The right tool can save a small business hours every week, but choosing from the flood of options online is genuinely overwhelming without some direction. Here are five tools still worth considering, tried and confirmed still active.
1. Zoho Invoice
An affordable, dedicated invoicing tool that every small business genuinely benefits from. Features like recurring invoices remove one of the more tedious admin tasks from your plate entirely.
2. HubSpot
A well-established marketing and sales platform offering a fully functional CRM, with a genuinely useful free tier for smaller businesses just getting started with lead tracking and follow-up.
3. Meet Alfred
A LinkedIn and multi-channel outreach automation tool for reaching decision-makers at scale. It remains actively used, though it’s worth weighing the risk of LinkedIn account restrictions that automation tools can occasionally trigger, and choosing a reputable, well-supported plan.
4. Proposify
A proposal-writing tool that gives smaller businesses the same polished, professional finish larger competitors use, with the added benefit of tracking whether a client has actually viewed your proposal.
5. A digital business advisory toolbox
Beyond individual point-tools, several online platforms now bundle business dashboards, templates and advisory guidance across entrepreneurship, financial management, customer understanding, strategy and risk. Confirm current features and pricing directly, since this category shifts often as providers update their offerings.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth paying for premium tools as a small business just starting out?
Start with free tiers where genuinely available, HubSpot and several invoicing tools included, and upgrade only once your volume or complexity actually requires it.
Is LinkedIn automation software safe to use for a small business?
It carries some risk of account restriction, since LinkedIn actively monitors for automated behaviour. Choose a well-supported tool and use it within reasonable limits.
How often should I review whether my business’s tech stack is still the right fit?
At least annually. Tools that were essential a few years ago can lose relevance, get acquired, or shut down entirely, so periodic review avoids relying on something that’s quietly become outdated.
Choosing tools deliberately, not by default
The right online tools genuinely compound a small business’s efficiency over time, but only if chosen deliberately rather than picked at random from a search results page. Confirm current pricing and features directly before committing to any of them.
Further reading: Small Business Software and Tech Tools Worth Using Now | Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (Sedfa) for official SME business support
Originally published in September 2019. Updated September 2026 to confirm which of these tools are still active and refresh their current features. Tool pricing and features change, so confirm current details directly before adopting one.
