If you run a small business, you don’t have a “tools” problem. You have a time and attention problem. One day you’re chasing invoices, the next you’re replying to leads at 11:47 PM, and somehow your marketing plan is “post when I remember.” I’ve watched a lot of small business teams do the same thing: they buy five tools, use two, and still feel behind.
This list is the small business tool stack I keep coming back to after auditing and helping 100+ small businesses (ecommerce, local services, SaaS, agencies). It’s 15 must-have business tools, grouped by job-to-be-done, so you can pick tools you can actually use. Not “best in theory,” but “works when you’re busy.” Expect trade-offs, quick setup tips, and a few field notes on what usually breaks once real customers show up.
Quick Table Of Contents
Website, SEO & Conversion
Field note: most small businesses don’t have a “traffic” problem. They have a clarity and friction problem. People land, hesitate, and leave. Your website tools should help you see where and why, then fix it without a giant rebuild.
Google Analytics 4
Best for: knowing what’s actually happening on your site.
GA4 is the baseline website analytics tool for small businesses that want to understand acquisition and behavior at a basic level. It’s not “plug-and-perfect,” but it’s still the standard for tracking traffic sources, key pages, and conversions when set up correctly.
What I like: it’s powerful once it’s configured, and it ties into other website tools. What I don’t: the learning curve is real, and many accounts are basically useless because events and conversions were never set up properly.
Quick setup tip: track only 3–5 conversions at first (lead form submit, call click, purchase, demo booked). If you track 25 “conversions,” you’ll ignore all of them. Keep the tool focused.
Key Features
- Traffic source and channel reporting
- Event-based tracking
- Conversion configuration
- Audience insights and basic funnel views
Plerdy
Best for: finding conversion leaks fast when you don’t have time to guess.
Plerdy fits small business teams that need practical conversion and UX insights, not just pageviews. If you’re running ads or SEO and wondering why the website “should be converting” but isn’t, this conversion tool helps you pinpoint where the experience is breaking.
What I like: it connects behavior to action. You can see what people click, where they stop scrolling, and which pages quietly underperform. What I don’t: like any website optimization tool, it’s easy to collect data and do nothing with it unless you set a weekly routine for reviewing and fixing.
Plerdy’s Lost Revenue Analysis (Lost Revenue Report) is especially useful for a small business because it surfaces where money is leaking without a long investigation. It can highlight drop-offs in key steps, friction on important pages, and “missed clicks” (people trying to click things that aren’t clickable). The value is speed: you get a quick diagnosis, then you validate it with heatmaps and session recordings and turn it into a short list of UX fixes you can ship.
Quick setup tip: pick one “money page” to review every week (top landing page, product page, or service page). Make one change based on behavior data, then check the next week. Small, consistent website fixes beat a giant redesign, and this tool makes that routine possible.
Key Features
- Heatmaps and click tracking
- Session recordings for real user behavior
- Scroll depth and attention insights
- Lost Revenue Analysis to surface friction points
- UX-oriented reports for quick prioritization
WordPress
Best for: owning your website content without begging a developer for every change.
WordPress is still a strong website tool for small businesses that want flexible pages, blogging, and a big ecosystem of themes and plugins. If content is part of your growth (SEO pages, guides, landing pages), you want a system that’s easy to update and scale.
What I like: it’s flexible and widely supported. What I don’t: plugin bloat is real, and slow sites are often self-inflicted by stacking “just one more plugin.” Too many website tools can quietly kill performance.
Quick setup tip: audit plugins quarterly. If a plugin hasn’t been used in 60 days, remove it. Most “mysterious site issues” are plugin conflicts waiting to happen, not a hosting conspiracy.
Best For
- Content marketing and blogging
- Landing pages and service pages
- Extensible features via plugins
- Long-term site ownership and portability
Money & Finance
Field note: cash flow problems are often process problems. You don’t “need more sales” as much as you need faster payments, cleaner books, and fewer money surprises. The right small business tools here reduce stress fast.
Stripe
Best for: getting paid online without making it a whole project.
If you sell online (products, subscriptions, invoices with payment links), Stripe fits when you want solid checkout and the ability to grow into more complex payments later. Many small business owners start simple: card payments, Apple Pay/Google Pay, and a clean way to reconcile transactions.
What I like: it’s reliable, flexible, and plays nicely with a lot of business tools and platforms. What I don’t: the dashboard can feel “built for people who like dashboards,” and fees add up if you run thin margins and don’t watch them.
Quick setup tip: set up a single “test” product or payment link first and run a $1 internal transaction. It catches the annoying stuff early (confirmation email, tax settings, failed payments) before customers do, which is exactly what a good small business tool should prevent.
