13 great productivity tools for startups
Published on August 27, 2024
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Let’s face it: no matter what, all of us could use an efficiency boost. Even if you’re a market leader, there’s still plenty of room to improve!
In this article, we’ll break down the top productivity tools into the categories of project management software, web analysis, collaboration platforms, and accounting & spend management, as well as presenting a range of other handy tools.
Have a read, and think about how these tools and techniques could help you and your team save time and effort from day to day. With the right tools at your disposal, you’ll spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time growing your business.
Top tools for productivity
If you haven’t already read them, here are a few of our existing articles about amazing tools on the market for finance professionals:
And without further ado, here are the top tools for improving productivity and efficiency in the workplace.
Project management tools
This is a big one. Once upon a time, managing projects was strictly a whiteboard affair (or, worse, handled with clunky, one-size-fits-all software). But there is now a huge range of intuitive project management tools to help you manage deliverables on time, every time, no matter how large your team is or complicated your projects are.
The right task management software can help you keep track of the details, and can help simplify and automate complex tasks that can risk being a real sinkhole of time, effort, and stress. Once you and your team start using a project management tool, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one.
Jira - Collaborate across teams (and timezones)
“Jira is the #1 agile project management tool used by teams to plan, track, release and support world-class software with confidence.”
As stated on their website, Jira is one of the most popular project management tools on the market. It tracks project workflows from end to end, and is also known for its issue management features. It’s used primarily by software developers, agile teams, DevOps, and project/product management teams. Jira can handle teams of 2 to 20,000 users, making it a great solution for companies of every size.
G2 rating: 4.3/ 5
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
User quote: “Overall, the JIRA tool does the job and I would suggest it. I'm quite impressed with its features, which include problem tracking, project management, agile development, configurable processes, and connection with other programs. Enables us to simply generate, track, and manage issues and tasks.”
Trello - Share and manage all sorts of projects
“Trello is the flexible work management tool where teams can ideate plans, collaborate on projects, organize workflows, and track progress in a visual, productive, and rewarding way.”
Trello bills itself as a task management tool, perfect for companies who want to streamline collaboration within and between teams. The simple interface is incredibly intuitive, so every employee can feel confident using it. As an added bonus, Trello has over 100 integrations with other popular software platforms.
G2 rating: 4.4/5
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
User quote: “It keeps my work team up to date with scheduled tasks, it allows me to create flow charts, generate reports, the best of all is that I can add tags, in addition to this Trello has mobile applications, which gives me access to my work from anywhere.
Another important advantage is that it has Powerups or additional plugins with which I can add chats, sending emails, and importing documents.”
Pipefy - Scalable projects for modern team structures
Pipefy is an AI-enhanced workflow management tool, automating processes and workflows for HR, Procurement, and IT operations in particular. Using a ‘Kanban’ model, the tool allows users to work laterally through the phases of the process. There’s even a free option for smaller teams, entrepreneurs, and students to use, allowing for up to 5 users and 10 processes.
G2 rating: 4.6/5
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
User quote: "Straightforward, user-friendly, and excellent for group projects — but most importantly, it helps you achieve your sales closing objectives. Customer service is also top-notch, with responses being quick. Those that are assigned a job are held accountable for their actions, and bottlenecks may be easily identified to remedy any issues.”
Asana - Give all team members visibility over projects
Asana can be used by everyone in the organization: Marketing, Ops, IT, Product, and it even connects work to company goals. The product roadmap tool is beloved by more than 150,000 companies across the globe. Asana boasts more clarity and accountability than other tools, touting its speedy workflows leading to enhance scalability.
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
User quote: "Asana has a good clean interface with the ability for multiple projects and countless categories and subcategories. Working with teams is a breeze as they can be added, assigned tasks and monitored with ease. Customisation turns your work areas into logical systems for your business. I used Asana on multiple businesses, not just projects and it met my requirements every time.”
