Top Tools I Recommend for Online Business Owners (from an Online Business Manager)
Whenever I share how I help business owners set up and refresh their systems in Honeybook, Dubsado, and ClickUp, I always get questions about which platforms I use and why. I’ve worked with many platforms in my own business, and as I’ve supported clients, there isn’t a single best platform for everyone. So, I decided to list out my exact tech stack I use as an Online Service Provider who supports other Online Service Providers. Hopefully, it gives you an idea of the types of tools that are helpful and answers some questions you may have about the platforms I use.
Operations Tools
Honeybook
A Client Relationship Manager (CRM) tool is my top recommendation for a new business owner who provides services directly to clients. It has everything you need to track new leads, book clients, and onboard them.
A few of my favorite Honeybook features include:
Contact forms help you collect inquiries.
Scheduler calendars help leads book discovery calls easily
All-in-one proposal features allow you to send a file with your proposal, contract, invoice, and collect payment all at once
Questionnaires for onboarding forms, feedback forms, and anything else you need
Client portals + ability to connect to your email so all your communication with your client is tracked in one place
Automations that can help parts of your process run automatically
Payment processor making it easy to get paid
Pricing:
Starter - $29/month
Essentials - $49/month
Premium - $109/month
I recommend the Essentials plan for most business owners.
Get 30% off your first year of Honeybook.
ClickUp
ClickUp has grown so much, even in the past couple of years, I’ve been a business owner. It can do a lot, and I think it works best when you use it as your central hub for all operations in the backend of your business. It is a great platform that scales with you as you grow your business.
Some of the simplest ways to use it that I recommend if you are a team of one:
Task lists - so all your tasks live in one place
Forms - to collect information from clients
Time tracking - if you need to track hours for billing or for your own tracking purposes
Whiteboard - for brainstorming and mind mapping
Content hub - keep all your copy, graphics, post ideas in one place
Information hub - keep all documentation, notes, ideas, SOPs, in one place
Honestly, this list barely scratches the surface of what ClickUp can do for your business. If you are more experienced in your business and want to track and automate processes in greater depth, you can reach out to chat about how ClickUp can be configured to support your business needs.
Pricing:
Free version available
$7/month for Unlimited
$12/month for Business
Free or unlimited versions are great for getting started.
Slack
I use Slack for all my business communication. It helps keep a clear boundary so I’m not getting work messages through text, DMs, or via email.
It’s where I add all my clients. It’s also commonly used in memberships and coaching programs. It’s helpful to have all the communication channels I need for my business on one platform.
Slack also integrates nicely with other platforms, allowing you to set up automations to send information to and from Slack.
Pricing:
Free version available
$8.75 per user per month for Pro
$18 per user per month for Business+
Loom
Loom is my favorite tool for recording videos to send to clients. It helps me save a lot of time I would otherwise spend in meetings or sending back-and-forth emails to work through a problem.
I use it to quickly record my screen as I walk through a problem or idea to share with a client or team member.
I also use it to record materials such as proposal overviews, deliverable walkthroughs, and training and tutorial sessions.
The paid version allows you to record for longer than 5 minutes and includes AI editing features. I like to use its AI features to have Loom create SOP documents from my videos.
Pricing:
Limited free version available
$15/month (without AI)
$20/month (with AI features)
Google Workspace
The main reason I recommend signing up for Google Workspace is so you can create an email address with your domain name. (Ex. sarah@heysarahlatorre.com). You can also create additional email addresses under your domain that are linked to your account, which is great when team members need their own inbox.
But then you also have all the other Google Suite things we all know and love. Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, etc.
I actually love using Google Meet for my meetings. It’s free and the recording feature is included in your Google Workspace subscription.
Since most people have a Google account, it makes it easy to share files and collaborate with other business owners, clients, and team members.
Pricing:
$7 per user per month for Starter plan
$14 per user per month for Standard plan
$22 per user per month for Plus plan
Learn more about Google Workspace pricing options
Marketing Tools
Flodesk
I LOVE Flodesk as my email marketing tool. It’s easy to use, has great templates, and makes it easy to collect email addresses from anywhere you’re sharing about your list. It’s what I use to send my email newsletters, sales emails, and build waitlists for new offers.
Get 25% your first year when using my link to sign up.
Canva
I could not run my business without Canva. Everything I create for my own marketing and for most of my clients is done in Canva. I use it to create all my social media graphics, Pinterest images, email newsletter headers, system flowcharts, and more.
Canva has tons of great templates to choose from for anything you’re creating. I also love the Brand Kit feature, where you can upload all your branding so you can easily apply it to the graphics you’re creating. As a service provider supporting clients with this, I also love that you can create multiple brand kits, so all your client kits are easily accessible, too.
Pricing:
Free version available
$15 per month for one person for Pro
$20 per user per month for Business
Note: Teachers are able to sign up for pro for free!
Financial Tools
Relay Bank
LITERALLY the bank I recommend to every business owner I talk to. Its free plan is more than enough for the solopreneur.
My favorite features:
Uploading and attaching receipts to transactions
Create up to 20 accounts to designate funds for taxes, owners' pay, operations, investments, and more
View your card information from your account, making it easy to get your card info when buying online.
0.91% APY on savings accounts
And it’s free to open an account
Your Numbers Gal - The CEO Sidekick for DIY Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is an area I am least qualified to provide suggestions for. It’s an important part of business and the choice you make around how to manage your bookkeeping and finances should really fit what your business needs are.
In my case, I am a solopreneur and have really low expenses since everything is online. DIY Bookkeeping works for me and helps me learn everything that goes into managing the financial part of my business.
Elizabeth from Your Numbers Gal is so good at what she does and her DIY tracker is the best I’ve used by far. She has a video showing you how to set it up and I feel really confident that I am tracking everything. It also has great sheets that provide an overview of everything and break down all the numbers in a visual way.
If your plan is to DIY your bookkeeping, I highly recommend her template, The CEO Sidekick.
Overall, I keep my tech stack pretty small. You may need a couple of other platforms depending on how you serve your clients. For example, a social media manager would need a scheduling platform that can manage multiple client accounts, like Metricool, Rella, or Meta Business Suite.
Keeping things as simple as possible is the best approach. You don’t want your business operating on too many platforms that it’s hard to keep track of everything you are using. I recommend keeping a list of all your subscriptions and accounts in one place so you can audit your tech stack regularly.
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