As the year progresses and with the New Year just around the corner, it is a given that online businesses are here to stay. In the current online marketplace, you can find a business providing almost any kind of service and catering to any industry. From beauty and fashion to cars and even medicine, you can set up an online business with ease.
Moreover, many e-commerce businesses even forgo getting a storefront or consider it once their business is established. However, if you are considering taking your online business to new heights, you are only going to be as good as the tools you make use off. Luckily, the following are some of the best software that you can use to take your business online with.
1. Square Space or Shopify
The first tool you need to use is going to be the platform where you set up your e-commerce shop. You can opt to make use of platforms such as Square Space or Shopify. Both of these platforms offer you hundreds of options in customizing and setting up your e-commerce shop against a small sign up fee. From different themes, color schemes, functions, layouts and more, you can customize your shop to your heart’s desire.
2. Intuit Quickbooks
Once you have your e-commerce business going, it is a good idea to consider the accounting aspect of your business. Quickbooks is the best option and highly praised by professional accountants as well due to the ease of use as well as integration that the tool offers. You can easily draft invoices, keep track of payments received, payments that are pending as well as the total number of invoices created and more with ease. The easy to use tool can be automated as well and is extremely efficient.
3. Slack
Make project collaboration and file sharing simpler and easier with the help of Slack. While it looks like a simple, cloud based tool, Slack actually has some pretty nifty tricks up its sleeves. The software enables you to chat real-time, search, archive, share and more. The cloud based part ensures that you can access Slack from anywhere, especially when you are working remotely. From streamlining communications to ensuring that collaboration between different areas of the business is as smooth as possible, Slack can quickly become an essential tool for any business.
4. Mail Chimp
Email marketing plays a huge role in e-commerce. Whether you want to set up a newsletter or promotions list, Mail Chimp makes everything possible and easier. Moreover, Mail Chimp also provides you with valuable insights regarding the effectiveness of your email marketing campaign. It also integrates easily with social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook and e-commerce websites like Shopify.
5. Pay Pal
Simplify payments with the help of PayPal. With a global network, you can accept payments from all across the world. Moreover, PayPal also offers you various solutions for your shopping cart, including buy buttons, shopping cart completion procedure and more. PayPal’s ease of integration also makes payment processing and refunds very easy for your business and the customers too.