Top 10 SMB Software Solutions to Boost Growth in 2025

Running a small business means wearing many hats—managing invoices, overseeing projects, talking to customers, and keeping an eye on your team. It’s a lot!

The good news is project management software for small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) takes the heavy lifting off your plate.

For instance, a project management platform with automation can make workflows more efficient; machine learning can help businesses predict trends, and cloud computing streamlines collaboration. The possibilities only keep expanding.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of top SMB software to help you boost business growth and acquire new customers.

Top 10 SMB Software Solutions at a Glance

Here’s a quick comparison table for the SMB software:

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What Should You Look for In SMB Software?

Picking the right project management software for small businesses can feel overwhelming. There are too many options, too many features, and way too many price tags. So, what actually matters?

The key is to find tools that match your needs now while giving you the flexibility to grow. Here’s what to keep an eye on:

• Core business capabilities: Using five different tools for billing, incident management, and customer support? That’s a mess. The best SMB software rolls customer relationship management (CRM), inventory management, task management, and other core business functions into one neat package
• Automation: Go with tools that help automate tasks, such as client follow-up, payroll processing, and order confirmations, to make your job easier
• Reporting and analytics: Look for software with advanced reporting and analytics features that give detailed, real-time insights into sales performance, employee availability, project progress, and website traffic and analytics
• Team collaboration: If you are working with a team, search for small and medium business software with task assignment, time tracking, and file-sharing options
• Simple pricing and scalability: Extra features don’t mean much if the price makes your wallet cry. Look for flexible pricing plans that fit your business size and budget. Bonus points if there’s a free trial so you can test before committing
• Easy integration with what you already use: No one wants to switch everything overnight. Your new software should easily integrate with your existing IT infrastructure—whether it’s your accounting software, CRM, or email marketing platform
• User-friendliness: The best SMB tools are intuitive, so you and your team can get started without hours of training

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The 10 Best SMB Software

Let’s look at the top small and medium business software, their best features, pricing and even limitations.  

1. ClickUp (Best all-in-one work management software for SMBs)

You’re a small business with a passionate team, all eager to get things done. But here’s the catch —everyone has their own way of working. Finances are managed on spreadsheets, the marketing team is using a different platform to manage leads, and operations? That’s on a different platform entirely. Before you know it, you’re spending more time switching between tools than actually getting work done.

This is where comprehensive project management tools like ClickUp make your job easier. ClickUp is the everything app for work, that combines project management, knowledge management, and chat—all powered by AI that helps small and medium businesses work faster and smarter.

With the ClickUp Project Management Solution, you can plan, execute, and monitor your projects in one place. Start by listing the project scope and requirements in ClickUp Docs. You can add tables, insert formatting elements, and edit in real time with your team members.  

Small and medium businesses often have open-ended roles, and it can be difficult to track what everyone is doing. Not with ClickUp Tasks, though. It helps you assign clear tasks to each team member for better accountability. 

Want team members to work together? Set task dependencies so work gets done faster. You can even set task priorities and Custom Task Statuses for easy monitoring.

If you are on the go and need a quick update on your pending tasks and what your team is working on, ClickUp Brain, ClickUp’s powerful AI assistant, has got you covered!

ClickUp Brain can provide instant updates on projects and tasks and even Chat summaries. It acts as a knowledge management tool and retrieves answers from your Docs, Tasks, Wikis, and Chat. That’s not all! ClickUp Brain also works as a writing assistant. It can craft personalized email campaigns, social media posts, or website copy for clients.

If you are looking for a tool to improve work efficiency, ClickUp Automations is everything you need. It helps you set trigger-based workflows to get work done faster. 

The best part about ClickUp? You don’t have to spend money on multiple tools to keep your team members on the same page. Everything is available in one comprehensive platform. 

To make business management even smoother, ClickUp offers predesigned templates. For instance, the ClickUp Project Management Template brings all project tasks in one place. It also helps you view project description, task priority status, and project success metrics. 

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When you’re running a business, there’s always a lot to handle, and having a clear plan can make all the difference. The ClickUp Business Roadmap Template simplifies strategic planning by turning goals into clear, actionable steps. It helps you align teams, prioritize tasks, and visualize progress—all in one place.

