Best Business Management Software and Key Features for Small Businesses

Most business owners will agree that starting a business seems like a simple process, but running it in the long term turns out to be a different matter altogether. As a small business owner, during the initial days, it could be quite easy to manage a small client roster and head a small team. However, things tend to take a complicated turn when you start scaling up.

The moment you expand your organization’s operations, you might get overwhelmed by the thought of handling the heightened complexity of numerous business processes. Thankfully, in today’s technology-driven era, there aren’t many challenges that can’t be overcome.

One such solution is to implement the right business management software. With the right software at your disposal, you can easily streamline operations and accelerate your operational efficiency.

Here we will discuss the various key features of business management systems for small businesses. Stay tuned.

Suggested Read: 10 Money Management Tips for Small Businesses

What Is Business Management Software?

Business management software is designed to streamline, manage and automate business functions. Such tools are designed to help companies manage their core operations in an effective manner. In brief, business management tools come with in-built modules that cater to various business processes such as payroll, operations, inventory management, and accounting, among other things.

Key Features to Look for in Business Management Software

The best business process management software can make your life simple by relieving you of several monotonous responsibilities. At the same time, it is crucial to find the right solution. So, how do you do that?

Well, here are the key features you should look for in BPM software for small businesses:

• Easy tackling of management tasks

  Business management software makes it easy for your team to manage their duties and tasks. Such software generates notifications based on activity schedules, which enable your management and other teams to stay aligned with your company’s objectives. This helps not only with team task management but also saves money in the long run.

• Improved accuracy and increased efficiency through automation

  Business management systems come with a number of automated features, which ensure the accurate management of data and a more effective workflow. Compared to using manual techniques to handle the data, the software delivers accurate reports, improving operational efficiency along the way.

• Better communication among remote teams

  The collaboration between your team significantly improves when all your business information is stored in one location and is accessible to all departments. With cloud-based software at your disposal, you can allow your team to work from anywhere and still get their respective responsibilities fulfilled. This ensures seamless workflow and higher productivity.

• Quick invoice creation & billing

  The best business management software allows users to generate and send invoices to clients and vendors via email or/and WhatsApp. Now you can create tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive invoices in accordance with your requirements.

• Instantaneous inventory check and purchase management

  In leading software programs, inventory is automatically updated following any sale or purchase. This feature allows you to view all inventory-related operations happening within the company with ease. BPM software also allows you to manage your company’s procurement needs while staying aligned with your company’s cash flow cycles.

• Bank and cash & reconciliation

  BPM software allows you to monitor all bank and cash transactions. It can easily match up system-based transactions with bank statements, keeping your financial accounts updated.

• GSTR reports

  While documenting your business transaction, the best business management software automatically updates all GSTR reports (GSTR1, GSTR 3B, & GSTR4). What’s more, these GSTR reports can then be easily and quickly imported to Excel, in a matter of a few clicks.

• Intuitive use interface

  The software’s easy-to-digest dashboard and reports allow users to instantly access and analyze information about their organizations’ finances, activities, and a whole lot of other things. In short, it gives you complete control, which is the holy grail of smooth business functioning.

Suggested Read: 6 Reasons Why Every Business Needs a Software Solution

List of 21 Business Management Software for 2023

• Nifty – Ultimate Collaboration Hub to Manage Projects
• Trello – Helps Manage Teams from Anywhere
• HubSpot – Powers Customer Support, Sales & Marketing
• ClickUp – All-in-one Productivity Platform to Plan & Collaborate
• Hello Bonsai – Productivity Hub for Freelancers
• Bitrix24 – Complete Suite of Social Collaboration & Communication
• NetSuite – Automate Core Financial Processes
• Zoho One – Powerful Toolkit to Manage & Automate Business Processes
• Frank – Manage Architecture & Engineering Studios with Project Management
• Odoo – Comprises Suite of Business Management Software Tools
• Smartsheet – Manage & Automate Collaborative Work
• Atlassian Jira – Powerful Work Management Tool for All Use Cases
• Timely – Track Time Spent in Every Web & Desktop App
• Quixy – Cloud Based No Code Development Platform
• TimeCamp – Free Time Tracker for Unlimited Users
• Flodesk – Intuitive Email Builder & Beautiful Templates
• Connecteam – All-in-one Job Scheduling Software
• Bit.ai – Offers Advanced End-to-end Document Solution
• ProWorkflow – Task, Project & Workflow Management
• Teamleader – Sell, Bill & Organize Work in One Handy Tool
• Teamwork – Delivering Projects on Time & Budget

Let’s discuss the products in detail to get the better usage and output.

