Spoiler: You don’t need to be a tech wizard.

You just need the right tools in the right places.

Running a business (or two) means living in a sea of sticky admin: posting on socials, answering the same customer questions, wrangling inventory, trying not to scream at your bank feed.

But here’s the good news: there are tools that can pull you out of the weeds — and keep the wheels turning without you in the driver’s seat 24/7.

So, whether you’re a product-based powerhouse, a service strategist, or wearing both hats like me — these are the 11 automation tools I recommend to take the stickiness out of business.

👉 Want the full stack of tools I use across both my brands? Grab my Little Black Book of Tools.

1. Best Social Media Automation Tools for Small Business

Sticky Bit: Keeping up with consistent posting, engagement, and analytics.

Tools to Try:

• Metricool, Later, Buffer – Schedule across Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest + more.

• Hootsuite – Manage multiple platforms with detailed analytics.

• Canva Pro Scheduler – Design + schedule directly in Canva.

💡 Pro Tip: Check analytics to see when your audience is most active — then create accordingly.

2. Email Marketing Automation for E-Commerce Brands

Sticky Bit: Manually sending newsletters, promos, and abandoned cart reminders.

Tools to Try:

• Klaviyo – The e-commerce powerhouse for segmentation + revenue tracking.

• Mailchimp – Solid for simple automation + newsletters.

• Yotpo – Adds reviews + loyalty programs into email flows.

💡 Pro Tip: Abandoned cart flows recover sales on autopilot — set them up once, then watch them work.

3. Customer Service & Communication

Sticky Bit: Repetitive questions, late replies, inbox dread.

Tools to Try:

• ManyChat – Automate DMs on Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp.

• Gorgias – Centralise queries with ticketing + macros.

• Tidio – Live chat + FAQ automation.

💡 Pro Tip: Build a chatbot for your top 5 questions. Customers get answers instantly, you get your time back.

4. Inventory & Order Management Tools

Sticky Bit: Overselling, out-of-stock panic, messy manual updates.

Tools to Try:

• Cin7 Omni – Enterprise-level, real-time stock tracking.

• Cin7 Core – Multi-platform inventory + sales centralised.

• Shopify Inventory – Easy if you’re Shopify-only.

💡 Pro Tip: Automate low-stock alerts to stay ahead of reorders.

5. Financial Management

Sticky Bit: Manually invoicing, chasing payments, endless reconciliations.

Tools to Try:

• Xero – My go-to. Automates bank feeds, invoicing, payroll + reporting.

• QuickBooks – Comprehensive accounting for bigger teams.

• Dext – Snap receipts → expenses sorted.

💡 Pro Tip: Set up recurring invoices — never forget to bill again.

👉 Book an Empower Hour and let’s clean up your financial bottlenecks.

6. Project & Task Management

Sticky Bit: Lost tasks, missed deadlines, all the mental clutter.

Tools to Try:

• Trello – Visual task boards.

• Asana – Assign tasks, track deadlines.

• ClickUp – Custom workflows at scale.

• Monday.com – My personal favourite (more below).

💡 Pro Tip: Automate recurring tasks — monthly reports, inventory checks, content scheduling — so nothing slips.

7. Marketing & Lead Generation

Sticky Bit: Finding leads, following up, staying visible.

Tools to Try:

• HubSpot – CRM + marketing automation.

• ActiveCampaign – Affordable lead nurturing + email automation.

• Zapier – Connect apps + trigger automations.

💡 Pro Tip: Pair a lead magnet with an email sequence to nurture trust before the sale.

8. Scheduling & Booking

Sticky Bit: Endless back-and-forth emails to find a meeting time.

Tools to Try:

• Calendly – Easy booking links.

• Acuity Scheduling – Great for coaches/consultants.

• YouCanBook.Me – Syncs across calendars.

💡 Pro Tip: Add automated reminders via email/SMS to reduce no-shows.

9. Reporting & Analytics

Sticky Bit: Manually pulling data from ten platforms.

Tools to Try:

• Google Data Studio – Live dashboards.

• Supermetrics – Pulls data into Sheets/Excel.

• Xero – For financial insights + cashflow.

💡 Pro Tip: Automate weekly reports to hit your inbox Monday morning — coffee in hand, chaos avoided.

10. File Storage & Sharing

Sticky Bit: Lost docs, messy folders, endless “just checking you got this?” emails.

Tools to Try:

• Google Workspace – Real-time doc collaboration.

• Dropbox – Store + share big files.

• Notion – Documents, wikis, and project management in one.

💡 Pro Tip: Use Zapier to back up files across systems automatically.

11. My Secret Weapon: All-in-One Ops Management

Sticky Bit: Chaos across tasks, teams, timelines, tools.

Tool to Try:

• Monday.com – The business OS running both of my companies (an eCommerce brand + a consultancy).

Here’s what I use it for:

• Content planning across two brands

• Tracking stock + supplier timelines for Clubdayze

• Client onboarding + launches for Bec Laut

• Automating recurring tasks (content, team meetings)

• Centralising everything so my team knows what’s next

💡 Pro Tip: Link boards with automation recipes. Task moves → next step created. It’s like a digital ops assistant, without the salary.

👉 Try Monday.com Free

Final Thought: Don’t Automate Everything

This isn’t about becoming a robot. It’s about protecting your time so you can grow instead of just get through the day.

Start small. Automate one sticky bit. Watch the hours come back. Then automate the next.

👉 Want help figuring out what to automate first? Book an Empower Hour.

Or, if you just want my entire toolkit: Explore the Little Black Book of Tools.