I've watched founders hemorrhage money on software.

Not on bad software, necessarily. On too much software. On tools they set up once, used twice, and forgot to cancel.

Look, I’ve been there and seen a LinkedIn Influencer’s post on a shiny new app that would “10x my productivity.”

And then I forgot it existed. 

Meanwhile, operationally tight small businesses can run on surprisingly little.

So, I sat down and took a look at the top “software categories” a founder with 1-10 employees might launch a business with. The restrictions: what do you actually need to run a real, functioning, revenue-generating business.

My goal was under $100/month. 

Read on to see. 

— James

In this edition:

— James Kenna

Before we get into the list, let me say something entirely unrevolutionary. When starting, It’s ideal to use fewer tools, better.

There’s going to be a niche tool for every use case (especially given the rise of vibe coding). But it’s NOT easy to stitch 1000 tools together. Even if they all independently solve your needs perfectly. 

You won’t fail because you picked the wrong project management tool. But you can really hurt growth if you pick three project management tools, half-set-up each one, and then tasks live in Notion, Asana, AND a Google Sheet you swore you’d stop using.

Pick one tool per function. Use it fully. Cancel everything else.

Each new tool you “experimented with” stacks up. So as you read this… resist the urge to add. The goal is to subtract.

So without further ado, here's the minimal list: 

Total for 1 person: ~$17-27/month
Total for 5 people: ~$85-97/month

I'm biased. We run Forge Ahead on Notion. But I'm biased because it works well!

What it replaces: Google Docs (for SOPs), Trello (for projects), Confluence (for wikis), and half of Asana.

What you use it for:

The free tier is generous. You can run a business on it. The Plus plan ($10/user) adds unlimited file uploads and better collaboration. The Business plan ($20/user) adds AI. 

Think of this as your primary brain or tool. It can be a CRM; it can be employee onboarding. It's really flexible, so as you're growing the business, this is a good system to have because it grows with you.

Don't do this: Set up Notion AND Asana AND Monday. Pick one. Notion does enough.

Genuinely free accounting software that doesn't suck? Impossible. (And it kindof is, you’ll grow beyond this soon! But that’s the goal). 

What it replaces: QuickBooks ($30+/month), FreshBooks ($17+/month), or the Google Sheet you're pretending is a "bookkeeping system."

What you use it for:

Wave is built for businesses under $100K revenue. If you're a freelancer, consultant, or service business without inventory, you don’t need much more.

Caveat: Customer support is email-only unless you pay. 

When to upgrade: If you need automatic bank transaction imports, the Pro plan is $19/month. Still cheaper than QuickBooks.

You need a professional email. [email protected], not [email protected].

What it replaces: Nothing, really. This is the baseline.

What you use it for:

$7/user/month is the business starter plan. It's enough. Don't upgrade to the $14 plan unless you actually need the extra storage.

Alternative: If you truly can't afford $7/month, use free Gmail. But know that it looks less professional to clients. In a world where you're a solo consultant doing business purely on recommendations and referrals, I guess that could work. But if you're in that place, hey, you can afford the $7 a month.

You need a place to talk to your team that isn't your email inbox or a group text. If you're on Google Workspace, you already have it.

What it replaces: Slack ($8.75/user when you outgrow free), email chains, group texts, that WhatsApp group you regret starting.

What you use it for:

Google Chat isn't as feature-rich as Slack. It doesn't have the app ecosystem or the slick integrations. But… you probably don't need those yet. And since it's included in Workspace, it's one less login, one less bill, and one less tool to manage.

Don't do this: Use Chat for everything. Keep project updates in Notion. Keep long-form discussions in docs. Chat is for quick communication, not documentation.

When to switch to Slack/Teams: When you have 15+ people and need advanced integrations, or when clients expect to collaborate with you in their systems! Until then, stay consolidated.

Loom is really underrated as a tool. Mostly because people don’t understand how it can be used as a productivity booster.

What it replaces: Meetings. So many meetings.

What you use it for:

The free tier gives you 25 videos up to 5 minutes each. That's plenty to start. When you hit the limit, the paid plan is $15/month. 

The unlock: Every “hey do you have 5 minutes for a quick call” type of answer should be a Loom instead. Then save it to your Notion wiki. Bam! You just built a training library.

You're not hiring a designer. You don't need to.

What it replaces: Adobe Creative Suite ($55+/month), that expensive logo you don't need yet, hiring a designer for social posts.

What you use it for:

The free tier is shockingly good. You get access to templates, stock photos, and basic design tools. The Pro plan ($15/month) adds brand kits and more assets (nice for teams, not essential for solos).

What it still sucks at: Videos. For the life of me, I don’t understand how people make videos on Canva. You’d be better off using iMovie or Capcut if you’re low-budget! 

Stop playing email ping-pong to schedule meetings.

What it replaces: "Does Tuesday work? How about Wednesday? What times are good for you?"

What you use it for:

The free tier gives you one event type. That's usually enough (e.g., "30-min intro call"). The paid plan ($10/month) adds multiple event types and integrations. 

Pro tip: Put your Calendly link in your social bios. And your email signature for WARM OUTREACH. Don’t put links in your cold outreach email signatures (but that’s another newsletter). 

Yes, Notion again. Because you don't need a dedicated CRM yet.

What it replaces: HubSpot, Pipedrive, Salesforce, and the spreadsheet you're pretending is a "sales tracker." (good luck keeping that updated). 

What you use it for:

A business doing $500K+ can run their entire sales process in a Notion database. At 1-10 employees, you don't need lead scoring, automated sequences, or AI-powered insights. You need to know who you talked to, what you said, and what happens next.

A simple CRM database has these columns:

That's it. Filter by stage. Sort by last contact. Done.

When to upgrade to a real CRM: When you have 2+ salespeople who need to share pipeline visibility, or when you're managing 100+ active deals simultaneously. Until then, Notion handles it.

This is where you start connecting everything.

What it replaces: Manual data entry. Copy-pasting between tools. The busy work that makes you feel productive but isn't.

What you use it for:

The free tier gives you 100 tasks/month with 5 "Zaps" (automations). You definitely don’t need more than that when launching a business (unless you’re really savvy with your GTM). The paid plan ($29/month) adds more volume. 

Start here: Pick your most annoying manual task. Automate that one thing. Then stop! Don't go automation-crazy until you've proven the first one saves real time.

A one-page website? Impossible! Not really! If you’re launching, you don’t need something complicated. The limitations also force you to be really diligent in your conversion strategy. 

What it replaces: The $5,000 website you don't need yet.

What you use it for:

$19/year for a professional-looking one-page site. That's $1.58/month. When you outgrow it, upgrade to Webflow or Squarespace. But you probably won't outgrow it as fast as you think!

Let me save you some money:

You don't need a separate proposal tool. A well-formatted Google Doc or Notion page works fine until you're closing $20K+ deals.

You don't need a fancy email marketing platform yet. Mailchimp's free tier (500 contacts) or Beehiiv ($0 for small lists) handles early-stage newsletters.

You don't need a dedicated customer support tool. A shared inbox in Gmail or a simple Notion form handles most support at this stage.

You don't need Slack (yet). Google Chat comes free with Workspace. And this is coming from someone who really likes slack. 

You don't need a dedicated CRM. Your sales pipeline is probably 10-30 active conversations. Notion handles that fine.

The pattern: Most "essential" tools are only essential at a scale you haven't reached yet. If you were to go “all out” from the start it’d look like…