TOP FIVE FREE BUSINESS APPS YOU NEVER HEARD ABOUT

This list is purely subjective, on one hand. On the other hand, I really do think that these are the best free business apps because I’ve looked at other lists and they all come with usual suspects, like Evernote, Dropbox or Skype. How very enlightening. NOT. So here
is my version.

1.     Bitrix24

 

I hearby declare Bitrix24 the best free business app that you probably don’t know about. In fact, Bitrix24 is 35+ business tools inside a single platform – CRM, project management, employee management, call center, virtual office, cloud call center, document management, invoicing, email marketing and much more. There are three things that Bitrix24 does exceptionally well. First is CRM and client management. Second, collaboration, planning and project management. Third, human resources information system. One review called Bitrix24 ‘business management platform and I think that’s the best description for it. Or you can think of Bitrix24 as Salesforce+Skype+Dropbox+Basecamp in one. Totally free for 12 users. Available for iOS, Android, Web, Unix, Linux, Windows and MacOS.

2.     Qwirl

 

Qwirl is a bit difficult to explain, if you never tried it. Essentially, it turns any business document into an interactive webpage.  Think of Qwirl as free quotes and proposal software. Or a way to create beautiful presentations for your clients. Or reports for investors. That’s Qwirl. Founded by ex-Googlers, this service has all the chances to become the next Prezi.

3.     Wave Accounting

 

I wish every service would have pricing page like WaveApps.  The service is absolutely and totally free (and it’s a very powerful accounting platform). It’s especially great at scanning receipts, which is done by simply using your mobile phone camera once you install the app called Receipts by Wave. Unlike Expensify which handles only expenses, as the name implies, Wave Accounting can be used as a payroll and invoicing solution.

4.     Bizagi

 

Bizagi is a free business process modeler solution used by more than 500,000 users worldwide. It is 100% based on BPMN notations, which is a de facto standard for business process automation nowadays. Granted not very many smaller businesses think about processes, standards and procedures, but if you are ready to grow, definitely give Bizagi a try.

5.     Schedulehead

 

Schedulehead is an employee scheduling service. As long as used by 10 employees and 1 administrator, it’s absolutely free of charge. The free service includes knowledge base and email notifications. If you operate your business with tablets and smartphones, ShiftCalendar may be a better choice, but for non-mobile workforce I think Schedulehead works better.  You may also want to consider upgrading to paid plans if you want your employees to receive text messages with their schedule updates.