For managing the customer support effectively, it is important to search for the right help desk software. The tips available in this article will help you understand the attributes of help desk software that further assists you in fulfilling your business goals and marketing objectives.

Before getting started with the task to select an effective help desk app for your business, it is vital to understand that the aim of the application is to provide fast, reliable and accurate information and answers to user queries and questions. The following criteria and tips must be considered while selecting the help desk application for your business.

1. Support & Assistance Channels

The Help desk Support app must incorporate common customer support channels such as email, social media support, live chat, call center as well as offline support channels such as knowledge based sections. The application must be selected keeping in mind the support features that your business needs the most. Help Desk Software (f.e. LiveAgent) is perfect if you want to make customer support a priority. It’ll help you integrate email, live chat, voice, social and offline support into one application.

2. Feature & Attribute Set

Not all businesses are the same, neither are their requirements. Based on the nature, volume, size, type and other attributes of the business, help desk softwares offer features which must be selected before finalizing the setup. It is not always the case that the app only offers online supports, applications that provide offline support can also be considered, but you must have enough resources to handle selected offline support channels.

There is also an open source help desk software – Hesk – (available for free trial for limited time only) with easy interface and it requires minimal efforts to setup. It gives you complete control over asset management, analytics & help desk in one single package. However, to unlock most of the advanced features, you will have to upgrade to a paid version.

ZenDesk is another premium help desk software that covers all your support requirements and makes sure everything goes smoothly. You can have a free 30 Days trial to explore around and then take it as an arsenal of your company.

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3. Customer Support

Improvement is the key to success and when it is about a help desk support, constant improvement making use of the latest techniques is required. There are questions that have vibrant answers. Some answers are not constant and alter with time. You must check if the solution offers an answer which is appropriate and time steady. Also, you have to decide if customer support is available round the clock or is during business hours only.

4. Integration & Plugins

Your use of integration methods and plugins depends on the Content Management System (CMS) as well the type of shopping cart you use. You have to cross check if the help desk software is ready with appropriate plugins and integration methods. It is important that the application must be easy to customize to fulfil the intended requirements. Check if the application possesses the ability to connect with third party apps such as CRM software, email marketing tools and payment gateways.

5. Pricing

This is in fact the most considerable feature while selecting a helpdesk application. The pricing must be appropriate for the size and budget of your business. The pricing criteria for a number of help desk softwares is based on a ‘per agent seat’ model. It is important to consider the future features and updates that the app offers before opting for one.

As a whole, it can be concluded that SaaS (Software as a service) solutions are the best options when it is about implementing help desk software. Subscription based applications with zero license fees are an add-on. Due to the fact that the SaaS provider will manage all the upgrades and updates, there is no scope to worry about. The administrators do not have to manage the bandwidth, hardware or the software with the increasing customer base.

Cloud computing and storage environment makes the SaaS apps more scalable as they offer all time and anywhere access. Above all, the backup services are also offered by the SaaS service provider and that without interfering the user processes, so there is no problem of unavailability of the application or data loss.

Over the years here at Lifehack, we’ve discussed plenty of apps that you can use to improve your overall productivity.

There are certain ones that many of our contributors and editors (past and present) have adopted over the long-term — there are always the stalwarts that stick around. But there are also new apps that crop up every day, adding more and more depth to the app category.

Some of the apps are incredibly plain and simple, while others are more robust and offer more features than you can shake a stick at. And everyone has the one they prefer.

It’s been our job (and still is our job) to keep abreast of all of the productivity-type apps out there. As a result — and as a bit of a refresher — we’ve put together a list of 40 best productivity apps for iPhone to provide you with an all-in-one resource for you.

Productivity apps to help you get things done

1. OmniFocus

This app is, while pricey, considered to be one of the (if not the) most robust and full-featured productivity apps on the market.

Download it here.

2. Forest

Train yourself to put your phone down and stay focused on the task at hand by playing with this planting game. It’s fun and will help you achieve more.

Download it here.

3. Things

Another robust choice, this app is a favorite amongst “productivityists”.^[1]

Download it here.

4. 30/30

Recently covered here at Lifehack

, 30/30 is a newcomer to the game that incorporates lists and timing of tasks into an elegant and easy-to-use interface.

Download it here.

5. Any.Do

A beautiful-looking app that is both easy on the eyes and your wallet.

Download it here.

6. PocketLife Calendar

This calendar app is specifically designed to be stylish and super easy-to-use. You can organize your life easily with different modern features.

Download it here.

7. Asana

We’ve covered Asana here at Lifehack

, and it is being actively developed by a strong team committed to making collaborative task management a more efficient and effective experience.

Download it here.

8. ToDoist

This app keeps track of everything – from simple errands to your most important projects – so you can get it all done and enjoy more peace of mind along the way.

Download it here.

9. FlowTasks

From the folks at MetaLab, Flow is a gorgeous collaborative task management app that is easy-to-use and incredibly functional.

Download it here.

10. Calendars 5

This calendar app focuses on events that help you to keep track of upcoming events and tasks easily. It has everything you need to organize, track and complete your to-dos.

Download it here.

11. Clear – Tasks, Reminders & To-Do Lists

A fun and innovative list-making app that relies on swiping and pinching to make things happen. Clear created a lot of buzz when it launched, and might be the perfect to-do list gateway app for many.

Download it here.

12. Due

A robust reminders app that lets you store and maintain reminders of all types. It’s replaced Reminders for me when it comes to the basics, and it’s worth a look if you want to keep the mundane stuff out of your head and cluttering your mind.

Download it here.

13. Checkmark 2

I use this app

for location-based reminders (such as groceries I need to get or single items I need to pick up from various locations). Checkmark is simple to use and a valuable addition to my productivity arsenal.

