Operating a one-person shop can be rewarding, but it has its challenges. Here are five apps to help make the work more manageable.
Video: Run your one-person IT shop with the help of these five apps If you're looking for apps to make your one-person shop life easier, these five apps should be on your short list.
Invoice2go (Figure A) is one of the best invoicing solutions you will ever find (in a mobile format). With this tool you can generate client invoices from more than 20 templates—or even customize your own template. Invoice2go offers just about every feature you would ever need from a mobile invoicing system. You can estimate, organize clients/contacts, invoice, set reminders, sync to other devices, save photos of receipts, add time entries to a built-in calendar, insert location information to invoices, and add barcodes and QR codes to invoices.
Square Register (Figure B) is one of the most widely used and reliable means to take mobile payments. With Square you can easily (and safely) associate your account to a bank and take payments on the go. Square allows you to set up taxes, signatures (for receipts), tipping, cash drawers, and much more.
[EDIT] Square offers both email and phone options for support. For more information on contacting Square, you can check out its support page.
Goods Order Inventory Pro (Figure C) is the only inventory system you need (if you don't need POS integration). It enables you to take care of nearly every inventory task imaginable, including centralized data management, inventory management, user tracking, multiple organizations and locations, inventory movement (across locations), user permissions, and quick reporting. This is a powerhouse mobile inventory solution.
Jiffy (Figure D) is one of my favorite time tracking apps. It not only helps you keep track of all your time, it does so with an incredibly clean and well-designed interface. Because the designers had a keen eye for efficiency, the app is easy to use. With Jiffy you can keep track of time spent for all your customers and projects and even modify entries when something needs to be changed.
MobiDB Database Designer Lite (Figure E) will allow you to keep track of all your client licensing. Why use this instead of a spreadsheet? MobiDB lets you create custom databases perfectly tuned for your needs. If you don't need a customized database, the preconfigured listing includes a database for, you guessed it, software! The software database includes fields for name, key, license, vendor, price, date of purchase, where purchased, and comments. Other features include a barcode scanner, filtering, multiple tables/relations, data entry via form, and 14 supported field types.
Your one-person shop doesn't have to be without a supporting cast of apps. Add any one of these apps to your current collection of tools and your daily work will be more organized and more efficient.
What apps do you rely on to help you stay on top of your one-person operation? Share your recommendations with fellow TechRepublic members.