No, seriously – we’re in 2025. If you’re a business owner like me, you’ll probably already be wondering how on Earth that crept up on you – and what you need to do to achieve your business goals for the year ahead. How about some planning apps?
Now – we’re already well past the point of putting Christmas decorations away, but it’s never too late to put a plan into action. And, as Gudrun’s already shared with us in her fantastic guide to planning the year ahead, there’s lots of food for thought to get you started.
However, the focus of my article today is to look at how you can harness the power of technology to support you and your team to start hitting those targets and KPIs.
It’s true that we all learn, develop, and plan differently from each other – however, the best apps and programs are truly fantastic at helping us to manage our checkpoints and challenges no matter what they might be.
Following on from Gudrun’s guide mentioned, I’ll be exploring a few of the top apps you can use to actually manage the goals you set and to hold yourself accountable.
If you run an MSP team of multiple people and departments, I’ll also be making a few recommendations that have worked wonders for myself and others here at Team Tubb.
If you’re struggling to get yourself in focus for 2025 – start here.
Why Should You use Planning Apps for Your MSP’s Goals?
Before I start getting into the meat of the list, let’s quickly break down a few reasons why it’s worth putting pen and paper to one side, and reaching for your phone, tablet or laptop.
Apps Make Planning and Managing Your Projects More Efficient
We’ve all been there – I’ve had files and folders full of physical documents and notebooks over the years. Yes, it’s great to get plans and ideas down on paper, but it’s not always the most organised way to plan ahead and hold yourself accountable.
Instead, the best planning apps and programs let you keep your planning, notes, and checkpoints in plain sight, and easy to manage in a few simple screens.
It’s a Great Way to Stay Accountable
Again, we can create all the motivational notes in all the world – and then we can soon lose sight of what we want and need to do for the year ahead. When running an MSP, it’s always important to maintain accountability. After all, your customers are at stake, not just your goals.
Some apps and goal trackers keep you accountable by helping you to set up reminders and alerts to keep you on the right path. And, if you share your platform and login with others, it’s easy to ask people in your team to have your back, too.
You can Integrate Many Apps With Tools You Already use
If you’re already using popular productivity tools such as Google Drive, Outlook, Microsoft 365 (the list goes on) – great news, the biggest names are highly supported by a wide variety of different planning and tracking apps.
That means you and your team don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you install something new or even log into a new account.
Don’t Worry too Much About Cost
Of course, cost is a barrier for many business owners who want to do more to plan ahead and keep themselves and their teams accountable.
Thankfully, there are lots of affordable apps out there that give you the accessibility and functionality you need with none of the stressful overheads. I’ll come to some very shortly!
You Don’t Have to be Loyal to One Planning App
It’s a complete misconception that you have to stick to just one app or suite to plan ahead and manage the goals you set for yourself.
For example, I use a mixture of Google Calendar, Trello, Slack, and Apple Reminders. All are free to use apart from the cost of hardware (and internet access).
They complement each other perfectly, and I never have to worry about my bank manager shouting at me for taking the bull by the horns!
Apps Could Help You Conquer Mountains
Ok, not literally, but look at the bigger picture. Set yourself a goal to turnover a specific amount of money this tax year, or to onboard a specific client at a certain net worth and audience reach?
Then you’re likely looking up at a metaphorical mountain if your last year’s performance was off the mark.
Planning and productivity apps and suites could help you to break down huge, life-changing goals into more manageable chunks. After all, even the longest journey starts with a simple step, and that doesn’t even have to be in the right direction!
A Point About Hardware
Before I dive into the list of apps and programmes I’ve put together for you, I just wanted to clear up the fact that “apps” don’t have to mean widgets for your smartphone or tablet. I’m covering programmes and software that you can install and collaborate with on laptops, desktops, and beyond.
There’s a world of programmes out there that will even let you sync your devices, too. That means if you’re like many of us here at Team Tubb, you can set up your plans and goals on your laptop.
Then get reminders on your smartwatch, and make notes on your phone as you go. We live in a golden age of productivity – so seize the tools that are available with both hands!
11 Apps to Help You Plan and Manage Your MSP in 2025
At last – here’s the big list of productivity and planning apps to consider bringing into your MSP for the year ahead. Not everyone will gel with the same programmes, but all of those listed here have fantastic resources and options to help you plan ahead and stay accountable.
Several of the below have been recommended by Richard through his Friday Favourites column – so I’ll link you out to those wherever I can!
So, without further ado – let’s get started with some productive programmes, apps, and services.
