSpot for CRM, QuickBooks for accounting, Slack for team communication, and Asana for advanced project management can streamline processes, increase productivity, and provide deeper analytics to manage your business online efficiently.
How do project management tools help businesses manage tasks online?
Project management tools like Trello, Asana, and Monday.com enable businesses to assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate in real-time. These tools improve workflow efficiency, communication, and accountability, essential for online business management.
Are online CRM tools necessary for managing customer relationships?
Yes, CRM tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM are crucial for managing customer relationships. They help store customer data, track interactions, automate follow-ups, and ultimately boost customer retention and sales for your online business.
What are the benefits of using accounting software for online business management?
Accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks allows online business owners to track expenses, generate invoices, manage taxes, and automate financial tasks. This helps save time, improve financial accuracy, and ensure better decision-making for business growth.
