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If you’re a small business owner, you’re likely on the go a lot. So it’s crucial to have business apps that can help you stay on top of things. Here are a few immensely helpful small-business apps to have in regular rotation.
Small-business apps for accounting, billing, and payments
1. Square Point of Sale
Square Point of Sale allows you to accept payments wherever your business takes you. Essentially, you can turn any iPhone, iPad, or major Android device into a mobile POS that accepts credit and debit cards, including EMV chip cards, and mobile payments, such as Apple Pay. The Square Point of Sale app is free to download, and you can use it as a mobile POS either on a smartphone or on a tablet at your counter. With Square Point of Sale just swipe a payment and see money in your account in two business days or less. If you need your funds even faster, for 1.75% of the transfer amount you can opt for instant transfers to get paid as soon as the same day.* Users love that they get paid quickly. Square Reader for magstripe is offered free of cost, and once you start swiping, payment processing fees are only 2.6% + 15 cents of each transaction for all major credit cards.
Monthly fees: None; pay 2.6% + 15 cents of each in-person payment
Available here on iOS and Android
*Instant and scheduled same-day transfers require a linked debit card and are currently available for most debit cards. Funds are subject to your bank’s availability schedule. Minimum amount is $25 USD after Square fees, and maximum is $10,000 USD in a single transfer. Limits start at $2,000 USD per day for new sellers.
2. Intuit QuickBooks
The Intuit QuickBooks app is an immense help when it comes to your accounting and bookkeeping needs. It includes robust tools to track your expenses and sales. Users appreciate that they can use their mobile devices to send invoices and accept payments via email. You can also share access with your accountant so you’re better prepared for tax season. QuickBooks offers its business app free for 30 days.
Monthly fee: From $35/month for the Simple Start package up to $235/month for the Advanced package
Available here on iOS and Android
3. Xero
The Xero accounting app helps you take care of bills and expenses, pay your employees, and manage your purchase orders. Your data is saved in the cloud, so you can access it from your phone, tablet, or laptop. That also means that if any of your devices are ever lost or stolen, you won’t lose any of your information. The Xero accounting app helps busy business owners handle expenses quickly and easily, even letting them see their cash flows in real time. Users call it a life-saving accounting app and love that it’s easy to use. Xero offers its app for small businesses free for the first 30 days.
Monthly fees: $20/month to reconcile up to 20 bank transactions; up to $80/month for the Established plan
Available here on iOS and Android
4. Zoho Books
Zoho Books offers features so you can manage invoices and quotes, track payments, and upload expense receipts right from your phone or tablet. Users appreciate that the program is simple to use and doesn’t require any training. Plus, you can easily track time, access business invoices, and bill from your device. Business owners appreciate that with the app’s real-time updates, their multilocation workers can see the same information in real time, reducing communication errors. They also like that its user-friendly interface makes it easy to build an estimate and convert to an invoice with one click.
Monthly Fee: $15/month/organization for up to three users; up to $240/month/organization for unlimited users
Available here on iOS and Android
5. Square Invoices
With Square Invoices you can create, send, and track the status of invoices directly from your mobile device. There are many benefits that come with mobile invoicing. Customers can pay securely online with a credit or debit card, and you can record the transaction even if they pay with cash or a check. Invoices are always free to send — pay only 3.3% + 30 cents for each invoice paid online with the Square Invoices Free plan. You can access this free invoice app by going to the main menu of your Square Point of Sale app and selecting Invoices. More than 354 million invoices have been sent with Square Invoices.
Monthly fees: There is no fee to send an invoice. Pay 3.3% + 30 cents for each invoice paid on the Square Invoices Free plan. Pay 2.9% + 30 cents on the Square Invoices Plus plan, which is $20/month.
Available here on iOS and Android (same as Square Point of Sale)
Small-business apps for documents and pictures
6. Dropbox
Dropbox keeps all your business files safe, synced, and easy to share. It’s an excellent organizational and collaborative tool for teams. It only downloads files when you need to access them, so it won’t eat up all your storage. Dropbox Business is used by more than 575,000 teams.
Monthly fees: Basic accounts are free and offer 2GB of space; the base Business plan includes 9TB of space for $18/user.
Available here on iOS and Android
7. Docusign
Docusign lets you send and receive secure, legally binding contracts for your business. You can upload PDFs and email them to clients, and it takes only minutes to fill out signatures and timestamps. Other useful features include the ability to edit a PDF before you send it and to scan documents with the camera on your phone. Users enjoy the simple, sleek design and how it simplifies business operations.
