Technology helps you work more efficiently, but you’re probably losing valuable time trying to juggle various platforms, apps and tools.

Thankfully, apps are now available that can sync your other tech tools together so they automatically feed each other information. They allow you to automate information-sharing so you’re not manually re-entering data or repeating tasks in multiple tools.These connecting apps can support everything from your spreadsheets and email applications to your marketing platform, your website analytics and your social media accounts.

Here are three connecting apps worth checking out:

 

Zapier

A free Zapier account allows you up to five app connections (“Zaps”), while the $20-a-month “Starter” plan lets you make 20 Zaps. Higher-priced subscriptions for both individuals and teams give you more capabilities, such as sharing Zaps with multiple people, faster information-sharing between apps, and the ability to set up your Zaps so they take different actions based on specific conditions. Zapier supports more than 1,000 apps. For example, you can link up your Mailchimp to Google Sheets, so that any time you add someone’s contact information to a spreadsheet, it could automatically be added to your Mailchimp email subscriber list.

 

IFTTT

Free to users, IFTTT lets you take advantage of “applets” created by various companies that allow commonly used tech tools and devices to work together. (Companies pay IFTTT to provide their applets on the platform.) For example, when you create an event in Google Calendar, you could have that event simultaneously added in Salesforce. IFTTT also offers applets that work with voice-activated assistants such as Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.

 

Automate.io

The free Automate.io plan lets you use up to five “bots” that connect your apps, while the $25-a-month “Startup” plan ($19 a month, if you pay annually) gives you up to 20 bots. All account tiers allow you to set up multi-step bots where you can create workflows using multiple applications, but the higher-priced plans give you access to additional features such as integrating premium apps (like PayPal and Shopify) and phone-based customer support.

 

When selecting a connecting app, compare the tech tools they support to make sure they can integrate the apps your business uses most. Also look at additional features, such as the frequency at which the apps share data and whether they offer customer support.

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