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You can even try the ClickUp Business Inventory Register Template to track all inventory items in one place and the ClickUp Monthly Business Status Report Template to visualize monthly business performance. 

ClickUp best features

• Streamline team communication, convert messages into tasks, and connect tasks and messages with ClickUp Chat
• Set business goals and break them down into actionable tasks with ClickUp Goals
• Brainstorm, plan, and collaborate using sticky notes, charts, and media files to turn ideas into action in ClickUp Whiteboards
• Plan projects your way with 15+ customizable ClickUp Views—whether it’s Kanban, Calendar, or Gantt charts
• Leverage ClickUp Integrations to connect essential tools like Xero, Quickbooks, Zapier, or several others to ensure end-to-end business management from accounting to HR operations 
• Consolidate sales, customer management, and team collaboration with ClickUp CRM
• Visualize customer incidents, task progress, team workloads, and marketing initiatives with ClickUp Dashboards

ClickUp limitations

• Requires time for new users to navigate and fully utilize all features

ClickUp pricing

ClickUp ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (9,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about ClickUp?

2. Intuit QuickBooks Online (Best for invoicing and bookkeeping)

QuickBooks Online is the solution for small businesses looking to keep their finances in check without the headache. It covers everything from tracking invoices and expenses to handling payments and bank reconciliation. In fact, you can customize it with hundreds of app integrations.

QuickBooks automatically imports your bank and credit card transactions and then matches them with your records to keep everything accurate. You can even set up banking rules to make reconciliation and categorization effortless. And if you ever get stuck, the built-in AI chatbot is there to help with financial insights and accounting questions.

Intuit QuickBooks Online best features

• Automate recurring invoices, bill payments, and payment reminders while keeping your data backed up in the cloud
• Send invoices straight from your phone or Gmail, add payment buttons, and convert estimates to invoices with one click
• Manage inventory, vendors, and purchase orders with built-in tracking and bundling features
• Access detailed financial reports on-demand or set them to run automatically for real-time business insights

Intuit QuickBooks Online limitations

• Encounters regular bugs that can disrupt workflows
• Lacks strong user management and recognition accuracy in the snap receipt feature

Intuit QuickBooks Online pricing

• Simple Start: $35/month
• Essentials: $65/month
• Plus: $99/month
• Advanced: $235/month

Intuit QuickBooks Online ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (270+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (7,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about Intuit QuickBooks Online?

3. HubSpot CRM (Best for sales pipeline management)

HubSpot CRM keeps everything you need in one place—marketing, sales, and service, all connected. You can easily capture leads through web forms, chatbots, or mobile, and track every interaction so you never miss a step in the customer journey. Engage with leads across email, phone, live chat, or social media, and automate follow-ups with personalized workflows.

The native AI helps predict sales, spot growth opportunities, and enrich your data. You can create custom reports, manage tasks, and trigger workflows without a hitch. With over 1,800 integrations, you can tailor it to fit your team’s needs, so the CRM works for you, not the other way around.

HubSpot CRM best features

• Track personalized interactions and contact history to streamline follow-ups and relationship management
• Create automated workflows for internal tasks, approvals, and notifications, using custom or pre-configured options
• Access shared dashboards for real-time insights to align sales and marketing teams
• Use smart Breeze Copilot to create and suggest workflows

HubSpot CRM limitations

• Limited reporting capabilities, especially for data not gathered through HubSpot
• Customization can be challenging for complex sales processes, limiting flexibility

HubSpot CRM pricing

• Free
• Marketing Hub Starter: $15/month per seat
• Starter Customer Platform: $15/month per seat
• Marketing Hub Professional: $800/month
• Marketing Hub Enterprise: $3600/month

HubSpot CRM ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.4/5 (12,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (4,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about HubSpot?

4. Trello (Best for visualizing projects)

Trello helps you visualize marketing campaigns, content creation, sales tracking, and HR tasks with ease. You can create cards for tasks, sort them into lists, and add details like due dates, labels, and priorities. Need to drop in notes, files, or checklists? No problem — it’s all right there on the card.