Key Features
- Checkout pages and payment links
- Subscription billing options
- Fraud prevention tools
- Integrations with ecommerce and invoicing apps
QuickBooks Online
Best for: bookkeeping that doesn’t turn into a weekend hobby.
QuickBooks is a good fit if you have real-world mess: multiple revenue streams, contractor payments, bank feeds, and a tax person who keeps asking for cleaner categories. For many small businesses, it’s the business tool that makes finances feel like a system instead of a pile.
What I like: it’s widely supported (bookkeepers know it), and the bank connection saves hours for a small business owner. What I don’t: it can get expensive as you add users and features, and the “automation” still needs your review or it will mis-categorize things in very creative ways.
Quick setup tip: block 45 minutes to map your chart of accounts to how you actually think (sales, ads, software, payroll). If you skip this, reports become fiction and the tool becomes noise.
Best For
- Bank transaction syncing and reconciliation
- Profit and loss reporting
- Invoice creation and tracking
- Basic payroll and contractor workflows (plan-dependent)
Wave
Best for: very small teams that need simple invoicing and basic accounting.
Wave is a practical starting point if you’re a solo operator or a tiny service business and you mostly need invoices, receipts, and a basic view of income vs. expenses. I’ve seen this small business tool work well for consultants, home services, and early-stage agencies before they “graduate” to a bigger accounting tool.
What I like: low friction to start and generally straightforward. What I don’t: you can outgrow it if you need deeper reporting, complex workflows, or lots of integrations with other business tools.
Quick setup tip: create two invoice templates: one for standard work, one for rush/after-hours. Owners forget this, then wonder why every invoice takes 12 edits. Templates are a small tool move that saves real time.
Key Features
- Invoicing and recurring invoices
- Expense tracking and receipt capture
- Basic financial reports
- Payment acceptance options (where available)
Sales & CRM
Mini-story: I audited a local service small business where leads were “in someone’s head.” When that person went on vacation, revenue dipped for two weeks. Nothing was wrong with marketing. The pipeline just wasn’t real until it lived in a CRM tool.
HubSpot CRM
Best for: managing leads without living in spreadsheets.
HubSpot CRM is a strong choice when you want one place for contacts, deals, follow-ups, and basic visibility. It’s especially useful if your small business has multiple lead sources (forms, referrals, calls) and you need a consistent process for moving people from “interested” to “closed.”
What I like: fast adoption. Most small business teams actually use it because it’s not painful. What I don’t: once you start needing advanced automations and reporting, costs can rise, and it’s easy to end up paying for features you don’t fully use.
Quick setup tip: build your pipeline stages based on customer actions, not your feelings. Example: “Booked Call” is real. “Seems Interested” is not. This is a simple business tool rule that keeps sales honest.
Best For
- Contact and deal tracking
- Task reminders and follow-up workflows
- Simple pipeline visibility for teams
- Forms and basic lead capture (plan-dependent)
Pipedrive
Best for: sales pipelines that stay clean and easy to manage.
Pipedrive is great if sales is a daily activity (calls, demos, proposals) and you want a CRM tool that feels like a focused pipeline tool. It fits agencies, B2B services, and SaaS teams that care about deal stages and next steps more than a massive all-in-one suite.
What I like: it’s simple, visual, and keeps reps honest about next actions. What I don’t: if you want deep marketing automation in the same tool, you may need extra tools or a different platform.
Quick setup tip: add one required field for every deal: “Next step date.” No date, no deal. It sounds strict, but it prevents a graveyard pipeline, which is a common small business pain.
Key Features
- Visual deal pipeline management
- Email syncing and tracking
- Activity reminders and task management
- Reporting on deal stages and performance
PandaDoc
Best for: proposals and contracts that don’t get stuck in “version 7_final_FINAL.pdf.”
PandaDoc helps when you send proposals, quotes, or agreements regularly and want a smoother close process. It’s especially useful for agencies and service small businesses: templates, e-signatures, and a cleaner handoff from sales to delivery.
What I like: it professionalizes the buying experience and speeds up approvals. What I don’t: if your proposals are very custom every time, you’ll need discipline to create templates or it becomes just another document tool.
Quick setup tip: build one “default” proposal template with three pricing packages (good/better/best). Even if customers choose the middle, the structure reduces back-and-forth and keeps the sales tool consistent.
Best For
- Proposal templates and content blocks
- E-signatures for contracts
- Pricing tables and packages
- Document tracking (views, time spent)
Marketing & Content
Field note: marketing doesn’t fail because you “need more ideas.” It fails because you can’t ship consistently. These small business tools reduce the friction between idea and published.
