Recommended Tools

Greenshot

Greenshot is my recommended snipping tool. It’s lite, simple, easy to use, powerful, and free!

It is light years ahead of the built-in Windows Snipping Tool. Once you’ve used it, you’ll never go back.

If you don’t use a snipping tool, START NOW! When it’s free, there’s no excuse.

Cost: Free.

Favourite things: Being able to number steps super easily, obfuscate private info, and tailor what happens when you hit Print Screen.

Beware: Fake alternatives. Can’t zoom easily, a personal pet peeve, but not enough to undo all the other features.

Alternatives: SnagIt, especially if you want video capture in the one tool or have enterprise-level concerns for data security.

Loom

Loom is a brilliant free tool for capturing video, webcam, or both from your desktop. For team training, bug reporting, providing feedback, and lots of other uses: Free is all you’ll ever need.

Cost: Great free version, but it’s not my recommended paid tool unless you plan to use it with clients/externally. At that point, you’ll at least need the Business plan at USD $180pa.

Favourite things: So. Easy. Especially as a browser plugin. Hosts video easily. Options to keep from Google indexing. Password protect videos. Easy trimming. Get notified when watched. So good!

Alternatives: If you only intend to use it for internal use Microsoft’s Stream or ClipChamp are better options as you may already have them fully featured with your Microsoft 365 subscription and they’ll be easily locked within your tenant.

If you’re going to do some serious editing anyways or considering for publication, sure, capture in that proper video editing software (I like Camtasia myself, it’s come a long way over the years).

Zoom

After the pandemic has come and gone, Zoom has lost its obvious top spot as the easiest of video conferencing tools. MS Teams has come a long way in ease of use.

It is an additional cost, but still what I recommend for businesses targeting retirees, blue collar, or other less tech savvy segments where familiarity with MS Teams may not exist.

Cost: $21pm Pro account suits most, $28pm for the branding perfectionists.

Favourite things: Ease of use, video quality even with low bandwidth, range of free features, easy dial-in and computer audio options.

Beware: If someone connects by PC for video and phone for audio without using their audio key, they’ll count as two participants (relevant for free users). Web-based version (no downloads) exists, but is hard to find.

Alternatives: MS Teams is my recommended option when targeting professionals, business owners, accumulators, or essentially clients with an average tech savviness or higher. Teams has gained a lot of ground more recently in terms of ease of use and reliability.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an excellent email marketing tool, easy to use, and has a great free option. If you don’t know your open rates of your newsletter, you should get Mailchimp NOW.

Cost: Free version is great (comes with branding, but it’s subtle). Base paid tier brings a very powerful tool.

Favourite things: Strength of free offer, drip-feed marketing, limited XPLAN integration.

Beware: Mailchimp does a great job protecting their service from spammers, but that does bring small challenges. Read this before starting.

Alternatives: I don’t use Campaign Monitor myself, but do consider it a great Australian based tool. It’s a logical upgrade if your needs require it and budget permits it. InfusionSoft by Keap is another popular choice for the more technically minded. HubSpot is also incredibly powerful and something you can grow into overtime, especially if your long term plans include serious scale.

Credit: At the time of writing I had arranged a $30 account credit for those who sign up using this referral link, although this is subject to change.

Calendly

Calendly is just too good as an appointment scheduler. Clients and prospects can see when you’re available, and book themselves. It has everything you might need: Buffers, maximum daily limits, the lot.

Cost: Free version is decent and totally usable in live situations, but at USD $120pa the Standard version (incl. unlimited SMS) is worth it. The Teams plan at USD $192pa offers great functionality to support process improvements.

Favourite things: Polished UI, great support library, it just connects your calendars (soooo good), direct Zoom and Teams integration, and included SMS.

Beware: Like anything with automation, it requires an awareness of how it’ll impact your work. We’ve written about this more here. Whilst set up is usually simple, if you just want an expert to take the pain away, or you might need help for multi-adviser/multi-location set up, we provide a Calendly set up service.

Also, recommend setting up your account with an email and password rather than Office365 login if you may need support or want to delegate management in the future. (Which should be a future possibility for almost every reader.)

Alternatives: Microsoft Bookings isn’t as easy to use, its interface isn’t as clean, and it doesn’t include SMS but it’s part of Office365 which probably makes it better than Calendly’s free option. Calendafy is an Australian brand, whose founder has a good understanding of our sector, and is a very cool option for those needing extra handholding or looking for customised functionality to serve uncommon needs.

Asana

Asana is a great workflow/task management tool. Whilst I do prefer client task management to be embedded within the CRM, Asana is the best option for everything else.

Cost: Amazing free version, usually all you need. If intended as a business-critical resource (start dates, dependent tasks, etc) you will want Starter at USD$121 pa per user, minimum two users.

My referral link gives you a 30-day free trial.

Favourite things: Handles complexity very well. Never find yourself working around things because what you need to do doesn’t fit. Email direct to Asana to create tasks. Also, unicorns.

Beware: You may enjoy adding unbilled free guests while you’re running free, but you may have to cull them or reduce them to free guests if unwilling to pay for them on upgrading.

