Tools for Running a Small Business

Running a small business means a set of recurring operational tasks that are not complicated one at a time: sending an invoice, logging an expense, handing over a receipt. Paying a separate subscription for each one adds up fast when you are watching every dollar of overhead. These tools run in your browser, so you can produce the document, save the PDF, and move on.

Getting paid, and proving it

A professional invoice goes to the customer when the work is done, and a receipt follows once payment arrives. They are the two most frequent documents in any small business.

Invoice Generator→

Put the essentials on every invoice: your business name and contact details, a unique invoice number, the date, an itemized list, the total, and the due date. State your payment terms plainly, such as "Net 15", and consider adding a late-fee line if your customers agree to it. An invoice for $1,850 with a clear due date gets paid faster than one that just says "thanks".

Receipt Maker→

Knowing where the money goes

An expense tracker with spending broken down by category makes tax time much less painful than rebuilding a year from memory and scattered receipts. Enter each cost when it happens, tag it (software, supplies, mileage, meals), and keep the paper or photo receipt with the entry.

Expense Tracker→

Keep business and personal spending on separate cards if you can. It is the single easiest way to avoid a messy year-end. Ask your accountant which categories they want, and match yours to theirs.

The tax question that varies by state

US sales tax is not one number. It varies by state and often by city or county, and some items are exempt. The Sales Tax Calculator has quick state rate presets, so you do not look the rate up from scratch each time. For example, a $240 sale at a 6.25 percent rate adds $15.00 of tax, for $255.00 total. Rates and rules change and local add-ons exist, so confirm what applies to you with your state revenue department. This is not tax advice.

Sales Tax Calculator→

First hire, first contract

When a small business brings on its first employee or signs its first vendor deal, an offer letter and a service agreement template cover both moments in standard cases. Have a lawyer review anything high value or unusual.

Employment Offer Letter→ Service Agreement Template→

A weekly ten-minute routine

Pick one slot a week, say Friday afternoon. Send any invoices you have not yet sent, follow up on anything past its due date, enter the week's expenses with their categories, and file the receipts. Ten minutes weekly beats a frantic weekend in March. At month end, compare invoiced against collected so you can see whether cash is lagging behind sales.

Where to go from here

Premium Applications such as the invoice, receipt and contract tools include 2 trial usages a day, and Professional Tools such as the Sales Tax Calculator include 10, so you can see which of these fit your routine. If the work becomes daily, compare a day pass and a monthly plan on the pricing page, or browse all professional tools.

See the full Small Business toolkit→