Not every business has access to advanced IT resources. However, every business can benefit from digitizing analog processes and use the efficiency benefits that come along with that to scale and grow.
Sometimes one simple piece of software really can transform how your business works, bringing efficiency benefits, increasing organization and data accuracy, and expanding where and how your work gets done. Here are 5 of the best tools that businesses can use to start the process of digital transformation and begin moving labor intensive manual and analog tasks into the digital world.
1. Glide: Turn paper forms & spreadsheets into mobile apps
The fastest way to convert any spreadsheet-based process into a digital system is by using a no-code platform like Glide to create custom app interfaces for your data. With Glide, you can quickly create mobile applications by simply plugging in data (e.g., from Excel or Google Sheets), without needing software engineers.
Unlike a physical spreadsheet, these apps make it easy to see the data you need, are accessible via any device, and allow you to share selected data while keeping other parts private. For example, if you need to gather data from customers or give certain employees access to some data without exposing sensitive personal information. Once you have an app, you can also add more advanced time-saving features like automation and AI to your processes easily.
Using Glide is the most effective way to digitize frequent data-based tasks for your business without investing a huge amount of time and money in software development. If there isn't an existing piece of software that does exactly what your specific business needs, the way your business needs it done, Glide can be used to make it.
2. Adobe Scan: Digitize documents with ease
Adobe Scan is a free mobile app that acts as a pocket scanner, allowing you to capture paper documents with your phone’s camera and instantly convert them into PDFs. It can scan anything from receipts and notes to photos and whiteboard sketches, automatically enhancing the image and detecting borders.
Handling stacks of paper contracts, receipts, or reports can be a problem for businesses. Papers can get lost or damaged easily, they’re hard to search through when you need to find a specific piece of information, and they make it impossible to access info outside the office. Digitizing your papers is the first step towards moving those processes to digital.
Adobe Scan’s built-in OCR (optical character recognition) means the text in your scanned documents becomes searchable, so you can quickly find information later instead of shuffling through file cabinets. All scans can sync to Adobe’s cloud (Acrobat Document Cloud), keeping your digital files organized and accessible to your team. In short, Adobe Scan helps replace cumbersome paper filing with a convenient digital archive, saving time and space while preserving important information.
3. DocuSign: Electronic signatures & paperless approvals
DocuSign is an industry-leading e-signature tool that enables you to manage signatures and approvals on documents digitally, eliminating the need to print, fax, scan, or mail physical papers. It provides a simple, secure way to send contracts, forms, or any documents for signature and get them returned electronically.
DocuSign is known for its ease of use. There’s virtually no learning curve, and signers can complete agreements from any device, anywhere, at any time. This means faster turnaround on signed agreements (sales contracts, vendor agreements, HR forms, etc.), better visibility, and a clear audit trail for compliance. By moving to digital signatures, businesses can significantly speed up workflows that used to be held back by printing and scanning, while still maintaining legal security standards.
4. Trello: Kanban-style task management (no more sticky notes!)
Trello is a popular project and task management tool that uses virtual boards, lists, and cards to help teams organize work. It’s a digital Kanban board that mimics the experience of moving Post-it notes on a wall, but in an online environment. Instead of physical sticky notes, Trello lets you create digital task cards that you can drag and drop from “To Do” to “Doing” to “Done” columns. If your office is big on sticky notes and whiteboards, Trello will help you maintain better records and share your thoughts more easily with the whole team.
Trello’s interface is as intuitive as a notepad, so team members can adopt it quickly without special training. Boards can be filed away for future reference and accessed from anywhere so your notes don’t accidentally end up lost in a folder or recycling bin somewhere. For any team still using whiteboards or paper checklists, Trello provides an accessible way to centralize task tracking, improve collaboration, and ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
5. Notion: A unified digital knowledge base
Notion is a useful shared workspace for organizing notes, documents, and internal knowledge in one centralized hub. It makes a fantastic digital binder or company wiki. Instead of hunting through folders, emails, or printed binders for important information, your team can use Notion to create shared pages for SOPs, training materials, project plans, and more.
Hunting for information can be a huge time-suck. Worse, sometimes team members will simply choose not to reference materials if they’re too hard to track down. Centralizing important team knowledge makes your business more efficient, consistent, and everyone more effective at their jobs. Use Notion to replace disorganized file systems or outdated manuals and make your internal knowledge base more searchable, linkable, and up-to-date.
Build a mobile app from an Excel spreadsheet
Learn howFirst digitize, then automate to continue your digital transformation
The most important thing to remember about digitization is that it doesn't have to be done all at once. Baby steps are a great way to bring efficiency to your most frequent and painful processes without having to migrate your entire team all at once. Try building a couple of apps, scanning a few common documents, and getting into the habit of using digital databases and forms.
Once you're in the habit of managing processes digitally, you can begin connecting apps, automating workflows, and applying AI to make your team even more efficient. Build a Glide app for a common spreadsheet, like a customer portal, and automatically connect it to your Gmail so that you don't even have to manually input data. Then add AI to that app so that you can snap photos with your phone and input the data from paperwork in the field. Each step saves minutes, and each minute builds up until you're saving hours over the course of every week. Next, just figure out what you would rather do with that time instead.
