Starting your own business means having more to do than reasonably can be done. That's why business owners shouldn't underestimate the value of good software—it's one of the best ways to reduce the heavy lifting involved in running a business. The right tool fits the job to be done, so the first step to earning back some of your time is figuring out which streams of work continually eat up portions of your time.

Are there repetitive tasks in that list that don't require much decision-making? Software is perfect for streamlining or automating that sort of work. You can also deploy software early to support some of your marketing and sales work; while there's a genuine risk of getting distracted with excess tools, there's a portion of marketing that will benefit from automation from day one.

Consider looking into software to help you manage the following:

Accounting. With numerous options to help you track everything from a meal with your business partner to a big inventory order, accounting software is one of the best ways to start your business off on the right financial foot. Save as much manual number crunching for valuable investigative work as you can; let software and professionals help you with the day-to-day stuff.

Email marketing. Most businesses will benefit from setting up cart abandonment and welcome email sequences even before they've made their first sale. An email list is one of the few things, alongside your online store, that you truly own on the internet; it provides a direct line to your customers that isn't dependent on third-party algorithms.

Ads. Paying for ads is a cost of doing business, especially online, but there’s marketing software that can help streamline the process and make the most of your advertising budget—no matter how much you have to spend.

Project management. Even if you’re a sole proprietor, having one place to plan your work and keep track of important tasks can help you stay on schedule. Tools like Trello and Asana can help you keep your finger on the pulse, and connective apps like Zapier are great for stitching together and automating your most common workflows.

Website or online store. Choose a website builder or ecommerce platform that allows you to easily manage all the critical tasks involved in running your business. Look for a theme that supports your product lines and gives you the ability to take and manage orders easily. For commerce businesses, site performance, payments and checkout, and omnichannel capabilities are especially important considerations.