Introduction
Small business owners have a lot on their plate. They have to juggle multiple roles and tasks while managing other team members. However, to succeed in today’s competitive business landscape and scale your business, you need to work smart, not hard.
Small business software can reduce the workload on you and your team while maintaining business efficiency. They can be used to improve business processes and automate repetitive tasks whether you are on the stage of MVP development for a startup or you have an already established small business. This way, you’ll have more time to perform a strategic role and create strategies to scale your business.
To help you find the best software for small businesses, we have compiled a list of the best small business software.
TL;DR: Top small business software of 2024
What is small business software?
Small business software enables you to run your businesses smoothly, cut down costs, automate repetitive tasks, and improve the efficiency of small business processes. They help businesses improve sales, boost customer retention, and increase employee productivity.
Some companies still think that using small business software is an unnecessary investment. A few major reasons for this are that they may have never used one before and the experience was not good even if they have.
If you are one of those businesses, the next thing we say will definitely change your mind.
As per a report by Grand View Research, by 2025, companies using small business CRM software will have earned close to $80 million.
Imagine the revenue potential if you use a software for several redundant tasks of your daily operations!
Small business software enables small businesses to run their businesses smoothly, cut down costs, automate repetitive tasks and improve the efficiency of their processes.
Types of small business software
There are many types of small business software. The most common ones have been mentioned below:
- Documentation software.
- Project management software.
- Accounting software.
- Website building software.
- Marketing software.
Top small business software of 2024
Here’s our list of the top small business software in 2024.
1. Scribe
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G2 rating: 4.8/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.9/5 stars
Scribe pricing:
- Scribe Basic: Free
- Scribe Pro: $23/user/month
- Scribe Enterprise: Customized quote
Scribe overview:
Scribe is an AI-powered documentation tool that helps users instantly convert any process into a step-by-step guide. As a business owner, you’ll have processes and workflows for several projects and departments. Scribe creates process documentation for you in seconds so that you can focus on growing your business.
Scribe user Nate McCallister shows how he uses Scribe to create SOPs in minutes:
Here’s how you can use it:
- Turn on Scribe and perform the process you wish to document.
- Watch Scribe create a step-by-step guide with annotated screenshots and instructions.
- Easily edit the document and customize it to your needs. For example, you can redact sensitive information, add or edit steps, and more.
- Ask the AI to add titles and descriptions — or prompt it to write any kind of document for you.
- Use Scribe Pages to add videos, images, GIFs and more to create comprehensive guides.
- Share the document with your team members in a single click or embed in your documentation.
- Scribe integrates with thousands of popular tools like Notion, SharePoint, Confluence and more.
You can use Scribe to create SOPs, how-to guides, customer onboarding guides, tool implementation documents, and more.
2. Notion
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G2 rating: 4.6/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.7/5 stars
Notion pricing:
- Notion Free
- Notion Plus: $8/user/month
- Notion Business: $15/user/month
- Notion Enterprise: Customized quote
Notion overview:
Notion is a powerful tool that can be used to create and manage documentation. It offers various features such as tables, pages, and databases to create visually appealing documents.
Notion offers a catalog of templates to choose from. You can simply duplicate one of these templates or use them for inspiration. The following example shows how Buffer uses Notion to track employee OKRs.
However, Notion is known for its flexibility, which lets users decide how they want to present information. While creating simple pages with text and embeds is easy, its steep learning curve often overwhelms new users.
Learn more about how to use Notion for project management.
3. ClickUp
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G2 rating: 4.7/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.7/5 stars
ClickUp pricing:
- Free Plan
- Enterprise Plan: Customized quote
ClickUp overview:
ClickUp is a well-known project management software that lets you plan, track, and manage any task. It allows users to visualize and plan their projects and view them as Lists, Box, Board, Gantt, Calendar, etc.
It also has an in-built chat feature so that you can easily communicate with your team members. You can chat with team members in real-time, share documents, add comments on tasks, and tag people.
To help you stay on top of your project goals, ClickUp lets users connect tasks with goals and track progress in real-time.
Learn more about how to use ClickUp for project management.
4. Trello
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G2 rating: 4.4/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 stars
Trello pricing:
- Free Plan
- Standard Plan: $5/user/month
- Premium Plan: $10/user/month
- Enterprise Plan: $17.5/user/month
Trello Overview
Trello is a simple project management tool that will bring all your tasks and teammates together.
It’ll help you manage and organize your tasks in boards, lists, and cards. In addition, Trello’s automation tool, Butler, automates tasks through rules, buttons, and commands.
Trello also offers several templates for different teams so you don’t have to start from scratch.
5. Freshbooks
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G2 rating: 4.5/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.5/5 stars
Freshbooks pricing:
- Lite Plan: $15/month
- Plus Plan: $25/month
- Premium Plan: $50/month
- Select: Customized quote
Freshbooks overview:
Freshbooks is an accounting and bookkeeping software for business owners and accountants.
It creates invoices within a few clicks and also includes automated payment reminders. You can use it to create professional invoices while ensuring you get paid on time.
