Streamlining Business Operations in 5 Steps

Streamlining business operations can mean less paperwork, more productivity

When you’re building a business, time is one of your most valuable assets. Even after putting in long nights and working on the weekend, small business owners are always short on time. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the never ending to-do list, stacks of paperwork, and everything you need to do to sustain, let alone grow your business. The good news is, in today’s digital age, choosing the right tech tools can drastically improve the efficiency of your day-to-day business operations, and help you get your time back. Here’s a look at five ways you can use the best mobile technologies and productivity apps to do things better:

1. Avoid Paper Cuts: Piles of paper and a cluttered desk can be evidence of inefficiencies. Ditch filing cabinets and minimize paperwork by investing in online storage systems such as Dropbox, which makes it easy to store, search, and share documents from any device. Additionally, online services like Nitro are fantastic for preparing and e-signing digital contracts and other documents.
2. Invoice in Under 3 Minutes: Getting paid on time and managing cash flow is the lifeblood of small and micro businesses. Mobile invoicing applications such as Invoice2Go help take the stress out of billing by allowing small business owners to invoice right when the job is done, directly from their mobile device. On average, businesses using Invoice2go save an average of three hours per week, and get paid seven days faster. This means better cash flow, and fewer hours spent chasing payments.
3. Create Interactive To-Do Lists: One of the most stressful parts of running a business is staying on top of a never-ending to do list. Wunderlist is a simple online tool for creating and managing to do lists, setting reminders and collaborating with others.
4. Don’t Be Afraid to Outsource: It’s natural to want to manage and handle all aspects of your business operations, but in some instances take the leap and outsource where you can. From tedious admin work and data entry to simple errands, look for a trusted expert to help free up valuable time. Try TaskRabbit to find workers for one-off tasks and Upwork for hiring freelancers that can handle projects that involve copywriting, Web design and more.
5. Stay Social: If your business engages with customers on social media, you’ll know that the effective management of each channel can quickly become a full time job. Instead of ditching social media or going silent, adopt inexpensive tools like Hootsuite to streamline online conversations and monitor how your customers are interacting with your brand. Buffer is another social media scheduling app that is gaining popularity.

Don’t let inefficiency rattle your path to success. Instead take action and remember—to be productive it’s all about working smarter. You can’t add more hours to the day, all you can do is use time more wisely.