Trello enables you to tag teammates, leave comments, and get real-time notifications to promote accountability. While it’s not built for budgeting or invoicing, you can still attach those docs if needed. With Power-Ups for time tracking, Gantt charts, and analytics, you can customize Trello to fit the way you work.

Trello best features

• Customize workflows with color-coded labels, backgrounds, templates, and stickers to match team needs and preferences
• Manage and measure your marketing efforts with multiple views, including Kanban boards, timelines, calendars, and table views
• Automate repetitive workflows using Butler and create triggers, rule-based actions, and custom buttons
• Boost efficiency through cloud collaboration and integrations like Slack, Google Drive, Jira, Asana, Dropbox, and hundreds of other apps

Trello limitations

• Relies heavily on third-party integrations, adding potential costs and compatibility issues
• Limited customization options make it less adaptable for unique workflows

Trello pricing

• Free
• Standard: $5/month
• Premium: $10/month
• Enterprise: $17.50/month for 50 users

Trello ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.4/5 (13,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (23,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about Trello?

5. Gusto (Best for payroll processing and HR process management)

Gusto makes it easy to pay full-time, part-time, and contract workers—without the usual complications. You can add new hires in just a few clicks, and since Gusto charges a flat monthly fee, you can run payroll as often as you need without extra costs.

It also comes with Gusto Wallet, which helps employees manage their money with built-in budgeting tools. Gusto offers 11 types of reports covering everything from payroll to HR insights. Aside from fixed reports like tax documents, you can customize reports for any timeframe and even set them to run automatically—daily, weekly, or whenever you need them.

Gusto best features

• Split pay automatically using the paycheck splitter to divide earnings between multiple accounts
• Track time easily with built-in clock-in, clock-out, and shift history features
• Automate payroll and tax management for hassle-free calculations, withholdings, and IRS payments
• Integrate with 46+ business, accounting, HR, and communication apps, including QuickBooks, Xero, Shopify, Google Workspace, Slack, and Microsoft 365

Gusto limitations

• Limited customization options can make the platform less flexible
• Lacks break and overtime reminders for labor law compliance

Gusto pricing

• Simple: $49/month (plus $6/month per person)
• Plus: $80/month (plus $9/month per person)
• Premium: $180/month (plus $22/month per person)

Gusto ratings and reviews:

• G2: 4.5/5 (2,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about Gusto?

6. NetSuite (Best for enterprise resource planning)

NetSuite connects everything — financials, inventory, CRM, HR, and more — into one unified system. Its real-time visibility and a single source of truth help you make smarter, faster decisions without the guesswork. And if your business has unique requirements? You can build onto your current setup with flexible features that grow with you. Over thirty modules and countless add-ons let you customize a system tailored to your exact needs. 

NetSuite’s cloud-based design keeps everything accessible from anywhere. It enables you to track inventory, automate workflows, and gain accurate insights without juggling multiple platforms.

NetSuite best features

• Customize workflows, forms, and integrations to match unique business needs
• Gain real-time insights through customizable dashboards and predictive analytics
• Employ built-in tools for lead nurturing, marketing automation, and supply chain optimization
• Manage and update pricing centrally to maximize profits and create special offers that drive sales

NetSuite limitations

• Lacks flexible reporting options, making it difficult to generate clear summaries and readable outputs

NetSuite pricing

• Custom pricing

NetSuite ratings and reviews

• G2: 4/5 (3,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.2/5 (1,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about NetSuite?

7. MailChimp (Best for email marketing)

If you’re sending emails to clients, customers, or subscribers, MailChimp helps you do it more efficiently. You can design branded newsletters, automate campaigns, and track performance with detailed analytics.

It offers two intuitive editors with essential content blocks and modern drag-and-drop small business templates that make designing professional emails effortless. MailChimp also integrates with over 500 apps, including WordPress, Facebook, and Google, for easy customization and audience growth.

MailChimp best features

• Run inbound campaigns with built-in forms, landing pages, and automated drip sequences
• Use appointment booking with an integrated scheduling tool that supports online payments
• Sell products and manage marketing with the native eCommerce tools
• Automate content generation with MailChimp GPT-powered email creator

MailChimp limitations

• Not suitable for affiliate marketing, as strict policies can lead to account cancellation
• Restricts list creation, making contact management more challenging

MailChimp pricing

• Free
• Essentials: $13/month
• Standard: $20/month
• Premium: $350/month

MailChimp ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (5,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (17,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about MailChimp?

