Virtual Assistant: Top 3 Apps

In February of this year I left behind years of working for niche groups of lawyers and, as such, I had acquired a niche set of skills.  Transforming myself into a freelance Virtual Assistant has been an extremely busy and exciting time and has opened my eyes to the colourful array of apps and software available on the Internet, other than legal case management, billing, database and digital dictation software. 

I thought I'd share some of my favourite apps, get some feedback and maybe start a discussion on what works best for you as virtual assistants.

As I can't really let go of all my legal experience and because I enjoy the fast-moving, deadline-orientated world of UK Civil Litigation, I still offer legal PA support here at Legal Virtuoso.  As such, my main priority is to find software which ensures that confidentially sensitive files can be transferred quickly and easily, so my #1 app is DropBox.
Once a shared folder is established between myself and a client, a document or audio file can be accessed simply by uploading it into the folder.  At the moment I'm using the non-paid version which gives me 4GB of cloud storage before I have to upgrade.

App #2 is most definitely Harvest.
Again, because of my legal background, I'm minded that when working for clients and as a virtual assistant I need to record time spent for each client accurately.  Harvest allows me to personalise my account, upload details of each client, the projects I carry out, my charging rate for each project etc.  A stopwatch is then used to record time spent on each task.  I can also record any expenses I may have incurred for a client.
At the end of each month I'll submit a professional-looking invoice, including my company logo, various payment links (including one to my PayPal account) which itemises hours spent per project.  If a client wishes, I can upload a more detailed spreadsheet if they want to see how my time has been spent.  Couldn't be easier or more streamlined. 

App #3 has to be the social media app Hootsuite.  There are so many pieces of software similar to Hootsuite and they all do similar things but this works for me as I tend to use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook at the moment for my social media. 

I can't finish this without mentioning Blogger.  It's been an absolute breeze for me to set up and upload posts onto my new Blog so thank you!

So, there are my top three apps; I could go on and on but I'm hoping that you can add to this list with whatever works best for you.

Nicky