Mailchimp
Best for: email campaigns that are simple enough to actually send.
Mailchimp is a solid starting point for newsletters, basic automations, and ecommerce emails. If you’re a small business owner who needs “send something this week” and “follow up with buyers,” it’s a practical marketing tool choice with a reasonable learning curve.
What I like: you can move fast, and it covers the basics well. What I don’t: list management can get messy if you aren’t careful, and as your needs grow (segmentation, advanced automations), you might feel the limits or the pricing.
Quick setup tip: set up one automation first: a welcome email that answers three questions customers always ask (what you do, how to buy, how to get help). It reduces support tickets more than people expect, and it’s a high-ROI small business tool move.
Key Features
- Email templates and campaign builder
- Basic automations (welcome, follow-up)
- Audience management and segmentation
- Reporting on opens, clicks, and revenue (where supported)
Canva
Best for: fast design when you don’t have an in-house designer.
Canva is how small businesses keep visuals from becoming a bottleneck. Social posts, simple ads, one-page flyers, pitch decks, even product feature graphics. It’s not “agency-level art direction,” but it’s a reliable small business tool for making things look clean and consistent.
What I like: speed and templates. What I don’t: it can make brands look generic if you rely on the default styles and never build a simple brand kit.
Quick setup tip: create a mini brand kit: two fonts, three brand colors, and two logo variations. Then lock yourself to those choices for 30 days. Consistency beats “new design every time,” and your marketing tool output looks sharper.
Best For
- Social graphics and ad creatives
- Presentations and one-pagers
- Simple brand kits for small teams
- Quick edits without design software
Buffer
Best for: scheduling social posts without losing half your day.
Buffer helps when you want a simple social workflow: write, schedule, publish, repeat. For small business owners, consistency is often the goal. Not going viral. Just showing up like a real business that’s alive.
What I like: it keeps you organized and reduces “posting panic.” What I don’t: social still needs a point of view; scheduling tools don’t fix bland content, and analytics may be limited compared to more complex platforms.
Quick setup tip: build a weekly posting template: 2 educational posts, 2 proof posts (reviews, before/after), 1 offer. Then reuse it. The “system” matters more than the perfect caption, and the tool becomes a workflow, not a chore.
Key Features
- Post scheduling across channels
- Simple content calendar
- Basic analytics and engagement tracking
- Team collaboration options
Operations & Productivity
Mini-story: I once saw a small ecommerce business using three different places for tasks: Slack messages, sticky notes, and “my brain.” Returns got missed, a VIP customer got ignored, and the owner blamed marketing. It was just operations. Better productivity tools would’ve saved that week.
Asana
Best for: keeping projects and recurring work from falling through the cracks.
Asana works well for small businesses that juggle client delivery, content, launches, and internal tasks. It’s especially helpful when you have recurring workflows: onboarding, monthly reporting, weekly content, product updates. For many teams, it becomes the operations tool that keeps work visible.
What I like: it brings calm to chaos and makes ownership visible. What I don’t: teams can overbuild it. Too many boards, too many statuses, and nobody updates anything.
Quick setup tip: start with one board called “This Week.” Keep only active work there. Archive the rest. Adoption improves when the productivity tool feels lightweight.
Best For
- Project boards and task assignments
- Recurring tasks and checklists
- Simple timelines for launches
- Visibility across team work
Google Workspace
Best for: email, docs, and shared files that don’t disappear.
Google Workspace is the boring backbone that prevents daily friction. Shared docs, calendars, and files matter more than people admit. When your small business operations live in personal inboxes and random drives, you can’t delegate cleanly, and no tool can save you.
What I like: collaboration is smooth, and most people already know how to use it. What I don’t: file organization can become a disaster if you don’t set a simple folder structure early.
Quick setup tip: create three shared drives (or top folders): “Operations,” “Sales,” “Marketing.” Then enforce naming rules for 30 days. It’s annoying once, then it saves hours forever, which is the whole point of a productivity tool.
Key Features
- Business email and calendar
- Docs, Sheets, and Slides collaboration
- File storage and sharing controls
- Basic admin and security settings
Zapier
Best for: connecting your apps so you stop copying data manually.
Zapier is the small business automation tool for “glue work.” New lead from a form goes into your CRM. New purchase triggers a Slack message. Support tickets create tasks. It’s not glamorous, but it removes hours of repetitive work and makes your tools act like a system.
What I like: it creates momentum fast with simple automations. What I don’t: it can become a tangled web if you create automations without naming them and documenting why they exist.
