Tools for general small business

Any small business, no industry specialism assumed.

Ordered by how well each one fits this kind of business. Where we have not judged the fit yet, we say nothing rather than guess.

Your comfort level:

Northwest Registered Agent
No AI connectionBeginner
Files your entity and acts as your registered agent, at a flat low price.
Forming the company and holding the registered agent role works the same way for almost any small business.
Lovable
Connects to AITechnicalIntermediateBeginner
Build a real website or web app by describing what you want.
Good when the business needs its own site or small internal tool without hiring a developer.
Works with: Any assistant that supports MCP connectors, including ChatGPT and Claude.
Mercury
Connects to AIBeginner
Business banking that lives entirely online, opened in an afternoon and run from a browser.
Strong for an online-only business bank account. Weaker if you regularly need cash at a counter.
Works with: Any assistant that supports MCP connectors.
Plai
No AI connectionIntermediateBeginner
Run Facebook, Instagram, Google and TikTok ads from one place, without an agency.
Good when you already have photos or video and want advertising judged on real enquiries.
QuickBooks
Developer API onlyIntermediateBeginner
The gold standard for small business accounting when the budget supports a serious financial system, clean to use and connected to almost everything else in the stack.
Books and tax-ready records that most accountants already know how to work with.
Works with: Claude.
GitHub
Connects to AITechnicalIntermediate
The place a copy of your code lives in an account you own, with a record of every change.
Only earns its place once you own code or a site you want version history for.
Works with: Any assistant that supports MCP connectors, including GitHub Copilot Chat and Claude.