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Ever feel like your to-do list is breeding overnight?
Small business owners are working an average of 50+ hours per week, and yet there’s never enough time to get everything done, let alone focus on growth. You’re wearing five hats, fielding late invoices, chasing customers, and still trying to squeeze in marketing before your dinner time.
You don’t need to hustle harder, you need to work smarter. And the right productivity tools can help you with that. Not the fluffy ones that sound good in theory but leave you wondering what they actually do, we’re talking about tools that save you hours, automate the boring tasks, and cut real costs. We’ve handpicked these productivity tools for small business owners who want to run lean and still scale fast.
Custify: Customer success automation
Category: Customer retention & success
Use it for: Reducing churn, proactive outreach, and customer onboarding
Cost: Custom pricing
Retaining customers is cheaper than finding new ones. A 5% increase in customer retention can increase profits by up to 95% (Bain & Company). That’s where customer success software like Custify can help by giving you clear insights into customer health, automating follow-ups, and equipping your team with the right tools to build stronger, longer-lasting relationships without needing to expand headcount.
Notion: Your business brain
Category: Docs, project management, SOPs
Use it for: Internal documentation and workflows
Cost: Free for individuals; $8/month for teams
Running a team? Managing content? Tracking processes? Notion is where you build the internal hub of your business. It’s flexible enough for any use case, from SOPs to meeting notes to CRM templates.
Forwardly: AP & AR automation
Category: Accounts payable & receivable
Use it for: Paying bills, getting paid faster, and managing cash flow
Cost: Freemium model, low-cost processing fees
Manual payments eat up hours and create too many “Did you send that yet?” moments. Forwardly lets you automate your bill payments and receivables, with no need to pre-fund an account or share sensitive bank information. It’s built for speed and peace of mind.
You can get paid in as little as 60 seconds and stay on top of your cash flow with on-time payments. Cash flow issues are responsible for 82% of small business failures, and Forwardly tackles this head-on.
Zapier: Automate the boring tasks
Category: Workflow automation
Use it for: Connecting your favourite apps to work together
Cost: Free for simple automations; paid starts at $19.99/month
Every time you copy and paste data, you’re wasting time. Zapier connects apps like Gmail, Slack, QuickBooks Online, and more, so you can automate repetitive tasks and no coding is required. 88% of small businesses say automation helped them outperform competitors.
Canva: DIY design that looks pro
Category: Graphic design
Use it for: Social media posts, brochures, presentations, email banners
Cost: Free basic plan; Pro version starts at $14.99/month
If hiring a designer isn’t in the cards, Canva is your go-to. It’s packed with templates for everything from social media posts to pitch decks. You don’t need design skills, but just drag, drop, and go. Businesses that use strong visual content grow revenue 49% faster than those that don’t.
Slack: Instant team communication
Category: Internal messaging
Use it for: Staying in sync with your team, fast decisions
Cost: Free for small teams; paid plans start at $7.25/month
Slack eliminates endless email threads. Create channels for different projects, loop in team members quickly, and keep conversations organized. It’s also great for sending files, quick polls, and updates on the fly.
Clockify: Time tracking that’s actually easy
Category: Time management
Use it for: Tracking hours, managing productivity, billing clients
Cost: Free plan available; paid plans start at $3.99/month
If you’re billing hourly or just trying to figure out where time goes, Clockify is a must. You can track time by project, client, or team member and get reports that show where you’re losing money, or where you should double down. A report by Harvard Business Review revealed that businesses that track their time effectively are 50% more likely to stay on budget.
Google Workspace: Work smarter
Category: Productivity suite
Use it for: Docs, email, spreadsheets, file sharing
Cost: Starts at $6/month/user
If you’re still juggling random tools for docs, spreadsheets, and storage, it’s time to consolidate. Google Workspace gives you everything in one ecosystem. Easy to collaborate, comment in real time, and store files in the cloud.
Trello: Visual task management
Category: Project management
Use it for: Keeping your team aligned, managing launches, tracking to-dos
Cost: Free plan available; paid starts at $5/month
Trello uses boards, lists, and cards to help you visualize your tasks and workflows. Whether it’s planning a product launch or managing client projects, it keeps everyone clear on priorities and deadlines. Use the power-up integrations with Slack, Google Drive, and more to supercharge it.
QuickBooks Online: Bookkeeping made easy
Category: Accounting
Use it for: Invoicing, expenses, taxes, reports
Cost: Starts at $30/month
QuickBooks Onlineis the go-to accounting tool for small businesses. It syncs with your bank, categorizes transactions, and even helps you prep for tax season. It integrates seamlessly with apps like Forwardly, too.
Ready to work smarter, not harder?
Time is your most valuable asset as a small business owner, and the right tools help you protect it. Whether you’re trying to get paid faster, automate your workflows, track team hours, or keep your customers happy, these productivity tools for small businesses are built to save time, reduce costs, and give you back your focus.
No need to adopt all 10 at once; start with the areas where you feel the most friction, and scale from there. The goal isn’t to work harder, but to work smarter with the help of tech that’s actually made for small businesses like yours.
Want to take control of your cash flow today?
Try Forwardly to automate your bill payments and get paid without any monthly fees.
