Having the right arsenal of business tools can transform your business processes. Right from calls to webinars, and finance management to content management – running a startup requires a diverse suite of business tools for seamless functioning.

However, with the plethora of options to choose from, identifying the right business tool for your business use cases becomes tough! Especially, if you are operating remotely, with distributed teams across different time zones. 

To help you make the right choice, we have curated this comprehensive list of the best startup SaaS tools for 2024. The list features business tools across different categories to ensure that you have the right suggestion for every process. 

Let’s quickly dive into the basics and then, be ready to take your picks!

What are SaaS Tools?

SaaS stands for Software as a Service. Hence, any software application that solves a particular set of problems for a specific business use case, and can be simply installed by the user, is a SaaS tool.

SaaS tools have different categories, such as project management, customer relationship management (CRM), email marketing, accounting, human resources management, etc.

These tools come with effortless deployment and require minimal investment in hardware or software infrastructure as most of them run in dynamic cloud environments.

So, if you have to use them, you can simply use the application installed on your computer/device and access their easy-to-use interface (over a web browser or API).

While the market is teeming with free versions of all sorts of business SaaS tools or startups, the best tools generally come with a subscription model. The pricing varies on different parameters – number of users, functionalities, special offerings, and feature customization for advanced capabilities.

How Can SaaS Tools Help Your Startup?

SaaS tools can empower your startup in many ways. They help automate and digitize core processes, such as human resources and finance management. As the tools have a subscription-based pricing model, you can use them without paying huge upfront costs, which is significant for startups 

Most of the SaaS tools are available on the cloud and offer third-party integrations, which enable you to work seamlessly across different platforms without having to invest in a dedicated hardware or software infrastructure.

The pay-as-you-go functionalities prove beneficial for scalability requirements as you can add on services as your business grows.

The cloud-based architecture also makes the startup SaaS tools flexible and accessible, allowing you to use them from anywhere and any device, just via an internet connection.

This facilitates effective collaboration and transparent communication with minimal requirements for setup or configuration. Finally, cloud-based SaaS tools are quick to set up and require minimal involvement from the users when it comes to updates and maintenance. 

Other critical benefits of SaaS tools include the following:

• Specialized functionality tailored to specific business needs, such as accounting, project management, customer relationship management (CRM), automation, and more. 

• Enterprise-grade capabilities without large upfront investments and dedicated in-house departments. 

• SaaS providers prioritize data security and compliance, which are crucial for startups in certain industries.

• Many SaaS tools offer built-in analytics and reporting capabilities, which means you can easily get your hands on actionable business insights for strategic decision-making and driving growth.

The Different Types of SaaS Tools

Now, before we start with our list of the top startup SaaS tools for 2024, let us have a quick walkthrough of the various categories. This will help you opt for the best tool.

Financial SaaS

Financial SaaS tools cater to finance tasks and accounting needs and help automate, digitize, track, and monitor them. These tools cover a wide range of functions, such as accounting, invoice & expense management, budget & financial planning, and finance analysis. 

Depending on the types of business finance tasks, you might also need solutions that offer payroll processing, online banking and finance management, tax compliance, and more.

Common examples include Anaplan, Gusto, Paychex, Looker, etc. 

Content Management System SaaS

These solutions help businesses create, publish, and manage their digital content without extensive investment in technical or creative infrastructure. These tools come with a highly intuitive user interface with multiple features and plug-ins, or add-ons that allow you to create and publish content over diverse channels. 

Common examples include Worpress.com, Wix, Shopify, HubSpot CRM, etc.

Depending on your business needs and content style, you might need more than one content management system SaaS tool, which is why all these tools come with a wide range of third-party integrations. 

Customer Relationship SaaS

Also called Customer Relationship Management or CRM tools, they help you manage your customer interactions, and relationships, and find new prospects.

You can use these tools for all phases of lead management, right from cold outreach to lead generation, nurturing, and conversion, these tools help you with in-built automation-powered features. 

You can store customer data, track interactions, manage sales pipelines, get analytics to improve customer engagement, and automate marketing campaigns. Common examples include Salesforce, HubSpot CRM, Zoho CRM, etc. 

Project Management SaaS

Project Management SaaS tools are web-based platforms that help startup owners like you to organize, plan, track, and collaborate on projects efficiently. They can also be used by teams and groups to collaborate on multiple projects in one place and manage everything right from tasks to deadlines, resources, and communication via a centralized interface. 

Other important features of project management SaaS tools include task management, scheduling, file sharing, reporting, and integrations.

Common examples include Trello, BaseCamp, Monday.com, Jira, Asana, etc. 

Communication SaaS

As the name suggests, communication SaaS tools facilitate communication and collaboration among employees, partners, teams, and groups in an organization. They act as the central chat room where everyone can create specific channels for communication, share important resources and files, and collaborate for work purposes. 

Common examples include Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, etc. 

HR SaaS

These solutions enable you to automate and digitize your HR management tasks and operations. You can create employee portals for payroll management, documentation management, attendance recording, and reporting. 

