Any small business owner would like to keep input costs to a minimum, and nothing beats free! Listed below are free business tools (click on the image to visit the site) that most business owners will use at some or other time.

Dropbox

This application makes it easy to store, access and modify documents, pictures, and videos online. With a 2MB free plan, it is to be recommended.

Google Docs & Apps

Also very handy to access documents from anywhere online with Google Drive with 5MB free storage. You can have an e-mail address end with @yourdomain for free through Google Apps.

Dooster

A very handy project management tool that allows you to keep track of project, people, milestones, and online documents. It also has a time tracker tool. You can have up to 3 simultaneous projects for free.

Contactually

This application keeps track of all your e-mails, and reminds you who to follow up. It can integrate with most CRM programs, and is useful even as a stand alone application. For more information, see my detailed post reviewing Contactually.

Quora

A questions and answers site for business owners where you can showcase your expertise or ask questions.

Free Conference Call

This allows you to make conference calls and host webinars for free. It also has a recording function, which is very useful.

Square

The easy way to accept credit cards on the go on your iPhone, iPad, or ITouch. You pay per transaction in the same way as with Paypal.

Skype

An indispensable way of communicating online with business partners and clients internationally, either for free, or at a very reasonable rate.

Mailchimp

A free newsletter email list for up to 2000 subscribers. A great way to stay in touch and build up your credibility as a small business owner.

Wave accounting

A free accounting system which can be compared to Quickbooks and is specifically for small business owners and freelancers.

If you have come across any other really useful small business tools, please share them below.

An updated post on business productivity tools can be found here: 30-app-ideas-for-your-small-business/

Testimonials

Lavinia Radu

“Sonja is a true professional and a valuable asset to any team. I had the pleasure of working with Sonja and I must say, she is an outstanding executive assistant. She is incredibly organized, efficient, and always stays on top of her tasks. Her communication skills are exceptional as she is always responsive to my requests and inquiries. Sonja was instrumental in helping us ensuring that deadlines were met. She consistently went above and beyond to ensure that all of our needs were met.

What I appreciate most about Sonja is her ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously while remaining calm and composed. She is an excellent problem solver and has a keen eye for detail, which helped us to avoid any potential issues.”

Lavinia Radu

Head of HR

Claire Soares

“Sonja is a gem and was crucial in helping us scale our small business. She was critical in HR, Operations, Team Management, and Quality Assurance. Sonja single-handedly would source, interview, and recommend new team players to fill open roles. Sonja also built our entire Wiki that lists all SOPs and managed the process of getting everything documented by the team members and tracking everything – this was a massive project she handled gracefully. Sonja also managed automation across the company and set up new systems and processes to allow us to scale faster. Sonja also completed all editorial reviews of documents almost 100 pages that we sell online. Her edits were top-notch! Sonja was a great manager to the team and provided guidance and recommendations to help everyone excel at their tasks.”

Claire Soares

CEO

Cliff and Marta Wilde

Great to work with, extremely personable.

Cliff and Marta Wilde

Lee McIntyre

Really brilliant work that was delivered in a super fast manner. Very responsive, very professional, and the work delivered was of the highest standard. Highly recommended.

Lee McIntyre

Sebastian Johansson

Sonja takes initiative, is intelligent and easy to work with. Would recommend! Sebastian Johansson, Blue A Ltd

Sebastian Johansson

Patrick Hulsen

I’m really happy to work with you. I like your reactivity, professionalism and consistency in your work. Thanks a lot.

Patrick Hulsen

Laura Fagan

Wonderful Virtual Assistant. Very quick to learn, make suggestions and take a leadership role in my company. I would highly recommend!

Laura Fagan

Simone Mancuso

Sonja is extremely capable, honest, intelligent and a pleasure to work with.

Simone Mancuso

Clint Salter

Sonja is a hard worker, efficient and productive. An absolute pleasure to work with.

Clint Salter

Ryan Wheeler

Thanks for the fantastic work Sonja – comprehensive, accurate and responsive – everything a client needs! Thoroughly recommended and will use you again.

Ryan Wheeler

Pam Garcia

Sonja has proved an invaluable support for our business. She is well organised and efficient and has proved herself capable of a broad range of tasks, including converting documents, trouble-shooting technical issues, scheduling and preparing rosters. She is also very patient with the technically inept. The best part is that when I email a task to her in the afternoon, the finished product is waiting for me in Dropbox early the next day. I would not hesitate to recommend Sonja to anyone wishing to hire a virtual assistant for their business.

Pam Garcia

James Johns

No doubt will use your amazing services again. Very helpful thanks. Amazing!

James Johns

Edward Stephens

Sonja was an exceptional consultant for my growing real estate brokering business. She helped us get our systems in order and helped us migrate to a new CRM platform that was a total game changer. Thank you, Sonja! I will definitely be working with you in the future!

Edward Stephens

Victor Espigares

Totally recommended to work with Sonja. She’s a superb communicator, very on top of things and super proactive. I’ll without a doubt work with her again. She’s a hidden gem, don’t hesitate to hire her for your next project!

Victor Espigares

Audrius Macernis

Sonja is a great person to work with, will work in the future together again.

Audrius Macernis

Irene Liddle

Extremely delighted with the work carried out.

Irene Liddle

Loxley MacKenzie

Excellent work, very professional and efficient. Will go beyond the work brief to make sure the project is finished on time.