By Contributor, Christina Merriweather

It’s no secret that the U.S. is in a recession as a result of the financial crisis caused by COVID-19. Many businesses are either closing or on the brink of bankruptcy and/or closure.

Many entrepreneurs are looking for ways to continue offering value while cutting costs. Whether you are a brick and mortar business or primarily online, these tech tools can ensure business continuity and keep your bottom line in the black. 

Team Communication 

Google’s G-Suite – In my opinion, you can never go wrong with anything Google. This package suite of tools includes Gmail, Google’s widely popular email client, Google Drive, which provides a robust file sharing and document storage service, as well as Google Calendar, and Google Meet video conferencing software. Depending on the number of users and add-on services desired, pricing can range from $20 – $35.00 per month for smaller businesses and more for larger enterprise accounts. 

Customer Relationship Management Systems – CRM 

Streak CRM – This simple yet robust CRM allows you to track your customer interactions and build lead pipelines all from within your email account. The best part is that if you already have Gmail the CRM can easily be integrated into your email. Pricing ranges from $free-99 to $129.00 per month for enterprise accounts. 

Invoicing and E-Commerce 

PayPal for Business – There probably isn’t a more reliable service than PayPal. While most may use it as a simple way to send and receive money from friends and family, PayPal also offers a robust suite of tools for entrepreneurs including managing and sending invoices to clients and tracking customer transactions. This tool is great for B2B businesses as well as B2Cs. There isn’t a monthly fee for the service, transaction fees are relatively low with a charge of 2.9% of the value of the purchase and $.30 per transaction. 

There are also other e-commerce tools such as Stripe and Square that offer comparable services with similar fee structures that can be customized based upon your business needs. 

Client Scheduling Software

Calendly – This simple to use calendar tool not only will help you stay organized and connected with your teams, but it will also make client scheduling a breeze. Plans range from free to $12 per month and features calendar integrations with Google Calendar, Outlook, Office 365, and iCloud. The paid plans allow for branding and customization with some CRMs such as Salesforce to help keep your important client acquisition processes streamlined. 

Another comparable service is Acuity which has similar features as Calendly, but with a slightly higher price point at $14 per month for paid plans. 

Email Marketing Campaign Software

Mailchimp – This is one of my favorite email marketing tools. The software is intuitive to navigate, create campaigns, and build email lists. While there is a free version that offers limited segmentation of your audiences as well as the ability to create websites and landing pages, there are affordable plans starting at $9.99 per month that allow you to further customize your campaigns and target your audience’s behavior with relevant content.

Some comparable products are Constant Contact, Drip, and Convert Kit. 

See something missing from this list? We’d love to hear from you.

Which free or low cost tech is your business using to make life easier? Drop them in the comments. Sharing is caring!

*Featured Image from Unsplash.com