Abdimalik Hussein
Walk through Eastleigh or Bakaara market and you’ll see plenty of successful shops that don’t own a computer. The owner runs everything from one phone: orders on WhatsApp, prices on a poster made in Canva, sales in a notebook or a spreadsheet.
If that’s you, here are ten free tools for small business owners that are worth the storage space. You don’t need all of them. Start with two.
Get found and talk to customers
1. WhatsApp Business
Free, and separate from your personal WhatsApp. Set up a business profile with your hours and location, add a catalogue with prices, save quick replies for questions you answer twenty times a day, and use labels to track orders. Then lock it down so nobody can steal it.
2. Google Business Profile
This puts your shop on Google Maps and Search with your hours, phone number, photos and reviews. When someone nearby searches “hardware shop near me”, this is how they find you. It’s free at google.com/business.
3. Facebook and Instagram pages
Free business pages with messaging. Your customers already spend hours there every day, so be where they are.
Design and marketing
4. Canva
Templates for posters, menus, price lists and social media posts. The free plan is enough for most shops. Make one template in your colours and reuse it.
5. CapCut
A simple video editor for short TikTok and Instagram clips. Show new stock arriving, your kitchen at lunchtime, or a quick “how to use” for a product. Short, real videos often beat polished ads.
Money and records
6. Google Sheets
A free spreadsheet for daily sales, expenses and who owes you money. You can share it with a partner or accountant so everyone sees the same numbers.
7. Your mobile money app
The M-PESA app or your EVC Plus menu shows your full statement. Use it to confirm a payment arrived before goods leave the shop.
8. A POS with a free trial
When the notebook stops being enough, a phone-based POS records sales, stock and staff. Most offer a free trial, so test before you pay. Our POS buying questions work for shops too.
Stay organised
9. Google Calendar
Deliveries, supplier payments, rent day and staff shifts, all with reminders so nothing slips.
10. Google Drive
Snap photos of receipts, contracts and invoices and store them in the cloud. If your phone gets lost or stolen, your records don’t go with it.
Where to start this week
Set up WhatsApp Business and a Google Business Profile. Both take less than an hour and bring in customers. Next month, start recording sales in a sheet or a POS. Add the others when you actually need them, not before.
