When I started my photography business, it became clear that I needed as many tools as possible to help me manage all parts of my workload. Do you feel like you wear so many hats in your business? Lets list all the positions that you fill when you run your own business: accountant, social media expert, creative director, secretary, office manager, web designer, and that’s before you even get the the actual essence of your business! It is insanely overwhelming at times, especially during your busy season! So here are the 5 apps that truly continue to help me with my workload!
None of my recommendations are sponsored. They are tried and true for my business that I actually use!
Project Management/To-do Organizer: Asana
Asana has been a part of my corporate business world before I left, and I carried it into my current photography business. I have watched this software grow and continue to utilize it. From my daily “to-do” list, to my big, dream projects, I list it all here. You can also set priority levels, launch plans, daily calendar, etc. It will keep you so organized!
Accounting- Quickbooks
Are you using Excel spreadsheets to keep track of your business costs and income? Time to ditch it, and move on to Quickbooks! It is accessible on your phone and desktop. I used a different software for a while, but my accountant convinced me to switch over to Quickbooks and I am so grateful for that! It is by far the most user friendly accounting software. It will automatically categorize my expenses, reconcile my accounts, and has freed up so much of my time! My account also has access to it, so he can pop in there any time I have a question or need some help! I use the Simple Smart plan, which provides plenty of tools as a photographer.
Tracking Miles - MileIQ
I LOVE MileIQ! I stumbled upon it years ago when I wanted to track my miles while driving to photography locations, wedding venues, vendor meetings, client meetings, and didn’t want to log those miles in a notebook. That use to be the way we had to do it though! Then MileIQ came into my life and waaaala! Best decision to use this app! It creates reports so you can easily share that with your accountant and get this amazing write-off during tax season!
Gallery Delivery - ShootProof
I switched from Pixieset to ShootProof three years ago, and I have no looked back since! It is so much more than a gallery delivery software. I use ShootProof for keeping my client information stored, sending contracts, and storing my work. Did you catch that last part?! After a gallery has expired and the client downloaded their images, I will then use ShootProof as a backup storage location in case anything were to happen to my hard drives. With a quick click you can create your templates for contracts and send them away to your couples. They can sign the e-contracts right away along with an invoice you send through the system too! It is an incredibly useful tool in my business that I am always finding more ways to integrate with.
Social Media Management - Iconosquare
Oh, social media! I have a strong love/roll my eyes at relationship with Instagram. I love the community it offers, (and hopefully you are one of those following my account)! But at the same time it can be so time consuming! I have tried multiple posting apps and have stuck with Iconosquare for two years now. There is so much conflicting information about Instagram allowing third party apps to post on your behalf. Many say you can become shadow banned. So I don’t even go there and have used Iconosquare to remind me when I need to post. I create my Instagram posts as part of my work flow on Monday for the whole week. I then schedule it out for the week, and when I need to post Iconosquare sends me a little reminder with my image and wording ready to go! Quick and simple!
I hope all these apps and software programs will allow you more time in your business to keep those creative juices flowing, let in some more freedom throughout your week, and spend more time with others!