In the world of consulting, mobility isn’t just an advantage—it’s a necessity. From airport lounges to hotel lobbies, from co-working spaces in Lisbon to 6 a.m. conference calls in Tokyo, consultants are in perpetual motion. So, what makes this lifestyle work? Tools. Smart tools. And by “tools,” we mean mobile apps—specifically, the best apps for consultants who refuse to slow down.
Whether you’re solving a logistics puzzle for a Fortune 500 or untangling startup strategy over Wi-Fi in a coffee shop, your phone should do more than beep with calendar alerts. It should work as hard as you do. Here’s a list—unpolished and real—of essential mobile apps for business consultants navigating the unpredictable terrain of remote work, multi-time-zone chaos, and client demands that don’t wait.
1. Notion: A Brain Outside Your Brain
Forget yellow sticky notes and text docs scattered across devices. Notion is the command center you didn’t know you needed. Think of it as a digital whiteboard, notebook, to-do list, and database—molded together like clay.
Use it to build custom dashboards, client project trackers, meeting notes (with rich media!), or even quick swipe-to-finish task boards. Share pages instantly. Organize chaos. Reorganize it. Then start over again. That’s the magic.
Why it works for consultants: Your brain can only remember so much. Notion remembers the rest.
2. Toggl Track: Because Time is the Product
You don’t just sell advice—you sell hours. Minutes. Expertise measured in time. Toggl Track makes it dead-simple to track billable hours across clients, projects, and specific activities.
Start a timer. Stop it. Or enter time manually. Toggl’s reporting tools mean you always know where your hours are going. Even better? You can turn those reports into invoices (and avoid undercharging, which happens more than anyone admits).
Bonus stat: Consultants lose up to 20% of billable time due to poor tracking. Toggl slices that down like a scalpel.
3. Call Recorder for iPhone: The Memory You Didn’t Know You Needed
Ever finish a call and realize you’ve already forgotten half the client’s requests? Or that golden quote you wanted to include in the strategy deck? Call Recorder for iPhone is here to fix that—quietly, efficiently, and legally (check your local laws, always).
Record phone calls, replay them, share clips, archive them. All you need to do is use the App Store Download button on your iPhone. Using the app to record phone calls, you can turn routine calls into a valuable resource for analysis and development. Call Recorder for iPhone is especially useful for consultants who rely heavily on interviews, client calls, or verbal agreements.
Why it matters: 43% of consultants report struggling to retain critical call details. Don’t rely on memory—record, review, and win the project.
4. Slack: The Conference Room That Fits in Your Pocket
Emails are slow. Slack is… not. It’s the equivalent of instant messaging for professionals—but way more organized. Separate conversations into channels. Drop documents. Launch huddles (voice or video). Collaborate with clients, partners, or teams in real time.
Consultants working across different orgs will appreciate its flexibility: you can join multiple workspaces, switch between them in a flash, and keep conversations tidy.
Human moment: There’s a weird joy in watching teammates respond with emojis to your strategic insights.
5. Trello: Visual Project Management on the Fly
There’s no shortage of project management tools. Trello stays relevant by keeping things simple and visual. Cards, columns, and boards. Move things around with drag-and-drop ease. Add checklists, deadlines, attachments, comments.
For consultants juggling multiple deliverables, Trello provides clarity without friction. You can zoom out to see your overall pipeline or zoom in on a task list for that one tricky deliverable due next Thursday.
Use case: One consultant reported cutting project delays by 30% simply by organizing weekly goals on Trello.
6. Google Drive: Because Everything Needs to Live Somewhere
Presentations. Reports. Contracts. Spreadsheets. Shared folders. You can’t run a consulting business without documents—and those documents need to be accessible, shareable, and secure. Enter Google Drive.
Work from your phone, collaborate in real time, and control sharing permissions down to the granular level. It’s one of those invisible tools you don’t notice… until it’s gone.
Pro tip: Use offline mode during flights or spotty connections—life saver.
7. Grammarly Keyboard: Don’t Send a Sloppy Email Ever Again
You’re moving fast. You’re responding on your phone. You’re writing proposals at midnight on the Eurostar. Grammarly’s mobile keyboard steps in when typos would make you look sloppy.
It checks grammar, tone, spelling, and even offers better phrasing. It’s like having an editor in your pocket who gently nudges you toward professionalism.
Tiny but mighty: One mistyped sentence can change a client’s perception. Don’t let that happen.
8. Zoom: Because Face-to-Face Still Wins
Calls are fine. Video’s better. Zoom’s mobile app lets you host or join meetings from anywhere. It syncs with your calendar, connects over cellular or Wi-Fi, and supports features like screen sharing—even from your phone.
When you’re in consulting, relationships matter. And sometimes, a 15-minute face-to-face chat can do what four emails can’t.
Usage stat: Over 300 million people use Zoom daily. You probably already do. If not, it’s time.
9. Expensify: Receipts, Managed
Consultants travel. Consultants spend. Consultants forget where they put the receipt for that taxi ride to the client’s office. Expensify solves all of that. Snap photos of receipts, categorize expenses, submit reports, get reimbursed.
It integrates with credit cards and bank accounts. It’s smart. It saves hours. And it saves headaches.
Painkiller-level utility: Expense reports that took 3 hours now take 15 minutes. That’s not an exaggeration.
Conclusion: Stack Your Tools Like You Stack Your Skills
Being a business consultant isn’t just about knowledge—it’s about agility, responsiveness, and precision. The best apps for consultants aren’t gimmicks; they’re enablers. They help you be faster, sharper, and more in control, even when the world around you is in flux.
Curate your mobile toolkit. Test apps. Drop the ones that don’t serve you. Keep the ones that do. A smart app stack isn’t just nice to have—it’s the edge.
Because if your tools aren’t working as hard as you are, something’s off.