1. Nifty – Ultimate Collaboration Hub to Manage Projects

The Nifty software lets you manage tasks in terms of progress, thus reducing project development cycles and improving team productivity. Using project portfolios, you can organize your team and align your tasks.

Nifty Features:

• Manage, edit and share documents amongst team members via team chat
• Add project milestones to clarify project objectives & provide status clarity
• Provides time tracking tool to track billable work across projects and tasks
• Provides a detailed status of projects and timelines in your workspace and portfolios

Nifty Pricing: Nifty has a free plan with access to 2 active projects, 100 MB storage space & more. The Starter plan starts at INR 3169.

2. Trello – Helps Manage Teams from Anywhere

Trello is a visual web-based project management tool that empowers your team to manage projects, organize and track progress. Regardless of the project type, workflow or team, it helps keep things organized with tags, categories or labels to meet the specific project management needs.

Starting on Trello is simple. All you need to do is sign up, create a board, and you’re sorted. The best part is you need not start from scratch as there are ready to use Trello templates available that serve as a primary copy for creating boards.

Trello Features:

• Built in no code automation that helps automate tasks on Trello board
• Integrate with over 200+ apps (including tools like Slack, Google Drive)
• Built in mobile device management for better security
• Visualize project data on a Trello Board as Timeline, Dashboard & more

Trello Pricing: Trello free plan is available for individuals or teams. It provides access to features like unlimited cards, storage (10MB/file), activity log, up to 10 boards per workspace & more. The standard paid plan is available at INR 406.26.

3. HubSpot – Powers Customer Support, Sales & Marketing

HubSpot CRM is an all-in-one free CRM software for individuals, enterprises and small businesses. The integrated CRM platform provides marketing, sales, and operations management as well as custom website building tools that you need to scale and manage your entire business in one place. In addition, you can connect Teamwork with HubSpot account to switch between apps faster.

HubSpot Features:

• Customize website/landing pages content and settings
• Get real time view of sales activity
• Drag and drop editor provides an intuitive experience
• Custom and automated sales reports using real time HubSpot data

HubSpot Pricing: HubSpot’s free marketing, sales, and CMS tools are available for free. The paid plan starts at INR 3654 per month. This includes access to features like 1000 marketing contacts, marketing automation (form and email), & more. Besides, you can grow your business with the right plan by only paying for what you need.

4. ClickUp – All-in-one Productivity Platform to Plan & Collaborate

ClickUp is a productivity platform that not only brings teams and tasks together but also offers goals, docs, reminders, whiteboards, and inboxes. The best part is it works for every type and size of team and is fully customizable. By replacing overlapping tools, it is best for teams who want to work more efficiently. Also, with powerful reporting features, you can set goals, track progress in real time, and manage resources effectively.

ClickUp Features:

• Task Tray to keep tasks at top of your mind all day
• Interactive dashboard helps to visualize progress with real time reporting
• It integrates with over 1000+ tools like Slack, GitLab, Webhooks, etc.
• Custom task templates available for all categories including IT, marketing, operations, others to help save prep time

ClickUp Pricing: Free plan available for forever with access to features like unlimited tasks, collaborative docs, whiteboards, real time chat & more. The paid plan starts at INR 408 per member per month.

5. Hello Bonsai – Productivity Hub for Freelancers

Hello Bonsai is an all-in-one business and invoicing management solution that is ideal for freelancers and small businesses. They can use this software to create and share invoices, track leads, manage finances, and much more.

Bonsai’s advanced automation features help automate every process of your business to boost productivity and minimize errors. For instance, you can create defined and structured proposals with just a single tap to close business deals quickly. The software is also quite effective with time and task tracking and customer relationship management.

Bonsai Features:

• Tons of templates available to create contracts, agreements, invoices, and proposals
• Organize docs, files and payments for clients in one place
• Automatically track expenses and income reporting

Bonsai Pricing: The starter plan is available at INR 1958 per month that includes access to all templates, unlimited clients & projects, client CRM & more. Also, a 14-day free trial is available in which you’ll get unlimited access to all Bonsai’s Workflow or Workflow Plus features.

6. Bitrix24 – Complete Suite of Social Collaboration & Communication

Bitrix24 is a free business suite that serves users by providing useful tools for document management, task management, CRM, project management and time management, among other things. This rich feature platform aims to provide practical solutions to manage different business processes. It helps to simplify communication with features like comments, assisted reporting, subscriptions, notifications & more.

