Resources & Tools
The Balance Small Business is an online library of over 7,000 articles related to launching and managing your own business. Explore topics such as creating a business plan, taxes and accounting, and business law. The Balance Small Business includes tips and ideas for all types of business owners, including online and home businesses and resources for freelancers and consultants.
Start exploring topics relevant to your small business by clicking the link below.
Are you looking for one software to help you keep track of your finances, manage your invoicing, and run payroll? Wave may be for you. Wave is a service for accounting, invoicing, and payroll. It is specifically designed for small businesses, and they use simple, easy to understand language. There is no cost to use Wave; the accounting and invoicing software are free. To accept credit card and bank payments on your invoices expect to pay 1% per transaction.
Similar services include Quickbooks and Freshbooks, so check them all out before deciding what will work best for your business. Consider the cost, the functions you need, and if you’re using other software and need them all to talk to each other.
Learn more about Wave by clicking the link below.
Harvest offers a way to track your time and expenses online. You can create time-sheets, and see how you are allocating your time to specific tasks or projects. There is also a function to create and send invoices based on your time and expenses. You can use Harvest as an individual or as a team. The basic plan (for one person) is free or upgrade to a more comprehensive plan that costs $12 per month.
If your business requires scheduling employees to work different shifts, check out Deputy. It lets you create staff schedules and includes time tracking to accurately record staff hours. You can use Deputy with various payroll and point-of-sale software, including Quickbooks and Square. Pricing starts at $2.50 per user per month.
Slack is a tool that makes it easier for teams to communicate online. It allows members of a team to chat with each other or as a group, share documents, and organization conversations by theme or subject. Slack can also integrate with other apps and comes with many features. It is free for a basic account, and between $8 – $15 for an account with more features.
Start communicating with your team by clicking the link below.
If you are looking for an easy to use tool to manage various projects online, Trello may be for you. You can use Trello collaboratively as a team, or individually. Trello allows you to create boards for various projects. In each board, you can then create to-do and checklists, attach files, organize projects, and more. Trello can integrate other apps such as google drive, slack, and more. Trello offers a free basic version which gives you access to many of the project management functions. You can also upgrade to the business version for $10 per user per month or the enterprise version which is $20 per month for up to 100 users.
If your business has paid employees, Sure Payroll provides a way to streamline the payroll process. They pay employees by direct deposit automatically, help file taxes, and provide human resources. Their prices vary (for a very small business, it would be in the range of $30/month).
Check it out by clicking the link below.
Legal Zoom offers legal templates that you need to start or grow your business. Their templates are organized by the forms you will need to start or manage a business, including forms for tax, registration, and establishing your business. They do not offer a free service, and the price varies by template, so be sure to buy only those that you need.
Does your business have employees? Are you looking to offer them health insurance? Gravie is a service that allows employers to contribute to your employee’s health insurance plans. As an employer, Gravie can help you decide how much to budget for health insurance and allows your employees to shop health insurance through their “marketplace”. It is free to use for employers and employees, but you have to pay for the insurance you decide to buy.
Learn more about Gravie and shop for health insurance plans by following the link below.
Finding out what insurance policies your business needs can be challenging. Pogo is a free service that allows you to compare business insurance policies. They help you find the policies that work for your business needs and your budget. It’s completely free to get a quote or call them directly to speak to a representative that can help you navigate your business insurance choices.
Click the link below to learn more.
Does your business have employees? Are you looking for an all in one human resource management software to help you manage your employees? Bamboo HR is a software that allows you to manage your human resources online, remotely, and across different platforms. Bamboo HR can help you manage onboarding new employees, keep employee records, time off, and more. Their software does not have a set rate but you can get a price quote on their website.
Learn more by clicking the link below.
Does your business have employees? Are you looking for a way to manage your human resources? Gusto is a platform to manage all your human resources in one place. Run payroll, manage your employee benefits, track hourly work and much more, all in one place. The cost of Gusto depends on if you need all the services they offer. The basic plan costs $39 per month plus $6 per person for a basic plan.
Learn more about Gusto by clicking the link below.
