My favourites · updated July 2026
The tools I actually use.
After years of testing nearly everything, these are the apps that earned a permanent place in how I run my business. Real recommendations, and most come with a discount for you.
Chosen by Sydney Young.HoneyBook Pro & Template Partner · 189+ projects completed
Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you sign up through them I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, and often you get a discount. I only ever share tools I personally use and genuinely love.
Nothing on this page is here for any reason other than I pay for it myself.
12 tools · 6 reader discounts
Start & Money
The foundations: register, get paid, look legit.
2 tools
Register or incorporate
Ownr
Register your sole proprietorship (or incorporate) in BC in minutes, with guided help. Skip the government portals.
15% offRead the review & save 15% →
Bookkeeping
QuickBooks
Track income, expenses and your GST/PST without spreadsheets, for tidy books all year.
Free trialSee my pick →Booking & Email
The daily backbone, where clients and conversations live.
3 tools
Client experience
HoneyBook
The all-in-one client hub I run my business on: inquiries, invoices, contracts, and onboarding in one place.
30% offRead the review & save 30% →
Email marketing
Flodesk
Beautiful, effortless emails with flat pricing and gorgeous templates, and no penalty as your list grows.
50% offRead the review & save 50% →
Checkout & sales
ThriveCart
The checkout I trust to sell products and services, with high-converting sales pages and no setup headache.
Start selling →Website & Brand
For building an online home that looks designer-made.
3 tools
Website hosting
Squarespace
Where I build polished, professional sites without touching code or paying a developer bill.
20% offGet 20% off →GoLive HQ
My favourite Squarespace templates. Start from a beautiful, on-brand design and launch in a weekend.
10% offGet 10% off →
Graphic design
Canva
Every graphic, freebie, and social post starts here. Intuitive tools and a template for absolutely everything.
Free to startStart designing →Organize & Automate
The quiet systems that hand you your time back.
4 tools
Business dashboard
Notion
One organized home for notes, projects, and SOPs. Honestly, my second brain, and where my whole business lives.
Free to startSign up free →
Automation
Zapier
Connects your favourite apps so the repetitive busywork happens automatically, without you lifting a finger.
Free to startGet started →
Forms & data
Fillout
Smart, fillable forms for everything: questionnaires, applications, timecards. The all-in-one data catch-all.
Free to startTake a look →
Daily productivity
Google Workspace
Email, calendar, and file storage made simple. The reliable backbone behind the day-to-day.
Take a look →Put the stack to work
The tools are half of it. The systems are the rest.
Everything I send members of The Systems Academy Membership runs on exactly this stack, so it drops straight into what you already pay for.