Before you look at loans and financing solutions to help get your business off the ground or more stable, you should know about a few small business tools in Canada. In today’s blog, Bizfund shares the digital tools we’ve found to help Canadian businesses improve efficiency by streamlining their operations.
These tools, when suitable, can help you create a clear and dependable work system, allowing you to stay organized and strengthen your financial management. They can also support your marketing efforts and improve day-to-day productivity. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the tools you might want to add to your company in the near future.
These Are The Best Digital Tools Every Canadian Small Business Should Use
Since there are so many small business tools in Canada, it’s essential to find the ones that work best for you and adopt them. Below, you’ll learn more about accounting and finance tools, marketing and sales tools, and productivity tools known to be beneficial:
Accounting & Finance Tools
To manage bookkeeping, track expenses, and remain compliant, Canadian businesses need accounting and finance tools. Of course, you won’t need all the business software we discussed below, but it might be worthwhile to choose at least one. After all, when your finances and accounting are above board, you’ll find it easier to maintain cash flow and growth plans.
Intuit QuickBooks
In Canada, one of the most recognizable accounting platforms is QuickBooks. This platform is made for small businesses, medium-sized companies, and freelancers. With QuickBooks, you can organize invoices, generate tax-ready reports, sync bank accounts, and calculate payroll.
With all these financial features at your fingertips, you can easily monitor income, keep records in order, and track expenses throughout the year.
Expensify
Expensify is one of the best tools to use if you want to keep accurate records and don’t have time to spend on paperwork day in and day out. With Expensify, your business can streamline its expense tracking. You can upload receipts, submit reports, and categorize expenses directly into your company’s accounting profile on the platform.
Wave
For many small businesses, accounting tools can feel out of reach and like an unnecessary expense. If you’re at the point where you can’t quite justify the expense just yet, you can look into using Wave. This is a Toronto-based platform that offers free (yes, you read that right) accounting, invoicing, and payment tools for small businesses.
With it, you can understand your cash flow and maintain clear records for tax season. Many entrepreneurs find this tool exceptional since it offers simple and reliable financial management. Additionally, with Wave, you have access to features like bank syncing, expense categorization, and income tracking.
FreshBooks
FreshBooks is another Toronto-based business software accounting tool. Freelancers, agencies, and small businesses often use it. Although it isn’t as popular as QuickBooks, many Canadians prefer FreshBooks because it offers a clean interface and strong customer support. So, if you’re only recently adopting accounting tools, it’s a good place to start.
Also, what makes FreshBooks attractive is that it offers businesses time tracking, simple invoicing, and profit reporting. With these accounting features, you can easily understand the financial performance of your projects or clients.
Sage Accounting
Those who run small businesses that handle foreign currencies may want to consider Sage Accounting. With this digital tool, you have an array of multi-currency features, but that’s not all.
You will also have access to easy bookkeeping, financial reporting, and bank reconciliation features. Additionally, Sage Accounting is well-suited for inventory tracking, making it a great choice for Canadian businesses with a nationwide product-based presence.
Marketing & Sales Tools
When it comes to small business tools in Canada that involve marketing and sales, there are many options to choose from, just like with accounting tools.
To help you find the best marketing and sales tools to try to attract customers, communicate with target audiences better, and measure online activity, we’ve shared a few options below.
If you use any of these tools effectively, you’re nearly guaranteed to increase your business’s visibility. And you may even better support steady revenue growth.
Google Analytics
Google has a mighty presence in the business world, with its tools among the best. One such tool that is highly beneficial when appropriately used is Google Analytics.
Google Analytics has a convenient free and paid version to suit your budget. It helps you track customer behaviour and website traffic. With this information, you understand which pages are attracting visitors, where users are coming from, and how they are interacting with your site.
You can then use this information to make more informed marketing decisions and improve your online presence. In time, this will attract more customers, establish your presence, and help you know what’s working and what isn’t when selling online.
Mailchimp
When it comes to email marketing, most won’t go wrong with Mailchimp. Although this digital tool comes with a pretty steep learning curve for some, it’s exceptionally good at helping you reach customers with consistent, relevant messaging. This helps support sales and encourages repeat engagement.
With Mailchimp, you can send newsletters, grow mailing lists, and create automated campaigns. You can also use features that support performance reporting and segmentation scheduling.
Hootsuite
Managing social media can be hard, especially when it’s not all in one place. Fortunately, if you use Hootsuite (a company founded in Canada), you eliminate this problem. Hootsuite allows you to organize all your social media activity in one location.
You can monitor comments, schedule posts, and analyze engagement across all your social accounts, including X, Meta, Instagram, and more. With this digital tool, you’ll have the ability to maintain a steady online presence while reducing the time you spend on day-to-day social media tasks.
Canva
Creating marketing materials to generate sales, such as social media graphics, posters, promotional materials, and newsletters, can be challenging for smaller businesses. If you’re facing this issue, you may want to explore Canva. You can use Canva for all these tasks and more.
It’s a tool that offers a drag-and-drop interface, making it extremely easy to create professional designs without needing to hire a graphic designer. With this tool, your company can maintain a visually consistent and eye-catching appearance, which you’ll appreciate in time.
Productivity Tools
The right productivity tools support communication, teamwork, task management, and scheduling, all of which are essential for a small business to thrive.
Below are a few digital tools for productivity that you may want to use to ensure your business stays organized as its workload continues to grow.
ClickUp
When it comes to productivity apps, there might not be one better than ClickUp. You can use ClickUp for team collaboration, project organization, and centralized task tracking.
It’s also really good for assigning work, managing deadlines, and storing team documents in one location. Each of these features will help your team stay aligned, reducing confusion surrounding timelines and responsibilities.
Calendly
If your small business handles a lot of appointments, you could benefit from a scheduling productivity tool like Calendly. With Calendly, you can allow customers to book appointments, choosing times that fit your and their schedules. This platform also supports automated reminders and integrates with calendars, removing the need for long email exchanges.
Google Workspaces
Less a tool and more a suite of tools is Google Workspace. Google Workspace includes tools like Drive, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Meet. You can use these tools to communicate, collaborate on documents, and store files safely.
Many businesses find it advantageous to use Google Workspace daily as it supports streamlined teamwork and better productivity. The best part is that teammates can utilize these tools in the office or when working remotely.
Choosing the Right Platform
With so many accounting and finance, marketing and sales, and productivity tools on the market, making the right choice can feel overwhelming.
That’s why it’s essential to consider a few key questions to determine which option works best for you. For example:
- Is it easy to use?
- Is it affordable?
- Do the tools fit your daily workflow?
How you answer these questions can help you pinpoint which digital tools are best for your business. We also recommend starting with the software that solves your most urgent business needs before expanding your toolkit. You can later on add tools as your business grows.
Additionally, it’s also beneficial to look for tools that can integrate with one another to reduce complexity over time.
Consider The Canada Digital Adoption Program
If you’re looking for financing to begin using a digital tool, you could consider the Canada Digital Adoption Program. Eligible small businesses can apply for financial assistance through microgrants and financing options to upgrade technology.
However, if you don’t qualify, you could consider a merchant cash advance through a company like Bizfund. With an MCA, you could be eligible for between $10,000 and $300,000 that you can use to adopt digital tools.
Key Takeaways
Nowadays, there’s a digital tool for almost every business need. It is just your responsibility to find the best tools that suit your needs. It’s also your job to secure financing to fund the use of digital tools, which are evidently a beneficial investment.
If you’re exploring financing options to get started with digital tools, consider a merchant cash advance with Bizfund. We offer competitive rates and can offer quick access to funds. Contact us here to learn more.
