4 Small Business Tools You Should Take Advantage Of

Building a new small business from the ground floor up can make for a hectic day-to-day. Without the right tools, running a small business can go make you go from feeling high on life to…well, to feeling quite low.

Running a small business is stressful. According to a survey reported on by HuffPost, “Running a small business is more stressful than anything else in a small business owner’s life—including raising children.” Of the SMB owners polled for the survey, 59 percent reported that they forgo free time and exercise in an effort to do more work for the business.

Read also: How Small Businesses Can Encourage Employee Loyalty?

If your business is to succeed, you need to be in the right head space. Using small business tools to help you complete daily tasks and manage your team will take some of the weight off your shoulders and support you in your business efforts.

Here are four small business tools that’ll help you get your small business off to a strong start.

Applicant Tracking System

How many resumes at last count did you throw in the trash because the applicants did not have the prerequisite experience necessary for the position you need to fill? Workable reports that at least 50 percent of job applicants simply don’t have the skills needed for the job they have applied for.

To combat the avalanche of job resumes that don’t have what you’re looking for, use an applicant tracking system (ATS). “ATS systems are developed to scan keywords, employment history and college records to identify viable candidates.” This will save you time on the recruiting, interview and hiring processes. Instead of spending several hours a day poring over candidate resumes, you will be given the information of qualified contenders.

Trello

When you’re first starting your business, you will be the point-of-contact for every single one of your employees. This means you will need to keep track of the projects they’re working on, clients they’re meeting with and their daily tasks.

Trello by definition is a software “collaboration tool that organizes your projects into [digital] boards. In one glance, Trello tells you what’s being worked on, who’s working on what and where something is in a process.”

Instead of getting bogged down in emails and putting yourself in danger of micro-managing your staff (remember, no one likes a micro-manager), everyone can see what everyone is doing on the shared process board.

Small Business Insurance

State regulations demand that small business owners carry some form of SMB insurance. Business insurance works for your company in the following ways:

• Replaces stolen/damaged equipment

• Pays for medical/sick leave for staff

• Liability protection for goods and services

• Business interruption protection

• Commercial auto protection

• Pays for litigation and restitution fees

If a client takes your small business to court arguing that a product you sold them caused damage to their person or lifestyle, do you currently have the financial means to fight it in court? As a new business, you likely don’t. Small business insurance will cover those attorney fees. Using CoverHound’s business insurance calculator, you can determine how much insurance protection your company needs for one affordable premium rate.

HR Software

Small businesses usually do without an HR department until they are able to properly fund one. Without an HR department, how can you keep track of payroll, sick days and vacation leave?

HR software is the one-stop-shop for scheduling vacation time, planning department changes and hearing out your employees. If a staff member is too nervous to come straight to you about a problem they are having at work, they can write about and upload the issue on the HR software, making you privy to what’s going on and helping you to understand how to better manage the business.

No boss is perfect, and becoming a good one takes practice. Better your business and improve your management skills using these great tools!