The Best Small Business Tools (That Won’t Waste Your Time or Money)

Essential small business tools like scissors, thread, and a ruler — used by real small business owners.

Running a Small Business? You Don’t Need More Tools. You Need the Right Ones.

If you're a small business owner, you already know the truth:You're not short on options — you're drowning in them.

Everywhere you look, there’s another tool promising to save time, automate everything, or “10x your results.” But somehow, you still feel like you’re spinning your wheels. You’ve tried tools for marketing, accounting, client management, automation — and yet, your business still feels harder than it should.

Here’s the real problem: Most tools aren’t made for small businesses.They’re made for big teams with big budgets — or they’re half-baked solutions that add to your workload.

That’s why we created Grow with ABCG — the online small business platform that curates the best business tools (and shows you how to use them profitably).

The Hidden Cost of the Wrong Tools

Let’s break it down. Using the wrong tools can cost you:

⏳ Time — Constant setup, learning curves, and workarounds
💸 Money — Paying for tools you barely use or don’t need
😩 Focus — Switching between platforms and trying to make things work
❌ Opportunities — Missing out on growth because your systems are scattered

Small business owners don’t have time to waste. You need simple, effective tools that make your business more profitable — not more complicated.

What Makes a Tool Worth It?

Here’s our expert checklist for choosing the right small business tools:

✅ Designed for solo entrepreneurs or small teams

✅ Easy to use (and actually enjoyable!)

✅ Helps you save time or make money

✅ Affordable — not bloated with features you’ll never use

✅ Comes with clear instructions or support

We used this exact checklist to build our curated toolkits at Grow with ABCG. Whether you need help with marketing, operations, finance, or automation — we’ve done the work of filtering the noise.

The 5 Essential Categories of Small Business Tools

Let’s cut through the clutter. Here are the five types of tools every small business needs — and the ones we recommend.

1. Marketing Tools

Get discovered, build trust, and grow an audience — without wasting hours on social media.

Email Marketing: ConvertKit (simple + powerful for creators)
Design & Branding: Canva (beautiful visuals in minutes)
SEO Tools: Ubersuggest or Keywords Everywhere (for non-techy folks)

🧠 Pro Tip: Don’t try to be everywhere. Pick one or two channels and use tools that make your life easier, not busier.

2. Operations & Scheduling

Keep your business organized, your calendar under control, and your to-do list manageable.

Project Management: Notion (fully customizable), Trello (visual + simple)
Scheduling: Calendly (automated bookings without back-and-forth)
Document Storage: Google Drive (simple and free to start)

3. Finance & Payments

You can’t grow what you can’t track. Use tools that help you understand where your money’s going — and where it could be going.

Invoicing & Payments: Wave (free and easy), Square
Bookkeeping: QuickBooks (classic), or Xero (if you want cloud-based)
Budgeting & Forecasting: Simple spreadsheets work — or use our Profit Planner Tool (coming soon!)

4. Customer Management & Sales

Make every customer feel like a VIP, and close more deals with less friction.

CRM: HubSpot (free to start), or Zoho CRM (budget-friendly)
Client Onboarding: Dubsado or HoneyBook (automate your process!)
Proposals & Contracts: Bonsai or PandaDoc (templates + e-signatures)

5. Automation & AI Tools

Automate the stuff that slows you down, so you can focus on what matters.

Workflows: Zapier (connects your tools together)
AI Helpers: ChatGPT (generate ideas, drafts, responses fast!)
Social Media Scheduling: Buffer or Later

🚨 Warning: Don’t chase every AI trend. Focus on tools that free up time and boost output — not ones that add more to your to-do list.

Why We Built Grow with ABCG

Because we’ve been where you are.As business educators and experts, we’ve seen how overwhelming it can be to run a business with scattered tools and no clear roadmap.

That’s why Grow with ABCG is more than a list of tools — it’s your curated shortcut to growth.

Here’s what you’ll find inside:

✅ A hand-picked toolkit of the best small business tools (that we’ve tested)

✅ Expert guidance on how to use them effectively

✅ Short, practical classes to help you turn effort into profit

✅ No fluff. No overwhelm. Just what matters.

Ready to Grow Smarter?

If you’re tired of wasting time and money on tools that don’t deliver, we’ve got something to help you get started:

🎁 Grab our free 5-Minute Checklist: "The Essential Tools You Actually Need to Grow."→ It’ll help you uncover which tools are slowing you down — and what to use instead.

👉 Download the Free Checklist Now