Freshbooks also includes an excellent expense tracking system. It lets you forward receipt photos, import expenses, and organize expenses. Its robust features make it easy to use and can be accessed through iPhone or Android.
6. Xero
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G2 rating: 4.4/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 stars
Xero pricing:
- Early Plan: $13/month
- Growing: $37/month
- Established: $70/month
Xero overview:
Xero is an accounting software for small to medium businesses. It offers many features, including a Hubdoc to store your receipts and bills. It also creates expense claims, generates invoices, and creates financial reports.
The software is easy to use and can be accessed via Android and iPhones. In addition, the dashboard is intuitive and lets you collaborate with other team members.
Xero also uses two-step authentication to ensure your data stays safe from breaches. Moreover, it offers a 30-day free trial on each plan, but many customers complain of frequent increases in payment plans.
7. WordPress
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G2 rating: 4.4/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.6/5 stars
WordPress pricing:
- Free Plan
- Personal Plan: $4/month
- Premium Plan: $8/month
- Business Plan: $25/month
- eCommerce Plan: $45/month
WordPress overview:
WordPress is one of the most popular website builders. It has an easy drag-and-drop feature that lets users build websites without coding or design experience.
They have hundreds of customizable themes to choose from. You can use their drag-and-drop editor to create a custom website.
Users get access to 59,000+ WordPress plugins. These apps let you add additional features such as Google Analytics, a shopping cart, a live chatbot, etc.
WordPress gives users complete control of their website. It can be used to create any website, such as an e-commerce site, blog, membership website, etc.
A con of using this software is that you’ll have to keep track of new updates and create website backups.
8. Wix
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G2 rating: 4.2/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 stars
Wix pricing:
- Free plan: $0
- Combo plan: $16/month
- Unlimited Plan: $22/month
- Pro plan: $27/month
- VIP plan: $45/month
- Business Basic (e-commerce): $27/month
- Business Unlimited (e-commerce): $32/month
- Business VIP (e-commerce): $59/month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Wix overview:
Wix is another well-known website builder known for its ease of use. It has a beginner-friendly drop-and-drop building tool that gives several hints to users.
You can also choose from hundreds of website templates that are fully customizable. Wix also has artificial design intelligence (Wix ADI) to create a website for you. All you have to do is answer a few questions and relax while it makes a beautiful website.
Aside from the website builder, it offers additional features and apps, including e-commerce tools. For example, you can use Wix to open and manage an online storefront.
With all the extra features and templates, first-time users can find it a little daunting. Also, once you’ve published your website, you can’t switch to a new template. Instead, you’ll have to build a website again from scratch.
9. AWeber
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G2 rating: 4.2/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 stars
AWeber pricing:
- Free Plan
- AWeber Pro: Starts from $16.15/month
AWeber overview:
AWeber is an email marketing software that offers a wide range of features for small and medium businesses.
It offers a/b testing, autoresponders, list management, HTML email templates and email tracking. AWeber provides several support options, including email support, chat support, and a vast library of resources.
Like other email marketing software, AWeber also offers a landing page builder. It comes with a drag-and-drop feature that’s simple and easy to use. You can use it to create a landing page for your email campaign quickly.
10. Social
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G2 rating: 4.3/5 stars
Capterra rating: 4.4/5 stars
Sprout Social pricing:
- Standard Plan: $249/month
- Professional Plan: $399/month
- Advanced Plan: $499/month
- Enterprise Plan: Customized quote
Sprout Social overview:
Sprout Social is a versatile software to manage all your social media work. It covers all your social media needs in one place—from post-scheduling to monitoring and analytics.
It has an excellent user dashboard that lets you manage all your social media profiles in one place. Other features of the software include social media optimization tools, analytics and reports, engagement tools, and more. Best of all, it offers a free 30-day trial of any of its plans.
However, Sprout Social has an expensive, standard plan and limits how many social profiles you can manage.
Small business software features
Most small business software are feature rich. While you may or may not need all of the features they offer, here are some features to look for before you choose one.
- Clean and simple user interface (UI): Small businesses already have a lot of work to do. On top of that, you don’t want software that confuses you and has a steep learning curve. So, look for tools that have a simple UI and are easy to use.
- Data security: A good small business software will store your business data securely. It should have strict safety protocols and features like two-step authentication to ensure you and your client’s data is safe.
- Automation features and tools: Automation is critical for fast-growing businesses. So look for software that can automate tedious and repetitive tasks.
Why do you need small business software?
The main reason for using small business software is productivity. They can help you save time through automation and operate more efficiently. You can use them to track, visualize and measure information to improve the productivity of different departments.
They can help you perform simple tasks, such as generating an invoice and more complicated tasks, such as creating a marketing report.
Simplify your operations with small business software
As a small business owner, your job is not just to run a business and bring new products to market. You also need to make your job easy so that you can focus on things that matter.
Small business software will help you scale your business, save effort and time, automate tasks, and support your team and company.
Also, when adding new software to your business processes, remember to document the process of using that tool. Use a documentation creation tool like Scribe. It helps users create documents within a few seconds. Just turn on the recorder, perform the process, and relax while Scribe creates a complete document with screenshots.
