The eight best business apps to ensure a productive year

There are a whole host of apps out there claiming to help even the busiest people get more done, in less time. The problem is that the people who need them the most rarely have time to trawl through the App Store to find the best business apps. So I’ve done the leg work for you.

Check out the eight best business apps below that do genuinely help you claw back time to?make 2017 your most productive year yet, counting down from eight to number one.

(8)?Upwork

Ploughing time into a task you don’t have the right skills for isn’t productive. Upwork is the world’s largest online workplace, making it faster and easier for you to find and hire talented freelancers from around the globe. The Upwork Messenger App means you can also keep jobs moving while on the go. The app alerts you when jobs have been accepted or declined, and makes it easy to keep in touch with your freelancers.

Free to download on iOS and Android.

(7)?Instapaper

Can?t find that article you saw while you were commuting into work or making your way to a meeting” Don?t waste time searching for it again when you’re back in the office and download this handy app. You simply save an article to your account when you spot it and you can highlight any bits of text you like while reading your saved articles. The app lets you share the highlighted text immediately. Once you open the app up again, you?ll be presented with a summary of all your highlights, so everything you need to inspire your next project will be ready and waiting.

Available to download for free on iOS and Android.

(6)?Doodle

Constantly caught in endless email chains with colleagues and clients trying to find a date for that meeting” Doodle solves this problem, allowing you to get a get date in the diary with just one message, meaning you can spend more time on what matters growing your business and keeping your clients happy. Simply suggest the possible dates, send to the participants via the app, email or iMessage and then let them instantly vote on which options work for them. Doodle does the rest, confirming the best date for everyone.

?Free to download on iOS and Android and your colleagues don’t need to have the app for it to work.

(5)?Slack

Billed as the email-killer?, this app does just that. It feels like a mix between email and WhatsApp and simplifies messaging with colleagues or clients. You can set up different channels” so teams or projects are kept separate and all of your documents or conversations for individual projects are neatly filed together. The app has the option to enable push notifications so you’re never out of the loop.

?Free to download on iOS, Android and in beta on Windows phones.

Continue on the next page for the top four best business apps of 2017.

(4)?Evernote

This is the modern answer to Filofax. Meeting notes, to do lists, articles you want to read, images, PowerPoints, all important ideas all of these can be filed and organised within the app, and are accessible on the go. No more searching through old file trees or email chains. Indispensable.

Free to download on iOS and Android phones.

(3)?focus@will

When it comes to the best business apps, this one is genius. It describes itself as a ?neuroscience based music subscription service that helps you increase your attention span by up to 400%?. And it works. Put simply, it will curate a playlist specific to you and your needs at that time to help boost your concentration and focus levels.

All the benefits of a Spotify playlist without losing an hour creating it.

Free to download on iOS and Android phones.

(2)” Quandoo

Finding a great place to eat for a business lunch can be a tricky task. Quandoo offers an unmatched choice of dining experiences from Michelin-starred restaurants to local favourites. The app uses GPS to show you the eateries in your area and lets you earn loyalty points with those you like the look of. The app covers restaurants across Europe, Asia, Australia and South America, so you?ll never be short of ideas of where to eat wherever you are.

Free to download on iOS, Android and Windows phones.

(1) The best business apps?Wunderlist

The best to-do list app out there. As well as allowing you to manage your own progress, the app allows you to share to-do lists with colleagues and assign tasks to individuals. This means you can collaborate seamlessly with your team, ensuring they are constantly up to speed and eliminating the need to constantly request progress reports.