Save Time and Money with Smart Apps: A Guide for Small Business and Accounting Firms

By Natalie Rooney

Boost productivity. Manage schedules. Develop marketing materials. Create a viral video. Whatever it is that you need to do today, there’s an app to help you get it done. GSCPA’s Director of Technology & Multimedia Services Calvin Wong shares some of the newest apps he has tested to help save you time and money, and maybe even impress your kids with your new skills.

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven economy, small businesses and accounting firms know that time is scarce, client expectations are high, and competition is tough. It’s time to work smarter, not harder, and Software as a Service (SaaS) apps can be a game changer.

SaaS tools are transforming the way businesses operate by automating routine tasks, improving team collaboration, and streamlining everything from marketing to project management. The good news is that these cloud-based applications are affordable, easy to use, and require no complex installations, which makes them especially ideal for smaller teams and firms.

Whether you're trying to free up hours in your week, enhance client communication, or manage your workload more effectively, the right apps can give you back valuable time while saving money. From creating polished marketing materials to organizing your calendar to taking smart meeting notes and turning them into action items, there’s a tool designed to make every aspect of your business more efficient. Embracing these technologies isn’t just a trend — it can create a competitive advantage.

“These apps can benefit anyone, even those organizations without a dedicated marketing team or AI specialist on staff,” says GSCPA’s Director of Technology & Multimedia Services Calvin Wong, who put together his list with an eye toward productivity – and also a little bit of fun.

Ready to learn more? Let’s get started.

Train Your Team by Creating Your Own How-To Guides

One of the biggest challenges facing organizations is training new talent on how to do the day-to-day basics of any job. “It requires a lot of valuable time for one individual to sit down with and train another individual,” Wong points out.

Scribe (also known as ScribeHow) is here to help. Scribe is an automated process and guide builder designed to streamline the creation of step-by-step guides, standing operating procedures, training materials, and other types of documentation, simplifying the documentation of processes within an organization.

Getting started is easy: all you have to do is install the Scribe plugin and then do your work. Scribe automatically follows along, creating a shareable how-to guide for you.

The app’s intuitive AI feature converts your tasks into detailed, easy-to-follow instructions. It even takes screenshots as you go through your work, step-by-step, allowing you to insert additional notes where you see fit.

Wong notes that the guides Scribe produces are a great starting point that can be easily customized.

Create Magical Marketing Materials

Most CPAs recognize that marketing is important but may feel like they lack the time or expertise needed to create marketing materials.

“They may feel like they’re not a graphic designer and wonder if they need to hire someone to create their presentations, videos, or website,” Wong says. “Even organizations that can afford a designer might find themselves understaffed. Apps can help bridge the gap.”

Canva is an easy-to-use graphic design platform that allows users to create everything from social media posts and business cards to presentations, marketing materials, and even t-shirts, all without needing advanced design skills.

Canva utilizes a drag-and-drop interface and has huge library of templates, fonts, design elements, and AI-powered features. Even the basic, free version offers plenty of design ideas.

Wong says it’s great for those who aren’t graphically inclined but have some idea about what they’d like to do.

In addition to photo editing and social media posts, Canva can step users through creating presentations, splash pages for websites, posters, postcards, mailers, and brochures.

Wong says the AI embedded in the online tools allows users to type a prompt – similar to how ChatGPT works – to take an image and easily enhance it. “AI is baked into the specific needs of these apps,” he adds. “You don’t need a graphic designer to create marketing materials for your business.”

Build Your Own Website

For members who are ready to build a website but don’t have coding experience or a tech team at their beck and call, Wong has two excellent options: beehiiv and WIX.

These “no code” website builders are not only easy, but they’re also actually fun to use, Wong says.

WIX has a drag and drop creator tool which makes it especially easy to work with to build eye-catching, modern websites or just simple forms on a page listing your services.

Beehiiv's website builder also uses a drag-and-drop interface, but this app differentiates itself by also offering the ability to combine newsletter and blogging capabilities, giving users a platform to reach their audience. Wong says this could be a great feature for firms and businesses wanting to reach out to their client base and, for example, encourage the clients to get scheduled for their tax season consultation.

Wong also recommends Wordpress as a flexible and cost-effective website platform. It offers access to a large community of developers who can help build custom webpages and applications for those who want to be able to go beyond an out-of-the-box experience.

Manage Meeting Minutes and Action Items

Wong found two great options for not only taking notes in meetings but also creating to do list and action items after the fact: Otter.ai and fireflies.

