22 of the Best Small Business Apps

October 28, 2018

The world is mobile — we can take a call and answer an email from almost anywhere in the world. But what about the work you do every day that needs a bigger screen than the one on your smartphone? How do you collaborate with your team on a new project when you’re not in the office? Do you have to get back to your desk to record your time? Can you send invoices from anywhere besides the office? Your iPad can be the perfect companion when working on the go.

There’s only one problem. How do you choose the best business apps for your iPad from the hundreds of thousands available in the app store? Just check out our list of the Top 22 Business Apps for business. We’ve categorized our favorites by Collaboration, POS, Project Management, Accounting, Time Tracking, CRM, and Other Favorites. Each app lists the starting price for its companion software along with a few of our favorite features.

Collaboration

Initial Pricing: Free for small teams

Slack is one of the most popular collaboration apps for a reason. It’s simple, easy to use, and brings teams together. With Slack, you can create channels for every conceivable need – like a channel for a new project or one just to get excited for the next Happy Hour. It’s the 9th most popular app in the Business category and currently has a rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars.

With Slack, you can:

• Organize conversations by channel for projects or topics
• Share and edit documents
• Integrate third-party tools like Google Drive and Salesforce
• Archive and search past conversations
• Customize Slack to meet your needs

Download Slack Visit website

Initial Pricing: $15 per user per month

Dropbox is already one of the most popular cloud storage services on the web. So, it makes perfect sense for them to introduce a collaboration tool that lets your team work on the same documents at the same time. And with the storage space available on Dropbox, that’s plenty of collaboration.

With Dropbox Paper you can:

• Create new documents or edit existing ones
• Share documents right from the app with your team
• Post and reply to comments from anywhere
• Make edits offline
• Download, share, and email documents

Download Dropbox Paper Visit website

Initial Pricing: Free for small teams

Trello offers a unique way to organize anything and share it with anyone. Add cards to your Trello boards for every project or company initiative. You and your team can add comments, upload files, add labels, and create timelines on each card. You can even create cards and comment by email. Trello offers a different way for your teams to collaborate.

Trello lets you:

• Create special boards for projects
• Add cards for checklists, timelines, and tasks
• Collaborate on work with a unique visual style
• Share ideas and project status
• Post documents, images, and other media for review

Download Trello Visit website

Initial Pricing: Free

Telegram is a simple, fast, and secure instant messaging platform that syncs across all your devices. Unlike other apps designed for business, Telegram has no plans for a subscription fee or selling ads. It’s completely free. They even offer end-to-end encryption and self-destructing chats. If your business needs an affordable and secure instant messaging service, then Telegram might be for you.

With Telegram, you can:

• Send media and files without type and size limits
• Create chat groups with up to 30,000 members
• Communicate privately
• Never worry about ads
• Never pay for the services

Download Telegram Visit website

Point of Sale

Initial Pricing: 2.75% per transaction

Square was the first to revolutionize the point of sale industry with easy to use credit card readers that plugged directly into iPhones and iPads. Square has everything you need to start, run, and grow your business – all directly from your iPad. Plus, they offer a free Square Reader for magstripe so that you can accept all major credit cards with a swipe.

With Square you can:

• Accept all major credit cards
• Record cash, gift cards, and more
• Send invoices
• Customize products with photos and names
• Send receipts via email or text
• Track inventory

Download Square Visit website Learn more View Square tablet stands

Initial Pricing: 2.7% per transaction

Shopify’s e-commerce platform is designed to make selling your products a breeze online. And for those with a brick-and-mortar location, Shopify’s point of sale option integrates perfectly with their e-commerce platform. They also offer a wide selection of point of sale choices that complement their iPad app.

With Shopify’s iPad app, you can:

• Process orders quickly and easily
• Manage inventory in-store and online
• Create discounts for sales
• Contact customers about their orders
• Review sales performance

Download Shopify Visit website Learn more

Initial Pricing: 2.4% + $0.25 per transaction

QuickBooks is the gold standard in accounting software. They’ve been helping small businesses manage their finances since personal computers became a thing. Their iPad app is a free mobile point of sale system that integrates seamlessly with their desktop accounting software.

