Here’s a list of recommended applications/software Nigerian entrepreneurs can leverage to aid the day to day activities of their business.

PAYMENT SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1.PAYSTACK:  A payment platform developed by two Nigerian technology entrepreneurs – Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack has helped Nigerian businesses accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world, It also allows transactions to take place regardless of the cards owned by customers and has made payment on the go less tedious.

2. FLUTTER WAVE: Flutter Wave operates a model similar to Paystack. In addition to enabling transactions on the go using payment cards e.g. Visa, MasterCard e.t.c, Flutter Waves broad application programming interface also allows numerous other payment options to use its interface e.g. Ravepay, Voguepay, Moneywave e.t.c.  It functional in Nigeria, and other countries e.g Ghana,Kenya, UK and US.

MARKETING SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1. BUFFER: As an entrepreneur, one of the tools you can leverage in marketing your products and services online is Buffer. Buffer is a powerful social media publishing tool that streamlines the process of reaching your customers by making it easy to schedule content on social media. It increases your reach by ensuring you get the most out of each post. With one click, you can share content across multiple social networks and ensure that it’s posted at the optimal time so more followers will see your updates.

2. SALESFORCE1: As a small or growing business person, salesforce1 can help you connect directly with your customers and run your business from your phone. It channels all your customer information into a single, integrated platform, enabling you to build a client-centred business that includes marketing, sales, customer service and business analysis. This gives you a more complete understanding of your customers, allowing you to drive your business’s success and make smarter decisions from anywhere in real time.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1. TRELLO: Trello is a collaboration tool that organizes your projects into boards, lists and cards so you can better prioritize work and life. At a single glance you can see what’s being worked on, who’s working on what and the progress of a Project. It makes project management which includes work assignments, team projects, travel plans etc. easy and manageable.

2. HELLOSIGN: HelloSign is an easy and simple way to sign documents, contracts or agreements on the go. This application lets you view and sign documents using your fingertip. By implication, it eliminates the need to print, sign or scan a document and the back and forth processes often involved. This comes in useful to you as an entrepreneur when you are out of this office, in another city or state, work goes on.

3. SETMORE: This application helps small business owners organize client appointments using their official websites or Facebook page. It reduces the clutter and confusion that could arise when handling client appointments and also sends client appointment reminders thereby reducing likelihood of clients missing appointments.

4. ZOOM: Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

 ACCOUNTING SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1. WAVE: Wave is designed to help the small business owner keep track of business transactions made through its platform which allows entrepreneurs create and send professional invoices, estimates and receipts in seconds. With Wave, you can track income and expenses.

2. QUICKBOOKS:  QuickBooks accounting software is designed to help small and growing businesses handle the accounting aspect of their business. From accepting payments, managing bills, paying bills, keeping track of expenses to generating profit and loss reports, Quickbooks is the go-to application for accounting solutions. Best of all, this software is free although a more advanced version can be purchased.

3. BMAC: BMAC is a cloud based accounting software with features such as: Inventory Management, HR Payroll, Collaborator tool, Invoicing, Dashboard/Analytics, Audit control & Access control. With the collaborator tool your partners are closer to you than you can ever imagine. You can add as many users and work online with your professional accountants, employees & the like. learn more about BMAC here

4. FRESHBOOKS:  Fresh Books accounting software is designed to help small businesses track expenses, create invoices. And ease the process of financial payment applications e.g. paystack. To enable business owners receive payments for services and products on the go and seamlessly It is also equipped to carry out more advanced operations, like tracking assets, liabilities, and equities. Fresh book also helps you locate an accountant that works with fresh book, and allows easy transfer of data; this application has to be paid for.

5. SLICKPIE: Slickpie accounting software is aimed at helping small business owners, with functions such as late payment reminders, bank reconciliation, financial reporting. It is simple and easy-to-use; feature includes online invoicing and billing, financial reporting, bank reconciliation. Automation benefits such as auto-recurring invoices and automatic payment reminders are also available to provide the highest convenience and time optimization.  SlickPie is equipped with MagicBot an automated data entry tool that allows users to automatically enter all their data from bills and receipts to save them time and money, besides offering all these essential and exclusive benefits at user’s disposal, SlickPie is free.

6. SAGE: Sage is one peculiar software that offers accounting application packages that is peculiar to specific industries. For example, Sage 50 which is tailored to serve any form of small and medium scale businesses, Sage Timberline Office and Sage Master Builder are two of the most well-known construction accounting systems on the market. They offer construction-specific capabilities such as job costing, item billing, equipment tracking and more.

DIGITAL MARKETING SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1. CARDMUNCH: CardMunch is a free app, developed by LinkedIn to turn your business cards into LinkedIn Connections simply by taking a photograph of the business card. Card Munch has seen well over 1.8 million business cards to date scanned so far. As an entrepreneur on the go this tool will come in useful when you attend business conferences or meetings.

TRANSLATIONAL AND LANGUAGE SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1. ITRANSLATE: One challenge that sometimes impedes business transactions is language barrier; when two people don’t speak the same language it can be nearly impossible for them to communicate or transact. This app iTranslate helps overcome language barriers by allowing you to quickly translate back and forth between 90+ languages. The exciting news is this application can comfortably translate three (3) major Nigerian languages Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba.

TAX SOLUTION APPLICATIONS

1. TAX 247: is an application developed by Price Water Coopers Initiative (PWC), to make tax and business related laws readily available. This app allows you bookmark sections and subsections, and highlight important aspects of a law you’re reading for quick future access. All of this content is constantly updated by Pwc’s Tax Research and Insight Team.

2. NIGERIAN TAX/NET PAY CALCULATOR: The Nigerian Net Pay and Income Tax Calculator is a simple application that helps you calculate your net “take home” pay. It calculates tax deductions monthly or annually based on all your income. It allows you to specify if your income is earned monthly or annually. It will also calculate your pension, housing insurance (where applicable) during the income period. The calculator works based on the Nigeria tax system and it relieves you of the stress of the complex calculations involved. It provides a simple interface where you enter your income details and the application generates your Payslip, which you can view monthly or annually, detailing your net pay and the deductions.

3. DELOITTE TAX CALCULATOR: Deloitte has developed an Income Tax Calculator for Nigeria. This Calculator developed by Deloitte Nigeria is a very simple application that can help you as a business owner calculate tax due in accordance with the Nigerian Tax law. This ranges from personal income task to company income tax. This tax app shows in one click a summary of incomes, allowances, deductions and net income both monthly and annual.

4. FIRS TAX CALCULATOR:  Nigeria Income Tax Calculator computes personal income taxes and social security contributions based on a set of presuppositions. The tax calculation is therefore an estimate only, and cannot replace professional advice. The App is built to provide basic information/results and is at best a rough estimate of potential personal income tax, company income tax, and petroleum profit tax. It is based on a simple model that does not consider peculiar cases of taxpayers while assuming basic accounting and tax skills which requires users to appropriately understand the inherent limitations expected of any estimation tool.