TOGGL
Toggl is a great app for those wanting to keep track of the hours they are working. I use their free basic tracking option to keep tabs on the hours I spend on different projects. Simple and easy to use, Toggl lets me add a description of the job I am working on. I press the play button and away it goes. Once I stop a task it will create a new time entry for that job.
This is a super handy tool when you are charging by the hour, or if you just want to know how long something takes for you to do. As an artist if you are working on a commission piece you might want to use it to start timing your jobs. It can help with working out your pricing structure and ensuring you’re quoting fairly, not just for your client but also for yourself.
It also will send notification emails of the previous weeks hours logged providing ease for checking the work and hours when it comes time to invoice. It’s easy to run reports and filter work by project tags and the like.
HOOTSUITE
Hootsuite allows you to use one interface to post across multiple social media platforms at once. It’s a great tool for scheduling marketing and promotional campaigns and analysing any interactions. Anyone I ever worked with or chatted to about helpful tools or apps will have heard me suggest Hootsuite.
There is a free single user account option, which allows you to connect up to 3 social accounts and schedule up to 30 posts. I am too familiar myself with the challenge sometimes of staying on-top of posting to the social channels constantly. Planning out some content and scheduling posts (especially on Instagram) can improve your time management, alleviate some stress, and allow you to take a proactive approach to your marketing.
It’s also a great tool to utilise when you can’t be behind the computer. Scheduling your social posts for when you are away on holidays or out for a weekend. This helps with maintaining your work/life balance, which can certainly get blurred when you are self employed.
WAVE
Incomings and outgoings are a pretty important aspect of business. With heaps of accounting software and packages out there available, Wave has become my recommendations to most solo entrepreneurs.
With a free Wave account you are able to link your bank accounts and reconcile your transactions. It can be used to create reports and is a great simple to use accounting solution. Invoices can be created and sent through Wave. If you choose to receive payment via their system this is where you will start to pay for their service.
The interface is friendly and easy to use. There is also a mobile app for sending and managing your invoicing. Which is extremely useful if you need to send invoices on the go.
What are your favourite business apps?