Monthly fees: $10/month when paid annually for individuals, with up to five documents per month; $40/user/month when paid annually for business accounts
Available here on iOS and Android
8. PicMonkey
PicMonkey is a photo editing app for designing cards, working on website images, or cropping photos for social media imagery (Pinterest, Instagram, etc). The tools are intuitive and simple to use, so you don’t need a graphic design background to edit photos. Users say the app’s features make it really simple to edit a picture quickly and make it look professional, and they get amazing results.
Monthly fees: The basic app is free, and paid plans start at $7/month for PicMonkey Premium Monthly, or $72 per year.
Available here on iOS and Android
9. Google Drive
Google Drive lets you keep all files related to your business in one place that you can access from your laptop, tablet, or phone. You can also set sharing permissions to allow people to view, comment, or edit documents, and you can view files offline. Documents are accessible from any device, and business owners love that they can collaborate safely with clients from anywhere.
Monthly fees: Get 15 GB free. Prices start at $1.99/month for 100 GB, while 1 TB costs $9.99/month.
Available here on iOS and Android
10. Canva
Through its AI-powered features, Canva enables users to generate custom designs, edit images, create text content, and develop brand assets with remarkable speed and simplicity. The platform’s Magic Design tool can transform simple prompts into complete designs, and its Magic Edit and Magic Eraser features allow for sophisticated image manipulation without advanced technical skills. The Canva AI writing assistant helps users craft engaging copy for various purposes, and its recent innovations include AI-generated videos and an intelligent organization system that manages design elements.
Monthly fees: For individuals, plans range from free to $120/year for more powerful features. Canva Teams is $100/year/person with a minimum of three people.
Available here on iOS and Android
Small-business apps for inventory and shipping
11. ShipStation
ShipStation is a huge time-saver when it comes to your shipping needs. The app features batch label creation and connects to top shipping carriers. The web-based system is hosted in the cloud, and it allows you to process orders, print shipping labels, track shipments, process fulfillment orders, and even get order alerts on your Apple Watch. Small-business owners call ShipStation a fast, easy-to-use solution.
Monthly fees: Plans range from $9.99/month for the Starter package, with up to 50 shipments, to $399.99/month for the High-Volume package, with unlimited shipments.
Available here on iOS and Android
12. Thrive by Shopventory
Thrive by Shopventory is an easy-to-use yet advanced inventory management system for small- to medium-sized businesses. You can see profit margins, compare multiple locations, and spot sales trends. For example, Thrive can identify the items that aren’t selling well, so you know what you should discount and not restock. It can also help you pinpoint when or where theft might be happening. Keep in mind that payments and point-of-sale software are supported but must be secured separately. Currently, Thrive offers payment processing support for Square, PayPal Here, Shopify, Clover, and Vend. Users love that the app helps them stay up to speed even when they’re not in the office.
Monthly fees: Starter plans are $49/month for one location; Elite plans are $469/month for 10 locations.
Available here on iOS and Android
13. Pirate Ship
Pirate Ship helps users save up to 89% on USPS and UPS rates with their free software. Used by thousands of small businesses, Pirate Ship compares rates between services and gives access to pre-negotiated discounts, offering the cheapest possible rate, along with tracking services. Users can then purchase and print labels directly from the site. Pirate Ship can be integrated into a variety of eCommerce platforms, including Squarespace, Shopify, and many others..
Monthly fees: Pirate Ship is completely free and has no paid plans.
Available here on pirateship.com
Small-business apps for communication and employee management
14. Homebase
With Homebase you can build an employee schedule in seconds, track your team’s hours, and manage your labor costs in real time. For example, managers can track both paid and unpaid breaks and retroactively edit employee shifts to ensure accurate reporting. Employees can chat with coworkers in real time, request time off, or trade shifts, offering more flexibility and visibility.
Monthly fees: The Basic plan is free, the Essentials plan costs $20/month per location, and the Plus plan costs $48/month/location, including advanced payroll features such as early clock-in prevention, timesheet approvals, and support for multiple wage rates and employment status.
Available here on iOS and Android
15. When I Work
When I Work provides an easy way to schedule and communicate with your hourly employees, saving you time and reducing absenteeism. If there’s an open shift, you can make it available to all employees in 30 seconds, and you can send employees a mobile alert when the schedule changes. Business owners can monitor shift trades or time-off requests and set up personalized timecard stations on a desktop or tablet to allow easy employee clock-ins and clock-outs. The app can remind employees with an alert before their shifts begin.
Monthly fees: $2.50/user/month for a single location, up to $4/user/month for multiple locations
Available here on iOS and Android
16. Intuit QuickBooks Workforce
With the Intuit QuickBooks Workforce app, you can track your employees’ hours, see who’s working currently, and manage employees from any mobile device. It also features an easy way to approve paid time off, vacations, and timesheets. The app comes with a variety of useful features to help make business finances easier, such as automatic overtime alerts and multilocation management. For Square sellers, Quickbooks Workforce integrates easily with your Square POS system too. Small-business owners like the simplicity and adaptability of the app and the fact that it syncs with their online accounts.
