4 Business Tools That Make Life Easier | Best Outsourcing Partners

These apps are worthy of your attention because they will free up more time in your day.

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TripIt (iPhone, Android, and Blackberry)

One awesome advantage about running a tech company in the San Francisco Bay Area is that I hear about-and get to try out-many of the apps and software that are just entering the market. If the tool makes me more efficient or has real potential to help a small or mid-sized business, I?m all ears.

But a lot of the buzz is just hype around technology these days, especially now that everyone wants to be the next Instagram or Pinterest. As a business owner, how do you know which company, app or platform is worth your attention and will help your business grow? Most entrepreneurs I know just don?t have the time to try every new tool du jour.

So, I thought it would be helpful for Inc. readers if I wrote a monthly round-up of online business tools that, in my humble opinion, live up to their promises. If they work for me, they just might work for you. (Added bonus: Most of them will be pretty darn affordable, if not free.)

Here are four tools that I?m loving this month:

TripIt

I love TripIt because you can easily access and manage all your travel details from one place. All you have to do is forward your airline, hotel and rental car itineraries to the application and it?ll generate one master itinerary for you that you can access on your phone and/or through your calendar. Cost: Free for basic version

Punchcard

What?s a tried-and-true way to encourage loyalty and repeat customers? Rewards! If you have a bricks-and-mortar retail location, this nifty mobile app lets your shoppers take a picture of your receipt with their phones and get loyalty points from you. It?s just like those paper punch cards you used to get from the corner coffee shop or pet store-except now it?s all virtual. Cost: Free for the app

Eventup

This website is like the VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) of event spaces, and a great resource if you need to find a venue to host an event. It has lots of pictures, a calendar of availability, and various search options so you can filter down by price range, number of guests, etc. The site currently covers New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. Cost: Free to book

Uber Cab

Uber is a town car service that currently operates in 13 locations (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston and Seattle among them) and expanding fast. The app lets you see on a map when and where an Uber town car is in your neighborhood, and you can request a pick-up with a tap on your smartphone. (You can also make a request with a text message.) Schwanky! Cost: Free for the app; you just pay for your ride

If any of these tools sound like it could save you time or money, give it a shot. In the meantime, I need to come up with a catchy title for this monthly round-up. If you have any ideas, let me know in the comments section!

Did you enjoy this post? If so, sign up for the free?VR Buzz weekly newsletter?and check out the?VerticalResponse Marketing Blog.

Janine Popick is the CEO and founder of VerticalResponse, a leading provider of self-service e-mail and event marketing, online surveys, social media, and direct mail solutions. The company was ranked No. 1,771 on the 2011 Inc. 5000 list.?@janinepopick

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