Our Favorite Software Of 2022 ๐
Feb 08, 2023As we welcome 2023 with open arms (we know it’s going to be an amazing one!), we’ll always look back on 2022 fondly… especially when it comes to software. ๐ค
Here at SMV, our relationship with software really blossomed in 2022. We’ve been serious with ClickUp for a while now (vetted since 2020), but we let a couple new applications into our lives and it’s been truly magical. In 2022, we became vetted in both Airtable and Zapier, 2 amazing tools that have been instrumental in helping our clients grow and scale.
Obviously, we think the world of ClickUp, Airtable, and Zapier, but there are so many other incredible software options out there. Lucky for you, we have put together a comprehensive list of our favorite software of 2022. Keep reading to see what software you should be using in 2023!
Project/Task Management
When it comes to project/task management, your software options are endless.
Our Finalists:
Relational Database
In short, a relational database stores and connects data points that are linked to one another. ๐ Our favorites are:
Our Finalists
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Airtable
- Nicole: Airtable
Scheduling
We ALWAYS recommend having a top-tier scheduling software to help organize & streamline all your meeting requests. Check out the 3 we love best:
Our Finalists
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Calendly
- Nicole: Calendly
We โค๏ธ Calendly because it’s incredibly user-friendly + it offers a ton of really helpful integration options. If you haven’t already, go see what Calendly is all about!
Communication/Chat
When the thought of sending yet another email makes you cringe, how do you maintain communication with your team members? Of course, task or project-related communication should always happen in your favorite project management tool, but for all other communication, here’s what we like to use:
Our Finalists
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Slack
- Nicole: Slack
We use Slack and we find it so easy to use on both desktop & mobile and to connect with clients, customers, vendors, etc. (anyone outside your internal team). As an extra bonus, Slack easily integrates with just about every tool we mention in this list. ๐คฏ Give it a try!
Graphic Design & Images
When you need something to look ๐ pretty ๐, where do you turn?! Consider one of these 3 options:
Our Finalists
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Canva
- Nicole: Canva
We’re not sure there’s really a contest when it comes to Canva. It has a TON of design capabilities and has the magical power of making anyone (and we mean anyone) feel like a graphic designer.
Plus, we love a #womenintech success story! Melanie Perkins, 32-year-old Canva CEO, is now the face of a $3.2 billion business and one of the tech industry’s youngest female CEOs. Read more about Melanie and her success here.
Automation Tool
Let’s face it. Sometimes even a really amazing software can’t do exactly what you want it to do. That’s where automations come in. Check out these amazing tools:
Our Finalists
- Zapier
- Make (formerly Integromat)
- Integrately
- Tray.io
Honorable Mention: automate.io (recently acquired by Notion) ๐
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Zapier
- Nicole: Zapier
Email Marketing
What platform do you use to tell the world about all the amazing services, products, etc. that you provide? ๐ฉ๐ป Here’s what we use:
Our Finalists
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Mailerlite
- Nicole: MailChimp
We’re split on this one! We use Mailerlite with a lot of our clients, mostly because we find it really easy to learn and use. But MailChimp has all the bells & whistles. It’s a tough call here, but you can’t go wrong with either.
Business Management Tool
Being a small business who works with small business owners, we know that having the right business management tool in place is an absolute necessity. โ These are our favorites:
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Plutio
- Nicole: Dubsado
Dubsado = Old Faithful
Plutio = Rising Star
We’ve used Dubsado with a handful of clients and it consistently proves itself to be a reliable system. Plutio, on the other hand, is certainly a rising star but has a ways to go (but we 100% think it will get there!).
Proposal/Contract Management
With all the leads we know you have flowing in ๐, you need a tool that allows you to send out beautiful proposals & contracts and manage the process of getting those ever-important signatures. Here are our top 3 proposal/contract management tools:
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Plutio (for look & feel), PandaDoc (for overall easy of use)
- Nicole: PandaDoc
We love PandaDoc and we use it with so many of our clients. It’s easy to use (which is a must) and has a ton of automation capabilities which is crucial when it comes to managing leads. But another quick promo for Plutio – it has a great look & feel and we truly believe it has the potential to become a leading tool!
Invoicing/Accounting
Invoicing/Accounting = the thing we never want to do, but that (unfortunately) needs to be done. So why not make it as painless ๐ค as possible with one of these tools?
Our Finalists
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Wave Invoicing
- Nicole: QuickBooks
- You really can’t go wrong with Quickbooks. It’s reliable, user-friendly, and reputable. What more could you ask for in an invoicing tool? On the flip side, Wave is an up-and-comer offering a free plan (HUGE benefit for startups and small business owners).
Forms
Need to compile info from your team members? Need to get feedback from a client? ๐ Collecting data & important information has never been easier than with a solid Forms tool. You can’t go wrong with any one of these options:
Our #1 Choice:
- Shannon: Jotform
- Nicole: Typeform
Jotform has amazing integration/automation potential & Typeform allows you to return to a form pre-submission without losing valuable information. Just depends on your preference!
And that concludes our 2022 software recap! We hope you had as much fun reading this list as we had putting it together. ๐
As much fun as it was to look back on 2022, we want to emphasize how excited we are for the year ahead. Here’s what we’re especially looking forward to:
- ClickUp 3.0
- Airtable Interfaces Improvements and Additions
- Airtable Connected Apps
- All the new potential that the rising star SmartSuite has to offer
With all of these robust software options to choose from, we understand the decision & set up of a new software can be exciting but maybe also a little overwhelming. If you want to broaden your knowledge of 2 of our favorite softwares (ClickUp & Airtable), subscribe to our email newsletters HERE.
If you’re interested in working with us to take your software game to the next level, book a discovery call HERE. We can’t wait to work with you!
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