5 Essential Biz Apps You’ve Never Heard Of

Everybody knows the iPhone is great for working while on the go, and everybody tends to use the same iPhone apps for business—usually Dropbox, Twitter, Square, 1Password, a business card scanner, maybe an app to access your bank account, and probably an app to find good restaurants in any part of town (because no company can succeed on an empty stomach).

But there are now over 500,000 apps in the App Store, so we knew there must be a few more worthwhile business apps out there! We’ve found five apps for the iPhone that you’ve probably never heard of, yet they can prove valuable for almost any entrepreneur or small company.

1) Remotely connect to your computer from your iPhone

Access your computer files from anywhere with an app that allows you to remotely log on to and control your PC or Mac. You can see everything on your computer’s screen through your iPhone—so you can even see files in formats that can’t run natively on the iPhone. Three top apps in this category are Screens ($19.99), Jump Desktop ($14.99), and LogMeIn ($29.99)

2) Take more useful notes

Use AudioNote ($4.99) to take notes on your iPhone during a presentation or a meeting, while the app simultaneously records audio. When you look back at your notes later, all you have to do is tap on a word, and AudioNote will start playing the audio that was recorded at the exact time you wrote it. So you can take notes in outline format, and then easily jump directly to the audio you want to hear. Spend more time listening and less time writing.

3) Learn body language

Learn what your gestures may be unconsciously saying to a customer or business partner before you open your mouth. Read through Body Language for Dummies ($0.99) and Body Talk ($1.99) and then practice using the positive techniques while avoiding the negatives. Or use the apps to interpret what a prospective client’s actions are secretly telling you.

4) Create an automatic spreadsheet of expenses

Use SmartDoc Expense Report (free) to easily keep track of expenses on your phone. Log each expense and take a photo of the receipt as soon as you get it—and then at the end of the day or the week, upload the data to the developer's website, and you'll get back an email with a spreadsheet or PDF made from your data. No need to manually log everything into Excel at the end of every week.

5) Create email templates

Typing on the iPhone can be slow, so if you can create a few email templates instead of starting from scratch each time, you can vastly speed up the number of emails you can send. A few apps that let you create and edit email templates are Mail Templates ($0.99), Email & SMS Templates ($0.99), and Canned Mail (free).