Automating marketing, sales and finance is great, but you can truly appreciate automation only after you’ve automated the operational side of your business: human resources, management and communication, project management, time management, documents management and so on. Truth be told, automating everything operations related will take an amount of initial effort. However, in the long run it will save not just time and money, but mental resources as well. Building a startup that appeals to investors requires energy and a keen mind. Suffice to say that it is close to impossible with tens of tasks piling up. So let’s look at some tools for automating operations. 

II. Tools for automating finance

a. FreshBooks 

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  • Price: Plans start from  6 $ / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

If you are looking for a simple and easy to use invoicing and accounting solution, you might have found it. It is cloud based and it automates tasks such as client follow up, time tracking, expenses, and others to save you more time. 

b. QuickBooks

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  • Price: Plans start from 7,5 $ / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

QuickBooks Online is the web version of the popular accounting packages QuickBooks and it is designed with small businesses in mind. It offers cloud accounting, invoicing, accounting reports and inventory management.

c. Xero

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  • Price: Plans start from 20 $ / month.
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Xero is another online accounting solution that helps small businesses track expenses and accounting. It offers features that help with many aspects of your business: invoicing, inventory, bank connections, expenses, payroll tracking, time and money tracking on projects, and others. 

d. Wave

For now, Wave’s invoicing and accounting software is completely free. There are no usage limits or restrictions and it can be a very good option for startups. This makes it a valuable entry on the list of tools for automating operations. 

III. Tools for automating human resources

a. Zoho Recruit

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 25 $ / user / month. Trial: 15 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Zoho Recruit is related to Zoho CRM we’ve mentioned in the Marketing category. It is a cloud based applicant tracking system and it can help you find the right candidates for your startup.

b. Workable

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  • Price: Plans start from 99 $ / job / month. Trial: 15 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Workable is a comprehensive tool that helps you throughout the hiring process, from promoting jobs online, to reviewing candidates and scheduling interviews. Workable lets you browse candidates profiles and work effectively with the hiring team on a platform that keeps notes, communication, schedule, comments and analytics in one place.

IV. Tools for automating management and administrative tasks

Communication

a. Flock

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  • Price: Free for small teams. Paid plans start from 4.50 $ / user / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Flock offers startups an organized way of communication. You can easily keep track of emails, tools, meetings, apps and conversations. It has group conversations, video calls, image and files sharing, and direct chat so teams can always be on the same page. 

b. ZOOM

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 14.99 $ / host / month. Trial: No
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Zoom is one of the most famous video conferencing tools. They have constantly worked on improving security and adding options to best assist their users. You can share your screen, host large meetings and chat with participants in real time. 

c. Zoho Cliq

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  • Price: they offer a free version. Plans start from 0.9 € / user / month. Trial: 15 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Zoho Cliq is another good option on the list of tools for automating operations. It helps companies communicate better. They offer organized conversations, interactivity with the customers using emojis, file sharing with drag-and-drop and post office hours communication. The tool was designed with startups in mind and they even have a search option for messages, files shared in a conversation, and even users.

d. Ryver

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  • Price: Plans start from  49 $ / month. Trial: 14 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Ryver is a great tool for team communication, task management and automating business processes. It boasts open discussion with team members or customers and is focused on conversations, calls, tasks, automation in business workflow, social media posts management, and much more. They rival Slack and Trello and offer even comparison pages. 

e. Slack

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 3.33 $ / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Slack is the favorite tool of many startups and teams. It is a versatile tool that offers integration with file sharing, voice or video calls, channels with companies and businesses you regularly work with, and it has an App Directory with over 2,000 apps you can integrate into Slack. In fact, you can configure Slack for your team’s specific needs and technology with the Slack API.

Project management

a. Trello

  • Link: Get it here
  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 9.99 $ / month. Trial: 14 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Trello is a Kanban-style list-making application that organizes your projects into boards. Its greatest advantage is that it allows you to visually organize aspects of your business which can be a great thing for teams to see progress on their tasks. It can be adapted and used in many ways and it can fit almost any type of startup. They support automation by offering Butler, a way to remove tedious tasks from your to-do lists.

b. Basecamp

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 99 $ / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Basecamp has been successfully used by companies all over the world and from all kinds of industries for years. It is the platform of choice for many marketing agencies as well as startups. Lately they have been focusing their efforts on improving remote work making it a good option for startups with collaborators in different locations. It offers every feature you might need to keep track of and deliver projects efficiently. They have layered permissions for every project and task created and it makes collaboration a breeze. Basecamp does not offer a time tracking. However, they offer great integration with third party tools and it can be a good addition to your list of tools for automating project management. 

