Tv3 Ireland AM 27th April 2017: Small Business Hacks
This morning I was all "business". We've been at it a fair while in business ourselves, and given our love of tech, myself and the crew are often asked to come in and advise businesses of all shapes and sizes on their use of tech. This morning, I covered 5 of my top hacks- simple solutions that more often than not- people have no idea are in existence. Not least how much money and time can be saved.
First is Google. Yes, it's the master of all, the supermind we turn to with every unanswerable question. Some of us use it's awesome Gmail email facility but so many do not realise the power beyond Gmail. Google Docs, Slides and Sheets are Google's slap in the face to Microsoft as their some-would-say better versions of Word, Excel and Powerpoint. Easier to use, totally cloud based through your browser (with free local apps if you like) and the clever ability to work TOGETHER accross the web on documents and even track the changes. Free for non-professional use and keenly priced for larger scale operation. I'm a raging fanp- mostly because it really doesnt matter where I am or what machine I decide to work off- my stuff is just there in front of me once I log in.
Invoice2go: From invoicing on the go to keeping track of paid and unpaid invoices and customer statements- classically you needed some form of office clerk to churn them out and maintain a semblance of order. Invoice2go puts all the right in your pocket, from around 20 euro per year upwards, It's an inexpensive system that runs on your smartphone, tablet, PC or all of them together. Custom invoice templates and totally flexible to the user, it's easy to use and even allows the customer receiving the invoice to pay online immediately via stripe or paypal.
https://invoice.2go.com/
Sum Up: For as little as €20 you can take delivery of this powerful little credit card terminal that works wirelessly through your smartphone or tablet - no up front or monthly fees - just a slick, easy to use little terminal with a pin pad letting you take all manner of credit and debit cards. Fees are a little below 2% so pretty competitive for the smaller user.
https://sumup.ie/?gclid=CILWiPTaxNMCFeq87Qod4RAC7w
Canva is a genius of a facility. Finally, something that takes the mystery out of "Photoshopping", a simple and intuitive cloud based design and graphics program. Sign up for free, upload your logos or pics and use a host of free templates and tools to create anything from a Facebook Banner to a Poster Campaign. For a small business like ours- its made us LOOK so much more professional without costing us a penny. It's actually hugely enjoyable to use.
https://www.canva.com/
Genius Scan: Simple scanning app for your smartphone that quickly and smoothly captures your paperwork- receipts, book pages, letters and receipts. You can categorise your files into nice, searchable folders and then have them automatically backed up to dropbox or google drive.
https://www.thegrizzlylabs.com/genius-scan/
Check out the video here....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAvnMK3t-aM&feature=youtu.be