Here is a list of fresh apps in 2015, all of which benefit agents’ business in intriguing ways.
MileIQ: Car and truck expenses are the most claimed tax deduction for small businesses, and few professionals spend more time behind the wheel than real estate agents. Thankfully, MileIQ greatly eases the process of tracking mileage for deduction purposes. The app automatically detects and logs drives, calculates driving distances (and corresponding deduction values) and stores them on the cloud. MileIQ also stores complete drive history, and sends regular reports on driving habits. The first 40 drives of every month are free, but users can upgrade to $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year for unlimited drives.
Cloze: A personal assistant for professional relationships, Cloze pulls from a smartphone’s apps and automatically creates a profile for every person and company. The profile includes their contact details and communication history, along with every correspondence, such as e-mail, phone calls, meetings, notes, documents, even social media posts. Once that information is in place, Cloze then uses detailed algorithms to figure out which contacts are the most important, and will offer reminders to reach out to those contacts. The app is free to download and use, but Cloze Pro, which includes greater support and synchronization with other apps, is either $19.99 a month or $159.99 a year.
Dashlane: Few things are more aggravating than remembering passwords for the various apps, websites and accounts that smartphone use entails, but thankfully, Dashlane eliminates those frustrations. Protecting password data with the industry-standard AES-256 encryption, Dashlane uses auto-logins and autofills to simplify the smartphone experience, and also offers breach alerts for those passwords and accounts. Additionally, Dashlane utilizes Touch ID technology for its own log-in, and should someone lose their smartphone, nobody can access the phone’s data without the app’s master password. Dashlane Premium, which syncs with other electronic devices, is $39.99 a year.
Vert: Real estate is an industry of numbers, and Vert is a highly efficient app for converting units and currencies. With more than 1,000 units in 34 categories, Vert offers a considerable number of features for just $2.99, including: 164 currencies, which are automatically updated to correspond with exchange rates; compound units, such as foot, inch, pound and ounce; clothing and shoe sizes; Chinese/Japanese units; angle; area; and length/distance. So whether it be an international client from England who is curious about how many pounds a home costs, or a first-time homebuyer who wants a more accurate rendering of a home’s square footage, Vert has you covered.
Carrot: Undoubtedly the sassiest app on this list, Carrot brands itself as “the world’s first to-do list with a personality.” With a design reminiscent of Hal 9000 from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” Carrot is a feisty female AI that aims to keep people on task via both rewards and criticism – rewards through a leveling system and 500 unique prizes (such as fortune cookies), and criticisms through sarcastic berating for procrastination. For instance, a less-than-productive smartphone user may receive this message: “Reach level 11 to unlock your completed items list. Then you’ll be able to look upon your meager list of accomplishments and weep for your wasted life.” All of those features come with a decidedly un-sardonic price tag of $2.99.