Ayoa - More creative planning
Ayoa is a mind mapping and collaboration tool with enhanced tracking features that allow teams to easily manage time, goals, expenses, and more. The software combines brainstorming, task management, and collaboration. Ayoa also includes an AI integration that helps with prompts and ideas to get projects off the ground, in order to avoid the dreaded blank page syndrome.
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
User quote: “Ayoa is an intuitive task management software that makes project and task management super easy. It has a sleek, user-friendly interface and comes with a host of powerful features that help you organize your tasks and keep track of your progress. It also integrates with a variety of other services, making it an incredibly versatile tool.”
Get a handle on your tasks and deadlines, and take a look at some of the options out there for project management software - you won’t regret it.
Web analysis
These days, knowing your web traffic inside and out is crucial to understanding your market and your core customer base. Your web analytics can be a treasure trove of critical information.
Put this information to work with a good web analysis tool, and you’ll be able to optimise your operations and build your customer base.
Google Analytics - The classic choice for web analytics
Every webmaster knows Google Analytics. And like many analytics tools, the more time and effort you put into it, the more you discover its power and capabilities. Google Analytics provides comprehensive web analytics for both websites and mobile apps. It is considered by many to be an indispensable tool, and it’s the market leader for web analytics around the world. The cloud-based program collects data from your website(s) and turns it into useful reports and dashboards. A major plus is that it integrates with all the other popular Google tools, making it easy to connect with Search Console and Google Ads.
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
User quote: “The best part of Google Analytics is that it is super easy to set up. If you are a website owner or running a business then Google Analytics lets you measure your website performance or digital marketing with ease.”
Similarweb - Web analytics for your competitors and industry
Similaweb is an analysis platform that tracks both your performance and your competitors’ performance. This helps leaders identify growth opportunities and make strategic business decisions. They offer both a mobile and desktop version, and three pricing tiers. They serve over 4,000 companies worldwide.
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Capterra rating: 4.5/5
User quote: “With Similarweb you not only get analytics from your website, but you can observe the behavior of the target you have defined and their interaction with websites of your competition, which I can describe as a revealing experience for your business.”
Amplitude - Insights consolidated on one platform
Gather all your important web data in one easy-to-use platform. It’s easy to use, and dashboards are easy to make, so even a team of luddites can create and refine their dashboards to track the metrics they need to perform. The price might be a little steep for startups, but the cross-platform insights you’ll receive will be worth it.
G2 rating: 4.5/5
Capterra rating: 4.6/5
User quote: “Amplitude Analytics has been instrumental in allowing us to perform detailed flow analyses, which help us identify improvement opportunities at every stage of the customer journey—whether it’s within the purchase funnel or other critical processes on our platform. By breaking down each step and understanding user behavior in depth, we can make informed decisions that enhance our overall user experience and drive continuous growth. This level of insight is invaluable for optimizing every aspect of our platform’s performance.”
Web analysis doesn’t have to be difficult or complicated. With helpful tools like Google Analytics and Similarweb, you’ll be able to get a deep and detailed understanding of your web traffic, and will be able to put this to good use in growing your bottom line.
Collaboration platforms
We all know the startup environment can be a chaotic place. You and your teams might be in different offices, different time zones and countries - maybe even different dimensions.
Even if you’re all in the same place and time, you still need a simple, straightforward way to collaborate. One that minimises the risk of confusion and makes it easy for every member of the team to do their best work without hassle.
A good collaboration platform can make all the difference here.
Google Drive - Easy and free cloud file-sharing
Google Drive probably needs no formal introduction. The cloud-based storage platform is free, easy to use, and ubiquitous. Chances are you’re already using it in your personal life, but there are professional plans available if you need more storage for work-related items. And of course, it’s a Google product, so seamless integration with the rest of your Google suite is a given.
Capterra rating: 4.8/5
User quote: “I would recommend Google Drive mainly because it's so affordable and still dependable. I've never lost anything or had any major problems. I've never been worried about running out of room which is a huge relief. I think it's very easy to use, and usually it's the default application on my devices.”
