If you’re starting an online business, technology is going to become your best friend. From processing payments to coordinating communication, these tools are essential in the delivery of your service. Here are the top 6 tech tools you’re going to need to start your service business.

1. Virtual Meeting Place

Whether you’re meeting with a new client or hosting a consultation call with a potential client, you need a virtual space to meet. The good news is there are lots of free options for digital meeting places. Zoom and Uber Conference are great places to start. Zoom is great for video meetings and Uber Conference allows you to create a phone number for your potential clients and clients to call in to.

2. Contract

So many people overlook the importance of having a contract in place before they start working with a new client. Your contract is a simple agreement that outlines all that you and your new client can expect from one another. There are lots of free templates I’m sure you can find, but I recommend connecting with a lawyer in your area or one who is familiar with the type of business you’re starting to give you the best advice to protect yourself.

I personally got all of my contracts drafted by Coaches and Company. They have templates that are designed for online service-based business owners. Check them out here.

3. Platform to Send Contracts

Once you have your contract, you can send it out via email and wait for your new client to sign it and digitally scan it back to you. However, I’ve found the easiest way to get a contract signed is through a digital signature. I first started off using HelloSign because they let you send 3 free contracts per month, at least when I used it. Once I had a little bit more capital to invest, I moved over to Dubsado because they make it easy to automate the process.

4. Payment Processor

Once you get a person who wants to pay you, you’re going to want to have a way to process that payment. There are so many online options. The two I’ve found myself using frequently are Stripe and Square. They’re free to use until to process and payment. The cost is about a 3% transaction fee every time you process payment. Hopefully, this rate doesn’t change much after I write this article, but those are both great choices.

5. Booking System

You’ll want a calendar to live online where people can book calls with you. This can be sales calls or client calls. I use Acuity, but I do know many people who use Calendly because it’s a free option. Both sites allow your clients to see times available on your calendar and secure a meeting with you. The sites even handle automatic reminders to make sure you and your new clients never miss each other.

6. Social Media Platform

Think it’s weird I didn’t mention anything about websites, web hosting, or domain names? In the age of social media, your Instagram platform will serve as your own mini-website until you have the funds to invest in a good website. Don’t sweat it in the beginning. There are bigger fish to fry… like sales!