The best apps for starting a business from home

Working from home is now easier than ever thanks to arguably the century’s most influential invention: the smartphone. Thanks to this small yet ever more powerful device, it’s possible to manage our accounts, our time and our thoughts with the help of downloadable apps. Today, the world truly is at our fingertips. Here are some of the most useful apps to help kickstart your journey to self-employment.

Budgeting

One of the most important things when starting your own business is staying in budget – you are your own boss, and no-one else is going to pay your wages. Mint is one programme designed to help you stay within your means, allowing you to sort expenses into categories and pull up your bank statements to ensure you are always on track. A slightly more complicated but customisable option is Goodbudget, while Lasting Bond is a simple yet insightful choice which allows you to sort and filter data in order to evaluate your spending: from your groceries to your spending for online games – about the latter, there are plenty of websites which allow you to play your favourite games of chance without deposit.

Organisation

Another equally vital part of running a business is time management and keeping on top of tasks. Todoist helps you to organise your to-do list, enabling you to prioritise and set reminders. Evernote is useful if you like to collect notes, audio, screenshots and links: it collates it all into an easy-to-access index. If you are looking to work with others, Monday.com allows you to remotely track what other people in your team are up to, allowing you to allocate projects. LiveNotes is great for business beginners, offering advice and templates for plans, pitches and infographics to help you with any presentation.

Accounting

Probably the worst part of working from home is being in charge of your own accounts. Whether you love HR or you hate it, you should be grateful to anyone who sorts out your payroll; you’ll miss them when they are gone. There are, however, apps to make it easier for you – if you don’t want to go the classic root of hiring an accountant. For example, Quickbooks sorts everything from tax accounting to profit analysis, or if you don’t want to invest just yet, you could try a TurboTax free trial. For those who want an app that comes without the cost, Freshbooks is a free alternative that covers expenses, invoice and also has a great customer service team.

Selling

If you are into arts and crafts and are looking to sell your products online, there are plenty of virtual marketplaces accessible on your phone. eBay allows you to sell all manner of goods, or if you have something a bit more niche, Etsy works with a community of artists to sell one-of-a-kind products. Alternatively, if you have a design which you want to have printed, the Society6 and Redbubble apps allow you to upload your work onto a variety of products. A portion of the money made goes towards the cost of the goods, but it saves you the hassle of sorting it yourself, and there is no fee involved.

The editorial unit