Leveraging the power of digitisation to simplify and streamline our daily tasks has been a real gamechanger. From time-consuming admin to just the daily management of our day, the introduction of productivity software solutions has leveled up our efficiency in our personal and business tasks. Here’s a roundup of our favourite cloud-based productivity tools that will help you stay organised and give you time to do the things you love most.
For teamwork that makes the dream work
Basecamp: One of the earliest productivity tools to hit the market, Basecamp is a communication tool that gets team members on the same page by keeping everyone informed so that nothing slips through the cracks. It allows you to manage remote teams by breaking work up into separate projects. Each project contains everything related to the work at hand; the relevant people, every discussion, every document, file, task, important date, etc. There are no per-person fees, so you pay one fixed rate no matter how much your group grows.
Microsoft Teams: A great collaboration app that helps your team stay organised and in constant communication. Microsoft Teams enables you to create channels for different groups within your organisation where you can hold on-the-spot meetings, have conversations, and share files. Your scheduled meetings are also synced with your Outlook calendar. You can call anyone from Teams, even if they’re not using the app.
Monday.com: Another simplified way to manage projects and teams. Monday.com allows you to allocate work and track your team. It’s highly customisable meaning you can build your workflows in any way that works for you and your team.
Google Drive: Google Drive is one of the safest places to back up and access all your files from any device. It allows you 15 gigabytes of storage space that you can use to store important files, documents, pictures, videos, etc and it’s free! You can easily invite others to view, edit or leave comments on any of your files or folders. Google Drive works on all systems including Mac and PC.
Project management made easy
Trello: A web-based Kanban board which helps with project management. Trello allows teams to manage the lifecycle of a project by visually using cards to represent work items and columns to represent each stage of the process. You can invite as many people as you want for free! Everyone sees the same board. Simply drag and drop people to cards to divide up tasks. Notifications keep you updated on all activities and sync across all your devices, from the app, email, browser to mobile push notifications.
Zoho: Think of it as a digital office suite that manages various documents namely; spreadsheets, presentations, databases, web conferencing, customer relationship management (CRM), project management, invoicing and tons more! Zoho office suite is a web-based office suite with all the applications you need for project management and, ultimately, run your business. Zoho Creator allows you to create custom applications on your own without needing any coding experience.
Zapier: Another great software for project management! Zapier is an online automation tool that connects your favourite apps. This cloud-based productivity tools allow you to connect two or more apps to automate repetitive tasks without coding or relying on developers to build the integration. Here’s an example: if someone sends you a photo or video, Zapier can automatically grab them from Gmail and save them into a folder in your Dropbox.
Wave: Ideal for small businesses, Wave is free accounting software with no limits on invoicing. You do however have to pay for payroll, payment processing, or professional bookkeeping. Recent updates have brought automated expense tracking, cash-basis accounting, and a lightweight eCommerce feature. It also has a lending feature, so it doesn’t just help you manage your money, it can also help you get access to much-needed capital to fund the growth of your business.
Curate and create content like a pro
Grammarly: Error-free content is KING. Grammarly is a writing tool that helps you check for several types of errors. It detects grammatical and punctuation mistakes through a robust spell-check, and provides real-time suggestions and guidelines on how to correct these errors.
Hootsuite: A social media management tool that allows you to keep track of all your social media accounts. Hootsuite enables you to curate content, schedule posts, monitor what people are saying about your brand and help you respond instantly and it’s analytics function allows you to measure ROI. Many people find it difficult to keep all their profiles updated on all the sites, so Hootsuite allows you to manage multiple social media accounts by logging into a single dashboard.
We’re sure there’s loads more out there, but these are just a few of our favourites. Finding the right cloud-based productivity tool for your business can be very impactful. You can also be smart about it and go the extra mile with a virtual assistant to help you stay on top of things at all times!
