As a tech startup, it’s all too easy to adopt far too many SaaS and mobile apps to get the best outcome. Yet, less is often more here. While certain software features are required by any tech startup, you still need to find the right balance. Otherwise, employees will get a sense of overwhelm. They will likely only learn the basic features of each app/SaaS and not derive most of the benefits. Here are four tools to run a tech startup.
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Project Management from Concept to Execution
While traditional project management tools have their place, it’s beneficial to use concept mapping first or possibly mind mapping as well, to take in a larger overview. When doing so, it’s possible to conclude that a different project should be given priority over another. In other instances, exploring varied concepts can ultimately take a tech startup in a starkly different direction than it originally intended. This will then have a significant impact on the projects under management.
CRM for the Customers
Better customer relationships are a high priority for almost all customers, especially now. For a tech startup, this remains true even if their main product is an app and they don’t technically have any customer-facing exchanges such as through the direct retail experience. Use CRM software that’s appropriately sized for the organization. HubSpot and Salesforce are great, but they may well be too much. There are CRM packages for the tech industry, specifically, but also smaller, more generic CRM apps that could be sufficient for customer support needs. Automation features within CRM packages can reduce the amount of work involved, so fewer agents can handle a larger number of customers.
Cloud Backups to Survive Setbacks
Cloud backup solutions are essential for startups needing to protect their data. While periodical backups to external media and stored off-site certainly have their place, using the secure cloud to back up data in real-time provides immediacy. In the case of a hardware failure or short-term security issue, companies can retrieve multiple potential versions of stored files going back weeks. This can neatly get around recent file corruption or virus infection issues.
Also, dedicated cloud backups for the storage of large data blocks outside of traditional cloud syncing like Google One subscription plans are possible too.
Financial Tools to Get the Numbers Right
Managing the books is something that all financial startups must do. There are different providers of accounting software. Predominantly, their software works from the cloud and offers different packages based on current requirements. By scaling up through different levels, startups can obtain the range of required features for both their type of business and current needs. As such, it’s a case that no one size fits all.
Intuit has its QuickBooks range with an Advanced package and a payroll add-on too. Xero along with integration with Gusto to facilitate payroll activities is another option. Also, Wave is another competitor with some third-party integrations, accounting, invoice production, and other features. Then there are enterprise accounting packages for corporations, which is another direction to go in.
Choosing the Right Tools for Your Tech Startup
There has never been a better time to set up a tech company, and the massive availability of online tools has made it easier than ever for you to start and run a successful business along with reducing startup costs. But finding the right software tools to get the job done is not always easy, with so many options to choose from that might not always be the right fit for your business. When choosing the right tools for your tech startup, here are some of the most important questions to ask to help you get the right one.
Does it Meet Business Needs?
When choosing a tool for your tech startup, the main thing to focus on is whether or not the tool meets your business’s needs. If it’s not meeting enough needs, this will be a problem, but it’s also important to consider whether the tool does much more than what you absolutely need it for. Keeping tools to a minimum and only getting the ones that actually meet business needs will help you save money and avoid unnecessary investment. To understand this fully, it’s important to have a list in place that clearly states what the necessities are for your business, and what is going to simply be nice to have.
Does it Make Jobs Easier?
Software tools are only as good as how easily employees can adopt them in their day-to-day work. If employees are not using the software tools for any reason, or don’t like using it, then it’s only going to harm morale and productivity in the workplace. Before deciding whether or not to implement a software tool permanently in your tech startup, it’s important to find out what employees think of it, honestly. If it’s not actually making a positive impact on their work, it’s probably not worth having.
Does it Save Time and Money?
Most of the time, we think about using software tools in terms of the amount of time that it can save. But if you’re spending a lot of time working using a free tool, is it really worth it? In some cases, spending some money on a better tool that is easier to use and does not take up so much time will be worth it. After all, time is the most important commodity to any tech startup.
What are Your Competitors Using?
To get started with choosing the best software tools for your tech startup, it’s worth spending some time doing your research into the tools that your competitors are using. Read reviews on websites that provide unbiased ratings for this type of software, and ask in your professional network for recommendations.
With any startup, work hard to keep things simple. This ensures it’s possible to get the most from the deployed tools, so the technological tail doesn’t wag the startup dog.