With QuickBooks GoPayment, you can:

• Accept all major credit cards including Apple Pay and Google Pay
• Get a free card reader when you sign up
• See everything in QuickBooks
• Enjoy built-in fraud protection
• And more

Download Quickbooks Visit website

Initial Pricing: $99 per month

Lightspeed is a complete point of sale and inventory management tool for your iPad. You can create and access detailed sales reports that show best-selling items. The built-in customer profiles can help you provide personalized service to your best customers to increase repeat visits. Plus, Lightspeed offers free onboarding and 24/7 support.

With Lightspeed, you can:

• Manage your inventory
• Track sales and take payments
• Learn which employees are your top performers
• Create workflows to streamline your business
• Get a clear view of your customer’s shopping habits

Download Lightspeed Visit website

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Project Management

Initial Pricing: Free for small teams

Asana lets you quickly create tasks, to-dos, reminders, and ideas for your team. You can manage projects, timelines, and post documents for review. It’s easy to use and quick to master. Asana’s iPad app has an exceptional rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.

With Asana, you can:

• View all your tasks in My Tasks
• Add due dates and assignees to tasks
• Comment on tasks from anywhere
• Share announcements with your team
• Get notifications in your inbox about projects

Download Asana Visit website

Initial Pricing: $99 per month

Basecamp makes it easy to manage projects without being overwhelmed by email. Every project has six core tools you can use to ensure your projects are on time and budget: to-do lists, a message board, chat room, schedule options, uploads, and automatic check-ins. Basecamp was one of the first completely web-based project management tools and offers an entire suite of complementary products to expand your business’s operations.

Use Basecamp to:

• Avoid messy email chains
• Make sure your team knows what they’re working on
• Run efficient meetings
• Always know the status of a project
• Collaborate on documents and more

Download Basecamp Visit website

Initial Pricing: Free for small teams

Airtable is the ultimate online spreadsheet. It lets you create checklists with fully customizable columns, collect ideas, share thoughts, and manage contacts. It’s perfect for creating and managing projects with a lot of steps and it facilitates real-time collaboration with your team.

With Airtable, you can:

• Create project checklists
• Assign team members
• Add due dates
• Confirm task statuses
• Build whatever you need and share it

Download Airtable Visit website

Accounting

Initial Pricing: $9 per month

Xero is a beautifully simple accounting system that was designed specifically for small businesses. Xero lets you send invoices, record receipts, and reconcile your account easily from the iPad app. All your data is saved in the cloud, and they use the same data encryption as internet banking.

Xero makes it easy to:

• Work from anywhere
• Simplify your bookkeeping
• Track accounts, invoices, and expenses
• See all bank, credit card, and PayPal balances
• Reconcile bank statements with ease

Download Xero Visit wesbite

Initial Pricing: $10 per month

QuickBooks is the original home accounting software, and now it’s become the industry standard for small business accounting. You can feel like an accounting expert with the help of QuickBooks and easily keep track of expenses, invoices, and taxes. Plus, the dashboard provides you with a quick overview of your finances all in one place.

With QuickBooks you can:

• See your finances with a glance at the dashboard
• Create invoices quickly
• Manage all your expenses
• Track your sales
• Quickly create reports

Download Quickbooks Visit website

Initial Pricing: $15 per month

FreshBooks is the accounting software that was designed for small businesses from the ground up. Fast, easy, and secure, FreshBooks is a ridiculously easy accounting app designed to work on your iPad as well as your iPhone. It’s trusted by millions of small business owners and self-employed professionals.

