By now, you know what kinds of tech can help your small business thrive and how to weigh those tech costs against your business needs. What you may not know, however, is that there are some pieces of tech that can not only help your business succeed but can be so valuable that they end up paying for themselves with utility and efficiency. If you want to take your business to the next level, here are the essential tech elements you can’t afford to be without.

A Well-Designed Business Website

If you want to reel in customers and improve profits, your website needs to be ready to “wow” online visitors. Since this is such an important element of modern business, those with no real web design experience should leave this task up to more experienced professionals. If this sounds like you, know that CSS developers from Upwork have the coding and design experience needed to add that “wow” factor to your small business website. As Upwork notes, you should hire CSS developers who understand HTML and JavaScript basics is best, but also make sure your consultants have full knowledge of front-end CSS frameworks. Are you worried about taking on an additional employee? Well, the best part about using online job boards to find and hire tech help for your small business is that these professionals provide freelance business help, meaning you only pay for services as needed.

Integrative Payment Processing Tech

The costs of buying new tech individually to help with inventory management, sales forecasting, and payment processing can start to add up fast. So, if you are looking for new tech that can handle all of these essential business functions while essentially paying for itself with convenience, then you may want to update your POS systems. Because many of the latest point of sale tools for small businesses not only make securely processing credit cards and other payment types easier, but these helpful gadgets also include features that streamline inventory management and sales tracking. Plus, with an updated POS command, you can open your business up to profitable new payment options, like Apple Pay. Being able to accept digital payments can keep your business competitive, so look for payment processing that does it all.

Time and Project Management Tools

Think seriously about your small business for a second, and think about what you consider to be your most valuable asset. Many business owners and entrepreneurs may instinctively think about monetary assets when they answer this question, but valuing time is one of the keys to achieving sustainable success. That’s why so many small and large business owners are using productivity tools to prioritize tasks and manage their busy schedules. For instance, you can use apps like Freedom and FocusBooster to stay tuned in to a single task, or you can use apps like Slack and Chanty to communicate with others when working on team projects (these can even be useful for working with freelancers). Best of all, many of these tools are free, but paid apps can pay for themselves. Because saving time can save you money.

Self-Care, Health, and Wellness Apps

At first glance, that heading may seem out of place when thinking about business. When you take into consideration that many small business owners and bosses experience health issues related to the stress of running a business, then the helpfulness of these tech tools begins to make sense. If you are constantly under negative pressure when managing your own business, you are more likely to develop high blood pressure, anxiety disorders, and even substance abuse problems. Those health hazards can not only limit your life, which should be cause for concern, but the resulting burnout can also limit your professional abilities. So as you invest in critical tech for your business, be sure to look for self-care tools that will help you invest more time in your health. Because your business depends on you to thrive and survive!

Tech can be expensive, and this is especially true when you are trying to get a new startup off the ground. That’s why it helps to know which tech investments pay off sooner, as well as how to use those tools to boost your small business.