Smartphones, tablets and other PDAs have made doing business away from the office a reality for those in the green business industry. There are so many business-friendly apps available that you could almost get rid of your brick and mortar building, and rely entirely on your smartphone or tablet.
Here are five apps that you can download to make you more efficient, as well as save you money, in your lawn care or landscape business:
1. Organize your day: You can now download apps to your smartphone or tablet that can help you organize your documents. These apps can help you save money, as well as valuable time. For example, you’ll save money on ink, paper and printer maintenance. You’ll also have those contracts, charts and fact sheets at your fingertips when you meet with a prospect. Adobe, by far, is probably the most trustworthy source. Here are two other app possibilities: Quick Office Pro, and Apple iWork.
2. Office while on the road. Additionally, you can connect your PDA with your office’s desktop through cloud computing, or through apps, such as LogMeIn, to join your smartphone with your desktop.
3. Show me the money. You can get apps that allow you to offer payment services directly on your smartphone or tablet. There are many different options for you to choose from, such as PayPal, as well as buying an app to turn your PDA into a payment terminal. Do a Google search for “payment terminal” and you’ll see all of the choices you have for those types of apps.
4. You have an appointment. Not only can you use your smartphone or tablet to send invoices and get paid, but you can also schedule appointments directly onto your PDA. These two links will give you the lowdown on the best scheduling apps to download with a calendar here and here.
5. Showing you the way. Last, but not least, the GPS app for your smartphone or tablet may be the most valuable tool on your PDA. Since you and your crews are on the road a lot, having a GPS app is a no-brainer. You get to save space and can create maps and voice directions directly from your phone instead of having a separate device, such as a Tom Tom. You can try Waze or Google Maps Navigation as two possible apps to download.
PDAs are a boon for businesses, especially those in the lawn care and landscape fields. Your smartphone or tablet can be your all-in-one office when you download the right apps.
This article is from the 2014 Green Industry Guide. Read the rest of the digital edition here. You can find products, brands, companies and dealers in the industry on the main homepage.