Quick setup tip: automate only one workflow first: “New lead → CRM + notification + follow-up task.” Once that’s stable, then add the fun stuff. This keeps automation from becoming tool clutter.
Best For
- Connecting forms, CRMs, email, and spreadsheets
- Simple workflow automation without code
- Notifications and handoffs between teams
- Reducing manual data entry
How To Choose Your Stack
The best small business tool stack is the one your team will actually use on a busy Tuesday. Here are the decision rules I rely on when picking business tools.
- Start with the money flow. If invoicing and bookkeeping are messy, everything feels stressful. Fix payments and accounting tools first.
- Choose for adoption, not features. A “we should use this” tool is dead. Pick tools your least technical teammate can use without a training weekend.
- Prefer tools that integrate cleanly. If your CRM, forms, and email tools don’t talk, you’ll do manual work forever (and you’ll miss leads).
- Respect the learning curve. A powerful tool with a steep ramp-up often sits unused. Be honest about your time as a small business owner.
- Watch switching costs. CRMs and accounting tools are painful to change later. Choose carefully, even if you start small.
- Don’t pay for “someday.” If you won’t use advanced features in the next 90 days, don’t buy them now. Keep the tool stack lean.
- Tool overload is real. Too many apps means too many logins, notifications, and broken handoffs. If you add a tool, remove or replace something.
Mini Starter Stacks
These are practical starter stacks I’ve seen work in the real world. Keep it small. You can always expand your small business tool stack later.
Solo Founder Stack
You need speed, low admin overhead, and tools that don’t require a team meeting.
- Stripe for getting paid
- Wave for simple invoicing/accounting
- HubSpot CRM to track leads without spreadsheets
- Canva for quick visuals
- Google Workspace to keep docs and files organized
If you’re solo, the goal is fewer “where is that?” moments and faster follow-up. A tight small business stack beats a bloated tool pile.
Local Service Business Stack
You need lead capture, follow-up discipline, and clean invoicing so cash flow stays predictable.
- HubSpot CRM to manage calls, forms, and pipeline
- PandaDoc for proposals and approvals
- QuickBooks Online for bookkeeping and invoicing
- Google Workspace for scheduling and team coordination
- Buffer to stay consistent on social
This stack keeps leads from slipping and makes “getting paid” feel less random. For a small business owner, that’s the win.
Small Ecommerce Store Stack
You need payments, marketing consistency, and conversion visibility so traffic isn’t wasted.
- Stripe for payments
- QuickBooks Online for clean books
- Mailchimp for lifecycle email
- Google Analytics 4 for performance tracking
- Plerdy to spot UX friction and revenue leaks
- Asana to manage launches and ops tasks
Mini-story: I’ve seen small ecommerce teams double down on ads while ignoring a broken mobile product page. Once they fixed the friction (not the traffic), sales moved in a week. The right website tool stack makes those problems visible.
FAQ: Best Small Business Tools
What are the best small business tools to start with if I’m overwhelmed?
Start with three business tools that remove daily friction: one for getting paid (payments or invoicing), one for tracking money (bookkeeping/accounting), and one for follow-ups (a simple CRM). Once those are stable, add one productivity tool for tasks and one website analytics tool to measure what’s working.
How many tools should a small business use?
Most small businesses run best on 5–8 core tools. More than that often creates tool overload: too many logins, notifications, and broken handoffs. A simple rule: if you add a new tool, try replacing something instead of stacking another app.
Which marketing tools matter most for a small business?
Pick marketing tools that help you ship consistently. For many small businesses, that means an email tool (for follow-ups and simple automations), a design tool (for fast creative), and a scheduling tool (to stay visible on social without daily posting stress). Add advanced tools only when you’ve nailed the basics.
How does Plerdy help a small business improve conversion rates?
Plerdy helps small businesses find revenue leaks by showing where users struggle on key pages. The Lost Revenue Analysis (Lost Revenue Report) can surface drop-offs, friction points, and missed clicks so you can prioritize what to fix first. Then you validate the issue with heatmaps and session recordings and turn it into a short, actionable UX fix list.
Conclusion
The best small business tools aren’t the fanciest. They’re the tools that remove friction, protect cash flow, and make your operation less dependent on memory. Start with the basics: payments and bookkeeping tools, a simple CRM tool, and a workflow tool that keeps work visible. Then add marketing and website optimization tools when you’re ready to be consistent, not just “busy.”
If you do one thing this week, pick three tools from this list and implement them properly. Not “create an account.” Implement: connect the bank feed, build the pipeline, set the one automation, track the one conversion. Small businesses win by stacking small, boring improvements until the chaos stops.