Run Your Business From Your Smartphone

Posted on by ben
As I sit here, I think about how I run my business in terms of desktop, laptop, smartphone, and other technology.  I wonder if I could ever be a strictly smartphone run businessman.  At first glance I think it’s impossible but maybe it’s worth looking into.  First, here is a brief rundown of my current state.

Current Setup

  • Desktop pc with Quickbooks installed
  • Laptop pc with Quickbooks installed
  • Dropbox account with Quickbooks data files for easy syncing between pcs
  • Toggl installed on Smartphone to track billable time
  • Astrid installed on Smartphone for project management
  • Online Asana account for complicated project management
  • Online Hootsuite account for social media management
  • Hootsuite installed on Smartphone for social media management on the go
  • Square installed on smartphone and iPad for mobile payments

That’s pretty much it, there are a few other little tools I use but these are the biggies.    Basically what I do is use Toggl to track billable time and then manually import that into Quickbooks on one of my PC’s.  I then use Quickbooks to generate and track invoices and estimates.  I stuff all of this in my Dropbox account so I can access it anywhere.

I then use Asana and Astrid to manage my projects and to do lists.  Hootsuite is invaluable in managing my Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Mobile Only Setup

So how would I convert to a mobile only setup?  I’m actually not that far away.  I already use Square for payments and Hootsuite let’s me manage my social networks on the go.   Asana is written in HTML5 and looks great on a smartphone or tablet so that is dealt with.

So as I look at this, Quickbooks is the big weight around my neck.  How can I get the same functionality on my mobile device that I get with Quickbooks (without paying a monthly fee)?  That’s the rub.  Now there are mobile apps out there that say they can do this but I have yet to try one.  I recently ran across one named MobileBiz Pro which looks like it would let me get rid of Quickbooks and for the reasonable price of $22.00.

So it all comes down to finding an application which can do what Quickbooks does for me.  I may try MobileBiz Pro in the next few weeks and see if I can ween myself off of Quickbooks.  I will post a review once I have tried it out.

Any thoughts on how I could achieve this in a different way?

 

2 thoughts on “Run Your Business From Your Smartphone”

  1. Hi Ben,
    So what have you found out about QB/MobileBiz Pro??
    I need to know! Have you learned about any other cool apps? Have you tried FAQ for iPad? It’s awesome and saves tons of time replying to emails.
    Thank you,
    Brecky

  2. Hi Ben,
    So what have you found out about QB/MobileBiz Pro??
    I need to know! Have you learned about any other cool apps? Have you tried FAQ for iPad? It’s awesome and saves tons of time replying to emails.
    Thank you,
    Brecky

Leave a Reply