Bitrix24 Features:

• Time management tools with check-in/check-out feature, daily planner
• CRM with marketing automation features, email integration
• Set tasks using task template & manage projects online using ‘get things done’ tool

Bitrix24 Pricing: There is a 100% free plan for unlimited users with access to collaboration tools, tasks and project management tools. The basic paid plan starts at INR 4003 per month for 5 users.

7. NetSuite – Automate Core Financial Processes

NetSuite is a cloud-based ERP solution for managing financials, CRM, and e-commerce functionalities. Designed especially for small and medium-sized businesses, this software gives you the benefit of customer service management, marketing automation and sales force automation.

For global business management, NetSuite offers a unified platform with functionalities like Global Ecommerce, Global ERP and Resource Planning. It also provides the functionalities like configurable tax engine, payment processing, financial and accounting regulations & more.

NetSuite Features:

• The software is suitable for every industry and business type
• Provides real time visibility into financial and operational performance
• Cloud delivery eliminates on-premises IT costs

NetSuite Pricing: You can request NetSuite pricing on the official website.

8. Zoho One – Powerful Toolkit to Manage & Automate Business Processes

Zoho One is a complete business management software tool that helps create, collaborate, and effectively communicate with teams through a single platform. It comprises over 45 mobile apps that work in sync to run your entire business (sales, finance, IT, marketing, HR and others) smoothly.

Each of the apps is built in a way that their functionality caters to specific domains of your business. Not just that, it also gives you centralized administrative and enterprise level controls.

Zoho One Features:

• Smart services for improved productivity with Zia – Zoho Intelligent Assistant
• Ability to create custom apps & automate personalized business workflows
• Foster better collaboration with document storage, team chat & online meetings
• Provides advanced security through password policy, IP restrictions etc.

Zoho One Pricing: It is available at INR 1800 per employee per month in which you get access to 40+ business apps, enterprise-level features & more. The flexible user pricing is INR 3500 per user per month.

9. Frank – Manage Architecture & Engineering Studios with Project Management

Frank project management software is for managing architecture and engineering studios with its time management, accounting, and other operations. It is an all-in-one integrated platform that helps in tracking your project progress and results. Not only this, but you can also view details like communications, documents, financials, real-time dashboards in one place rather than switching between different tools with software project management in software engineering.

Frank Features:

• Take control of the time and expenses of your project using a time & expense tracker
• Keep track of project data and client feedbacks with the help of dashboard
• Frank’s database to sort out your company’s marketing material
• Integrate project’s invoice and expenses with QuickBooks to speed up financials

Frank Pricing: It is possible to get all Frank’s features in one simple plan. To check out the price, schedule a live demo by visiting the official site.

10. Odoo – Comprises Suite of Business Management Software Tools

Odoo is an open-source business app that covers your company’s needs for accounting, manufacturing, warehousing, inventory management, and project management, among other things. This integrated and customizable software helps businesses become more efficient by reducing tedious manual processes and keeping all business functions in one place.

Odoo Features:

• Real time communication for better collaboration
• Quick look at your business activities with dashboard
• Numerous custom designed modules and apps

Odoo Pricing: One App is free for unlimited users with access to the latest modules. The standard plan starts at INR 593 per user per month. It includes all apps for a single fee.

11. Smartsheet – Manage & Automate Collaborative Work

Smartsheet is a Software as a Service for project management and collaboration. It enables teams to manage and schedule projects, track project progress, share documents, manage calendars and scale programs. This cloud based platform empowers teams to create a better plan, execute and report on work, thus enabling better business outcomes.

Smartsheet Features:

• Connect team members on one single collaborative platform
• Build easy to navigate business apps to streamline business operations within minutes
• Manage content on Content Management System (CMS), allowing contributors to create, edit and publish
• Integrate with tech stack to view real time information across your business

Smartsheet Pricing: The free plan is for 1 user and up to 2 editors. It includes access to features such as 2 sheets, dashboards, reports, and community support. The paid plan starts from INR 572 per user/month. (For max 10 users and unlimited viewers)

12. Atlassian Jira – Powerful Work Management Tool for All Use Cases

Jira project planning software is designed to help software development teams to manage each stage of their workflow including analyzing, planning, testing & more. This software is a center hub for the collaboration, coding, and release stages.

Also, Jira quickly integrates with over 3000 apps, plugins and addons that can be custom designed to fit every use case.

