When I got my iPhone, I knew that it would probably come in handy every now and then when doing business. I had no idea that it would be such an integral part of my day-to-day operations! This is the case mainly because of the apps that are available. Of course, most people know about the dedicated real estate apps from Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia. And there are the productivity apps that are included, so I won’t be discussing those. Instead I’m discussing the amazing apps I’ve found that should make working on the go a breeze. And here’s the best thing: most are free!
Mobimileage
By far, this is the best mileage tracker app that I’ve found. It automatically tracks your mileage; just press start and start driving! Once you’ve reached your destination, you stop the meter. It logs the date and your miles, and it will prompt you to save notes for your trip. Whether you’re in real estate, selling Mary Kay door-to-door, an independent mover charging by the mile… whatever! If you have to log your miles for work, you need this app.
CalcMoolator
This is a great little tool for real estate agents, because you can quickly and easily come up with a mortgage payment estimate using loan amount, interest rate, taxes and PMI. This is really helpful when showing houses to clients because then they aren’t just looking at the sales price but a realistic look at how much they will be paying every month. But if you’re not an agent, you still need this app! It has so many calculators it’s ridiculous. Auto Lease vs. Buy, Pay off Credit Card Debt, Break Even Analysis for business, college savings, retirement… I could not think of a financial situation that the developers for CalcMoolator haven’t included.
CardMunch
Do you have a pile of business cards just lying around? I do. Or at least, I did. In real estate, everyone is giving you a card, and admittedly I usually did nothing with it. I just never seemed to have time to sit down and enter all of that info! So I decided to look into card readers and found CardMunch. I love it because it is as easy as snapping a picture! The difference with CardMunch is that, unlike other apps that I found, the picture is sent to a human being to transcribe the info. Then it is sent back to you and you have the option of saving the info (along with a picture of the card) directly to your phone contacts, or just within the CardMunch directory on your phone. Piece of cake! The app is free, and you get about 15 free credits; after that, you must purchase credits.
Jot List
Are you a lister? I am! I lists for just about everything. As a new agent, I list the documents I’ll need when going for a listing presentation, house showing, open house, you name it! And this little app has freed me from all those sticky notes! And of course you can use Jot List for anything, business or personal. Yes, I could theoretically use the Notes app that comes with the iPhone, but the ability to have multiple lists in one app makes this invaluable.
Print Magic
Yes, I know Apple granted printing to iPhones/iPods/iPads, but if you’re like me, you don’t own one of the handful of printers that are compatible with this feature. Fortunately, Print Magic works with any printer that is WiFi enabled. This isn’t one of those apps that I use a lot, but it definitely comes in handy. For $2.99, it’s not bad. The only drawback is that the app requires you to pay for each PDF document you print.
EasySign
One thing I dislike about real estate is how much paper gets wasted! I print off a contract, have my clients sign and then fax or email it. Then I print out the faxed or emailed counter, have it signed, fax/email it back… It goes on and on. And there are the various disclosures, agreements, addenda. You could run up a small fortune in a year on paper and ink alone! That is why I am so glad I discovered EasySign. You simply download the document that needs a signature, sign on the phone/iPad like you would on a credit card terminal, resize as needed, and save or email! No printing, no scanning. Easy breezy. Although the app is free, you do have to buy signature credits, but trust me, this is a deal compared to the alternative.
RingCentral (or any other e-fax service)
Since I’m not in the office regularly, it doesn’t really make sense for me to have an actual fax machine that I’d have to go check every day. I’ve got things to do, places to go, people to see! So why not have my faxes come to me instead of me going to them? The advent of e-fax makes this possible. Whenever someone sends a fax it arrives as an email attachment. How great is that? There are several e-fax services services, so you have to decide which is right for you. RingCentral had a plan that was good for me and the amount of pages I generally send/receive, and they have an iPhone app which makes it even more convenient. That’s a win in my book.
ZipForm Mobile
This one is strictly for real estate agents (but there is probably some equivalent for your industry if you happen to be in another field). ZipForm is software that has the real estate forms for your state (as provided by the local association of Realtors) pre-loaded. You can simply type in the information, add all necessary forms to the transaction, and save them for your various clients. Now that the mobile version is available, you can handle your transactions on the go! So when a buyer finds the one and wants to put an offer in right then and there, they can! Partner this with EasySign and you can handle your whole transaction paperlessly! That’s 21st century business for you! This app will cost you $9.95/year, but if you are truly mobile it is a worthwhile transaction.
I’d love to know what apps you use in business. And if you use Android, I’d like to know if there are Android versions of or alternatives to the apps listed here. That would be a big help in determining whether to get an iPad or a Droid-based tablet!
*Note: I am not affiliated with the developers of these apps in any way. I am not receiving any compensation for featuring them, nor am I guaranteeing their usefulness to you. If you have questions or comments, feel free to email me.*
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