“These apps are an easy way for minute takers to alleviate their load,” he explains. “You can go back and listen to the audio itself and see if you’ve missed anything or you can read and share the meeting transcript, if your security policies allow for that. In addition, the software creates actionable points for attendees.”

When you use Otter, it appears as an individual’s “notetaker” bot on a call, which Wong says might be considered intrusive by some people. There are other software options that don’t have a bot present, if that is a concern.

These notetaking software options transcribe the meeting, take screen shots, and create summaries. You can even go back and assign names to different speakers and then sort information by name.

These apps can be used in smaller, in-person and online meetings, and also in larger settings like at a conference, and they’re surprisingly good at capturing a speaker’s presentation, even at a distance, Wong says.

Wong notes that while Otter is currently more widely known and has a larger customer base, fireflies has a proven record as being more accurate in its transcription.

Next Level Project Management

Monday, Monday – do you feel like you can’t trust that day? Monday.com might not be able to change your mind about the day itself, but it can take your project management options to a new level.

This versatile, user-friendly software covers project management, task tracking, and workflow automation. Its visual, customizable boards, combined with features like Gantt charts and dashboards, allow teams to effectively plan, track, and manage projects. The platform also offers robust automation capabilities, streamlining workflows and improving team collaboration.

Wong says he has seen the app evolve through AI integration. “The company has done a lot to add new AI-powered tools into your workflows for ticketing and service tracking,” he says. “In terms of project management, it helps you identify where you might need additional help managing projects.”

Tame Your Schedule

Time is money, and while no one wants to diminish the importance of personalized client interaction, it’s also important to make the best use of your time.

Wong points out that going back and forth over email simply to set up a meeting might not be in your best interest. “We hear from sole proprietors that planning, scheduling, and then rescheduling meetings is time consuming,” he says.

Calendar and scheduling tools like Calendly and Microsoft Bookings can be a timesaver.

You’ve probably already seen electronic email signatures that include “schedule time with me” links to an individual’s calendar. That is evidence of these schedulers at work. It doesn’t stop there though; you can take this link and put it on your website or create a QR code for your business card.

While Wong says Calendly is currently the most popular option, don’t consider it your only option, especially when you might already have free access to Microsoft Bookings if you have a Microsoft 365 subscription.

After you determine which scheduler fits your needs, Wong encourages a testing period – before things get busy and before you roll it out to your full team. “It’s free, useful, and you don’t have to go back and forth via email to get scheduled with someone,” he says.

Wong says other cloud-based app services such as One Drive and One Note are already included with subscriptions you might likely already have, so make sure you’re taking advantage of all of them before you start paying for additional subscriptions.

OneDrive has the capability to back up your Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders to protect you from losing your files, similar to what an IT department would do for you on lighter backup tools. As for OneNote, take advantage of this tool to enhance your notes availability and seamlessly keep track of it in one app across devices.

Deep Dive Research

Not sure where to turn for some deep dive research projects? Check out Perplexity, an AI-powered search and answer engine that provides conversational responses to user queries. The beauty of Perplexity is that it provides cited the location for its responses, Wong says.

Multimedia Mashup

Voice to text software used to be used simply to create voicemail messages on a business’ main phone line, Wong says, but now, software from companies like ElevenLabs provides much more, including voiceovers for videos. He describes the quality as “surprisingly real.”

Users can record and edit their own voice, add sound effects or create voice isolation.

Munch can help you create short form content from large form content – which is great for anyone who wants to post video clips to social media. “It’s easy to cut video into smaller pieces, auto add captions, and post it,” Wong says.

For video editing, check out descript, which allows you to edit right from the video’s written transcript. Simply remove unwanted text from the transcript, and voilà, it disappears from the video. You can also edit by using your cursor to highlight and delete what you don’t like. The software will even smooth and blend the edit to minimize the effect of the cut.

Get Ready to Grow Your Business

Wong says the value of these apps will differ for everyone, but even when you’re not a specialist in an area, you can benefit from these tools. It’s just like hiring your own specialist at a fraction of the cost.

“Eventually, the cost of the tools balances out with your own time and worry,” he says. “If you ever wanted to grow your business but don’t have the funds or patience, a lot of these tools can help you get there.”

This article was originally published in the September/October 2025 issue of Current Accounts magazine by The Georgia Society of CPAs. It is used with permission.

Natalie Rooney is a Colorado freelance writer who has been writing for CPA societies for over twenty years. She can be reached at natalie.g.rooney@gmail.com.