Notion - Real-time collaboration
At its core, Notion is a collaboration tool. But in practice, it’s so much more (can you tell we’re a fan?). Billing itself as a “connected workspace”, Notion users can organize projects, create documents, share calendars, and even make use of its integrated AI tool. There’s no lengthy set up period or steep learning curve. Its templates are ready to go so you can hit the ground running.
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Capterra rating: 4.7/5
User quote: “With Notion, we don't need much time to set up parameters and it differs a bit from other competitors that use templates for each type of project. In Notion we can start with a workspace to which we add components or functionalities based on our needs.
Basically, we incorporate elements such as an area to record Sprints, segments that host content and commonly used documents, instructions so that the work team can carry out specific activities, in addition to the customization of fields based on what we need to track tasks.”
Don’t let your collaboration be hindered by any obstacle, technical, inter-dimensional or otherwise. With collaboration platforms like Quip and Google Drive, you can put your team’s strengths and talents to work, no matter where you are.
Accounting & spend management
Come closer, and we’ll let you in on a secret. Are you ready?
Listen: doing your accounts doesn’t have to be boring. With the right accounting and profit analytics software, you can turn this complex and occasionally soul-deadening subject into something straightforward, intuitive, and - dare we say it? - maybe even fun.
Xero - Automated accounting
Xero is built for smaller businesses with relatively little complexity and standard needs. You can pay bills, claim expenses, handle purchase orders, store files, and connect to your bank. Plus, Xero offers excellent integration options for companies looking to streamline their tools. It’s also a favourite tool for outsourced accountants and firms, as it provides the detail they need while keeping processes simple for clients.
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Capterra rating: 4.4/5
User quote: “Xero has been a dependable accounting solution, allowing us to handle all of our financial management needs in one spot. It aids in the management of expenses and the tracking of cash flows into and out of the business. They provide best customer service. Financial reports provide valuable insight into the financial health and performance of businesses.”
Sage - Great for small businesses
Sageis specifically designed for small businesses, and offers functions such as accounting, bookkeeping, reporting, cash flow management, invoicing, and expense tracking. It’s a great solution for small businesses as it provides everything they need, with no extra frills that will go unused.
G2 rating: 4.3/5
Capterra rating: 4.2/5
User quote: “Easy to use, intuitive and with great reporting tools that allow me to keep on top of my business performance. Invoicing to clients, profit and loss reports, VAT returns, keep up to date on cash flow and knowing how my business is performing every day”
Spendesk - A scalable spend management solution
We can’t talk about managing company money without mentioning Spendesk! It’s the smart and scalable solution for growing businesses. The streamlined approval process ensures that employees don’t need to wait days for a purchase to be approved, and managers can work without constantly being interrupted with requests. Built-in controls and 100% visibility protect the company from rogue spend.
Spendesk has both physical and virtual cards to manage subscriptions, handle business travel, and pay for one-off purchases.
G2 rating: 4.7/5
Capterra rating: 4.8/5
User quote: “Spendesk eliminated a very manual process of submitting expenses and invoices with docs and emails. Their platform is intuitive and interactive and actually kind of fun to use too. I can search for submitted expenses and request virtual credit cards for online payments. The process is transparent and secure too.”
Find the right productivity tools for your business
Boosting your company’s efficiency and productivity is about taking a hard look at your day-to-day processes and identifying areas for improvement.
You can also track, manage and filter information that’s unique to your business needs. Break work into tasks and subtasks so nothing slips through the cracks. Plus, you can integrate all your favourite tools you’re already using so your productivity doesn’t get compromised. It’s a win-win situation.
More than that, it’s about building your awareness of the range of software tools out there. With a little research, you could soon benefit from assistance with complex tasks like web analytics, project management and accounting.
And if you're looking for more finance tools, here's your guide to choosing the right one:
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