Atlassian Jira Features:

• Pre-configured Jira project templates to help teams set up quickly
• Access to native roadmaps to make quick decisions and to stay aligned with the goals
• No code platform, just drag and drop automation to focus on important things
• Open DevOps features to track work through the stages of development cycle
• Reports and dashboards offer valuable insights of your work

Jira Software Pricing: The free plan is available for 10 users. (Monthly subscription only) It gives access to one number of sites, single project automation, basic roadmaps, among other things. The paid plan starts from INR 633 per user per month. You can also check-out thr best Jira Alternatives.

Suggested Read: Importance of Business Case in Project Management

13. Timely – Track Time Spent in Every Web & Desktop App

Timely is an automatic time tracking app that allows it employees to record work hours spend across projects. Regardless of whether you bill for time or not, it is crucial to know how your employees spend time. Timely automatically tracks all the time you spend in email, browsers, documents, meetings and so on. This helps your business get an accurate time record across all clients and projects.

Timely Features:

• Improves time efficiency using simple work scheduling, activity breakdowns, etc.
• Real time project dashboards
• AI assisted time logging
• Seamless integration with Google Calendar, Outlook, Zoom, Zapier, etc.

Timely Pricing: The starter plan starts from INR 653 per user per month. This plan allows users to track work automatically, set automatic reminders & more.

14. Quixy – Cloud Based No Code Development Platform

Quixy cloud based app development platform empowers even those with no knowledge of coding to automate workflows across departments. Using the simple drag-and-drop design, it lets users innovate and bring their unique ideas to life. Quixy provides a variety of pre-built templates for several use cases like CRM, HRMS, and much more.

Quixy Features:

• Build web apps, customer portal & more with the help of 40+ field controls
• Includes QR code scanner, e-signature, geolocation, audio & more
• Offers ready to use apps for processes like data flows across organizations 
• Seamlessly integrate with third party apps 
• Accessible in offline mode once apps are deployed 

Quixy Pricing: The paid plan starts from INR 1225 per user per month. It starts with a minimum of 20 users and provides access to features such as integration, document generator, UI and workflow designer & more.  

15. TimeCamp – Free Time Tracker for Unlimited Users

TimeCamp is a free cloud based time tracking solution that helps business forecast more accurate project budgets while individuals gain a better understanding of how much time they spend on various tasks. This in turn helps improve overall time productivity and ensures that the right allocation of resources has been made. TimeCamp’s timesheet module provides automatic reminders and approvals to keep you focused on work. 

TimeCamp Features: 

• Seamless integration with project management, help desk software, etc.
• Track time entries as in the hours taken to perform a specific task to the right project 
• Create and send invoices based on time tracked per project 

TimeCamp Price: The free forever plan is for unlimited users, projects and tasks. The basic plan starts from INR 515 per user per month.  

16. Flodesk – Intuitive Email Builder & Beautiful Templates

Flodesk is an email management solution that helps small businesses to streamline processes related to content management and workflow creation, among other things. With an intuitive email builder and beautiful templates, you can design emails that look good on any device and offer a consistent experience instead of juggling multiple tools.

Besides, you can use Flodesk to design and send brand marketing emails, create and publish opt-in forms to expand your email list, and build powerful email automation to transform your business.

Flodesk Features:

• Send unlimited emails for the lifetime
• Create email sign up forms, even without a website
• Quickly create automated email sequences
• Built in email analytic tools

Flodesk Pricing: Flodesk offers a 30-day free trial with access to all the features it has to offer. The paid plan starts from INR 4819 per month and includes features like unlimited emails, subscribers, workflows, upsells & more.

17. Connecteam – All-in-one Job Scheduling Software

Connecteam is an all-in-one workforce management app that provides multiple solutions such as employee scheduling, communication, employee task management & much more in one place to manage your employees effectively. From time tracking, scheduling shifts, automated checklist & forms, digital training and so much more is available on an easy-to-use interface.

Connecteam Features:

• Schedule shifts & track work time with a GPS time clock
• Save time & increase work productivity using mobile first custom checklists
• Generate real time, detailed and valuable reports
• On to go task management ensures better transparency

Connecteam Pricing: 14 days free trial available to explore all features for unlimited users. The basic plan starts from INR 2369/ month for first 30 users. Each additional user is charged at INR 40.86.

