Source   Every business needs its toolkit to face technical challenges along the way. The larger the organization is, the bigger this toolkit becomes.   Especially when it comes to SaaS applications, companies with over 1000 employees use 150+ SaaS applications, which shows how much we rely on these tools to run our businesses successfully.   If you’re still managing your operations manually, you’re losing big time. Not only are you wasting significant time on trivial tasks, but also missing out on so many opportunities.   Let’s discuss some benefits of using tech tools in your business and some tool recommendations.

Benefits of using tech tools in your business

While human intelligence is still the most valuable aspect of a business, here are some ways tech tools can complement it:

• Tech tools automate repetitive tasks, streamline processes, and eliminate manual work, improving efficiency. By reducing time-consuming activities, your employees can focus on more important and strategic aspects of their roles.
• They facilitate seamless communication and collaboration among team members, even if they are geographically dispersed.
• They help you stay organized and track your team’s work progress.
• They allow you to make informed business decisions by analyzing your strengths and weaknesses.
• They adapt very well to the changing needs of your business and industry. As your operations expand, they can accommodate higher volumes of data, users, and transactions, providing scalability without significant disruption.

  All in all, embracing the right tools can empower you to streamline operations, save time and resources, and achieve your goals more effectively.

6 tech tools your business needs

Among the plethora of tools available in the tech market today, here are the six tools you should definitely incorporate into your business.

1. Contract and agreement management tool

Creating and maintaining documents and paperwork is an important part of most processes within an organization. You need to do a lot of modifications to the documents you work with—merge, cut, convert, sign, edit, and more.   It can get really messy if you don’t have a proper system to do them all. No, we’re not talking about signing up for a new tool every time a new requirement comes up. You can manage all these operations and more using a pdf management tool.   Tool recommendation: SmallPDF.   One of the best features of SmallPDF is the variety of templates they offer:

• Contract and agreement templates
• Rental agreement templates
• Invoicing templates
• Business templates

  Using these templates, you can cut short the lengthy documentation process, quickly edit the fields, and process the document on the go. This saves time and allows you to take out time for other impact aspects of your business that require your attention.

2. Work order maintenance tool

Fleet management is a crucial part of a business, and maintaining its data is what you need to focus on. For starters, it helps you access valuable insights about your fleets, identify areas for improvement, and implement measures to optimize fleet performance.   Moreover, you can track and analyze various cost factors associated with fleet operations, including fuel expenses, maintenance costs, insurance premiums, and more. This helps you make informed decisions about fleet investments.   Instead of logging every data related to fleet management on spreadsheets and paperwork, you need an effective fleet management tool.   Tool recommendation: Fleetio   Fleetio automates redundant tasks and helps you run your fleets and equipment smoothly.   Maintaining work orders is a crucial part of fleet management that gets you the complete picture of your fleet’s health and ROI. Thankfully, Fleetio has provided a work order spreadsheet template that makes reporting work data easier for you and helps you save significant time.   Simply download the template, make a copy, and start editing your entries on the doc.

3. Team collaboration tool

A team collaboration tool helps businesses facilitate effective communication, streamline workflows, and foster collaboration among team members. Without proper collaboration, your teams (especially remote teams) will be working in silos and running behind deadlines, impacting your productivity and ROI.   Here are some benefits of using a team collaboration tool:

• Your team members can communicate and exchange information in real time, eliminating the need for scattered communication channels like emails, instant messaging apps, or physical meetings.
• These tools come with several features, such as document sharing, simultaneous editing, and version control, enabling team members to collaborate on projects and tasks seamlessly.
• They enable teams spread across different locations and time zones to work together effectively. Remote team members can access shared documents, participate in discussions, and contribute to real-time projects.
• Team members can create, assign, and track tasks within the tool, ensuring clarity on responsibilities and deadlines.
• Collaboration tools promote transparency within the team by providing visibility into project progress, task assignments, and individual contributions.

