How Mobile Applications Will Save Your Business

Last updated on July 21st, 2023 at 12:00 pm

Your small business can always run more efficiently. But how do mobile applications make your business’s life easier? Technology can make or break your business in today’s age, and you’ll want to avoid being left in the dust by ensuring your mobile applications are assisting you to keep your business afloat.

Depending on the type of industry you’re in, you may have a preference for certain applications over others. But certain apps exist that will cover an area of your business you can’t ignore. Let’s look at some example cases of how a mobile app can help a certain facet of your business.

Accounting

accounting applications

Scenario: You make a number of business-related expenses on the company credit card. When you get back to the office, you have to manually input the expense information into your accounting software. You also need to scan the receipts into your computer so they can be attached to any invoices, or staple any copies of the receipt to printed-out invoices.

Solution: A mobile app provided by your accounting software can allow you to snap a photo of any receipts and attach it to any transaction. Some may even have OCR technology that can scan any dollar amounts and automatically input in any data.

A mobile app for your accounting software usually acts as an extension of the program itself. While the core program runs on your office computer, the mobile app allows for additional functionality not provided in the core program.

Usually, the app will take advantage of the features of the phone to enhance the experience with the software. For example, a mobile app such as QuickBooks offers features that take advantage of the phone’s camera for pictures or scanning items (receipts or QR codes) or being able to generate invoices on the go.

In fact, many companies expect there to be a rise of mobile accounting software that is completely accessible via a mobile browser or application. This would eliminate the need to have any sort of back-office counterpart to sync with. These trends will continue and allow new businesses to succeed in their accounting with whatever device they have (computer, mobile phone, or tablet).

Team Communication

team communication apps

Scenario: You’re trying to clear some pressing issues about a recent order that needs to get sent out. You need to contact someone in another department but don’t know who exactly… all that you know is you need an answer as quickly as possible.

Solution: A communication tool such as an instant messenger (or IM) will provide the most immediate form of communication to the greatest amount of people. Modern IMs will have mobile app counterparts with push notifications.

They also will have ways to group-message individuals or entire departments through specific chat channels, which will allow anyone who is tagged in that channel to see the message and potentially provide a quick response.

Calling individuals on the phone is the tried and true method of getting a quick answer (and truly, if you need an immediate answer from a specific contact, probably remains to be the best method of communication).

But in today’s age and everyone’s busy schedule, email becomes more and more relied on for simple questions that are time-sensitive but not imperative. But what if someone doesn’t have immediate access to their email? Well, there are mobile apps for certain email inboxes such as Outlook or Gmail.

But what if you don’t know who exactly to ask? Who do you email to get the quickest response?

A program like Slack allows for direct IMs as well as “channels” that can be catered however you see fit. Channels could be broken down by a department or by a business function, such as “Accounting”, “Warehouse”, “Sales”, and “Management”, etc.

If you had a warehouse question but didn’t know who specifically to contact, a simple message to that channel allows anyone subscribed to receive the push notification on their device and provide an immediate answer.

Document Management

Document Management apps

Scenario: You’re collaborating on a project with another co-worker and need to be able to send files back and forward to one another. Emailing the files isn’t working out the best, as you both are constantly making edits to the file and need to see what changes your coworkers are making in as quick of a time as possible.

Solution: A cloud-drive application gives your entire team the ability to upload files or have access to files from wherever they may be and see timestamps for the most recent uploads and edits.

Using a cloud software that allows anytime/anywhere access is likely the best and most immediate way to collaborate on work together. But what about in a smaller organization, where work could be a shared spreadsheet, or perhaps some customized purchased orders simply typed up on a .doc file?

Luckily storage drive applications exist such as Google Drive. Not only do they provide a hefty amount of storage space for your files, but its integration with other apps (such as Google Docs and Google Sheets) allows for the usage of cloud-based file-sharing. This is another solution that is available both on a desktop computer as well as a mobile application, allowing you to check contents and send files wherever you may be.

Payment Processing

Payment Processing apps

Scenario: Your retail business is running a pop-up location at a local event and selling a variety of goods. You have many customers looking to purchase your product, but a majority do not carry cash and want to pay via credit card.

Solution: A payment processing application is going to be the quickest way to collect funds for your organization. Some apps provide tiny card readers that can be plugged into the headphone jack of your mobile devices and allow for quick and painless transactions to be run up on the spot.

While your brick-and-mortar store has the luxury of a credit-card scanner on the counter, or perhaps a POS hardware with one built right in, you’ll be out of luck if your business becomes “mobile”. Payment processing applications are allowing credit card scanning hardware to be plugged into tablets and mobile devices, allowing you to scan credit cards and process/record the transaction with your phone.

