Top tech tools for small businesses in 2024

Running a small business? Chances are you’re already using technology in the form of a smartphone or software, but there are a lot more opportunities to be unlocked.

Over the last few years technology started playing a key role in the smooth running of business operations from ensuring that teams around the world get paid on time, to onboarding and creating transparency across team functions.

Covid-19 has undoubtedly amplified the importance of a strong tech stack as well, with many companies switching to a remote-first work style for the first time. Technology is not just a ‘nice to have’ anymore, tech tools are essential in helping you run and grow your business.

Why should every small business owner adopt tech tools?

Whether you’re working remotely, or from the office, access to tech tools for small businesses is now more important than ever. The right tool stack can set you and your team up successfully.

Regardless of the industry you’re in, the use of tech can help streamline communication and increase productivity and transparency.

It doesn’t have to be limiting either: from customer relationship management, project management, inventory management, sales, customer engagement, human resources and everyday operations– there’s a tech tool to help you in every part of your business.

How to choose the right tech tools for your small business

With so many to choose from, how do you build the right tech stack for your small business?

The good news is that it doesn’t have to be expensive. Most software tools offer a variety of business plans as well as free trials for businesses to road test the tool before committing.

Is there a task that takes your team a long time to get through? Or maybe you’re finding that you’re getting stuck on things like accounting or employment paperwork instead of spending time on business growth? We’re willing to bet there’s a tech solution that can help, you may just need to shop around to find something that fits your needs.

To help you get started we’ve rounded up a pretty awesome list of our top tech tools to level up your business life, help you save time and get you on the path to success pronto.

Top 18 tech tools for small businesses

We’ve got you covered with a bit of everything in here, from project management tools to inventory tracking, sales software and marketing software. The plus side? Many come with free plans so that you can road test ones to really make sure they’re a match for your small business’ needs.

Communication and project management software

 1. Slack

Slack is arguably one of the most popular forms of communication in the business world and empowers teams around the globe to communicate with ease in real time.

Slack is very user friendly, you can talk with your team privately over direct messaging or collaborate as a group using channels. Our favourite feature is the ability to pin notes to conversations or channels so you don’t have to constantly look it up whenever you need it. This is closely followed by emojis, and Giphys!

Plans

Basic: Free

Pro: $8 (approx. £6.44) per person, per month if billed monthly

Business +: $15 (approx £12.07) per person per month, if billed monthly.

There is also an annual plan available:

$6 (approx. £4.83) per person, per month if billed annually

Business +: $12.50 (approx. £10.07) per person, per month if billed annually.

 

2. Shift

Guilty of having a million tabs open and wasting time finding that one tab? Shift is an excellent time saver.

It allows you to access all your accounts, apps and workflows in one place so you do not need to constantly shift between your key tech stack. Integrations include Slack, Facebook, Asana, Gmail, Outlook, LinkedIn and more.

Plans

Basic: Free

Advanced: $99.99 (approx. £80.54), billed annually

Teams: $99.99 (approx £80.54), billed annually per user

3. Asana

Struggling with staying organised and getting transparency across teams around workflows? Meet Asana. A powerful project management software tool.

Whether it’s for big picture planning or to make sure you don’t lose track of the tiny details, it helps you keep track of what needs doing, and what’s been done. Plus, when you tick it off a colourful animal comes onto your screen to celebrate that with you. Genius.

Plans

Basic: Free

Premium: £9.49 per month (billed annually)

Business: £20.99 per month (billed annually)

A monthly subscription is available for £11.59 and £25.69 respectively.

4. Notion

Whether it’s for documenting in accordance with regulation requirements, to-do lists, project management and document management, Notion is a great all-rounder for those struggling to stay organised.

They’ve also got a library of customisable templates categorised by different goals from HR needs, to workflows, organisation charts, note taking and more.

Plans

Personal: Free

Personal Pro: $4 (approx. £3.22) billed annually

Team: $8 (approx. £6.44) billed annually

Monthly payment options are available at $5 and $10 respectively which is £4.02 and £8.04

Password Managers

5. Last Pass

Guilty of changing your password on numerous occasions because it’s too long to remember? Enter Last Pass.

It helps you stay on top of those pesky passwords so that you do not have to keep hitting that ‘Forgot Password?’ Link every time you log-in. The catch? There’s a master password which you’ll have to remember or write down somewhere.

Plans

Basic: Free

Premium: $3 a month (approx £2.42)

E-signature software

6. DocuSign

Need a solution for managing those numerous contracts you have to sign daily? DocuSign is your friend.

With DocuSign you can manage the entire agreement process from electronic signatures, to contract lifecycle management, document generation and negotiation, contract analytics and more. Powerful if you are scaling your small business.

Plans

Visit DocuSign’s website for more information.

Marketing and collaboration software

7. Miro

Miro is a great tool when it comes to bringing ideas to life and collaborating remotely.

They have a vast library of pre-built templates from business model canvases, to user story maps, mind maps and more. It’s the perfect tool for those wider team brainstorms.

Plans

Basic: Free

Team: $8, billed annually (approx. £6.44)

Business: $16, billed annually (approx. £12.89)

Enterprise: Custom plans available

8. Google Business Profile

You may also know this tool as Google My Business. It’s essential when it comes to helping your small business be found.

With this nifty tool you can connect with customers, post updates, list products and services, accept online orders and more. Whether your business has a physical location or an online-only presence, it’s an absolute must for getting the attention of today’s consumers.

Price

Free! Learn how to create and optimise your Google Business Profile here.

9. Unsplash

Looking for filler images for a blog post, or thumbnail? Look no further.

