To launch a new online business or scale an existing venture, you need more than just a great idea. With the right set of tools, you can automate time-consuming processes, expand your client base, collaborate with colleagues, and manage essential data.

The optimal tech stack is critical for running your business efficiently and growing it successfully. But with so many apps to choose from, it isn't easy to know where to begin. In this guide, we'll cover the best online business tools to boost your growth.

Productivity Tools to Do More in Less Time

Does your approach to task management involve jumping between multiple to-do lists, calendars, and email threads? You could be wasting a ton of valuable time.

Organizations that use task management tools report increasing productivity by 50%. "Workers spend 26% more time on skilled work with a work management platform," according to Asana's The ROI of Work Management Platforms report.

With the right productivity tool, you can:

• Set and Monitor Goals: Establish objectives and create crystal clear plans for achieving them. Whether you work alone or with a team, these tools get everyone aligned on what matters most.

• Map Out Projects: Whether you manage internal operations or client projects, these tools help you visualize the process. They create timelines, allocate resources, and track progress.

• Manage and Automate Tasks: From one-off tasks to routine workflows, these tools ensure you never miss a deadline. Look for a tool with built-in automations to complete your to-do list efficiently.

To work smarter, consider these top task and project management tools:

Monday.com

With Monday Work Management, you can do everything from setting goals to planning projects to assigning tasks. Its goal-setting tools help you define big-picture objectives and create plans to make them happen.

Monday's project management tools can map out steps, build timelines, and monitor statuses. With its task management tools, you can set priorities, assign tasks, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks.

Whether you prefer tables, Kanban boards, or Gantt charts, Monday Work Management works the way you do. It also supports custom workflows and automations to save you time.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $9 per seat per month.

Asana

Asana is designed to help teams work more efficiently while keeping everyone focused on key goals. With Asana, you can link projects and tasks to organization-wide objectives to keep teams on track.

Asana's project management tools make it easy to set and monitor deadlines so everyone stays in sync. And by setting up templates, workflows, and automations in Asana, you can ensure projects go off without a hitch.

With more than 300 integrations, Asana seamlessly connects to the communication, development, marketing, and sales tools you already use. As a result, it's ideal for teams aiming to do more in less time.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $10.99 per user per month.

Trello

Trello is one of the simplest productivity tools, but it's also one of the most powerful options. With this project and task management tool, you can organize your workspace using boards, lists, or cards. No matter which you choose, you can assign tasks, set deadlines, and keep projects big and small moving forward.

With Trello, there's no need to spend time on manual tasks. The platform's no-code automation tools can handle these tasks for you, freeing up valuable time for your team. And since Trello has more than 200 integrations, you can work together on almost any project without clicking away from the platform.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $5 per user per month.

Communication and Collaboration Tools for Your Team

Overflowing inboxes. Unread texts. Ignored notifications. Without dedicated tools for communication and collaboration, you risk missing messages and dropping the ball on important projects.

In fact, business communication issues have caused 55% of people miss messages. And nearly 40% of people have lost files due to hiccups with processes and tools.

To work more effectively with your team, use these popular collaboration and communication tools:

Monday.com

Monday.com is much more than just a task and project management tool. It's also a collaboration platform for teams.

With Monday.com, you can onboard your entire team and monitor their capacity to ensure you aren't under- or overbooked. You can also assign goals, tasks, and projects—including due dates.

The Travel Corporation uses Monday.com to manage projects across 40 global brands. The platform's automation and collaboration features help the organization save $47,029 per month.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $9 per seat per month.

Slack

Slack is a communication app built for organizations of any size. In Slack, you can set up channels for different departments, teams, time zones, or projects so everyone can join relevant conversations.

Team members can also chat via direct messages (DMs). They can even jump into huddles to communicate via voice or video. Slack also integrates with countless apps, allowing your team to collaborate more efficiently.

Opteo uses Slack to work asynchronously. "We cut scheduled meetings by 90%. Now employees control their own productivity. It's a calmer and more pleasant place to work," shares Guillaume Devinat, CEO of Opteo.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $7.25 per user per month.

Google Meet

Google Meet is a video conferencing platform designed for one-on-one and team calls. With Meet, you can schedule meetings in advance or hop on a quick call anytime.

The platform's 1080p video quality, noise cancellation, and live captioning features make calls smoother and more productive. And with screen sharing, polls, and breakout rooms, you can keep participants engaged.

When you enable Gemini in Meet, you can get even more done. This AI-powered tool can take meeting notes, translate captions in more than 15 languages, and improve how you look and sound on video.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $6 per user per month.

Marketing and Sales Tools to Promote Your Business

To acquire new customers and continue to increase revenue, you need a plan to grow your business. In other words, you need a strategy to create demand and generate leads.

The best sales and marketing tools automate tedious tasks and provide data-driven insights to speed up your sales cycle. Many also have AI-powered features to help you close deals faster.