The two leading payment processors, PayPal and Square, easily allow the collection of funds and provide easy ways to deposit that money into your bank account.

Conclusion

Only the tip of the iceberg has been shown here. Even scrolling through the app store can show you a variety of applications designed to help you run your business a bit smoother. The bottom line is that mobile applications can help you in many more facets of your business that are not listed here, and they’re not going away.

In fact, they (along with cloud-based software options) may be paving the way for the future of running your business. Feel free to let us know how a mobile application has saved your business by commenting below.

Author Bio

Russ Davidson is a Digital Marketing Specialist at Software Connect, a company that provides free software and application recommendations based in Milwaukee, WI. Since 1996, we’ve helped thousands of companies find the best solution for their needs by understanding software requirements and pointing them in the right direction.

Author Bio:

Dinesh Lakhwani

Dinesh Lakhwani, the entrepreneurial brain behind “TechCommuters,” achieved big things in the tech world. He started the company to make smart and user-friendly tech solutions. Thanks to his sharp thinking, focus on quality and the motto of never giving up, TechCommuters became a top player in the industry. His commitment to excellence has propelled the company to a leading position in the industry.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Popular Post

Recent Post

Solo App Developers: A Detailed Guide

By TechCommuters / December 24, 2021

In today’s world, many self-employed or freelancer developers are working. If you work alone and are the main individual that works from start to finish and performs the majority of your tasks, there are many things you should be aware of. Since that is the scenario, we want to provide tips for increasing your productivity […]

10 Best Free Appointment Scheduling Software

By TechCommuters / December 23, 2021

For every organization, time is the most valuable and limited resource. Booking appointments, handling client reservations, and managing with last-minute disruptions may all take up a large portion of your day. Appointment scheduling applications and reservation programs assist in automating routine tasks of organizing meetings with new and existing clients. It helps to function without […]

10 Best Free & Paid YouTube Intro Maker

By TechCommuters / December 22, 2021

Social networks and video streaming services enhance the video content on the internet. With customers spending their maximum hours viewing YouTube videos every day, the marketplace is becoming more competitive. Therefore, YouTube producers require all the assistance to stand forth in the market. This is where a highly produced video introduction can make a huge […]

10 Best Download Manager for Windows 11

By TechCommuters / December 21, 2021

Downloading files on your Windows 11 system is one of the common functions for different users. Hence, many people look for dedicated download manager software for Windows 11 that facilitates error-free and quick downloads. While all Windows 11 browsers come with an in-built download manager, not all are as effective as they are marketed to […]

How To Check Screen Time On android?

By TechCommuters / December 20, 2021

Digital Well-being is an essential health aspect that you need to take care of. It is very important to understand that mobile phones should not be used so much that it becomes a threat to your social life. Additionally, with several applications that are interesting, you could get addicted to using your mobile. However, to […]

What Is Onion over VPN and How Does It Work?

By TechCommuters / December 19, 2021

Security and privacy are the two main challenges of any modern digitized system. While data is vulnerable during the transfer from one system to another, unauthorized access compromises the privacy of the crucial information. Hence, the IT world is struggling to develop modern tools and technologies that add an extra layer to the existing security […]

How to Optimize CPU Speed In Windows 10 PC? – 10 Tips

By TechCommuters / December 18, 2021

Undoubtedly, Windows 10 is one of the fastest and robust operating systems. But over time, Windows 10 PCs start to slow down due to malware attacks, less disk space, heavy temp files, and so on. There’s nothing to worry about if your Windows 10 PC is also running at a bulk cart speed. You can […]

10 Best Free Drawing Apps for MacOS

By TechCommuters / December 17, 2021

A Mac’s HD display with brilliant colors is the ideal partner for every digital designer. In addition, employing the best-in-class art programs on the computer will satisfy your desire to create fantastic art. However, suppose professional drawing programs like Adobe Illustrator and Corel Painter are too expensive for you. In that case, you may need […]

How to find your Windows 11 product key?

By TechCommuters / December 16, 2021

Many users know that Windows 11 is a free upgrade to Windows 10 users. However, there is the need for the product key when the activation is lost after switching from Windows 10 to Windows 11. It is easy to find the Windows 11 product key using different methods. There are four different ways to […]

How to Set a Sleep Timer Shutdown in Windows?

By TechCommuters / December 15, 2021

At some point in an individual’s work life, we all had to stay up late to complete a project assignment. However, with the exhaustion of working so much, we doze off after some time, leaving our work and computer on. When this occurs, you awaken several hours afterwards to find that the pc has been […]