As a current SaaS start-up in the Google for Entrepreneurs community, we are surrounded by over 1000 entrepreneurs and 250 start-ups each day (many of them are SaaS companies). When compiling this list, we thought what better method than to poke around and ask about some of their best practices, apps and websites used to achieve all-around success? So here it is, a list of the top 10 (okay fine – 11) best tools for SaaS entrepreneurs by SaaS entrepreneurs. 

Organization

I Done This is a great way to see the daily progress made and reported personally by your employees. Not only does it keep them on task but also holds them accountable. I Done This is especially beneficial members working remotely and for those who need designated meeting times to focus on projects that demand more attention.

Shoeboxed – Parking, lunch meetings, event registrations – expenses are endless and keeping the receipts for reimbursement can be a serious pain. With Shoeboxed, you can simply take a picture of your receipt and turn it into data. They do the same with your business cards and even track mileage with GPS services to ensure accuracy. Don’t feel like taking pictures of all your receipts? Shoeboxed with send you a postage-free Magic Envelope that you can fill to the brim and send it back to enter receipt and business card information for you.

Communication

We are pretty big Googlers over here, so we’re naturally inclined to use Hangouts for quick chat conversations. However, another communications platform happened to catch our attention, especially for teams of five or more. 

Slack – This tool allows you to create channels and domains (i.e. separate conversations for different departments) to cut out conversation that doesn’t directly pertain to certain users. It also offers direct messaging capabilities and push notifications when someone mentions your name so you never miss a beat.

SEO/Content

HubSpot – This one’s a no brainer. Want to identify customer behaviors on your site? Hubspot is the go-to for compelling insights regarding your business’s marketing campaigns.

Buzzsumo – This is an awesome tool to help you craft articles and content for optimal web traffic. We all know how important it is to get your content game going strong, and Buzzsumo is perfect for devising the best planning and content strategies.

Piktochart — You’re welcome. Gone are the days of stressing about your tried graphics, debating font styles and placements, and your color scheme worries. With Piktochart, you can create, infographics, posters, presentation slide decks ­– you name it – with their customizable templates ready and waiting to color your content. 

Data Analytics/Web Tracking

This one is all us, so we’ve got to brag just a little.

Here at Factivate, we’re all about showing you your data in the friendly and familiar form of a spreadsheet. Cloud-based and updating 24×7, our custom templates easily breakdown and highlight key performance indicators to help you start making powerful business and marketing decisions.

To be fair and slightly less biased, we also wanted to mention Kissmetrics, a fellow analytics service sharing the love of reporting metrics. 

We also are huge fans of Google Analytics. Tracking web data has never been so important and Google, yet again, is making it simple to gather the best insights actionable to your business.

Payment Processing

Stripe – When it comes to online bill payments, Stripe takes care of it all! It’s easily built into developing websites and offers efficiency when gathering your payments online. Stripe is also compatible to with Apple Pay and Android Pay to make it more convenient on the customer side, and is already being used by thousands of mobile applications and websites.

That just about wraps it up for our favorite tools around here! Have some favorites of your own? We want to know – share and comment below!