Help Guide for Building Your Small Business Software Stack and What You Actually Need

The Software Creep Problem

How It Happens

1. Someone suggests a tool

2. Free trial, seems useful

3. Pay for a few months

4. Usage drops

5. Keep paying anyway

6. Repeat with next shiny tool

Result: Dozens of subscriptions, overlapping features, money leaking, data scattered everywhere.

The Hidden Costs

Direct costs: Monthly fees add up. £10 here, £20 there—suddenly it's £500/month.

Indirect costs:

• Time switching between tools
• Learning multiple interfaces
• Data in different places
• Integration problems
• Context switching

Opportunity cost: Money spent on unused software could fund growth.

What Small Businesses Actually Need

The Essentials (Almost Everyone)

1. Communication

• Email (business domain)
• Video calls
• Probably: team chat

2. Documents/Files

• Cloud storage
• Document editing
• File sharing

3. Finance

• Invoicing
• Expense tracking
• Accounting (for VAT/tax)

4. Website

• Hosting or builder
• Domain

The 'Depends' Category

CRM: If you have a sales process and multiple customer touchpoints.

Project Management: If you have teams and complex work coordination.

HR Software: If you have 10+ employees.

Marketing Tools: If you do significant marketing.

Industry-Specific: Whatever your sector requires.

The 'Probably Not' Category

Enterprise features in any category

Duplicate tools covering same function

Tools for problems you don't have

'Nice to have' subscriptions

Building Your Stack

Approach 1: Integrated Suite (Simplest)

Use one ecosystem for as much as possible.

Microsoft 365 Route:

• Email: Outlook
• Files: OneDrive/SharePoint
• Documents: Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Video: Teams
• Chat: Teams
• Basic project management: Planner
• Forms: Microsoft Forms

Cost: £4.50-16.60/user/month

Add separately:

• Accounting (Xero, QuickBooks)
• Website
• CRM (if needed)

Pros: Integrated, one login, one bill, one vendor.

Cons: Locked in, not best-in-class for everything.

Google Workspace Route:

• Email: Gmail
• Files: Drive
• Documents: Docs, Sheets, Slides
• Video: Meet
• Chat: Chat/Spaces
• Basic forms: Forms

Cost: £4.60-15.20/user/month

Add separately:

• Accounting
• Project management
• Website
• CRM (if needed)

Pros: Clean, collaborative, accessible anywhere.

Cons: No desktop apps, less powerful spreadsheets, less integrated project management.

Approach 2: Best-of-Breed (More Control)

Pick the best tool for each function.

Example stack:

• Email: Google Workspace
• Chat: Slack
• Files: Google Drive
• Project management: Asana
• Accounting: Xero
• CRM: HubSpot Free
• Website: WordPress on SiteGround

Cost: Varies, often £30-80/user/month total

Pros: Best tools for each job, flexibility.

Cons: Multiple logins, integration work, more to manage.

Approach 3: Minimalist (Leanest)

Use as few tools as possible.

Example stack:

• Email + Files + Docs: Google Workspace (£4.60/user)
• Accounting: FreeAgent (free with NatWest/RBS)
• Website: Carrd or Squarespace (£6-15/month)
• Everything else: Spreadsheets and manual processes

Cost: Under £10/user/month

Pros: Cheap, simple, less to manage.

Cons: Manual work, limitations as you grow.

Sample Stacks by Business Type

Freelancer/Consultant

*Free with NatWest, RBS, Mettle

Small Service Business (5-15 people)

E-commerce Business

Growing Agency/Professional Services

Avoiding Common Traps

Trap 1: Free Trial to Forgotten Subscription

Sign up for trials, forget to cancel, pay for months/years.

Prevention:

• Calendar reminder before trial ends
• Review subscriptions quarterly
• Use virtual cards with limits for trials

Trap 2: Per-User Creep

Adding users without tracking cost impact.

Prevention:

• Spreadsheet of all per-user costs
• Calculate total before adding users
• Review who needs what access level

Trap 3: Feature Overlap

Paying for the same capability in multiple tools.

Common overlaps:

• Video calls (Teams + Zoom + Meet)
• File storage (OneDrive + Dropbox + Google Drive)
• Task management (multiple tools)
• Form builders

Prevention: List what each tool does. Eliminate duplicates.

Trap 4: Buying for 'Someday'

Paying for features you'll use 'when you grow' or 'when you have time'.

Reality: Upgrade when you need it. Downgrade or cancel what you don't use now.

Trap 5: Shiny Tool Syndrome

Constantly trying new tools, migrating data, retraining team.

Prevention: Commit to tools for minimum 6-12 months. Evaluate annually, not monthly.

Audit Your Current Stack

Step 1: List Everything

Write down every software subscription:

• Name
• What it does
• Monthly cost
• Who uses it
• Last time it was actually used

Step 2: Categorise

Essential: Would significantly hurt business if removed.

Useful: Provides value, actively used.

Questionable: Rarely used, unclear value.

Unused: Nobody uses it.

Step 3: Act

Essential: Keep, possibly optimise plan.

Useful: Keep if cost justified.

Questionable: Trial removal or downgrade.

Unused: Cancel immediately.

Step 4: Check for Overlap

Do you have multiple tools doing similar things? Consolidate.

Step 5: Right-Size Plans

Are you on enterprise plans with features you don't use? Downgrade.

Integration Considerations

When Integration Matters

High value:

• Accounting ↔ Bank (automatic transaction import)
• CRM ↔ Email (log communications)
• E-commerce ↔ Accounting (sync orders/invoices)
• Calendar ↔ Video (meeting links automatically)

Medium value:

• Project management ↔ Chat (notifications)
• CRM ↔ Forms (lead capture)
• Support ↔ CRM (customer context)

Lower value:

• Most other combinations
• Things you can do manually in seconds

Integration Reality

Native integrations (built by the vendors) work best.

Zapier/Make integrations fill gaps but add cost and complexity.

Don't over-integrate. Sometimes copy-paste is fine.

Annual Review Process

Every January (or Your Financial Year)

1. Export subscription list from bank statements

2. Review each tool:

• Still using?
• On right plan?
• Better alternatives?

3. Check for new needs:

• What manual processes are painful?
• What's grown since last year?

4. Plan changes:

• What to cancel?
• What to consolidate?
• What to add (carefully)?

5. Implement:

• Cancel unused subscriptions
• Downgrade over-specified plans
• Add only what's genuinely needed

The Bottom Line

Most small businesses need:

• Email and calendar (Google Workspace or Microsoft 365)
• Accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks, or FreeAgent)
• Website hosting
• Maybe a few more things specific to your situation

That's it. Everything else should justify itself clearly.

Rules of thumb:

• Integrated suite before best-of-breed (simpler)
• Free tiers before paid (prove value first)
• Fewer tools, better used (depth over breadth)
• Regular audits (quarterly cost review)
• Cancel unused immediately (sunk cost fallacy)

The best software stack is one that helps you work without becoming work itself. Keep it lean, keep it useful, keep it maintained.