8. Zendesk (Best for customer service management)

Zendesk is a well-known problem management software. It makes customer support effortless by bringing all your conversations—email, chat, phone, and social—into one spot. Need instant replies? AI chatbots have you covered. Want real-time messaging? Live chat is built right in. Plus, a knowledge base helps customers help themselves.

Zendesk also integrates easily with Slack, Teams, and over 1,200 apps, so everything stays connected. Built-in analytics let you track response times and analyze customer satisfaction, and you can customize branding, themes, and widgets to fit your business.

Zendesk best features

• Track visitor behavior and analytics to gain insights and improve customer engagement
• Gather your customer data together, from purchases to preferences with Zendesk Sunshine
• Customize chat widgets to match branding, website design, and functionality needs
• Monitor key support metrics to optimize response times and customer satisfaction

Zendesk limitations

• New agents may find the platform overwhelming due to too many tools and options
• Handling high ticket volumes can be tough for small teams without clear processes

Zendesk pricing

• Support Team: $25/month per user
• Suite Team: $69/month per user
• Suite Professional: $149/month per user
• Suite Enterprise: Custom Pricing

Zendesk ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (6,000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (4,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about Zendesk?

9. Wave (Best for invoicing and accepting payments)

Wave makes accounting simple—without the hefty price tag. This free, cloud-based software lets you track income and expenses, reconcile bank transactions, and send professional invoices. It also allows extensive invoice customization and sets up automated payment reminders, so you’re not constantly chasing payments.

You can organize receipts with mobile receipt scanning for automated bill capture and batch imports. For payroll, Wave generates tax reports to keep things hassle-free. It’s an easy, budget-friendly way to stay on top of your finances.

Wave best features

• Assign user roles like Admin, Editor, Payroll Manager, Viewer, and H&R Block Advisor
• Export financial reports in CSV and PDF formats and transactions in Excel and CSV
• View real-time transaction updates on dashboards
• Manage multiple companies under one subscription

Wave limitations

• Requires a paid subscription for mobile receipts and automated bill capture
• Payroll and tax automation are only available in supported states

Wave pricing

• Starter: Free
• Pro: $16/month

Wave ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (200+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (1,000+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about Wave?

10. Zoho Inventory (Best for inventory management)

Zoho Inventory makes inventory management easy by connecting with Amazon, eBay, and more. You can track every item with serial numbers, bundle products effortlessly, and set automatic reorder points to prevent stockouts.

It also works with USPS, FedEx, PayPal, and Stripe to streamline shipping and payments. Want more? Zoho Books and Zoho CRM help with accounting and customer data. With powerful reports to guide your decisions, staying on top of inventory has never been simpler.

Zoho Inventory best features

• Create and track purchase orders with insights into pending and completed orders
• Predict inventory needs using demand forecasting based on sales trends
• Group multiple components into a single unit with composite item management for easier handling
• Automate shipping with carrier integrations, label printing, and tracking

Zoho Inventory limitations

• Offers limited compatibility with external systems beyond the Zoho suite

Zoho Inventory pricing

• Free
• Standard: $29/month, billed annually
• Professional: $79/month, billed annually
• Premium: $129/month, billed annually
• Enterprise: $249/month, billed annually

Zoho Inventory ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (90+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (400+ reviews)

What are real-life users saying about Zoho Inventory?

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Try ClickUp: The Ultimate SMB Software for Maximum Productivity

Running a successful small business is all about using the right tools for the job.

From project management to financial tracking and team collaboration, the best software can drive growth and sustainability. The tools we’ve covered are essential for businesses looking to level up without compromising their budget.

If you need a tool that brings everything together, ClickUp is the perfect solution. It combines project management, task tracking, time management, and team collaboration all in one platform, making it easier than ever to stay on top of everything.

Ready to streamline your processes and boost productivity? Sign up for ClickUp today!

Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.

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