21 Remote Working Tools That Works For Every Business Size

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Best Remote Working Tools

It is extremely important to use remote working tools based on their functionality rather than features. Most small businesses need a mixture of remote working tools, including tools for:

• Project Management
• Video Conferencing
• Document Sharing
• Text-Based Communication
• Time Management
• Security
• Payroll

Are you a freelancer? Check out our list of free content writing tools.

Project Management

Trello

Trello’s workflow design is efficient and makes editing, work prioritization and collaboration easy for businesses of any scale. The data is stored securely and is well organized, making in-app searches easier. It is a flexible integrator and can be used with third party apps, active plugins and any extension.

Features:

• Detailed overview of both sides of a card
• Easy to edit, organize, label and comment
• Easy upload to cloud account
• Backing up information is possible
• Supports mobile viewing
• Allows automated email notifications

Best For: Managing projects of any size and priority.

Price: There are two plans priced at $5 a month after the end of a free trial period.

Asana

Startups like Mashable and Udacity depend on Asana to organize the entire workload of the firm, communication between internal teams, keep a tab on the progress of projects, have a backup of old data and get work done efficiently.

Features:

• Allows mobile viewing
• Efficient distribution to task to members
• Easy to create tasks, prioritize, edit, track and comment
• Allows building Gantt charts and reporting

Best For: Asana is not merely meant for managing tasks but is a great tool for interdisciplinary communication between teams.

Price:

• Free plan for a team of 15 members with limited benefits
• Premium Plan is priced at $9.99/member/month and comes with expansive benefits
• Enterprise Plan, meant for big companies, offers elite grade services. Pricing depends on the quote

Basecamp

Basecamp consistently ranks in the top tier of work, project, and resource management software. It stands out from the rest with its highly compact single page project display which makes handling multiple projects quite handy. Not to mention, individuals as well as businesses can organize their work here and can operate from the app easily.

Features:

• Gantt Charts
• Automated Project Summaries
• A social platform with integrated messaging to get in touch with members quickly
• Allocation of Projects with efficient organization and tracking
• File manager and easy to-do lists

Best For: Individuals and businesses.

Price: Post the 30 days free trial, Basecamp offers a flat fee of $99, making it easy to have as many members onboard as needed.

Video Conferencing

GoTo Meeting

Businesses and individuals find this tool convenient as it offers one of the best HD quality videos in the market. Moreover, the ease of use helps the users to connect quickly over messages and join active chat rooms. Not to mention the very nifty meeting assistant which transcribes the voice to text and makes it available for users.

Features:

• Can support video call for up to 250 participants
• HD video conferencing
• Available on all desktop and mobile platforms
• A single URL invite for multiple attendees
• Option to choose quality of audio
• Available in 9 languages

Best For: Video Conferences, Presentations, Webinars, Online meetings, Remote Work

Price: Starts from $12 a month

Google Hangouts

To get started with Hangouts, the user needs to have access to a device with webcam and robust internet connection. Voila! A user can start HD quality video conferencing with just a simple setup. Hangout Air is clubbed with social media sites for public broadcasting and video marketing. Big brands have used hangouts to grow their reach and business.

Features:

• Accessible on every desktop and mobile platform i.e iOS, Chrome and Android
• Compatibility with Google products
• Built-in messaging
• Video and voice calls
• Admin control
• Group conferencing
• Screen sharing
• Hangout on Air

Best For: Group calls, HD conferences, Private calls

Price: Free of cost

Skype

Members can connect on Skype, irrespective of the device and platform they are using. Skype promotes a collaborative culture for remote work with high end security encryption of e-meetings and webinars. An added benefit of using Skype for Business is the Skype Manager which allows businesses to keep a track of multiple accounts and expenses.

