Partner Article

Britain's small businesses missing out on app productivity gains

Over 5 million small business employees think they would be more productive with apps tailored to their job, according to new research¹ from EE, the UK’s most advanced digital communications company.

Despite enabling staff to work more efficiently, only 22% of small businesses bosses currently offer their staff apps to help with work according to the poll of 1,083 small businesses. In response, EE is announcing Business Apps, a new suite of apps for business.

The range of business apps selected by EE provide productivity and efficiency benefits, and includes top office, publishing, and accounting apps such as Microsoft Office 365 and Sage One. Employees can save time by replacing tedious expense forms by using the Receipt Bank app, which allows users to scan and submit expense receipts with a smartphone; while MozyPro provides secure file backup and storage for an unlimited number of employees from mobile and fixed devices.

Mike Tomlinson, Director of Small Business at EE, says: “Business Apps from EE is a handpicked range of leading business apps designed specifically with smaller companies and sole traders in mind with deals and extras that are only available through EE. With Business Apps and 4G on the UK’s best and fastest network, businesses can get more done – wherever they are, letting them spend more time on their customers and the things that really matter.”

The initial selection of apps available with special offers includes:

Sage One Accounts and Payroll Accounts manages finances, creates invoices and processes VAT. Payroll is an online payroll service developed for small businesses which is HMRC recognised, RTI-ready

EE Business Apps offer: Payroll included with Accounts at no extra cost. Price with EE is £10 per month (normally £15 per month). 1 GB of extra data per month added to EE plan 2

Microsoft Office 365 Office applications like Word, Excel and PowerPoint which can be used across multiple mobile and desktop devices

EE Business Apps offer:,. 1 GB of extra data per month added to EE plan 2. Subscription is £8.40 per month.

MozyPro Online backup with file sync across smartphones, tablets, and computers

EE Business Apps offer: Double storage from 10GB to 20GB and unlimited number of users. Price with EE is £7 per month 2 1 GB of extra data per month added to EE plan 2

Receipt Bank Gathers, stores and processes receipts and invoices directly from a user’s smartphone or tablet

EE Business Apps offer: Launch offer of £6 per month

Moonfruit Website and web shop creator and editor

EE Business Apps offer: Unlimited download bandwidth3 and increased top limit of items for sale in a shop of 7,500 (normally limited to 1,000). Prices from £6.67 per month.

Business Apps from EE also includes Legal Manager, a legal document builder; CreditHQ, a business credit checking tool; and Zendesk, a customer service management tool, plus EE will continually add to the selection of apps available. In addition, if small business customers take Office 365, Sage, or MozyPro from EE they will receive 1 GB of extra data per month added to their EE plan.

Customers have the added benefit of single sign on for Business Apps, meaning they only need one username and password for all of the Business Apps from EE, and all of the data is securely backed up and stored online. If they need help, customers can access support on Business Apps through UK based call centres, support tools and chat.

Business Apps provides small businesses with the flexibility they require by ensuring they can use the apps as and when they need them by letting customers change their subscriptions every month4.

EE was recently awarded the Best Network for Business for the second year running at the 2014 Mobile Industry Awards. 4G from EE now covers 73% of the population across 229 large towns and cities, and more than 2,500 villages and small towns.

Small businesses can browse, trial and buy these business apps from EE at www.ee.co.uk/businessapps

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by EE .