List of time-saving resources

In June, I published a post every day on my business Facebook page about productivity and as fortune would have it when I attended the 09:15 Biz NET meeting last Friday the topic for discussion was Time-Saving Tools. If you haven’t attended a 09:15 Biz Net meeting before -the clue is in the name! It’s a network for small businesses who meet at 09:15, every fortnight on a Friday at Antrim Enterprise Agency.

As the Biz Net group is made up of business owners from all sectors, a wide range of *free or payable time-saving resources were discussed from car parking apps to email management tools and I’ve made a list of these below which you can pick and choose from depending on the business needs.

*Disclaimer as pointed out by JTEC Solutions the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) coming into place in May 2018 will apply to any organisation anywhere in the world which processes personal data on EU citizens. For this reason, extra care has to be taken to make sure your IT systems and the way in which you save/name/store data  are as secure as possible so downloading a free app could put you in breach of that and result in a significant fine up to 10 million Euros or 2% of your global turnover which is a lot more than the £15-£20 a month you thought you were saving downloading a free app!

A large part of productivity can also be linked to the people you surround yourself with and the environment in which you work which is why it’s great that Antrim Enterprise Agency houses Hatchery NI where you have the option of hot-desking, renting a dedicated desk, utilising micro offices or a mail address/call answering service.

List of Time-saving resources:

Transferring Files

1. FileZilla https://filezilla-project.org/

The free FTP solution for both client and server. Filezilla is open source software distributed free of charge

1. WeTransfer https://wetransfer.com/

The simplest way to send your files around the world. Share large files up to 2GB for free

Downloading Images for use in social media posts

1. Canva https://www.canva.com/

Very good for the non-creative types out there -I include myself. Free and payable downloads

1. Unsplash https://unsplash.com/

High res photos gifted by photographers

Web Design/Graphic Design software

1. Xara http://www.xara.com/uk

Web Design/Graphic Design software with a range of features available

Creating video content

1. Video block http://www.videoblocks.com/

Subscription based resource providing unlimited downloads of royalty free footage, motion backgrounds, and templates

1. Audio block https://www.audioblocks.com

Subscription based resource providing unlimited downloads of royalty free music, sound effects and loops

Creating animated video

1. Powtoon https://www.powtoon.com

Make your own website video, product video or educational video. Free and pro versions available

Manipulating images

1. Paint net https://www.getpaint.net/index.html

Intuitive Photo and image editing software

Tracking mileage

1. Triplog https://triplogmileage.com/

Automatically tracks car mileage and log expenses-integrated with your accountancy package -making life simple for HMRC tax returns!

Pre-paid parking

1. Park Mobile http://www.parkmobile.co.uk/

Pay for parking by using your mobile phone remember to add new car registrations if you have more than 1 car!

Text marketing

1. Text Marketer https://www.textmarketer.co.uk/

Effortless way to send low-cost bulk text messages/reminders

1. Text Anywhere http://www.textanywhere.net/

Secure way to send low-cost bulk text messages/reminders via web/email

Tailor made CRM systems

1. ProAptivity CRM http://www.proaptivity.com/

There are lots of different CRM systems out there but if you need a CRM tailored to your own company needs

Time tracking

1. Toggl https://toggl.com/features

Time tracking system for lone or teamwork from which you can run reports for Invoices

1. Harvest https://www.getharvest.com/add-ons

Time Tracking system which integrates with Accountancy and Project Management Tools

Receipt Uploading

1. ReceiptBank https://www.receipt-bank.com/

App that allows you to take photos of your receipt and automatically upload to your accountancy package

Email management

1. Outlook http://www.pcworld.com/article/159204/ms_outlook_enterprise.html

Benefits of outlooks are often overlooked, you can:

– set rules so messages from certain people are directed to a certain folder

– set up tasks in the Task reminder

– set up groups to send out a message to your team for example

-send out a mail merge email to all of your contacts

Training for all features is available in your email browser under the Help icon