Telstra has added two new mobile business applications, Deputy and ShoeBoxed, to their business platform as business owners start to embrace apps for their work in the same way they have in their personal lives.

According to a recent Telstra Business SMB Barometer*, 94% of small and medium business owners use mobile apps for personal use but only 27% have used mobility for work despite the fact they can drive sales, reduce stress and create more free time.

David Coventry, Executive Director of Telstra Business, said that businesses are starting to adopt apps in their businesses as they begin to understand the power many business apps possess.

“We’ve seen a move towards businesses using mobile applications to reduce the need for paper based systems and to help their staff work in a more efficient way,” Mr Coventry said.

“ShoeBoxed and Deputy are two great examples of programs that make it easier for business owners to do their jobs, on the move, spending less time completing paperwork or manually contacting staff.

“We think there will be a surge in app use by businesses as they become more aware of the capability and the benefits it can give to their company.

“As an example, we spent 15 minutes understanding the rostering needs of a security company, demonstrated Deputy in front of them and within an hour they decided to replace their 15 year old computer based rostering system and moved to the mobile platform. Not only that, they then recommended the app to another company and both have signed up,” Mr Coventry said.

ShoeBoxed is a receipt management program that lets customers take a photo of paper receipt using their mobile phone or tablet and turns it into useable data for tax and expense reporting. Deputy is a mobile rostering and team management platform, allowing managers to identify staff available to attend a shift or send out notifications. It can also integrate with popular cloud based accounting applications to help process payroll with ease.

Telstra’s established channels give the ability for customers to transition effectively to the new solutions and offer known mobility expertise to ensure the effective use of the apps by staff.

“The Telstra Apps Marketplace launched in October last year with two applications – Box and DocuSign. It provides business customers with a one-stop shop to find, buy, manage and use today’s best business apps,” Mr Coventry added.

Visit the Telstra Apps Marketplace to sign up for a 30 day free trial on Shoeboxed and Deputy now.

* Conducted by Smarter Business Ideas and commissioned by Telstra Business in September 2014. The sample represented 1000 small business owners across Australia aged 18 and over.