Best FREE Small Business Software That I Use Daily

Hi!

My name is Bailey. Along with running Tandem Market, I also run two other businesses. One is my day job. My brother and I run an insulation company based in Montana. The other is my passion project, Element Pet Company.

My background is in systems administration, and I’m also cheap AF. If I don’t have to spend money on something, I won’t.

That said, I wanted to share a list of free software I personally use to help run my businesses!

1. WAVE ACCOUNTING

This is my all-time favorite accounting tool. Wave is run by H&R Block, and all of the basic features are completely free. Compared to QuickBooks, this program is an absolute breeze to use.

I use it for income and expense tracking, invoicing, and basic reports. Simple, clean, and does exactly what I need it to do. 10/10 would recommend to a friend.

2. ZAPIER

Zapier might seem intimidating at first, but with a little bit of practice you can make it do amazing things! Zapier is a way to connect two things together to create an automation. For example, when someone fills out a Google Form, Zapier can automatically add their information to a Google Sheet, send you a notification email, or create a task in Trello, all without you lifting a finger.

3. CANVA

You’re probably already using this. Canva is a great free alternative to fancy photo editing software. The free plan gives you plenty of room to design social posts, flyers, graphics, and more without feeling limited!

4. GOOGLE WORKSPACE

If you have a Gmail Account, you already have google suite. You get access to Google Docs (Word Alternative), Google Sheets (Excel Alternative), Google Forms, Google Drive and so much more.

5. TRELLO

If you like lists, need to stay organized, or have tasks to keep track of, Trello is a solid option. It’s a project management tool with a free plan that works well as long as you actually use it!

6. METRICOOL

If you’re big on analytics and posting on social media, this is a great option. It lets you track analytics across all of your social media platforms in one place, and you can also schedule posts directly from the platform!

My biggest tip when it comes to systems is to not overdo it. The more tools you stack, the more complicated things get. Simple systems you actually use will always beat fancy systems you forget about.

Do you have any systems that you reccomed? Comment them below!

-Bailey P.

Owner, Tandem Market & Element Pet Company