The HR SaaS tools are important for the management of diverse employee-related activities, such as recruitment, onboarding, employee data management, performance evaluation, etc.

Common examples include BambooHR, Workday, Gusto, PeopleSoft, etc. 

Marketing SaaS

These SaaS tools come with powerful features that assist in various aspects of marketing, such as digital marketing, social media management, content creation, email marketing, campaign analytics, and more. Using these tools, you can set your core marketing functions without investing heavily in marketing human resources. 

These days, several AI-powered marketing SaaS tools are also disrupting the space with amazing capabilities and feature-rich suites. Some common examples of marketing SaaS tools are Buffer, SEMRush, Hootsuite, Mailchimp, etc. 

The Best SaaS Tools for 2024

Now, let us move on to the list of the best SaaS tools for 2024 and key considerations that you must keep in mind while choosing tools for your startup.

Choosing the Best SaaS Tools for Your Startup

As the business needs and use cases for SaaS tools vary across industries and from startup to startup, here are some key considerations that every startup owner should keep in mind for making the right choice for their business. 

Dashboard

The dashboard is one of those things that could make or break the UX. Make sure the dashboard offers a customizable visualization of insights, stats, metrics, functions, user roles, and modules that are specific to your business requirements and operating model.

The ability to customize them and the overall depth of operations management is critical to choosing the best SaaS tools.

Project Planning and Scheduling

Every management-related software must offer scheduling and planning functionalities to outline the individual tasks and responsibilities and visualize them. With proper planning and scheduling means, you can avoid misunderstandings and delegate tasks properly. 

Some of the key features to look for are custom workflows, deadlines & priorities settings, and alerts and notifications. 

Collaboration

Startups are close-knit ecosystems, where members need to access each other’s work to complement theirs, and having organized and quick communication via multiple channels is a must. Effective collaboration can increase workplace profitability and productivity. 

Hence, real-time collaboration, file sharing, communication, team dashboards, and shared inboxes are some of the key features that you must focus on. 

Documentation

A SaaS tool must offer a single source of truth for data and project information sources for all the team members and management. The data must be accessible in one place, such as expenses and scoping data, customer data, calendar events, bills, or invoicing data.

This facilitates easy sharing of data with the teams and bypasses sifting through various spreadsheets to find the tidbits of various types of data. 

Reporting 

Another important must-have is the combination of delightful reports with actionable insights and features, such as a KPI dashboard to make organizational decisions in an informed manner. 

For example, if you are looking for a good project management SaaS tool then project budgeting, task management, individual performance monitoring, expense tracking, etc., are some must-have features. 

A List of the Best Startup SaaS Tools in 2024

1. Zoom

Zoom is one of the game-changing SaaS tools that has made managing remote teams way better.

One of its outstanding features is a virtual background that can hide your actual background while having a video conference and give you a better virtual office environment. Zoom Scheduler Extension allows you to schedule your Zoom meetings just like a calendar. 

Then, there is the waiting room feature where all the incoming meeting requests are collected. The multi-share feature allows multiple parties to share screens at one moment. It also comes with ‘touch my appearance’ to make you look better on the screen.

You can also hold a personal meeting using the relevant feature and personalize your meetings. 

2. Trello

Trello is a powerful project management software that is easy to use and is based on Kanban methodology. The users can work on boards that can be divided into lists that represent different project stages. You can create cards for every task with specific details such as chat boxes and dates etc. 

Using Trello, you can visually collaborate with anyone. Hence, you can work with different customers at one point in time and easily solve similar queries simultaneously.

Its most impressive features are built-in workflow automation and the availability of all the information in one place.

3. Google Workspace 

Google Workspace is terrific when it comes to sharing documents, presentation files, spreadsheets, video files, and much more. You can create a wide range of files in the G Suite and share them with different levels of access as and when you want.

You can create an internal page for storing the entire troubleshooting information in one place and also use Google Meet to offer video and chat support. Creating Google Groups for clients, customers, and support staff allows you to share tips and best practices with ease.

Google Forms can be used for submitting queries and requests (on the website or via email). You can also set up a station for live support after your working hours. Integrate it with an internal ticket system, and you can have one of the best SaaS tools for remote teams!

4. Zapier

When it comes to automating your workflows, Zapier is a name that instills a sense of security and trust among its users. Zapier allows you to conduct customer surveys, host webinars, find and interact with new customers, tag them, organize events, and create targeted nurturing campaigns for your leads. 

You can connect all of your apps and automate your workflow using Zapier. It supports a lot of apps and allows you to start workflows from any app and finish routine processes automatically.

5. Slack

Rated and reviewed as the best team communication app by remote-first business organizations like Zapier and Buffer etc, Slack is a perfect “virtual office”. You can collaborate with your teams and get instant feedback. You can communicate via text, audio, and video conferencing. 

You can share PDF files, images, and videos; search your communication history, and install apps suitable for your business model from the 2000-app-rich directory of Slack.