18. Bit.ai – Offers Advanced End-to-end Document Solution

Bit.ai is the next-gen document collaboration platform that let users create documents, dynamic notes & more with robust design options. It also offers a smart editor for creating interactive live docs so all your documents can be in one place and be accessible from anywhere in the world. Moreover, Bit.ai seamlessly integrates with 100+ platforms which can boost your productivity massively.

Bit.ai Features:

• Attach over 150+ file types, text blocks, images
• Online collaboration tools to collaborate in real time with team members
• Track documents to see who viewed them and for how long
• Various design themes available to create smart tables within your docs

Bit.ai Pricing: The free plan (upto 5 members and 50 documents) top features include content library, 1 GB storage, & more. The pro plan starts from INR 654 per member per month.

19. ProWorkflow – Task, Project & Workflow Management

ProWorkflow is a project management software that makes collaboration, tracking tasks, and communication with the team a seamless process. It helps teams of all sizes achieve clear visibility and provides ongoing support and accountability on projects, tasks & more. Further, it provides easy integration with all the tools you need such as Xero, QuickBooks Online, Freshbooks, Zapier, Dropbox & more.

ProWorkflow Features:

• Offers traditional project management solution including timesheets, notifications, alerts etc
• Provides a timeline and availability tool for task scheduling
• Interactive dashboard that displays graphical overview of ongoing projects
• Built in messaging allows teams to chat, share docs & do much more

ProWorkflow Pricing: The professional plan starts at INR 1632 per month per user with access to unlimited projects, 25 GB file storage & more.

20. Teamleader – Sell, Bill & Organize Work in One Handy Tool

Teamleader is a cloud based CRM solution that removes the everyday hassle of running a business. This work management tool allows you to sell, bill and organize work in one place.

By centralizing crucial information, you get an overview of ongoing projects workflow, sales opportunities, and valuable insights to track the overall performance of your business. The best part about using this tool is that it lets you make and record calls using the internet connection directly from the CRM.

Teamleader Features:

• Schedule and track tasks, meetings and events effectively
• Calendar feature to set appointments and follow up reminders
• Manage projects within the allocated budget with just a click

Teamleader Pricing: The paid plan starts at INR 4237 per month and includes 2 users. It includes all the essential tools such as tasks, calls, meetings, integrations & more that you need to simplify your work.

21. Teamwork – Delivering Projects on Time & Budget

Teamwork project management software is especially built to run and manage client work. It lets you deliver work on time and budget, eliminates unnecessary chaos and seamlessly manage clients, projects, and freelancers all in one platform.

Teamwork’s users track and manage the projects using integrated solutions such as knowledge sharing, collaboration, time tracking, helpdesk, and more. Thus, Teamwork is now a one stop destination for entrepreneurs to grow their business.

Teamwork Features:

• Real time collaboration keeps teammates and clients on the same page
• From project planning to budgeting, get an overview of any project in one place
• Create task lists with sub tasks to keep you on top of all the assigned work

Teamwork Price: Free forever for up to 5 users per plan. Features in the free plan include time tracking and the ability to create general teams and sub teams for task sharing. The paid plan starts from INR 816 per user per month for minimum 5 users.

Benefits of Business Software for Small and Mid-Size Businesses

Choosing the right business software for your business can help in numerous ways such as streamlining business operations, improving staff efficiency, enhancing office productivity, among other things. In this section, we will give you further necessary insights as to why you need to consider the software to grow your business!

• Improved productivity: Business software automates a variety of tasks such as billing, invoice creation & more, thus allowing you to focus on other important aspects of your business.
• Save time and money: Business software automates key processes and enables growth, thus reducing costs to do business.
• Enhanced communication: The software provides access to communication tools like text messaging, email facility, etc. that are visible across teams. Access to these tools will increase transparency into processes.
• Organize business information: A robust business management software organizes everything for your team – right from customer emails to addresses, to do list, time allocation and other key information.
• Work from anytime, anywhere: As most of the business software is cloud based and optimized to work efficiently on any device, it helps teams to work together anytime and from anywhere without any chaos.

How to Choose Right Business Software for Your Organization?

Some of the checkpoints to consider before choosing the right software for your business include defining your business problem and the reason for selecting software tools. As a next step, you have to look for software solutions that fulfill your business expectations and maximize your overall productivity. Defining a budget is also a crucial factor to decide on while choosing the right business software tool.

Wrapping Up

Business management tools help streamline your business processes and workflows. Not only this, but it also assists in improving your skills and streamlines different business procedures.

We hope that the above list will help you find the best management software for your company so that you start achieving the set goals with more efficiency.

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