With FreshBooks you can:

• Easily send professional invoices
• Get paid quickly with online options
• Review automatic line items to stay on track
• Record expenses from anywhere, and take photos of your receipts
• Keep all client conversations in one place

Download Quickbooks Visit website

Time Tracking

Initial Pricing: $9 per month

Never lose track of time again with Toggl. The simple, clean, and bright interface makes it easy to track your time by client, project, and task. Plus, now it features a new calendar integration to make it even easier view your time entries. Toggl has a great rating on G2crowd too – 4.7 out of 5 stars.

With Toggle, you can:

• Post your time by client and project
• Add entries from selected calendars
• Create time reports
• Log time with shortcuts
• Quickly add time with auto-complete

Download Toggl Visit website

Initial Pricing: Free for one user

Another great time tracking app, TSheets lets you clock in and out with cloud-based time tracking and scheduling. It can even keep track of time and GPS points that automatically sync if you lose cell or internet service.

With TSheets you can:

• Clock in and out quickly and easily
• Schedule upcoming work in the app
• Set up push, text, and email alerts
• Integrate with accounting software like QuickBooks
• Run real-time reporting

Download TSheets Visit website

Initial Pricing: Free for one user

Our last, but certainly not least, favorite time tracking app is Harvest. In addition to the standard time tracking features, Harvest lets you take photos of your receipts to add your expenses quickly. You can even send professional invoices and view your teammates’ timers in real-time.

You can use Harvest to:

• Start and stop your time with a tap
• Set up reminders to post your time
• Add expenses quickly and upload photos of your receipts
• Track mileage and more
• Send professional invoices

Download Harvest Visit website

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CRM

Initial Pricing: $60 per month

Keaps simple, clean design makes it easy to manage your contacts and campaigns right from your iPad. You can quickly add, edit, and send messages to your contacts from anywhere with an internet connection. And Keaps automated marketing features mean you can focus on your clients without losing sight of your prospects.

With Keap you can:

• Manage your contacts from anywhere
• Send contact info directly to your iPhone with the “Save to Phone” feature
• View recent contacts by interaction
• Add lead source to new contacts
• View and manage opportunities

Download Keap Visit website

Initial Pricing: Free for up to 10 users

Agile CRM’s iPad app was designed specifically for marketers and salespeople to acquire, retain, and support their customers. Its marketing automations include Sales Enablement, Telephony, Helpdesk, Web Engagement, Social Media Integration, Email Campaigns, and Mobile Marketing. Agile CRM aims to be your all-in-one CRM.

With Agile CRM, you can:

• Create tasks for your team
• Manage your sales pipeline
• Create sales competitions for employees
• Utilize advanced marketing automations
• Improve your lead generation program

Download Agile Visit website

Initial Pricing: $149 per month

GreenRope’s CRM is designed to help your business increase awareness, generate leads, and improve your conversion rate. Plus, GreenRope includes advanced automation, predictive analytics, and AI to help your business succeed.

With GreenRope you can:

• Improve your lead generation program
• Increase your conversion rate
• Leverage powerful marketing automations
• Create workflows to streamline operations
• Access 24/7 free support

Download GreenRope Visit wesbite

Other Favourites

Initial Pricing: Free for up to 2,000 subscribers

MailChimp was one of the first platforms designed to democratize email marketing and make it accessible for small businesses. Today, it’s grown into a complete marketing automation platform that you can leverage directly from your iPad. No matter where you are, if you have an internet connection, you can keep your email marketing program moving.

MailChimp lets you:

• Create custom-made emails
• Manage your subscribers with tags and filters
• Build workflows for follow-ups and resends
• Integrate Facebook and Instagram ads
• Utilize analytics to improve your campaigns

Download Mailchimp Visit website

Initial Pricing: $30 per month

LogMeIn is the ultimate iPad app for your business. With a few taps, you can access your computer from anywhere with an internet connection. The LogMeIn app truly frees you from your desk so you’ll never have to worry about leaving that one document on your desktop.

With LogMeIn, you can:

• Access your desktop computer from anywhere
• Control your computer remotely
• Run applications on your computer
• Adjust the remote view settings to zoom in
• Switch between multiple monitors

Download LogMeIn Visit website