<p>The world runs on technology today, and smart phones are becoming a tremendously important part of business. Your phone can be the ultimate business tool if you know how to best utilize its capabilities. Creative thinking drives businesses forward, and it will help you to make the most of your smart phone as well. Try these creative ways to utilize smart phone apps to benefit your business.</p>
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<li><strong>Manage Your Business Finances</strong></li>
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<ol>Managing financial matters is one of the most difficult tasks for many business owners. If you don&#8217;t have a tendency toward organization and a head for numbers, you can quickly find yourself lost in pile of paperwork, losing money on a regular basis. Use your smart phone to help you organize your finances and track your expenses. Use helpful apps like Expensify and Freshbooks to keep your finances in order the easy way. Record your business expenses, manage your invoices, and forecast your financial future all with one incredible device.</ol>
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<li><strong>Process Payments from Any Location</strong></li>
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<p>If your business takes you on the road frequently, it&#8217;s important that you&#8217;re able to keep working without missing out on opportunities while you travel. Consider investing in a service like Square. This app, along with its complementary hardware, turns your smart phone into a mobile credit processing station. Simply plug it in, swipe your client&#8217;s card, and have them sign on your touch screen. You&#8217;ll never have to miss out on a sale ever again, and you&#8217;ll be able to solidify deals from anywhere in the world.</p>
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<li><strong>Make Networking a Breeze</strong></li>
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<p>One of the most important aspects of running a business is networking. Every person you meet could be a future client or business partner. Avoid losing any potential connections by making use of smart phone apps to help you with your networking. Business Card Reader Pro uses your phone&#8217;s camera to read cards and instantly import all of their information to your contacts list. The increasingly popular Bump app allows you to trade contact information with other users simply by touching your phones together. Take the work out of networking by using these helpful apps.</p>
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<li><strong>Get In Tune with Your Customers</strong></li>
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<p>There are many new opportunities for businesses in the smart phone age. Services like Protect Your Bubble cell phone insurance built entire businesses on a simple consumer demand introduced by the smart phone. Using smart phone technology to benefit your business isn&#8217;t all about you. Think about new ways to connect with your customers and use their phones to build your business. Apps like FourSquare allow customers to check in at your retail locations and promote your business every time they walk through the door.</p>
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<li><strong>Develop Your Own App</strong></li>
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<p>If you really want to take your business to the next level, consider developing your own app. There are infinite possibilities for app development; think of new directions for your business and use your own app to move forward. Your app could give your customers easy mobile access to your website, or it could be its own full service e-commerce platform. Figure out how you can use an app to build your business, and get to work right away.</p>

5 Ways to Utilize Smartphone Apps to Benefit Your Small Business