Monthly fees: The Time Premium plan starts at $20/month when added to an existing QuickBooks Online plan. The Time Premium + Payroll Premium plan starts at $85/month.
Available here on iOS and Android
17. Slack
Reduce email back-and-forth and improve productivity with Slack, a real-time messaging, archiving, and collaborative tool for teams. It’s especially helpful when everyone’s not in one place. The Slack business app offers a variety of messaging options, including direct messaging, group chats, and private channels that cannot be joined or viewed by others. It also allows you to drag and drop files, so you can share information seamlessly without having to switch to email. Users love that you can divide by topics and that it’s easy to use on the go.
Monthly fees: Free for the basic plan. Pro plans start at $8.75/month/active user, billed annually, for smaller companies seeking deeper encryption, app integrations, and storage capabilities. Enterprise plans are priced on a per-company basis.
Available here on iOS and Android
18. Expensify
Expensify makes employee expense reports less of a time drain. You can import expenses directly from a credit card to generate free expense reports. To record an expense, just take a picture of it with your phone, and the app will read the receipt and create the expense. Managers can approve reports online and reimburse directly to a checking account. Expensify has over 2.5 million users worldwide. Users call the app a time-saver that helps expenses get reimbursed quickly.
Monthly fees: $5/month/active user for the basic Collect plan when billed annually. Control plans are $9/month/active user when billed annually, which includes upgraded features, such as custom insights and reporting, admin-enforced controls, and more.
Available here on iOS and Android
19. Claude
Claude is an AI assistant from Anthropic that excels at thoughtful conversation, creative writing, complex reasoning, and handling nuanced instructions. Small businesses can use Claude to draft emails, analyze data, create marketing campaigns, answer customer questions, brainstorm ideas, write business plans, and help with research — all while maintaining a natural, helpful tone.
Monthly fees: The basic version is free for limited search inquiries. Claude Pro is $20/month.
Available here on iOS and Android
Small-business apps for project organization
20. Evernote
Evernote is a great tool to organize all those notes you’re jotting down about your business, as well as your to-do lists. Evernote syncs your data automatically across both mobile and desktop devices for quick, easy access. The Evernote business app makes it easy to store additional media, letting you scan or clip web articles and images quickly. Users appreciate that you can access it or work on your mobile devices even when you’re not online.
Monthly fees: Personal plans start at $10.83/month, with 10GB monthly uploads. The Teams plan is $20.83/user/month and includes 20GB of monthly uploads, with an additional 2GB per user.
Available here on iOS and Android
21. TripIt
The TripIt app is worth a download if you’re constantly getting on planes and using rental cars. It organizes all your travel plans in one place and sends you real-time alerts about any changes. It can help you find alternate flights and even snag the best seat. After your flight is booked, simply email travel confirmations to [email protected] to create a travel schedule on your devices. The TripIt app for small businesses allows you to view your entire itinerary when you’re offline, which means you can save money by avoiding roaming charges when you travel abroad. The pro version also features real-time flight alerts throughout your trip, so you can stay in the know whenever you’re on the go. Users call it a must-have app for all flyers.
Monthly fees: A basic TripIt account is free; TripIt Pro is $49/year in the U.S.
Available here on iOS and Android
22. Asana
Asana is a versatile project management tool that helps teams stay on track, hit deadlines, and reach goals. It has the capability to automate workflows, to standardize work requests, and to visualize projects in real time across multiple teams. You can integrate Asana with your email and calendar platforms and use its reporting tools to manage workloads and find ways to become more efficient.
Monthly fees: A basic Asana account is free and allows you to collaborate with up to 10 teammates. An Advanced plan is $24.99/user/month when billed annually and allows you to collaborate with up to 500 teammates.
Available here on iOS and Android
23. Concierge AI
Feeling overwhelmed by all the apps? There’s an app for that too. Concierge AI can connect all your apps—Google Drive, Outlook, Asana, Slack, LinkedIn, and many more — with just a click. Streamline operations by integrating information from your email, CRM, and more.
Monthly fees: A limited account is free, with 10 messages a day and access to most AI models. A Concierge Pro account is $20/month for an individual plan or $30/month for a shared team workspace. The Pro account has unlimited messaging and access to AI models.
Available here on askconcierge.ai
On February 25, 2025, Square updated its in-person payment rate to 2.6% + 15 cents. Learn more about Square fees here.