The team members can communicate over different channels (based on any preferred criteria) and join them or leave them easily as required. This is also one of the best customer service SaaS tools.

6. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is an excellent tool for email lead generation that allows you to create delightful and engaging marketing emails with custom branding features. It has an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editor and comes with a zero-learning curve that allows you to create a content studio for all your images and files, and create stunning emails. 

Its unique features include marketing automation, transactional emails, real-time analytics, etc. It is great for beginners, offers amazing integrations, and comes with a negligible learning requirement. 

7. HubSpot

HubSpot is one of the leading B2B marketing automation SaaS tools that offers effortless lead capturing, storing, and nurturing frameworks, such as forms, chatbots, live chat, popup forms, etc. It comes with a free HubSpot CRM that allows you to leverage the combination for devising a rock-solid lead generation system for your business. 

You can use HubSpot for lead forecasting, internal chat integration, document storage, and management, as well. You can generate diverse and actionable reports, and round-robin style workflows, and also use the tool for response control in email marketing activities. 

8. Salesforce

Salesforce is a leading CRM SaaS tool that helps you manage and track your sales leads, sales teams, customers, and various other business entities directly impacting your sales. It is one of the pioneers in the modern-day business software segment. It offers smart integration and a diverse feature set for everyone on your team and in your business organization.

You can use Salesforce for multiple unique marketing and customer relationship management activities, such as opportunity management, quote management, and contact management.

It also offers impeccable analytics, functionalities for everyone and every business type, and direct visibility of marketing activities across all channels, in one place.

9. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is one of the best lead-generation and CRM SaaS tools, which comes with many features, such as process management, analytics, performance management, and sales enablement, etc. It offers salesforce automation, customization, and marketing automation functionalities for a 360-degree transformation of your sales lead generation. 

Some of the most unique features of Zoho CRM include predictive sales, omnichannel tracking and management, and team collaboration for different lead generation and conversion activities.

The software offers multiple tools and functionalities for all departments, and smart CRM functionalities with a negligible learning curve, which makes it perfect for scaling startups. 

10. Shopify

Having given wheels to millions of businesses across the globe, Shopify is an all-in-one online platform that offers the best tools for businesses of all kinds and all scales. It offers an incredibly efficient and robust platform to start, run, and grow your business ventures.

You can also explore our quick guide to get started with Shopify. 

It is perfect for businesses of all types and scales and comes with a huge range of free business tools available under one roof. You can work with Shopify experts for mentoring and get your hands on an excellent suite of tools ranging from security to eCommerce and marketing to analytics.

11. WordPress

WordPress is an excellent content management SaaS tool that comes with a bevy of integrations, plugins, and add-on features to choose from. From building your website to blogging and sharing to selling your stuff, WordPress does a commendable job. You don’t have to grapple with coding, scripting, and any manual while using WordPress. 

Professional themes, stunning designs, and ease of use – this is undoubtedly one of the most impressive free business tools currently. It is perfect for all types of businesses; irrespective of their scales. You can easily install and customize thousands of plug-ins and add-ons for your website without having to go through integration hassles. 

12. Buffer

This is the age of digital marketing and robust promotions are the lifeblood of consumer-centric startups. Buffer is an intuitive and streamlined social media management tool that offers actionable insights.

It helps social media managers achieve meaningful engagement on social media and offers analytics, team collaboration, and post-publishing. 

The free plan offers a few limited features and is suitable for small businesses with a limited audience. It is perfect for small, medium, and enterprise business setups.

Some of the most amazing features include automatic post scheduling across different social media channels and different analytics for gaining insights into important data such as popular content.

13. PayPal

When you work with overseas clients, having a secure and feature-rich online payment gateway is a must. PayPal is one of the most commendable platforms that make your online transactions (credit and debit cards) easy, secure, and hassle-free. It is recognized on a majority of websites and also supports recurring payments. 

PayPal is perfect for small, very small, and medium-sized business setups and freelancers. There is no sign-up fee or direct fee, the platform works perfectly well for startups.

14. Quickbooks 

It is one of the best accounting SaaS tools for startups, small businesses, and even freelancers. You can manage your expenses, customize invoices, and generate reports for profit and business financial analysis. 

One of the best things about Quickbooks is that it has inventory management solutions, such as  GST and VAT trackers, data migration capabilities, and multi-currency support, which makes it perfect for startups operating across different geographies. 

Bonus Platform – doola

Running a successful startup entails efficient management of all the business ecosystems. Add the overheads such as business formation, bookkeeping operations, and tax compliance to the mix and you can easily lose your focus amidst all the technicalities and formal documentation.

This is where we enter the picture!

We, at doola, help founders to get started with their company formation formalities, tax consultation, bookkeeping, compliance, and much more. We walk every step with you to ensure your business not only stays up and running, but compliant while incurring minimal tax liabilities, from any part of the world. 

doola helps both US and international founders stay tax-compliant while setting up and running their businesses from anywhere in the world.To know more about doola’s offerings, or to get started, grab a free tax consultation with us!