1. Reminders (iOS)
Let’s start really simple, and even better, with a free app that plenty of you out there probably already make use of!
The point I’m making at this first step is that it’s simply worth installing a basic task-tracking app that you can use for short and long-term goals. I just happen to use Reminders for iOS because it’s so intuitive.
In a few taps, it’s really simple to create multiple lists and to tick and swipe off what you’ve accomplished. You can add colour coding to lists, and if several of the team are also using Apple devices, you can share your lists with them. That makes it super simple to collaborate with each other.
I like apps like this purely because they remove all the confusing workflows and seemingly endless digital footprints that come with a lot of digital planning and productivity apps.
No, it probably won’t serve you well if you’re managing large-scale projects and if you want to keep track of multiple clients at once, but it’s ideal for breaking down big short-term projects into bite-sized steps.
Did I mention that it’s completely free to use? That’s got to be a big point in the app’s favour – though, again, you’ll need an iOS device to use it.
It’s really interesting that even some of the bigger names in productivity and planning software seem to have taken beats from the Reminders app. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – but yes, there are other suites you can use to drill a bit deeper into your planning and tracking.
2. Evernote
Evernote is a great example of an app that helps you clear your desk – even a digital one – to get things in order. It’s been around for a long time now, and it’s a cross-platform behemoth, meaning you can use it on everything from laptops to phones as you wish.
What really impresses me about Evernote is the fact that it’s a multi-faceted yet simple app interface that lets you capture moments from the web, video, podcasts, and more. It’s always easy to organise your thoughts and ideas and to pull them back up to plan ahead with.
It’s a great choice if you’re keen on planning but typically find yourself muddling around with different notes and clippings, struggling to keep everything organised.
Being disorganised at this level can really kill a lot of ideas and planning off – which is why Evernote has proven to be such a miracle for so many of us.
It’s free to begin with, but if you’re going to use Evernote seriously to help manage your business’s notes and checkpoints, it’s well worth looking into a paid plan. But, don’t go ahead and buy into it until you’ve checked out the rest of my list!
3. TripIt
If you see travel in your future, then it’s well worth trying to keep all your upcoming tickets and travel plans in one place. If you’re one for networking or attending conferences to help achieve audience-building goals, you’re likely to want to travel.
TripIt is a fantastic little powerhouse of an app that Richard recommends – if you’re regularly jetting about, boarding trains, and booking into Airbnbs, TripIt will automatically capture it all into one place.
One of the huge benefits of this is that you can look at your travel plans at a glance and sync them up with your calendar, and share your status with others in your team.
As Richard says, it’s great for keeping track of a busy travel diary when you’re at risk of overlapping. It beats having to dip in and out of different programmes, too.
So, if travel and networking are major components of your planning and growth strategies for 2025, we highly recommend you give TripIt a try, if only to help simplify and consolidate some of your tickets and timetables.
It’s free to start with, but to make the most of its features – like with many apps – it’s well worth investing in the full, paid version.
4. Beeper
Beeper is an app that can probably help your private, social life as much as it can support your business and development endeavours.
Put it this way – how many different conversations do you end up having with your clients, vendors, and team members – and on how many different apps?
Email, text, WhatsApp, you name it – it’s sometimes exhausting keeping track. Thankfully, Beeper is another Friday Favourites pick that consolidates all of those chat streams to really simplify your planning and to make sure you and the team are on the same page.
What’s really interesting about Beeper is that it’s continuing to support professional messenger services too, like LinkedIn IM and Slack (more on that one later). The best part? It’s completely free to get going with – and you can install it for Apple, Windows, and Android devices.
I seriously recommend you give it a look if you’re sick and tired of juggling different chat streams and just want a single, unified spot to keep everything up to date. Who can blame you, honestly?
5. Hootsuite
How on earth did we ever manage our social media before Hootsuite? Who knows – or, rather – Hoot knows, because this fantastic platform has come on leaps and bounds over the past decade.
Hootsuite is essentially your go-to social media content management app. Even though it seems the big apps and platforms are constantly shifting gears if recent developments are anything to go by, it’s never been more important to create and publish content that gets your MSP seen by the right people online.
You don’t have to be a social media marketing whiz to make the most of this app, but if you have one in your team, pass them a Hootsuite login and they’ll have a tremendous amount of planning and publishing power at their fingertips.
You don’t have to publish on every platform unless your brand and audience demand it, but Hootsuite will let you add as many or as few logins as you like.
It’s also a fantastic way to check up on engagement over time, and instead of writing a fresh tweet (do they still call them tweets?) every five seconds, you can write and schedule posts in advance.