Alternatives: Trello is nice when focused on simple visual representations of status, but Asana handles complexity better and has boards anyways. Monday.com is good but doesn’t handle depth as well. Honestly, free versions of any of the above are better than Microsoft Planner. Existing CRM, but these are rarely as strong and are annoying when things are business level, not client level.

Resources: I’ve put together a Project Plan template based on the Kaizen PDCA methodology, which you can download and import from here.

SMS Global

SMS Global have a rare functionality called email to SMS. It’s very simple, you send an email to <Destination Number>@email.smsglobal.com and SMSGlobal send a text to the number.

Cost: One thing I love about it. $0.10 per SMS, and can add credit in bundles as low as $5 easily. No ongoing commitments.

Favourite things: Australian presence. Ease of use. Integrates perfectly with XPLAN’s Email SMS functionality, but can do just as well with Outlook rules, and any other number of interesting options.

Beware: I’d keep the pre-purchased value in there low, and the approved email addresses to a minimum, to mitigate risk of spoofed emails causing trouble.

Alternatives: If it’s just for appointment reminders, check out Calendly again, otherwise check out Twillo which can do the same via this Zap.

Lucidchart

Brilliant, easy tool for process mapping. I use this a lot.

Cost: $9pm for the Basic version, which covers most use. Good thing is Free version is decent, and enough for collaborators/colleagues to use without having to pay.

Favourite things: Moves intelligently. Allows you to add descriptions for depth, and comments for collaboration. Google docs integration.

Alternatives: Draw.io is a nice option (if a bit fiddly) but completely free and browser based. Microsoft’s Visio is wonderful, but expensive and requires a license to edit a file which is impractical for most collaboration. Gsuite Drawings/Docs have options too, and whilst free it’s time consuming to use. (This gives you an idea).

Resources: I’ve put together a New Business Process template which you can use as a starting point on which to map your first new process, available here. (You will need a Lucidchart account to access my template. A free account will do the job.)

Grammarly

This doesn’t really fit anywhere else, but it can’t go unmentioned. This thing is like your Word spellcheck/grammar check, but better and for everything.

Cost: Free version is a must have for everyone, even if only as a browser plugin. Pro is worth it if this is a weak spot for you, starting at US$144 pa. (Cheap if it prevents a fail in a big social media post.)

Favourite things: Awesome as a browser plugin, gets to where your other spellchecks don’t.

Beware: When running in Word/Outlook, you lose the ‘Undo’ function, which makes it impractical to use ongoing, although great for reviewing a final draft.

Alternatives: Inbuilt spell checkers, which are worse. CoPilot, which doesn’t get to all the places Grammarly does. Specialist freelancers which are expensive.

UpWork

Created following the combining of Odesk and Elance, UpWork is a leader in freelancing.

Cost: Free to join, pay-as-you-go options the only ones you’ll need. I do recommend paying the lower tier to promote jobs, especially if you are new.

Favourite things: Breadth of freelancer base, platform is pretty user friendly on both browser and app.

Beware: Using freelancers can be fraught with challenges. Keep the communication clear and take responsibility for making it work if you want to succeed.

Alternatives: Toptal an option, pricey but good for one-off engagements if they fall within its scope. Fiverr, below.

Fiverr

Fiverr is the original ‘small jobs’ site, targeting jobs for USD $5. Whilst the value for money isn’t quite what it used to be IMO, it’s still an excellent place for little things like photo touch ups, basic video editing, or some truly random stuff.

Cost: Free to join, gigs start at USD $5.

Favourite things: Cheap, easy. Refunds good.

Beware: Not my recommended service where what you want doesn’t fit perfectly into a pre-existing clear offer. Not a service for collaboration.

Alternatives: See Upwork above.

Note: The link provided is a referral link. It gets you 20% off your first job, and I get a credit for 20% of your first job.¹

Valenta

Having worked with Valenta when they were early pioneers in the fiancial advice offshoring space, they’re now leading the way in Robotic Process Automation (RPA).

I consider RPA to be a little like offshoring 2.0, it can perform any process that is prescriptive across any software or website. This is similar to 90% of the administration work we find going to offshore staff.

Importantly, unlike AI, it is a perfectly known quantity. It’ll do exactly what it’s designed to do.

Cost: Contact me, varies widely based on needs. Can be as low as hundreds per month.

Favourite things: Strong history in advice and accounting, customised collaborative approach, data security (ISO 27000 certified), multiple locations for your support, can provide screen and security camera monitoring, all giving confidence that your client data is safe.

Alternatives: Engaging a non-specialised developer direct is an option, but not recommended. It’s a deeply invovled resource and requires ongoing management.

I work closely with Valenta, especially if combined with other consulting work. If you’re interested, contact me to discuss and get the most value from their offer.

Loomly

If you want to schedule your social media or post to multiple accounts, Loomly is an easy solution. I often find this useful when I’ve been a bit active and need to spread out further sharing (no point nailing just the ‘9am Monday waiting-for-the-third-coffee-to-hit’ time slot, and then being off for days). It’s simple and easy to use.

