Dubsado*

TRULY the brains behind my business. Dubsado takes care of things like my leads, contracts, questionnaires, proposals, invoicing and meeting scheduling (and reminders). It has freed up so much mental space knowing things are taken care of and are running smoothly.

*Get 20% off your first month or year here.

Search and Grow*

While Dubsado’s functionality in incredible, it’s styling options are limited without code. I use the ‘Neue’ template to adjust the styling of my forms and proposals and it makes such a big difference (and is easy to use).

Gsuite

How I manage multiple email addresses within my businesses (without my brain exploding). Full disclosure- I still funnel them into Apple Mail to be combined with my personal email.

Foundd Legal*

The foundation of all of my contracts and legals- perfect especially for Australian businesses. It's also a lifesaver when a certain Shopify designer is asking you for a heap of policy copy.

Asana

How I manage tasks for both my business and client work. Truthfully, I use Asana mostly as a braindump for ideas and tangents- it keeps things organised and on a single platform.

Shopify*

Truly the only platform I would recommend for e-commerce. It has much potential to shape around and grow with your business, it’s a no brainer.

Xero

Bookkeeping isn’t sexy, but Xero at least makes it less painful. I’ve found it’s the preferred system for most accountants which also makes for less friction at BAS/ tax time.

Loom

This is SUCH a handy tool. With my clients being in all kinds of timezones, Loom makes it easy to still walk-though and present my work. I also use it for recording tutorials or explaining things to clients.

Dropbox

My preferred cloud file management tool. YES, I use Gsuite for emails but I find the sharing and navigation functionality of Dropbox much easier.

Harvest

How I track time in my business. I chose harvest as it has an app that stays in your toolbar (and means you’re much more likely to remember to use it).

Creative Market*

The go-to for digital assets and resources. I've used this for everything from collage assets to fonts.

Wappalyzer

My first port of call when investigating a website- tells you what it’s built on and any plug-ins/ interactions.

Koala Inspector

Perfect for identifying a website’s Shopify theme and apps that are active (great if you see a feature and have no idea how it’s built).

Lucky Orange*

A great tool for analysing a website ahead of work. The recording of sales interactions (and abandoned carts) is particularly brilliant.

Tiny PNG

How I compress my imagery for Shopify projects. I usually try to compress/ downsize elsewhere (eg. in Photoshop) to maintain quality but this is a great second pass.

Sked Social*

My social media scheduler of choice. It’s aimed at agencies (so it may be overkill for beginners) but it has some features I haven’t seen elsewhere and has great planning and visualisation.

*Get 20% off your first month here.

Flodesk*

The most aesthetic of the email marketing platforms. I enjoy how simplified the builder is (some of them are nightmares) and the ability to use custom typefaces is a win.

*Get 50% off your first year here.

Tailwind*

How I schedule my Pinterest account. Tailwind is the industry go-to and optimises your post time for your audience. 

Use my affiliate link here.

Milanote

While it was created for moodboarding, Milanote is GREAT for planning social campaigns. Being able to visualise what content (and associated copy/ links) needs to go where and in what order is amazing. This is particularly useful when collaborating with a Social Media Manager.

You Work For Them*

My favourite type foundry. It has a great curation that isn’t too overwhelming (other sites are often cluttered with poor quality or crappy fonts).

FontBase

How I manage and navigate alllll of my fonts. It has some testing features (unlike the Apple standard) and I’ve found it’s free version worth the (minimal) set-up time.

Canva

The easiest way to provide clients with templates that they can easily use. I think designers underutilise this tool and while it’s limited, it’s useful.

Adobe

No explanation needed- I hang out in adobe programs all day, every day.

Typewolf

Chronically under appreciated, Typewolf is a wonderful first stop for sourcing typography and seeing type in use.

Pantone

A no brainer (obviously) but I’ve found the Hong Kong supplier is often cheaper then the Australian one with faster shipping.

WordMark

Fantastic tool to view all installed fonts on your machine (I use the free version).

SVG Gobbler

Every graphic designer has had to spend hours hunting for a client/ collaborater logo. This automatically finds them for you.

Logo Package Express

Non negotiable tool for all logo designers (though I also use it illustration/ icons). I personally still batch re-name/ organise files after output but this makes it SO MUCH quicker.

Use code obscurio15 or this link for 15% off (non-affiliate).

Gif Machine

PSD templates that make custom gif creation a breeze! Speedy to use as is but easy to adapt (for changes to output size or effect).

Standout Shopify*

HUGE course by the Square Stylist for those wanting to master Shopify. Modules contain the strategy and process behind managing a Shopify project as well as how to adapt code.