While smartphones are becoming increasingly more popular, so too, is the number of smartphone home office apps. Whether you’re a freelancer or a business owner who works from home, there is an app to help make your day-to-day tasks easier.
In this article, I’ll take a look at some of the best smartphone apps for your home office, focusing on their features, user-friendliness, and price.
So, without further ado, here they are.
#1. Doodle
Recommended for: free app to schedule meetings
Doodle is an important home office app for budding entrepreneurs or professionals that work from home. It’s completely free to use and is a great tool for scheduling meetings. With Doodle Polls, you can send information to multiple team members who can then select their preferred date and time for a meeting. Using all of the information gathered, you can schedule the meeting based on the majority.
As I mentioned, Doodle offers a free plan. In addition to this, there are two paid yearly packages which are priced at $43.00 and $59.00.
#2. LinkedIn
Recommended for: users to share ideas and gather information from other professionals
LinkedIn is the most popular social networking app for professionals. With over 450 million users, it’s a great tool for sharing ideas and taking on board important information from potential clients. LinkedIn can also be used for scouting, hiring, and posting job opportunities.
Furthermore, LinkedIn allows you to participate in group discussions, which is extremely useful for professionals who work from home.
As for the price, well, the basic version of LinkedIn is free. However, upgrading your account to the LinkedIn Premium Career will set you back $29.99.
#3. FaxBurner
Recommended for: turning your mobile device into a fax machine
Put simply, FaxBurner is a fax machine but for your mobile device.
Each time you need to receive a fax, just push one button and you’ll be sent a toll-free fax number that you can use for 24 hours. Once you receive the fax, FaxBurner will notify you and save the fax directly to your phone.
What’s more, it’s available for free. There are no hidden fees for this application, but you are limited to receiving 25 fax pages per month.
#4. Expensify
Recommended for: recording business expenses
This expense management software is a key tool for logging your expenses and keeping track of your GPS miles. One of the key features is the ability to scan receipts using the SmartScan option. Expensify will automatically read and code the receipt while saving the details in the app.
There are also features that allow you to submit reimbursement requests. And for simplified tracking, you can also sync your credit card to the accounting system.
Expensify offers a free individual plan. In addition to this, there is a team plan which is priced at $5 per active user, and a corporate plan priced at $9 per active user.
#5. Dropbox
Recommended for: sync your files across multiple devices
If you don’t already have a Dropbox, where have you been?
This tool is an absolute must for your home office, and personally, it’s one of my favorites. The main purpose of Dropbox is to allow the user to view their files on multiple devices. Say you have an important folder on your MacOS, but you want to view it on your smartphone while you are out and about – all you have to do is simply transfer that file to your Dropbox. And presuming you have an internet connection, Dropbox works on any device.
Not only is this super convenient, but it also provides a backup of your files. You can also share files with your coworkers or clients, by simply dragging and dropping files.
As for the price, Dropbox is also free and comes with 2GB storage. The more storage you want, the more money you pay. For example, 1TB of storage is $9.99, while unlimited storage is $19.99.
#6. Asana
Recommended for: keeping track of tasks and assigning work to your team
Asana is a fully-featured, easy-to-use project management platform. It can be used to keep track of tasks, assigning work, tracking milestones and more. With Asana, you can set reminders or notifications for almost anything. This is a useful feature that will inform you when a team member has posted a task or left a comment.
There is also a feature that allows you to share file. This can be useful a team member picks up a new project and you need to send them the relevant information regarding that project.
Like all of the other apps, Asana offers a free plan and two paid plans which start from $9.99.
#7. Remember The Milk
Recommended for: Advanced task management app
Likened to Evernote, only a little more advanced, Remember The Milk is a task management app that can be used for a number of things. These include constructing to-do lists, managing tasks offline, and setting Tweet reminders.
But what I like the most about Remember The Milk is that it receives regular updates, keeping the app feeling fresh and up-to-date. Some of the latest additions to the app include access via Siri or Apple Watch, and the ability to import items from Wunderlist.
Remember The Milk has both a free plan and a pro plan which is priced at $39.00 annually.
#8. Evernote
Recommended for: taking notes and creating to-do lists
Evernote is another important smartphone tool for your home office. Whether you’re managing a large scale complex project or something more personal, Evernote should always come in handy. Perfect for when you’re on the move, Evernote can be used to capture ideas and inspiration in notes, voice, or pictures. And what’s more, it also works offline.
As well as the free plan, Evernote has two paid plans that start from as low as $7.99 per month.
And There You Have It, The Best Smartphone Apps For Home Office
When it comes to choosing the best home office apps for your smartphone, there are a number of things to take into consideration. Number one, who will be using the app? Do you work alone or as part of a team? Do you need an app to regulate workloads and assign projects to your colleagues, or a social app to attract potential clients?
These are all things you should think about before choosing your home office apps. Oh, and please, let me know your thoughts by commenting in the box below.