Johannes Larsson is the founder and CEO of Financer.com, an SEO geek, and an affiliate marketing expert. He’s been practicing entrepreneurship and digital marketing for over a decade and runs a global remote team.
In his blog johanneslarsson.com, he shares his expertise in SEO, affiliate marketing, and finance with a wealth of free resources for digital entrepreneurs.
There are so many upsides to running a remote business. Not only do you have your pick of talent from all over the world, but your employees tend to be happier since they’re not restricted by living in a specific place. You benefit from a wider range of cultures, all bringing their own skills and unique perspectives to the table, helping you to grow your business.
However, running a global remote team can also come with its challenges. Not being physically together very often can cause its own headaches when it comes to communication, project management, collaboration, and payments. That’s where apps can change the game.
With these five apps, you can tackle any of the issues you might be facing due to remote working so that you can enjoy the benefits and make the most of your diverse, remote team.
Slack
Slack is a virtual office for remote teams everywhere.
Employees trade in their commutes for logging into Slack for the day and communicating with each other just like they would in any other office environment.
As well as private chat and call functions you can create channels to discuss specific topics, arrange meetings and so much more. You can even create a ‘water cooler’ style channel for non-work-related topics, for growing relationships even further.
Pros:
- All of your work conversations are in one place so you never forget where something was discussed again.
- Seamless conversation, similar to a social media messaging service so it feels less formal than sending emails and can encourage more friendly communication.
- Fun and engaging layout with the use of emojis.
Cons:
- Because of the push notifications, Slack can become a distraction if people spend too much time on it throughout the day.
Notion
Notion describes itself as a “hub for asynchronous communication”.
Through shared docs, collaboration is made easier than ever. Whether you’re sharing ideas, collaborating on projects, or onboarding new remote employees – you can do it faster and smoother with Notion.
And with a wide range of templates available, you can use Notion for many different areas of your business. If you want to try out Notion for your remote business, you can use this helpful guide to get started.
Pros:
- Can be used across your business as an all-in-one solution to avoid losing valuable documents across different services.
- Synchronises across devices, which is ideal for working on the go and keeping up to date wherever you are.
- The Notion community is very strong, and you can benefit from a wealth of tutorials, templates, and insights from other users to get the most out of the platform.
Cons:
- It can be time-consuming to set up, although this depends on how complex you want your docs to be.
Trello
Trello takes the office whiteboard to a whole new level and is perfect for remote teams.
With Trello you can create customizable boards with a couple of clicks, it’s simple to use and easy to keep up with, and you’ll find yourself gravitating towards it for more and more of your business needs.
By color-coding your cards you can easily differentiate between projects, making organization a breeze.
Trello encourages collaboration between remote teams through the use of shared boards. You can use these to assign team members, view checklists, share links, and much more.
Pros:
- Free and premium versions for different needs, business types, and sizes.
- Works seamlessly across devices, so you can use it on your mobile on the go and computer in the office.
- Very easy to use so you don’t need to spend a long time learning the system.
Cons:
- Only available with wifi, which could be difficult to use during travel.
Revolut
Revolut makes it quick and seamless to pay remote employees in 28 different currencies.
They have rethought what businesses need from their banking and created a user-friendly app and unbeatable customer experience.
If your team needs company cards, Revlout also offers virtual cards that can be controlled through the app. So whether you need to set a limit, freeze or monitor an account you can do all of this with ease.
Pros:
- Very transparent with no hidden fees and surprises.
- Premium features and benefits are available including free global express delivery, spare cards, a metal card, and more.
- Multi-currency exchange, perfect for paying remote employees around the world.
Cons:
- Limited free ATM withdrawals, although remote companies do not generally rely on this feature very heavily anyway.
Lastpass
Remote teams require shared use of many accounts through their collaborations, which can cause a security risk.
According to Lastpass, “80% of data breaches are caused by weak, reused or stolen passwords.” which can cause a serious risk to remote businesses sharing information digitally.
Lastpass is a great solution for allowing teams to share passwords and access secure accounts with confidence. Remote teams have enough to think about, so by letting Lastpass worry about their passwords that’s one less thing on their list.
Pros:
- Notifies you of weak passwords so you can make these more secure and improve your safety online.
- Easy to set up, use, and share with your team. Lastpass understands how busy remote teams are and saves you time.
- You can sync different devices instantly to your LastPass account for looking after your online safety at all times.
Cons:
- The business plans can add up for large teams as you pay per user, but it’s still a very reasonably priced product.
In Summary
Whether you’re a business working temporarily out of the office, experimenting with hybrid, or opting for a fully remote team – these apps should make your life a lot easier.
Comment below what remote business app you couldn’t live without!
