When the world is your office, on-the-go productivity is no longer a luxury – it’s a necessity! Streamline your small business’s operations no matter where you are with our top five must-have small business apps.

Shoeboxed

Shoeboxed is a receipt scanning service that comes in handy whether you’re doing business in or out of the office. When you receive a receipt from a vendor, simply snap a picture of it using the Shoeboxed Receipt and Mileage Tracker (free for iOS and Android). All of the information from the receipt – including date, vendor, the total amount paid, payment type and category – is stored in the app and in your secure online account. Avoid tracking paper clutter back into the office while you keep your income and expenses up-to-date in real time.

FreshBooks

The FreshBooks cloud accounting app lets you create, edit, send and receive invoices from absolutely anywhere. You can also track expenses, manage client profiles, and view payment activity right from the palm of your hand.

This app is especially suited to freelancers because it allows you to track your time no matter where you’re working. Project managers can feel free to allow their designers and copywriters to work from home, the coffee shop, or the park bench of their choice; with the FreshBooks app, all billable hours can be easily tracked, putting the “free” back in freelance.

Speek

It’s not easy to join conference calls and webinars when you’re traveling or working from the road. Speek is an app that lets you skip the pain of logging in and dealing with annoying pin numbers and passwords.

When you use Speek, you’ll be sent a unique URL that can be shared with anyone attending your virtual meeting or call. Simply share the link and users will be able to join the call with a single click – no log in, no hassle. Oh, and Speek is accessible via smartphone, tablet, or just about any device you’ve got!

Square

You no longer have to be in your store or location to take payments. Simply sign up for Square and start swiping credit cards right from your smartphone! When you begin your service, Square will send you (for free) a small scanning device that attaches to your smartphone or tablet. From there, just download the Square app and start accepting credit card payments! You’ll pay a percentage of every purchase made or a flat monthly rate of $275.

Asana

Asana is a digital office organizer and project management app that lets up to 15 team members collaborate on daily tasks and long-term goals. It doesn’t matter if your web designer is in Switzerland and your marketing director is in New York – with Asana, everyone will (literally) be on the same page throughout the course of your project.

What’s an app that you can’t live without, especially when you’re working remotely?

This post was contributed by Emily Farrar. Farrar is the Director of Community at Shoeboxed, the fastest way to turn a pile of paper receipts into digital data for effortless expense reporting and bookkeeping.

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