You may have heard this before, but here it is again in case you haven’t followed this advice yet: Successful businesses are all digital.
This fact applies to businesses of all sizes, including smaller companies. Every organization needs digital tools to propel itself into the future and compete with market peers.
In 2016, 45% of small and medium businesses felt that a digital presence was important as part of their digitization transformation. Over half of those SMBs feel that digitization is essential for customer acquisition and that a website is important to success.
This article explores five tools for digitizing a small business so you can make a shopping list of the most important tools for success and growth.
1. Connecteam
Type of tool: Team management, communication, and timekeeping tool.
What the tool is for:
Connecteam helps businesses manage their teams. It lets people chat, fill out forms, get updates, and see schedules. It’s made for workers who aren’t always at desks, like people who work in stores or drive trucks.
Why the tool is popular:
People like Connecteam because it works well on phones and helps everyone stay connected. Managers can send messages, share files, and check how things are going—all in one app. It also saves time by keeping everything organized in one place, making it the best clock in and out app.
Why this tool is essential for small business digitalization:
Small businesses often have team members working in different places. Connecteam helps everyone stay on the same page. Managers can send tasks, share news, and get forms filled without needing people to come to the office. It keeps everything simple and fast. Workers know what to do, and bosses can check progress easily.
These features make sure businesses have streamlined processes, whether they are joined up or spread out. Connecteam is ideal for small businesses that need to avoid confusion and delays because it makes everything easy to manage and accessible, saving time and retaining staff who enjoy clear, streamlined workflows.
2. Google Workspace
Type of tool: Communication and document tool.
What the tool is for:
Google Workspace helps people write documents, make spreadsheets, store files, and send emails. It also lets teams talk to each other through video and chat. Everyone can
work on the same files together, even from different places.
Why the tool is popular:
Many people like Google Workspace because it’s easy to use and works on phones, tablets, and computers. It also saves work automatically so nothing gets lost. Teams like that they can all see and change things at the same time without needing to send files back and forth.
Why this tool is essential for small business digitalization:
Google Workspace makes it simple for small business workers to stay connected and work on projects together, even if they aren’t in the same room. It saves time by putting all the tools—email, chat, files, and calendars—in one place.
This approach means everyone knows what’s happening and what to do next. Since it’s online, people can work from home or while traveling. It also keeps files safe in case a computer breaks. For small businesses, having one place for all communication and documents helps everything stay organized and makes it easier to get work done faster and smarter.
3. QuickBooks Online
Type of tool: Money and accounting tool.
What the tool is for:
QuickBooks Online helps businesses keep track of money. It shows how much money is coming in and going out, helps with bills, sales, taxes, and more, and makes reports so the business owner knows how the business is doing.
Why the tool is popular:
Business owners like QuickBooks Online because it saves time and is easy to use. It connects to bank accounts and updates automatically. This means less work and fewer mistakes. It also helps people during tax time because everything is already sorted and ready.
Why this tool is essential for small business digitalization:
QuickBooks Online helps small businesses know where their money is going. It shows what they earn and what they spend, so they don’t have to guess. Without it, it’s hard to know if the business is doing well or not.
It also helps you make smart decisions, like when to spend or save. Since it works online, business owners can check their money from anywhere. It keeps all the numbers in one safe place so they don’t get lost. This tool is very important because small mistakes with money can turn into big problems. QuickBooks makes sure that doesn’t happen.
4. Shopify
Type of tool: Online store tool.
What the tool is for:
Shopify helps people sell things on the Internet. It lets them create a website, add pictures of what they sell, and accept customer payments. It also helps with shipping and keeping track of what items are still in stock.
Why the tool is popular:
People like Shopify because it’s easy to set up and comes with everything needed to sell online. It works on phones and computers. It also helps people find the store on search engines. Business owners don’t need to be tech experts to use it.
Why this tool is essential for small business digitalization:
It’s a huge challenge for smaller businesses to communicate with customers internationally. Shopify is perfect for this task because it makes it easy to build an online store that anyone, anywhere can access.
It’s a powerful yet accessible tool because it offers payments, shipping, and tracking the location of items and feeds all this information to the customer. It handles all these features so well that even the tiniest businesses look professional and established.
If Shopify didn’t exist, smaller businesses would have a tough time and waste many resources doing everything manually. It promotes growth by creating an online storefront that’s easy for the business to set up, appealing, and accessible for customers.
5. Trello
Type of tool: Task and project tracker.
What the tool is for:
Trello helps teams know what jobs need to be done, who is doing them, and what’s finished. People can make lists, add tasks, and move them around as things get done. Everyone can see what’s happening in real time.
Why the tool is popular:
Trello is popular because it’s colorful, simple, and works like a to-do list that everyone can use together. It’s great for keeping track of work without being confusing. People like dragging tasks from “To Do” to “Done.” It also works on phones and computers.
Why this tool is essential for small business digitalization:
Small businesses often have a lot to do and not many people to do it. Trello helps make sure nothing gets forgotten. It shows which tasks are still waiting and which ones are done. Everyone knows their job and what others are doing.
This approach stops people from doing the same thing twice or missing important steps. It helps teams stay focused and saves time by keeping work in order. Since it’s online, people can check their tasks from anywhere. With Trello, small businesses can stay organized, even if only a small group is working on big plans.
Conclusion on How to Digitize
Always do your research before investing in the best tools for digitizing your small business. Shopify is great for building an online storefront, but alternatives do exist and one of these may fit your needs better. Trello is popular but your staff may not like the layout or customizability options.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to digitization tools for small businesses. Always do research and look at user reviews from other companies who have used the tools you are considering investing in.
Digitization is essential, no matter the tools you choose to carry it out. Digitize today to broaden your reach and show customers you use the latest technology to gain and hold their interest for years to come.