To promote your business, try these top marketing and sales tools for entrepreneurs:

Salesforce

Salesforce is an all-in-one cloud-based platform with tools for both marketing and sales teams. With Sales Cloud, you can build sales pipeline, manage customer data, and get actionable insights to close deals faster. Sales Cloud also has AI-powered tools for summarizing sales calls and writing sales emails faster.

With Marketing Cloud, you can run personalized campaigns, automate outreach, and connect with customers and leads across channels. Run more successful campaigns with Salesforce's Marketing AI, which creates customer segments, develops lookalike audiences, and speeds up content creation.

Price: Sales Cloud starts at $25 per user per month. Marketing Cloud starts at $1,250 per organization per month.

HubSpot

HubSpot is a customer platform with a suite of sales and marketing tools. With Marketing Hub, you can create cross-channel campaigns, develop personalize content, and nurture leads toward a conversion.

With Sales Hub, you can manage prospecting, create sales emails, score leads, and set up lead generation automations. To write better sales outreach and automate manual tasks, use HubSpot AI.

Price: Free plan available. Paid plans start at $15 per seat per month.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a sales and marketing platform designed to connect with prospects via email. With this platform, you can build email campaigns, segment your audience, and analyze outreach results.

To speed up your lead generation efforts, use Pipedrive's LeadBooster add-on. It features prospecting tools for finding high-quality leads and a chatbot to engage website visitors. This add-on also has web forms, so you can collect contact details more easily.

Price: Starts at $14 per seat per month.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tools to Boost Sales

Are you still keeping track of customer records in a paper file or a basic spreadsheet? While these methods may work in a pinch, they can slow down your sales process and compromise productivity.

By using a CRM, you can improve lead generation, client relationships, and customer support. A CRM also provides a single source of truth regarding your business’s customers. In fact, 90% of executives and 94% of employees report finding value in a CRM that provides a single source of truth.CRM tools can increase sales productivity by 30% and boost revenue by 25%.

Use these top-ranked CRM tools to streamline sales and customer relationships:

Monday.com

As one of the most versatile online tools for business, Monday.com is also ideal for managing customer relationships. With Monday CRM, you can set up a custom system that aligns with your sales cycle. Then, you can monitor leads and customers, keep track of multiple sales pipelines, and visualize every deal stage.

Monday CRM is also your destination for client communication. It can automatically log every interaction and remind team members to take the next step in the workflow. Monday CRM also integrates with communication, marketing, and document signing tools so you can manage clients in one place.

Price: Starts at $12 per seat per month.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is much more than a sales and marketing platform. It's also a CRM designed to generate leads, track sales pipeline, manage deals, and automate every step of your process.

With Pipedrive's automations, you can nurture leads and create more engaging conversations using AI-powered prompts. The platform also analyzes your sales funnel and provides insights to help you make smarter decisions and reach goals faster.

When customers are ready to move forward, you don't need a separate platform to seal the deal. Instead, you can create and sign documents directly in Pipedrive.

Price: Starts at $14 per seat per month.

Salesforce

Salesforce is a CRM designed for high-performing teams. It unites data from sales, marketing, and support, giving you a 360-degree view of all your customer records.

With Salesforce's CRM, you can easily manage accounts, monitor deal progress, and spot promising opportunities. The platform can also equip your team with sales enablement material and conversational intelligence to boost customer engagement.

Price: Starts at $25 per user per month.

Financial Management Tools to Simplify Accounting

Running a successful business goes beyond acquiring customers and generating revenue. You also have to monitor cash flow, manage payables and receivables, and pay taxes on time.

To choose the right accounting tool for your business, make sure the cost, features, and reporting capabilities align with your needs. Check the integrations as well to ensure the tool fits with your tech stack.

Take a look at these top financial management tools:

NetSuite

NetSuite is a cloud-based accounting platform that manages accounts receivable, accounts payable, and tax payments. It also has comprehensive reporting so you can produce statements and resolve issues efficiently.

With NetSuite, you can automate journal entries and statement reconciliations, allowing your team to focus on strategic planning instead. And because it helps you comply with accounting standards and tax codes, NetSuite can save you time down the road.

Price: Contact sales.

FreshBooks

FreshBooks is an accounting and bookkeeping platform designed for small business owners. With this platform, you can do everything from invoicing customers to paying bills to managing expenses.

Use it to track the time your team spends on tasks, measure project profitability, and handle payroll for your business. FreshBooks also generates reports to help you analyze business profit and expenses.

Price: Starts at $7.60 per month.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks is an all-in-one financial management platform. You can use it to manage accounting, including tracking income, processing receipts, and calculating tax deductions.

With QuickBooks, you can also pay employees and contractors, track time, and generate timesheets. For in-depth questions, use the platform's expert help feature, which gives you access to live assistance.

Price: Starts at $30 per month.

Conclusion

From financial management to productivity to marketing and sales, you need the right tools to grow your business. But don't expect to find an all-in-one business platform that meets every need. Instead, look for tools that integrate seamlessly with one another.

To build your ideal tech stack, identify your business's biggest goals. Then, evaluate the tools that best meet your needs, fit your budget, and have positive customer reviews. Explore the best small business tools online today and set yourself up for success.