Features:

• HD Conference calls
• Call recording feature for businesses
• A Meeting Lobby which details the participants
• Added feature for mobile users to experience good connection
• Meeting Content Retention
• Broadcasting to 10,000 participants in webinars
• Easy to view presentations

Best For: Presentations, Group Meetings, Conferences, Webinars

Price: Skype for Business start at $4.86/user/month

Document Sharing

Google Drive

Features:

• Storage of up to 15 GB per account at no cost
• Easy sharing
• Ability to set-up rights and permissions
• Real-time notifications and collaboration
• Easily accessible across devices
• Offline mode

Benefits:

• Available to be used 24×7, with or without internet connectivity
• Easy to make edits in document by multiple users
• Easy to share files as Google Docs are compatible with every platform

Best For: Writing, editing, sharing, and communicating on a single platform, accessible by multiple users at the same time

Price: Free

Dropbox

Features:

• Provides free storage to save data on cloud
• Highly encrypted security for data
• File sharing with a link
• Works on any operating system across desktop and mobile
• File Request
• Edit Microsoft documents
• Add comments to files

Benefits:

• Data stored on cloud saves space on device, yet it available anytime
• Send large files easily
• Any kind of file preview is allowed on Dropbox, from docs to psd
• Updates data automatically when device sync is enabled
• An efficient free plan but with very limited storage

Best For: Storing data on cloud, sending large files

Price: Other than a free plan with limited storage, feature heavy plans start at $9.99/month and the professional plan is priced at $19.99/month, when billed annually.

Evernote

Features:

• Taking note online as well as offline
• Make presentations directly from the app
• Turn Business cards into e-cards by simply scanning with the app
• Enhanced image recognition to clearly read texts within images

Benefits:

• It can store note as links, photos, pdfs, docs etc
• Notes are uploaded on cloud, hence it is difficult to lose data
• Compatible on all platforms
• It is easy to organize and categorize notes as stacks

Best For: Note taking app, best for storing items and references which are of importance.

Price: The Basic version is free forever. Premium versions starts at $7.99/month and Business version starts at $14.99/user per month.

Text-Based Communication

Slack

Features:

• Channels for different topics and conversations
• Easy to connect with teams across different companies
• Direct Messaging
• voice and video calls
• Can be integrated with a variety of services
• File sharing is easy
• Keep track of work progress

Benefits:

• All the teams and team members can join at a single place and communicate
• Greater transparency in the workplace
• Increases efficiency of major apps by being easily integrated with them
• Anything can be searched through an inbuilt search bar
• Runs on any platform and OS

Best For: Bringing all business communication under one roof.

Price: Excluding the free plan, active for unlimited periods of time, the plans start at $2.67/month when billed annually. There are 4 plans in total, including the free one.

Telegram

Features:

• Social media app
• Highly encrypted chats
• Phone number not required to use telegram
• Runs of mobile as well desktop devices

Benefits:

• Great tool to coordinate work
• Mingle socially by joining various channels and communities
• Can share files up to 1.5 GB in size

Best For: Communicating, Organizing work, sharing files

Price: Free

WhatsApp

Features:

• Share files
• Video and voice call
• Share location
• Transfer files between desktop and mobile
• Runs on all platforms
• Email chat conversations
• Backup data on Google drive
• Make online payments
• Send audio recordings
• Fingerprint lock

Benefits:

• Connect with people regardless of the geographic distance
• Send media files to communicate
• Connect with variety of customers using Whatsapp business
• Personalize outbound messages
• Market business with WhatsApp conversations
• Security of messages with high-level encryption

Best For: One to one communication, group communication, file sharing, voice and video call

Price: Normal users can use Whatsapp free of charge, Whatsapp Business charges users anywhere between 5 to 9 cents depending on the country.

Time-Management Tools

Toggl

Features:

• Operates on cloud
• Easy to use
• Initial plan is free to use
• Track time using a timer system
• Reporting and analytics

Benefits:

• Runs smoothly on any platform
• Can be easily integrated into Chrome
• Ability to create different workspace as needed
• Easy to start a project
• User friendly interface
• Calculates active time and prepares worksheet reports
• Intuitive tool, can stop or start a project by calculating idleness
• Easily share reports with clients

Best For: Freelancers, Small to large scale businesses.

Price: Billings start with $10/per person/month to the premium plan of $20/person/month.

Clockify

Features:

• Time-sheet
• Time Audit
• Client Invoice generation
• Dashboard
• Time tracking metrics
• Mobile and desktop support
• Pomodoro timer
• Multiple options for Integration and API
• Administrative access

Benefits:

• Tracks work time and productivity of employees
• Generates easy to understand reports
• In depth reports while serve for client invoicing and accepts e-payments
• Doesn’t interrupt users while working. The tool monitors productivity silently
• Sends automated reminders to users, employees or clients who haven’t filled out invoices

Best For: Anyone from large to small scale businesses.

