Time is of the essence is in the world of business. Regardless of the size of your company, it’s important to have the skills, staff, resources and technology at your disposal that will allow you to conduct business more quickly and efficiently. Tablets are quickly becoming a must-have in small business circles. With almost the same characteristics and technological capabilities as traditional laptops possess, business tablets are especially helpful due to their increased mobility and user-friendliness.
Here are 5 ways you can use a tablet to make both yours and your workers’ professional life simpler and easier.
Create and Edit Documents
Running a business involves a lot of paperwork and having a tool that allows you to create documents at an increased pace and edit them right on the spot without having to go back to the office can come in extremely handy. Often times, when communicating with a potential customer, you agree to terms that weren’t what you originally had planned for. In such situations, you can use a tablet to edit the contract document on-the-fly. Afterwards, you can easily share it with the other party simply by sending it to their email address.
In today’s world, access to the internet via Wi-Fi for free is much more common than it used to be, therefore, even if you are in a café or a restaurant with your client, you can take advantage of this possibility to not only send files to that person while you’re sitting with them, but to promptly respond to incoming email, which is expected as a representative of a reputable company.
Issue Invoices and Estimates
Even a small business can receive a substantial number of orders every day. For this reason, it’s best to handle the orders efficiently as they come in. If you or your employees happen to travel a lot, not being able to check your email or Skype account regularly can have negative consequences, as some customers don’t like to wait and if they do have to wait, they might become disinterested in your offering. With the help of a business tablet, you will no longer need to carry a heavy laptop with you for every journey you embark on. Instead, you’ll be able to use a lighter device that will allow you to handle incoming orders as they hit your inbox. What’s more, depending on how things are set up, you could very well be able to take care of invoicing, too.
Simplify Accounting
Accounting is a necessary evil in the business world. Most small businesses hire professional accountants to handle this rather tedious and time-consuming task. There are, however, apps you can download to your tablet, which simplify accounting significantly, In most cases, you simply input values and the program will provide the financial statements you are obligated to prepare.
Deliver Powerful Presentations
Attending a meeting where you need to present yourself and your company in a good light? Use a tablet for the presentation. If you own MS Ofice, you can use Powerpoint to create your presentations. The possibilities certainly do not end there though. There are a variety of industry-specific apps and programs that can help you present your carefully crafted materials to colleagues, business associates or prospects in a professional – and most important – meaningful manner. Also, if your audience requests images, documents or materials complementary to the presentation, you no longer need to rush back to the office in order to meet their requirements. You can handle this task right then and there using your tablet.
Record Speeches and Conversations
In many cases, there is a necessity to take note of the speeches and/or conversations pronounced during a business meeting or conference. A tablet can perfectly serve this purpose. Not only can you record your and other people’s voices but there are also other ways you can put the awesome technological capabilities of modern tablets into practice. For example, when having a conversation with foreigners, there are applications you can use, which will automatically transcribe and translate what you are saying into their own language. Not every word is, of course, transcribed correctly but usually it does not pose a significant communication barrier. Alternatively, you can simply use the transcription app of the tablet to come up with a text version of what was said during the meeting.
Conclusion
Even though they are still often under-estimated, tablets are powerful pieces of technology that a majority of small businesses can use to simplify operations. Not only are tablets a good friend when communicating with prospects, business associates and customers, but they can make other aspects of running a business easier, too.