Unsplash is a great platform that gives you access to high-quality, free stock photos. These range from nature, portraits, black and white and colour. Our top tip: say bye to those messy download folders and keep track of all the photos you’ve downloaded by creating a profile so that all your downloads can be logged. Hurrah!

Price

Images are generally free, and sometimes photographers are available to hire.

10. Sprout

Need a tool to keep track of your social media platforms and scheduling? Enter Sprout.

This is the tool for you if you have numerous social media accounts. It allows you to schedule posts for various platforms including LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. It’s a bit pricier than other schedulers but Sprout are known for their in-depth analytics reports known to increase engagement and help with business growth.

Plans

Standard: $89 (approx. £72) a month, billed annually

Professional: $149 (approx. £120.06) a month, billed annually

Advanced: $249 (approx. £200.63) a month, billed annually

Monthly payment options are available at $99, $169, and $279 respectively, which is approx £79.77, £136 and £224.

11. Later

If you’re looking for something on the more affordable side (and perfect for if you’re just getting started with social media accounts), Later is a one stop shop for your social media scheduling needs.

It integrates both Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Facebook and LinkedIn and comes with a drag and drop user experience. Their free plan is limited to Instagram only and they’ve recently introduced a carousel scheduling feature for Instagram.

Plans

Starter: $15 (approx. £12.09) a month, billed monthly

Growth: $40 (approx. £32.23) a month, billed monthly

Advanced: $80 (approx. £64.46) a month, billed monthly

12. Canva

If you’re after somewhere where you can create social media templates, easily edit images for your website, or remove backgrounds you may want to check out Canva (or try one of these Canva alternatives).

Their free plan comes with a range of customisable templates and their Pro version allows you to add your brand colours to a library so you don’t have to keep searching for the Hex code. They’ve recently added an internal scheduling tool for Instagram for their Pro users.

Plans

Basic: Free!

Pro: A$ 164.99 (approx. £93.57), billed annually and is for up to 5 people

Enterprise: A$46. (approx. £25.94) billed monthly, per person and needs a minimum of 25 people

The Pro version has a monthly billing option for A$17.99 which is approx £10.14

Digital design tools

13. Figma

Looking for something to support collaborative interface design? Look no further than Figma.

It comes with both building, design and brainstorming tools and enables users to provide clear feedback on ideas at all stages. You can use it to design social media posts and prototypes. Powerful stuff.

Plans

Starter: Free

Figma Professional: $12 (approx. £9.66) a month, billed annually

Figma Organisation: $45 (approx. £36.22) a month, annual only

Monthly payment option is only available for Figma Professional at $15 (approx. £12.07).

14. Squarespace

Want to build a sleek business website to house your products and services for the world to see? Squarespace is a user-friendly website builder with a wide range of pre-built templates that can be easily customised regardless if you’re CSS-literate– or not.

If you’re a professional website builder you can become a Circle member after building 3 websites on the platform to get access to exclusive forums, updates and get a 20% discount on annual website and scheduling plans.

Plans

Personal: £10 a month, billed annually

Business: £15 a month, billed annually

Commerce: £20 a month, billed annually

Advanced Commerce: £30 a month, billed annually

Monthly payment options are available at £13, £21, £24, £37 respectively

Sales software

15. Lavender AI

New kids on the block, Lavender AI is a powerful sales email assistant tool.

Founded in 2020, Lavender is designed to help your sales team with their workflow with a built in AI function to help elevate sales emails. You can integrate their AI assistant with Gmail, Outlook, Outreach and Salesloft.

Their newsletters are also worth checking out if you want to brighten up your inbox with their love letters. Their free plan comes with analytics for 5 emails per month and allows you to research 5 people per month.

Plans

Individual Pro: $29 (approx. £23.34) a month

Teams + Integrations: $49 (approx. £39.44) a month, per user

16. Outreach

Founded in 2014, Outreach is a sales execution platform which integrates sales engagement, conversation intelligence, and revenue intelligence into one platform. It can help you take your sales efforts to the next level.

It comes with 90+ integrations across Customer Relationship Management, Account Based Marketing, email, chat and more.

Plans

More information on website

17. Shopify

Have you been thinking about tapping into a world of new customers by taking your retail business online? Shopify is a commerce platform that empowers you to start, grow and manage a business all in one place.

It helps shop owners sell in multiple places across social media and the web as well as manage products, inventory, payments and shipping costs.

Plans

Basic: £24 a month

Shopify: £69 a month

Advanced: £259 a month

HR software

18. Employment Hero

We’re definitely biased, but there’s no way we could complete the list of top tech tools for small businesses without giving our very own platform, Employment Hero, a shoutout. It would be awkward if we didn’t.

So folks– if you’re looking to scale your small business then it’s a no-brainer You should definitely consider the use of a powerful HR and payroll tool to help ease the load off your team.

Our end-to-end HR platform covers every aspect of the employee lifecycle; from recruitment and onboarding to engagement, productivity and success. Goodbye endless paperwork, we can help you streamline employment admin with our easy-to-use, cloud-based platform.

Meanwhile, our HMRC-approved Payroll platform can help you ensure compliance, reduce double data handling and the errors that come with it, and never lose a timesheet or leave request again.

Plans

Book a demo with one of our business specialists who can help you find the right plan for your business.

Final thoughts

When it comes to going full speed ahead with your business growth plans, it’s a no-brainer to consider the right software to help make that happen.

With technological advances software companies have been achieving the best tools can strengthen your team and boost productivity, save time and get everyone on the same page. We hope that you’ve found a few hidden gems in the list.

Interested in learning more about using tech tools to streamline HR and employment? Learn more about how you can take HR digital (and say goodbye to admin, human error and stress in the process). Download our free guide today.