c. Jira

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 7 $ / user / month. Trial: 7 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Jira began as a bug and issue tracker, but in time it became a tool that helps teams manage work. Today Jira offers software development, Agile project management, bug tracking, scrum management, content management, marketing, professional service management, and many more. In fact, you can use Jira for a Kanban workflow style too and even track your time. 

d. Asana

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 10.99 $ / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

When it comes to project management tools, Asana is among the most popular ones. It is great for teams who share an office and remote collaborators as well. It can help startups get everyone on the same page and keep track of all tasks and project status. You can create and keep track of projects, tasks, subtasks, milestones, templates, and workflow processes. Asana does not offer a time tracking, but they offer great integration with third party tools. Like Basecamp, it is a good software to include on your potential list of tools for automating operations.

e. Productive

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  • Price: Plans start from 12.5 $ / user / month. Trial: 14 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Productive is more of a business management tool than a project management one. It offers project management features, time tracking, sales pipeline and deals, and profitability reporting. It is a good tool for SaaS startups and it integrates well with Jira. you can keep track of projects and tasks, plan sales and keep everyone on the same page while keeping profitability up. The algorithm calculates profitability taking into account salaries, overheads and all other financial aspects that you input. 

Time tracking

a. Harvest

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 12 $ / user / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Harvest is an easy way to track time on projects, do online invoicing, and get quick reports. It is useful for those looking to simplify employee timesheets and billing.

b. Toggl

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 9 $ / user / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Toggl is a very simple time tracker that offers reports and insights on how you and your team spend your time. This is especially useful for those looking to optimize their workflow.  

Document management

a. Dropbox

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 19.99 € / month. Trial: 30 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

Dropbox is a file storing option that lets you safely keep all your documents in the same place. You can access them from anywhere and share them with anyone. 

b. G Suite

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Plans start from 4.68  € / user / month. Trial: 14 days
  • Zapier integration: Yes

G Suite offers everything you could need in terms of document management and connectivity. It is the Holy Grail of tools for automating operations. Their greatest advantage is the fact that you can integrate almost all aspects of your work, from emails and calendars to collaboration and management. G Suite is so versatile that we could include it in almost every category in this article. 

V. Tools for automating management and administrative tasks

a. Segment

Segment is a data management platform that offers more than 300 integrations. It is useful for almost any company that relies on cloud-services for running its business. You can capture data from any touch point and easily send it to any tool without the effort of implementing a new API every time. 

b. Zapier

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  • Price: They offer a free version for 100 tasks / month. Plans start from 19.99 $ / 750 tasks / month. Trial: 14 days
  • See all available integrations here: https://zapier.com/apps

Zapier is the king of integrations and tools for automating your business. It is a very powerful tool that offers more than 750 integrations and it allows startups to connect every aspect of their company, from marketing to operations, without hundreds of hours of coding. If you want a solution to automate repetitive tasks, this is it. 

c. IFTTT

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  • Price: They offer a free version. Business plans from 199 $ / year. 

IFTTT is a free tool whose name comes from “if this, then that” which is a simple way of saying that it helps connect apps, devices and services from different developers in order to trigger one or more automations involving those apps, devices and services. It is not as comprehensive and quick as Zapier, but it is a good option especially if you are on a tight budget. You can organize your marketing efforts, optimize your smart office and even your personal assistant.  

d. Integromat

Integromat is another good automation platform. It is used as frequently as Zapier and it helps businesses integrate their apps, services, and systems. It features a no-code builder and it allows you to connect to any API and create complex integrations using built-in apps and tools.

e. Microsoft Flow

Microsoft Flow is an integration solution offered by Microsoft and some consider it better than Zapier. With Microsoft Flow you can create automated workflows between your favorite apps and services, sync files, collect data, use existing automation templates, and much more. 

Automation might seem like a mammoth task if you are a young startup with limited resources. The fact of the matter is that the smaller the company, the easier it is to automate processes and efforts. This way you declutter your team’s tasks and you can focus on truly building your company. And if you need an extra reason, think of all the data you will collect in time about your business, your marketing efforts and your customers. It will be much easier to detect and optimize anything when you have the data at your fingertips. 

  Zapier Segment Integromat Microsoft Flow IFTTT
FreshBooks Yes No Yes Yes No
QuickBooks Yes No Yes No No
Xero Yes No Yes No Yes
Wave Yes No Yes No No
Zoho Recruit Yes No No No No
Workable Yes No No No No
Flock Yes No No No No
ZOOM Yes No Yes No No
Zoho Cliq Yes No No No No
Ryver Yes No No No No
Slack Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Trello Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Basecamp Yes No Yes Yes No
Jira Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Asana Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Productive Yes No No No No
Harvest Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Toggl Yes No Yes No No
Dropbox Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
G Suite Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes