15 Essential Apps & Online Platforms for Small Businesses
An AdministrativeAssistant’s Deep Dive
As an administrative virtual assistant since the early 2000s, a verified dinosaur in my field at this point.
I’ve tested and learned to use countless tools for streamlining workflows, saving time, and boosting productivity. There are many amazing platforms out there. However, I’m starting to notice that some of them are trying to do everything. Which, in theory, sounds attractive to some of my clients, but as we have learned again and again, platforms are better when they specialize in one job and work toward improving one aspect of business.
For me, simplicity is key. Add in too many features and you will end up with a confused team and slow processes.
Below is a list of some of the ones that I prefer to work with. They do what they are supposed to do well without overcomplicating things.
Best Small Business Tools From An Administrative Virtual Assistant
Keep in mind that not every business will need all of them.
1. Slack (slack.com)
Best for: Team messaging, file sharing, reducing email clutter, and cutting down on meetings that should have been a quick message.
Why I love it: Slack keeps all communication organized in channels (e.g., #marketing, #client-projects). You can share files, integrate with tools like Google Drive and Trello, and even set up automated alerts.
Pricing: Free for basic use; paid plans start at $7.25/month for more storage and features.
2. Zoom (zoom.us)
Best for: Video calls, webinars, and client meetings. Recently implemented its own note-taking feature, which made it even better.
Why I love it: Reliable, easy to use, and offers recordings (great for follow-ups). Plus, it won’t take up all your bandwidth.
Pricing: Free for 40-minute meetings; paid plans start at $14.99/month for longer calls and cloud storage.
3. Google Workspace (workspace.google.com)
Best for: Professional email, cloud storage, and document collaboration.
Why I love it: Combines Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and shared Calendars in one suite. Real-time collaboration is a game-changer for remote teams.
Pricing: Starts at $6/user/month for business email and 30GB storage.
4. Trello (trello.com)
Best for: Visual project management (Kanban-style boards). Sales teams
Why I love it: Drag-and-drop simplicity makes it perfect for tracking tasks, client projects, and content calendars. Integrates with Slack, Google Drive, and more. Perfect for small teams trying to avoid the many distractions of other project management platforms with too many capabilities and options.
Pricing: Free for basic use; Business Class starts at $10/user/month for advanced features.
5. Asana (asana.com)
Best for: Team task management with deadlines and dependencies. I’ve seen it work great for marketing teams.
Why I love it: Clear task assignments, progress tracking, and timeline views keep projects on track. Great for recurring tasks (like social media posting).
Pricing: Free for up to 15 users; Premium starts at $10.99/user/month.
6. Canva (canva.com)
Best for: DIY graphic design (social media posts, logos, presentations).
Why I love it: Thousands of templates + a user-friendly interface. The Brand Kit feature ensures consistent colors/fonts across all materials. It started as a pretty basic tool, but as time goes by, it keeps improving and now allows you to create professional-looking graphics and videos.
Pricing: Free; Pro plan ($12.99/month) unlocks premium templates and resizing tools.
7. Buffer (buffer.com)
Best for: Social media scheduling, analytics, and caption creation.
Why I love it: Schedule posts across multiple platforms (Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn) in one dashboard. The analytics help track engagement. Their new AI gives you some help with captions and ideas, plus it connects to Canva.
Pricing: Free for 3 channels; paid plans start at $6/month per channel.
8. Mailchimp (mailchimp.com)
Best for: Email marketing and automations.
Why I love it: Easy drag-and-drop builder, audience segmentation, and pre-built workflows (e.g., welcome emails for new subscribers). If you have a larger following, it might not be the best option because of the price, but for small businesses, it is a great tool to get started with.
Pricing: Free for up to 500 contacts; paid plans start at $13/month.
9. HubSpot CRM (hubspot.com)
Best for: Managing leads and client relationships.
Why I love it: Free forever plan with contact tracking, deal pipelines, and email templates. Integrates seamlessly with Gmail and Outlook. I’d recommend it for slightly larger and more established businesses with a larger lead list and more complex sales funnels.
Pricing: Free for basic CRM; paid sales tools start at $45/month.
10. Calendly (calendly.com)
Best for: Booking client calls without back-and-forth emails.
Why I love it: Syncs with Google Calendar, lets clients pick slots, and sends automatic reminders. Saves hours of scheduling headaches.
Pricing: Free for basic scheduling; Premium starts at $8/month for team features.
11. QuickBooks Online (quickbooks.intuit.com)
Best for: Small business accounting.
Why I love it: Tracks income/expenses, generates invoices, and even handles payroll. The bank reconciliation feature is a lifesaver.
Pricing: Starts at $30/month.
12. FreshBooks (freshbooks.com)
Best for: Freelancers and service-based businesses.
Why I love it: Super intuitive for time tracking, invoicing, and expense management. Clients can pay directly through invoices.
Pricing: Starts at $17/month.
13. Stripe (stripe.com)
Best for: Online payment processing.
Why I love it: Secure, developer-friendly, and supports subscriptions/one-time payments. Great for e-commerce or SaaS businesses.
Pricing: Pay-as-you-go (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
14. Zapier (zapier.com)
Best for: Automating repetitive tasks between apps.
Why I love it: Connects 5,000+ apps (e.g., "Save Gmail attachments to Dropbox" or "Add new leads to a CRM automatically").
Pricing: Free for basic automations; paid plans start at $19.99/month.
15. LastPass (lastpass.com)
Best for: Password management and security.
Why I love it: Stores and shares logins securely—essential for managing multiple accounts.
Pricing: Free for one device; Premium starts at $3/month.
These tools have been game-changers for my clients and me. Start with 2-3 that address your biggest pain points, then expand as needed.
Remember, these tools are supposed to make things easier; the moment you feel like you are spending more time on tasks, getting distracted with flashy capabilities that you don’t need, or having to review one too many inboxes, ditch them.