The Best Mobile Apps for Business
Consider these 10 tools to drive productivity on your iPhone, BlackBerry or Android.
Time is the small-business owner's most precious commodity. So when an app comes along that promises to boost productivity or save you time and money -- and actually delivers -- we're all ears.
Here are 10 mobile apps that could change the way you do business.
App: Bump
Company: Bump Technologies Inc.Why it rocks: Bump is a virtual business card that allows you to swap contact info, calendar, pictures, even your social media profiles with others, simply by bumping your phone into theirs. The info is transferred wirelessly and automatically added to your contact list. You'll never worry about running out of business cards again.
Available on: Android and iPhone
Price: Every entrepreneur's favorite four-letter word: free.
App: Intuit GoPayment
Company: Intuit Inc.
Why it rocks: This app allows GoPayment account users to accept and process transactions for all major credit cards via a smartphone. No need for hardware. There's no daily or weekly transaction limit. Data are guaranteed only with QuickBooks, although it will sync with other accounting software.
Available on: Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm webOS and Symbian
Price: $12.95 per month, plus 30 cents per authorization.
App: Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite
Company: Quickoffice Inc.
Why it rocks: An internet-based service that offers mobile access to the entire Microsoft Office productivity suite, Quickoffice Connect Mobile Suite enables users to create, open, edit and share documents and spreadsheets on the go.
Available on: Android and iPhone
Price: $9.99
App: TripIt Traveling
Company: Tripit Inc.Why it rocks: Traveling to meet with clients, collaborate with partners or attend a trade show? Forward your booking confirmation details to plans@tripit.com and the TripIt app organizes and shares your itinerary with family, colleagues and even social networking contacts, making it easier to coordinate schedules. Itineraries can be customized to include weather, maps and directions.
Available on: Android, BlackBerry and iPhone
Price: The basic version is free. Pro, at $49 a year includes one-year memberships to Hertz#1 Club Gold and Regus Gold. TripIt for Business starts at $29 a month for up to 10 users.
App: Sales CRM EZi
Company: Ezi Phone Apps Pty Ltd.Why it rocks: You can manage and track sales opportunities and generate revenue forecasts with Sales CRM EZi. View promising prospects and set communication or action plans for each lead. Overdue actions are highlighted in red. Also included are user-defined sales status updates and commission calculation tools.
Available on: iPhone
Price: $9.99
App: Scan2PDF Mobile
Company: Burrotech Ltd.Why it rocks: We're betting you don't carry a document scanner everywhere you go. We're also betting there are times you need to scan a document on the fly. Thankfully there's Scan2PDF Mobile, which uses your mobile phone to scan documents using the camera and convert them to PDF files, which can be emailed.
Available on: Android, iPhone and Windows Mobile. A BlackBerry version is in development.
Price: $6.15 on the Android Marketplace and $6.99 in the iTunes App Store; a lite version is free.
App: Fuze Meeting
Company: Fuze Box Inc.Why it rocks: Fuze Meeting takes videoconferencing toward full collaboration with screen-sharing of presentations and other data, similar to the popular desktop app WebEx. It even lets you "fetch" the folks who haven't shown up yet.
Available on: Android, BlackBerry and iPhone
Price: Free
App: Timewerks
Company: Sorth LLCWhy it rocks: A comprehensive time-tracking and invoice tool, Timewerks lets users create time sheets and invoices and also has integration with a credit card acceptance app to speed up payment.
Available on: iPhone
Price: $9.99
App: My Eyes Only
Company: Software Ops LLCWhy it rocks: My Eyes Only secures the critical business data on your device -- financial information, credit cards, computer and website passwords, the whole ball of wax. Its tagline boasts: "Encryption so strong, it needed U.S. government approval for export."
Available on: iPhone
Price: $8.99
App: Evernote
Company: Evernote Corp.Why it rocks: Evernote captures your brilliant ideas and entrepreneurial insights the moment they strike, documenting them as text, photos or audio recordings and auto-synchronizing all content to your devices (desktop computer, phone, iPad). Features include geo-location tagging and multiple language support.
Available on: Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Palm webOS and Windows Mobile
Price: Free
For more on apps, see:
The New Power of Mobility
Time to Run
The Best iPhone Apps for Business Productivity
11 Must-Have Android Apps for Business
