I hear from a lot of you often asking about what we use for this and that. I hear you and I’ve got you! Here are the top 5 programs I use to run my planning business.

5 Programs I use to run my planning business

1. Aisle Planner

If you are a wedding planner you need Aisle Planner in your life!  It’s the best of the best and was designed specifically for us wedding planners!  It has streamlined the process for me and my clients and is the only tool you need for all things wedding planning and business management.  I use it for timelines, checklists, guest lists, invoicing, sending proposals, sending contracts, collecting payments and so much more!  (Use this link here to receive 25% off your first 3 months with Aisle Planner!)

2. Trello

TRELLO IS A FREE ORGANIZATION SYSTEM

Trello is an all in one organization web based tool that helps you keep things organized, and get more done. While I’m not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by or in any way officilly connected to Trello, Inc. (www.trello.com), It’s a priceless tool I use every day!

Trello’s boards, lists, and cards enable you to organize and prioritize your planning business and life in an easy, flexible and completely customizable way. Did I mention it’s also a great way to visually see what needs to get done each day?! Don’t worry I’ll walk you through everything you need to know!

Before Trello it would take me so long to find something I was looking for – a vendor’s mailing address, my company logo, photos from a wedding, my EIN number – and I would find myself wasting oh so much time looking for stuff.  Then Trello came into my life and OMG friends it’s the BEST thing I’ve ever used (along with Aisle Planner). 

I use Trello or everything business and personal and when I say everything I mean everything.  Trello allows me to organize, manage and prioritize my days and weeks, store vendor information, organize all of my business processes, templates, documents, organize my clients and so much more. 

3. Flodesk

Flodesk is the email software I use to send my weekly email newsletter. It’s super easy to use and they have simple, yet beautiful design templates to chose from.

You can get 50% off your first year when you join Flodesk here.

4. Showit

Showit is my website platform that I am in LOVE with!!  It’s easy to use drag and drop builder makes it super easy for anyone to be able to edit, change, or add information to a website at any time.  I was able to purchase a Showit template in the beginning and changed it up to fit my style and needs so easily!  If I can do it anyone can do it.  About two years ago I hired With Grace and Gold to build me a custom website in Showit and I am so pleased with it! You can shop all their pre-designed templates for planners here or inquire about a custom designed website.

5. Mile IQ

Having a way to track your business miles is so important come tax time. Mile IQ automatically logs your miles in the background without you having to remember to keep up with them yourself.

It’s a simple app that costs $5.99 per month and is worth every penny. At the end of every week you can label your drives as business or personal and even categorize them further. I categorize my business miles into miles driven for a wedding, meeting, purchasing supplies, etc.

You may chose to categorize your drives daily or once a week like I do. Just don’t wait until the end of the year to categorize them because you won’t remember what all of them were for! Common drives will auto-classify into the appropriate categories saving you even more time. Check them out at mileiq.com.

There you have it! My top 5 programs I use daily in my planning business! I know that starting something new, like a new program or process, always feels overwhelming at first. And I get it…time is precious. Setting this stuff up doesn’t exactly feel sexy or like you’re pushing your business forward. But I can say from experience that once you take the time to do it, it is going to help you work smarter, more efficiently and it will pay off big time! There is seriously no better time than now to make sure you are set up for success with the right resources for you.

xo, Terrica