Price: Billing starts from $9.99/month.

Time Doctor

Features:

• Tracking time spent working on projects
• Flexible modulations for tracking time
• Access to Client
• Breakdown of time spent working
• Generating reports
• Data encryption
• Monitors websites and apps

Benefits:

• Accurate time tracking tool
• Clients can choose between interactive and silent modes to track time while working
• Can be customized on any OS on desktop
• It can be integrated on multiple project and CRM apps

Best For: Freelancers, small to large businesses.

Price: Billing for premium plans starts from $12/month.

Security

LastPass

Features:

• Low subscription options
• Integration of all user passwords
• Single point sign-n
• Administrator Access
• Integration as web browser
• Secured encryption of sensitive data

Benefits:

• Works as a powerful when integrated with the OS browser
• Details of e-purchases are stored behind intricate layers of 256-bit AES data encryption
• Allows one touch login to several online accounts
• Easy to get started with plan
• A sidebar menu streamlines data effectively, making it easier to access

Best For: IT managers, business managers, individual users.

Price: Putting aside the free plan, business plans range between $3 – $8 per month.

TwoFactorAuth

Features:

• Additional security to account
• Specify devices that will authenticate
• Admins access to set their own authentication login
• Phone call, SMS, email authentication

Benefits:

• Shield against hacking and third party invasion
• Secures sensitive information from falling into wrong hands
• Ensures ownership of accounts against hostile takeovers

Best For: Individual accounts, organizational accounts across every industry.

Price: Free. The Pay As You Go Plan charges $0.99 per authentication.

Avast Antivirus

Features:

• Instinctive Antivirus
• Password
• Data Shredder
• Firewall
• Safezone Browser

Benefits:

• Provides 360 degree security to the system where its installed
• Removes unwanted bugs and keeps the system clean of virus
• Allows safe navigation of web
  -Provides layered security while shopping on e-commerce sites or making transactions online
• Easy to use interface
• It offers a deeper level of firewall and wards of virus attacks
• Great at tracking virus during boot-time scan and puts it on the radar

Best For: Securing the device and network in use. Suitable for independent use as well as in businesses for endpoint security.

Price: Free version has limited features. Premium multi-device plans start at $59.99/year.

Payroll

BambooHR

Features:

• Easy to use
• Tracking and managing performance
• Employee On-boarding
• tracking the activity of applicants
• Human Resource Information System (HRIS)

Benefits:

• Managing job applications at a single place
• Easy to bring new employees onboard and update them in the database
• Employees with specific roles get access to related information

Best For: Easy hiring, managing employees and their relation to the organization

Price: Following a free plan, users can opt for a paid plan after sending quotes.

Zenefits

Features:

• Employee Management
• Insurance benefits
• Payroll
• Employee on-boarding
• 401k management

Benefits:

• Runs on all platforms i.e mobile, desktop and web based
• Keeps a track of employee’s time management records
• An employee centric module, focuses on helping business streamline their duties to the employee

Best For: Small and Medium businesses for managing human resources.

Price: The plans start from $45/month.

Namely

Features:

• Human Resources Information System (HRIS)
• manages employee data
• a social media for company employees
• handles payroll
• authorization of sensitive information as per job role
• Review employee performances
• 401k management
• Easy to use

Benefits:

• Regulate a better workflow in the organization
• Benefit management and payroll maintenance
• 360 degree review and tracking of employees
• System can be scaled and modified depending on business needs
• Dedicated Account manager

Best For: Mid sized businesses to organize their human capital and assemble their company infrastructure.

Price: It depends on the approval of a quote-based plan.

Bottom Line

Remote working tools form the foundation of every great business. In order to increase productivity, you’ll need to provide your employees with the required remote tools for working from home.

To be honest, these are just a few of the hundreds of remote working tools available to use. Check out this massive list of 500+ remote working tools by Cocofax. Do the research, assess your business requirements, and choose the remote working tools that best suit your business needs.