6. Slack
Of all the different team chat and project management apps out there, I personally like Slack the most. It’s an IM-style collaboration tool where you can talk to other people on your team in specific chat channels and send direct messages to people for direct input.
That really is all there is to it. It’s at the heart of Team Tubb’s tech stack, and that’s mainly because it’s so easy to just jump into a chat stream and discuss projects.
There’s no fiddling around with workflows or dropdown boxes – the simple interface really is the suite’s biggest selling point, beyond the fact that you can manage chats on different devices, too.
Slack is rather groundbreaking in this regard. However, you might still want to install a suite or two elsewhere to manage customer journeys and handle more detailed projects. I have a solution for you coming up – sit tight!
Slack is free for team members to use individually for the most part, but there is a paid license that gives you access to some fantastic features and integrations. It’s great for planning on the fly and for keeping track of “who said what”.
7. Trello
Trello is another planning and scheduling game-changer as far as I’m concerned. It’s a highly visual collaboration board based completely online, based around the concept of kanban and sharing project details on cards.
You can set up different queues, assign team members, add checklists, and simply drag and drop task and project cards to wherever you need them to go.
As a freelancer, I used Trello a lot during my developmental years managing my business – it was easy to keep track of different clients’ needs and conversations just by logging in and moving a few cards around!
Trello is likely to appeal to smaller firms and MSPs, generally, but again, it’s free to get started and to play around with. I highly recommend you try it if you struggle to plan and set targets, then hold yourself accountable.
8. Geekbot
Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the working world has mostly embraced going remote. Thankfully, apps like Geekbot that work directly inside Slack (see above) help you to keep track of who’s doing what without overstepping the line into micromanagement territory!
Geekbot is a neat little widget that, again, is a Friday Favourite. Richard explored the app’s best features – including automating messages with remote team members, meaning you can keep everyone on the same page.
Within Team Tubb, we use it to check in a couple of times a week to see how we’re doing. And that includes our mental wellbeing, not just our work projects.
As Richard rightly says, it’s also a fantastic asset for making sure everyone is taking time for their mental health and to check in with the team. If you’ve already embraced Slack, give Geekbot a look and see how you get on. It’s chargeable per team member, but absolutely worth the returns.
9. Monday.com
As a writer, I’ve worked with pretty much all the mainstream content planning and management apps and services out there. Head and shoulders above all, beyond my Trello bias, of course, is Monday.com.
This is a fully-fledged workflow manager that really embraces automation, making it one of the most efficient content trackers out there. It’s easy to onboard team members, attach documents, add checklists that people can manage and use, and keep an eye on what’s happening in the near future.
I’m particularly impressed with how easy it is to use Monday.com to manage multiple different clients and then drill down into their different projects.
Yes, there are other content managers out there that have other strengths. But Monday.com has the most appealing and accessible setup of the more in-depth players on the market right now.
10. Toggl
Tracking time spent on projects and client flows isn’t easy unless you have a pretty efficient stopwatch and note system set up. When it comes to sticking to best-laid plans, you’ll do better using a professional app like Toggl Track or Toggl Plan.
Part of the Toggl range of products, Track lets you manage how much time is being spent on individual tasks, while Plan lets you see who’s working on what at a glance.
It’s pretty much the midpoint between Slack and Monday.com, and it’s a great alternative to both if you really want to drill deep into checkpoint management.
11. Google Workspace and Right Inbox
Lastly, an old favourite of several of us here at Team Tubb. Google Workspace gives you access to a raft of productivity and management tools for your MSP right off the bat, for a highly competitive price.
If you’re already making use of Google Docs, Sheets, and Gmail, it’s really easy to bring multiple members of the team together for ease of document management, communication, project tracking, and even video conferencing. Does anyone else prefer Google Meet to Zoom, or is it just me…?
Regardless, Google Workspace is also almost infinitely scalable and integrates seamlessly with tons of apps and plugins. One of the best, as Richard has highlighted, is Right Inbox.
Right Inbox is an extension that helps you to schedule emails, set up templates, attach notes, and create marketing sequences. All are assets when you’re managing a growing MSP and want to improve your outreach campaigns.
Google’s main suite is free to start with, but for Workspace’s best features, it’s worth signing up for the paid version.
And that brings us to the end of my app list – are there any planning and productivity apps that you swear by, but haven’t seen mentioned here? Drop us a line – we’d love to hear from you!
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I’m a small business owner and writer with over a decade’s experience in producing help guides and social content for a variety of industries. I’m genuinely interested in helping fellow business owners find more convenient ways to run their operations and support their teams.
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