Cost: There is a 15 day free trial. You’ll need a paid plan after that, which starts at $25pm for an annual subscription, or $34 for a monthly one.

Favourite things: Easier to use than peers, uses bit.ly shorteners (not their own proprietary), easy suggestions for optimal post scheduling, and very affordable when delegating social media to a team member.

Alternatives: Hootsuite and Buffer are more classic options that we’ve used in the past, and we’re having really good early experiences testing out Publer. Once you’re taking your social media more seriously, services like HubSpot would be more your thing.

Claras.ai

Claras.ai is my favourite in this newly crowded space, and is the only player here who I think has what it takes to generate enough value for advisers that it’ll persist despite CoPilot and ChatGPT’s fast-growing capabilities.

More to come on this.

Favourite things: More to come.

Alternatives: CoPilot and ChatGPT are natural alternatives, but you’ll lose a lot on the interface at a minimum and likely much more. Otter² is a low marginal cost option you could pair with one of those for sure to get some of the automation and review/playback interface benefits.

Website planet

Website planet provides a free QR code generator that is perfect for brands through customisation.

Benefits: After you choose the content type (Facebook, URL etc), this tool lets you change the colour, add a logo, and add a frame. You can then download the file as a png, jpeg, or svg, ready to embed in your website or print!

Cost: There is none. There are no limitations on the number of QR codes you can create using this tool.

Alternatives: There are lots of free alternatives, but why bother when this one lets you tailor the design perfectly to your brand for free. Only rare exception we’ve found so far is Rebrandly, where you want to integrate shortened URLs on a custom domain that can also integrate with tools like Publer.

Splasheo

Splasheo is a simple and effective service for extremely basic editing and captioning needs. You put in a video, you get an output with a heading, human-reviewed captions, and a little add-on at the end if you want it.

Favourite things: Simple engagement, not trying to shoot the lights out, just helps support simple content production really well. After submitting your video, you are allowed endless edits to text and colours etc.

Beware: Captions are in the video image itself, instead of the attached .srt file, which could be better/worse in some situations. Not something that should be an issue until you really hit that next level of ‘influencer’. Would suggest you watch the video to ensure the captions 100% match your speech – if there is something you wanted to be edited, it’ll typically be fixed within a few hours.

Alternatives: Tools like Otter.ai can provide audio transcriptions automatically, albeit without the design or human oversight of Splasheo. This service could be something you could replicate pretty easily with an UpWork contractor to do as a fixed service (although I feel the slight reduction in cost you could get isn’t worth the hassle/person risk).

Webcam: Logitech

Why: USB connectivity, onboard video encoding, Zoom certification.

Budget alternative: Your phone, so long as it’s stable. Get a small tripod if needed.

Mic: RØDE Podcaster

Why: Best available cardioid (uni-directional) USB mic, onboard sampling/converter.

Budget alternative: RØDE SMARTLAVPRode SmartLav+, which will still be useful as a lapel mic if you upgrade later.

Lighting: Simple Photography Softbox

Why: Lighting is one of the most cost-effective upgrades to your videos you can make.

Budget alternative: Soft home lighting, using some cloth to soften if required. Outside somewhere quiet and not windy on an overcast day.

Human To Human

Human To Human is the consultancy of the award winning Michael Back.

Michael has a broad range of skills, but is especially talented in setting and clarifying vision and building remarkable client experiences.

Michael also has true expertise in developing and growing key staff.

Michael and our team do joint client projects together, bringing the best of CX design and process design together for the perfect end to end experience and process.

GBST Equate

I find website calculators an interesting beast. I don’t think they attract clients per se, but when working with clients on your own website, it’s a resource delivered through you that keeps coming back to you. When integrated into client meetings, blogs, or more, they become more than play things. They’re powerful tools.

Cost: Varies, reach out to me or contact them directly. Looking at hundreds per month for most practices. Priced for a premium service/engagement.

Favourite things: Clean, crisp, simple calculators. No login required. Used by major banks. Definitely looks better than links to MoneySmart. We’ve also integrated these into the Simply Advice Websites service.

Beware: These work as marketing or engagement tools, but not as part of a bigger client portal.

Alternatives: Just not, which is fine. I’m not aware of any others that look this presentable, although some CRMs do have options (even if they aren’t typically designed to use as part of a public site). We’ve also worked with firms to get custom calculators built and integrated into sites.

Aon Cyber Insurance for Small Business

Small business are among the most susceptible to hacks, data breaches and cybercrime – and financial advice is a real honeypot.

A good IT contractor, hosting on a cloud server, and having good contracts are all great steps to controlling your risk. However when something does get through they don’t help.

Cost: Approx. $125-250/month, depending on your business size and level of cover.

Favourite things: MicroSME option is a great start. Emergency hotline with forensic IT specialists help reduce impact and guide next steps. Can’t overstate the value in this.

Alternatives: Probably worthwhile exploring with your existing PI insurer as well or considering broking that at the same time. That said, there isn’t much overlap so may be better going for best in class on separate fronts.

Contact me and I’ll put you in touch with a broker I can recommend.