I always think it is fun to discover new useful Ipad apps for business and productivity. Here is a list of the apps I use most often:

Grafio

Grafio is one of the best app I have found to create decision trees and other flowcharts and diagrams. I like it better than any other app or software on IOS or on the PC. I have used Visio, Mindjet, and other various applications to quickly create great looking diagrams but Grafio is hands down the best app. Grafio has a great shape library and you can quickly auto link shapes with lines and arrows. You can add text anywhere, change the color of the lines, texts or shapes. The canvas can be set to a specific paper size or you can make it auto grow to whatever size you need it to be. You can insert pictures and it auto recognizes and smooths out shapes that you draw by hand on the screen. You can also group your shapes and even save custom shapes for use later. It is one of my favorite apps. Grafio is designed and developed by TenTouch Apps. You can learn more about it here.

Trello

Trello is a very good, free website and app, used to track a process through various steps or to do lists.  Trello is great for team environments because the user interface updates immediately on other devices or websites when you move a task.  For instance, in the pharmacy we have to: 1. Print the paperwork, 2. Fax refills, 3. Export and Excel workbook, update it and email it out, 4. Create a pivot table off the returned document, 4. Order the drugs for the next days cycle, 5. Run the medications, 6. Bag the medications 7. Ship the medications.  We do this for multiple groups at a time and each group is in a different step of the process.  Trello allows all of our team to see exactly where the group is in the process.  Once a step is completed they task is moved to the next step where the team member working on that step is notified and the next person can begin working on the next step.  Trello has a simple, yet clean and professional user interface.  It is powerful, for instance we repeat this process every month, so I just create a row called templates and I copy the row each month to kick off the next month.  You can do more things on the Trello website but the app is very functional and is in sync with the website.  For instance, you can create a shopping list that you and a spouse can share that is live so you can track what you need to buy and what has already been bought.  You can learn more about it here.  You can also download the companion Ipad app here.

Logmein Ignition

I use Logmein Ignition to remote into my home and work computers. I use this app almost daily to get access to files or use programs that can only be accessed on my PC. I can use Quicken and do personal finances while I sit up in my bed. I can login to my PC at work and print checks, access files, or complete urgent work tasks. The app is very responsive and allows you to black out the screen and lock the keyboard to protect privacy. We also use Logmein across our company so we can log into any computer across multiple states. If someone calls me and they need help on their computer I can login to their computer and see exactly what they are doing and take over if necessary. This is a great app! You can learn more about it here.

Kindle

Everyone likely knows about the Kindle app but I still think it is incredible that I can carry multiple bookshelves of books with me on my Ipad. While I could have switched to ibooks I love that Kindle is so ubiquitous. I can login to a website from any computer and view my Kindle books, i can view my books on Android, Apple, and Kindle readers. I am glad I chose to continue to buy my books from Amazon. They continue to innovate and add new functionality to the reader and even if I switch from Ipad at some point I will not lose access to all the books I have purchased. I can highlight passages and access the quotes later, all books are searchable, and they have a new feature called x-ray that allows you to quickly refresh your memory on who different characters are and where they showed up in the book. You can download the app here.

Lynda

As I mention in my “Career” menu the Lynda.com website is one of the best educational websites around. With the Lynda app you can view over 106,000 tutorials and counting. Lynda has topics on everything ranging from Microsoft products to typography and web design. If you can do it on a computer or piece of technology they probably have a training on Lynda. And these aren’t poor quality crummy trainings. These are HD trainings taught by the experts in the field. You can search by subject, software, or author. Lynda also started adding topics on business subjects like managing and time management. The app makes these experts available to you at any time. Lynda.com is one of the best ways I know to invest in yourself and improve your skills. It is a great way to fill in short periods of down time. You can download the app here.

Evernote

The Evernote app can be used as your personal filing cabinet. I use Evernote to store complicated excel formulas or macros I want to remember, website ideas, financial articles, and any other piece of information I want to be able to find and access easily. One cool thing I use Evernote for is to mail out common items to employees. For instance, I have a note that includes the break down of health insurance rates and coverages, when an employee asks questions about their health insurance I can jump on my phone or Ipad and quickly send them the preformatted note with attachments, via email. I have other notes that compare Roth’s to Traditional IRA’s and 401ks. Evernote also allows you to “tag” notes. I tag all the notes that I commonly email to employees with a specific tag. When I click on the tag all the notes stored across all my folders are shown in one view so I can quickly choose the one I need to send. You can download the app here.

Skitch

The Skitch app is a very good app for quickly taking a picture and adding, text, arrows, boxes, highlights, or even blurring out a username or password.  It is quick and easy to use and since it is developed by Evernote you can quickly upload your new picture into your Evernote notebooks.  You can also email the photo, share it Facebook or Twitter, as well as saving it to your photos to be used in your other document editing apps.  It is the quickest way to quickly mark up and annotate a picture.

Omnifocus

Omnifocus is one of the more expensive apps I have purchased but it is a great tool to track to-do items and projects. Those trying to find a tool to implement the Getting Things Done (GTD) process will love it. While I don’t strictly follow the GTD methodology the app does everything I need it to. Some of the useful things you can do with the app is assign places on the map, like home, Wal-mart, work etc. You can then assign tasks that need to be completed at those locations. If your GPS is on the app will remind you to do those items when you are within a certain distance of the place on the map. The app has so many useful features that I recommend reading the instructions when you first get the app. It has been a very useful tool. You can download the app here.

Foreflight

The Foreflight app is an app for private pilots and it is amazing. The easiest way to describe the app is it is the google maps for flying. It has all the information for all the airports including radio frequencies, weather, runway information etc. The app allows you to see radar and satellite imagery on the map and of course you can see your planes real-time position on the map. Without this app I would have to buy multiple updated paper maps frequently. And while drawing lines and doing calculations on a paper map is fun and interesting to learn, the Foreflight app really speeds up the flight planning process and works great while in the air. For instance, when landing you have to pick the best runway to land on based on the wind direction. One of the new features of the app allows the app to help you decide which runway is best. It not only helps you decide it draws the approach path directly on the map so you can visualize and confirm that you were making the correct decisions. You can download the app here.