  Tool recommendation: Asana   Asana is a popular project management and collaboration tool that helps teams organize, track, and manage their work effectively. You can perform all the above-mentioned functions and more (integration with other tools, mobile accessibility, etc.) with Asana.   The best part, you can try out their free version with a multitude of features and decide if the interface suits your needs and if you want to upgrade to the paid version.

4. CRM tool

A CRM tool focuses on one main aspect of a business—customer relationship management. It helps businesses manage their interactions and relationships with customers effectively.   Here’s why you need a CRM tool:

• You can capture and maintain a comprehensive view of customer information, including contact details, communication history, purchase history, preferences, and more. This centralized database ensures that customer information is easily accessible and up to date for all team members.
• You can personalize your business communications with your customers, anticipate their needs, and provide a better service—thanks to a 360-degree view of each customer’s interactions.
• You can manage the sales pipeline and track opportunities from lead generation to closing all in one place.
• You get deep insights into customer behavior, preferences, and purchase history. You can use this information to segment your customer base and target specific groups with personalized marketing campaigns.

  Tool recommendation: Salesforce   Salesforce is among the top choices when anyone thinks of CRM. It has managed to gain a strong reputation over the years in the customer relationship sector and helped many businesses streamline their customer communication.   Aside from all the features and benefits mentioned above, Salesforce is known for offering its suite of applications (referred to as Sales Cloud). It provides tools to manage the sales pipeline, assign and track opportunities, forecast sales, and collaborate with team members

5. Finance management tool

Your finances are the core of your business—an area you cannot take for granted. Thankfully, several finance management tools exist to help you effectively track, analyze, and manage your financial activities.   Here’s why you need to invest in a good finance management tool:

• You get insights into revenue and expenses, helping businesses allocate resources effectively and plan for growth.
• You can monitor your spending patterns, identify areas of overspending, and make informed decisions to control costs.
• You can get a clear understanding of cash flow and plan and make necessary adjustments to ensure sufficient liquidity.
• Automated invoicing streamlines the billing process, reduces manual errors, and improves cash flow.
• It allows you to send instant payouts to employers and contract workers.

  Tool recommendation: Quickbooks   Quickbooks is one of the highly regarded finance management tools. It’s a cloud-based accounting software offering various features to help businesses manage their financial activities effectively.   Here are some features of Quickbooks:

• Bookkeeping and accounting to track income and expenses, manage accounts payable and receivable, reconcile bank transactions, and generate financial reports.
• Online invoicing and payment options that allow you to track payment status as well.
• Expense tracking to record and classify business expenses.
• Financial reports, such as profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.

6. HR management tool

HRs are the frontline warriors of a company and manage more than piles of paperwork and hiring processes. Today, they’re also involved in strategic business development and reporting to ensure employee productivity and engagement within the organization.   Managing all the HR operations manually will only hold you back and delay your progress.   Thankfully, HR management tools make the entire process—from hiring to exit management—a breeze for HRs, allowing them to allocate their time to the most critical aspects of their job.   Here are the reasons why you need an HR management tool:

• They provide a centralized database for storing and managing employee data.
• You can automate the redundant tasks from recruiting, such as scheduling interviews, sending reminders, sourcing candidates, etc.
• Employee self-service portals help take plenty of load off HRs and allow employees to manage their data conveniently.
• HRs and employees can set their performance goals, conduct evaluations, and track progress, all from the same tool.

  Tool recommendation: BambooHR

Invest in smart tech tools to maximize business ROI

Investing in tech tools can not only make your lives easier but help increase your ROI significantly. With the right tools, you can automate manual processes, improve efficiency, and make data-driven decisions for your business.   While selecting the tech tools, make sure to assess your business needs, goals, and budget. Pick the tool that aligns with your vision and is cost-effective and easy to use.   Soon, you’ll see a great spike in productivity and cash flow in your business.  

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  Author’s Bio Deepali is an engineer-turned-freelance writer for B2B SaaS, writing actionable long-form content for companies in Marketing, Cybersecurity, and HR-Tech. When she’s not writing, she’s engrossed in a cozy murder mystery novel with a cup of hot chocolate!