Owning a small business can be an expensive endeavor. While some owners can afford to take risks, most small business owners need to review all critical decisions carefully. One of these decisions usually revolves around what software tools to use. In some cases, it’s wise to invest in a software program. However, in other circumstances, you can get by just fine with a free tool. For example, if you own a delivery company, there’s no need to invest in an expensive route planner as there are a number of free route planners with unlimited stops that you can use.
To help you save money, we’ve come up with a list of five free online tools that will help your small business.
Table of Contents
1. A VPN with CyberGhost
All businesses, big or small, need to be concerned about security. A good way to protect your business is by using personal virtual private network (VPN) services. VPN services hide online activity from busybodies and limit who is and who isn’t allowed to access network content. Most VPNs on the market require payment for their services, but there are some VPNs, such as CyberGhost, that will give you some protection at no cost.
CyberGhost offers reliable connection speeds and superior network security. It also works on most modern operating systems. It’s a little hard to configure, especially if you’re a really small business. Plus, if you need Mac or Linux support, you’ll have to upgrade to the paid version. However, for simple needs, CyberGhost is an excellent free tool.
2. Endpoint Protection with Avast
The last thing you want as a small business is to be shut down because of viruses or hackers. This is where Avast’s endpoint protection comes in.
Avast is free and offers solid malware blocking, security scanning, and rescue disk functionality. All these things will definitely come in handy at some point.
3. Project Management with Wrike
Wrike has a reputation for being one of the best project management solutions on the market. The free version gives access to five users, an unlimited number of collaborators, and 2 GB of storage. As a result, you can share files, manage tasks, and monitor group activities with a real-time feed.
To get customizations and reporting, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid version. However, if you’re just getting started and your team is small, this free project management tool will work perfectly.
4. Accounting with Wave
As a small business, you’ll need software to manage your accounting to ensure that you pay the people you need to and the people who need to pay you to do so. To ensure that your books are balanced, you can use Wave. The free version of Wave gives you accounting and reporting functionality. It also lets you create and scan invoices and scan expense receipts directly into the system. However, if you want to make payments and have automatic integration with your direct deposit payroll, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid version.
5. Email Marketing with MailChimp
If you haven’t already heard of MailChimp, then you’re in the minority. MailChimp is extremely well known for its email marketing services.
MailChimp offers service tiers based on the number of emails you send per month. Therefore, if your company sends less than 12,000 emails per month to fewer than 2000 subscribers, you’ll get a ton of use from their free plan.
Included in this plan is a drag-and-drop email designer and template library. You also get open rate analytics. Lastly, MailChimp’s free plan also lets you create signup forms to gather subscribers.
Conclusion
As a small business, saving money any way you can will help your bottom line. Therefore, you should take advantage of free versions of online tools for as long as possible. You may need to upgrade to the premium version at some point, but at least by that time, you’ll know whether the software is worth the price.