Download it here.

14. TeuxDeux

Created by Tina Roth Eisenberg and Fictive Kin — Teux Deux is simple and incredibly stellar in terms of design. If you like lists (including the popular “Someday Bucket”) and want to associate dates with tasks, then Teux Deux will be right up your alley.

Download it here.

15. Wunderlist 

Another incredibly popular choice is Wunderlist. Part of 6Wunderkinder’s software family, it sports a gorgeous design and is incredibly functional. We’ve talked about the app a couple of times here at Lifehack, so check those posts out here.

Download it here.

16. Nirvana

For the GTD enthusiasts, there’s Nirvana. Straight from the source: “Nirvana frees your mind to focus on actually getting things done. If you’ve had enough of generic to-do lists, it’s time for Nirvana.”

Download it here.

17. Priorities

An elegant-looking task management app that has received decent reviews,^[2] this could be the one for you if you’re not a fan of OmniFocus or Things — especially if you need (or want) to share tasks with others.

Download it here.

Productivity apps that help you build habits

18. Productive

With this app, you can plan your habits with an easy-to-use interface, schedule habits for any time of the day, set smart reminders for each time of the day and stay on track with useful feedback. This app is perfect for anyone who wants to build a habit that sticks.

Download it here.

19. Habitica: Gamified Taskmanager

You can complete tasks and build habits in a more fun way with this app. Input your Habits, your Daily goals, and your To-Do list, and then create a custom avatar. Check off tasks to level up your avatar and unlock features such as armor, pets, skills, and even quests.

Download it here.

20. Streaks

This app follows the model of the popular “don’t break the chain method” in that you use the app to track how you are donig in the pursuit of your goal. Great for goal-setting — and an easy and elegant interface to boot.

Download it here.

21. Remember The Milk

Another popular to-do list app, Remember The Milk has a huge following. It has plenty to offer, including the ability to share tasks with others.

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Download it here.

22. Day One Journal

When it comes to journaling, nothing really beats Day One. Its latest update added a slew of features that will make you want to start making journaling a habit.

Download it here.

Productivity apps that makes organization easy

23. Evernote

Touted as the world’s most widely-used productivity app, Evernote an be used simply as a notetaking app or can be customized to be your GTD app of choice — among other things.

Download it here.

24. Pocket

You can save an article, video or link you want to read or watch later to Pocket from anywhere including your computer, Safari, email, and your favorite apps like Facebook, Twitter, Flipboard, and Feedly.

Download it here.

25. Sync.Me

This app identifies unknown phone calls, warns you from annoying spam calls, and adds a caller picture to your contacts from Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Download it here.

26. Droplr

One of the most popular file-sharing apps out there today. Straight from the source: “Stay productive on the go. Droplr for iPhone keeps you in sync and makes sharing on the iPhone natural.”

Download it here.

27. Dropbox

Before iCloud, there was Dropbox. And there still is Dropbox, which is still widely used by both Mac and PC users all over the globe. It’s like having a flash drive in your iPhone. A must-have.

Download it here.

28. iDolly 

In conjunction with Dolly Drive and DollySync, iDolly allows you to edit and share your documents from your iPhone.

Since all your changes sync automatically to all your devices, the current version of a document will always be accessible because Dolly Sync keeps everything in sync. Very handy.

Download it here.

29. Soulver

It may seem odd that a calculator app shows up on this list, but this is no ordinary calendar app. Ben Brooks over at The Brooks review describes Soulver as follows: “It is what calculators would have been if they were invented at the same time computers were, instead of what we have with most calculator apps.” ^[3]

Download it here.

Productivity apps that help you work smart

30. Captio

A simple capture tool. Straight from the developers: “It’s simple. Open Captio and start typing. When you’re done, hit Send. The note is immediately delivered to your email inbox.”

Download it here.

31. Drafts

A tremendous capture tool that allows for simple capture, followed by sending items to various applications such as OmniFocus, Things and more.

Download it here.

32. NoteShelf 2

This is a perfect note-taking app for you. You can take beautiful handwritten notes, type, annotate PDFs, record audio & create lists. You can organize them into categories or groups.

Download it here.

33. Doodle

This app links directly with the Doodle service, which is one that allows you to plan and organize meetings far more efficiently and effectively. Lifehack contributor Steve Dotto has written about Doodle more in-depth here.

Download it here.

34. TextExpander (Legacy)

I have saved countless hours of time with TextExpander, and despite its inability to be as robust on iOS as it is on the Mac, it is still a worthy app to have in your arsenal.

Download it here.

35. Launch Center Pro

A quick launcher for the iPhone that doesn’t just launch an app…with some of them it can do much more. This app saves you time by launching complex actions in a single tap.

Download it here.

36. GoodReader

This may seem to be an odd one to make this list, but here are plenty of reasons why it is here with this article.

Download it here.

37. LogMeIn

Want to be able to control your Mac from wherever you are? Then get this app.

Download it here.

Productivity apps that improve security

38. 1Password

There is simply no better password manager out there. I’ve even put together a 1Password Emergency Kit worth looking at here.

Download it here.

39. LastPass Password Manager

You can store passwords and logins, create online shopping profiles, generate strong passwords, track personal information in photo and audio notes.

All you have to do is remember your LastPass master password, and LastPass autofills web browser and app logins for you.

Download it here.

40. Truecallers

Identify and block spammers, search for unknown numbers and call friends easily with this app. With a community-based spam list from over 250 million users, you’ll need this app.

Download it here.

There are plenty of other options out there (and we’ve heard from readers in the past as to what they enjoyed using), but these 40 are among the best.