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  • Writer's pictureJulia

Top 10 Android/iOS Apps Every Personal Assistant Must Have

Updated: Jan 22, 2019

So you’ve recently become a PA, or are already one who is trying to see what Apps ease your way to this sector or help you make your way up. You are a busy person, so let’s not waste time.


1. aCalendar

aCalendar logo with their slogan, 'Makes your day, week, and month'.

First and foremost, right at the top of your job description is ‘diary management’. You need to invest in a very capable calendar app and the native one simply won’t do. What aCalendar does is take your experience of diary management to a wholly new level. It’s aesthetically pleasing and it’s got a powerful and flexible widget that none of the apps on the market can compete with. For less than the price of a cup of coffee, you can unlock the business features and invite attendees and send out ICS files like a boss (or a PA to a boss). To make things even better, 10% of your money will go towards preservation of the rainforests.


Download aCalendar for Android.


2. Pinterest

At first, it may not sound relevant, but no PA can impress their boss without Pinterest. Every now and then you will have to come up with ideas. From finding a gift for your boss’s daughter’s birthday, to ideas for making presentations wow the viewers. Not sure what to wear for tomorrow’s welcoming of new investors? Pinterest! A good PA is adaptable and flexible, and with Pinterest you will never run out of ideas.


Download Pinterest for Android or iOS.


3. Deliveroo

Your boss rushes to you, as always helpless, panicking, breathless, saying something about a group of people coming in 10 minutes! Whilst you give them a bag to breathe into, you calmly reach for your beloved phone, open up the Deliveroo app, sort things by delivery time, and arrange for those soya lattes, Earl Grey teas, and vegan croissants to arrive in 20 minutes—ten minutes after they had enough time to get over with the introductions. In your boss’s eyes, you’re now officially some sort of a legendary PA with superpowers.


Deliveroo is available for both Android and iOS phones.


4. Uber

A PA doesn’t always stay in the office. Nor is it always going down the stairs and round the block. Every now and then there’s an emergency and you have to go to another neighbourhood quickly and effectively to get or deliver packages. And believe me, there will be a point where your boss is too tired or unwell to drive home. You should have the Uber app from day 1 of your job.


Download Uber App for Android or for iOS


5. Tiny Scanner


Why would you need a scanner, you ask cynically? To begin with, there will still be people communicating via mail, which is technically an email that you can’t swipe up, down, left, or right! If you have to keep your boss in the loop regarding one specific communication, it’s always easier to quickly scan that non-electronic email (i.e. mail) and send it to your boss. TinyScanner does magic! It uses complicated algorithms to readjust the size, the background colour, the font colour, and the document’s orientation. The output result is unbelievably high-end.


Download Tiny Scanner for Android devices.


6. OneNote

It doesn’t matter what you have been using so far for taking notes, but as a PA you have to be able to take notes to Olympic level. Microsoft OneNote is the most advanced note-taking app on the market. It mixes all forms of note-taking: written, verbal, even audio-visual. So mix in your typing with drawing and if you get tired just start recording the meeting. You can take photos, add documents, or start making to-do lists. And trust me, you will have to do all these at one point or another. Colour-coded categories make organising material visually easy, and the search button quickly finds things before your boss finishes asking about them.


OneNote is available for both Android phones and iPhones/iPads.


7. OpenTable

It’s your boss again, rushing to you, panicking, this time unable to talk. You look at the shared inbox and see an email regarding the investors wishing to meet with your boss for lunch in a nice restaurant. Apparently, today they fancy Vietnamese. Again, you pass the bag to your boss to breathe in it, and very much unimpressed, log in to OpenTable app, apply some filters, find the poshest and closest one, and book a table—all in less than a minute. ‘Done!’ you say as you calmly sip at your tea, your voice resonating calmly in the hall, reminding your boss, another time, that you are not of this world.


You can get OpenTable for both Android and iOS phones and tablets.


8. SkyScanner


Nothing is more complicated than booking tickets for your boss. Because often you have to get your boss from A to B, B to C, and C to A, within a pre-specified budget, and for specific days. If it’s already not a difficult task, factor in the short notices. Wait! The deputy director now is tagging along? Even a PA should learn to delegate. And there is no more intelligent and powerful flight booking app than SkyScanner.


To download SkyScanner for Apple click here and for Android click here.


9. Trivago

Now that the flights are sorted, you have to sort the accommodation. Do you need to book a posh hotel as your boss is meeting with prospective clients, or would an affordable, decent one do? Trivago is the best app in the market for booking accommodation. It has everything that famous websites (such as Booking.com) offer and more.


Download Trivago for Android or iOS.


10. Edison E-mail


Communications run in your blood when you are a PA. You breathe communications. Often you are the gatekeeper for more than one director and you have to manage their inboxes. Most of these emails are internal and require quick replies. Edison Email’s smart replies are as smart as smart can get. Depending on the content of the emails, there are suggested short replies appearing at the bottom of the screen, and in my experience, one of them almost always will do. The interface is sharp and lets you focus on emails, and the smart categories categorise your emails. Less to worry about, eh?


Get Edison E-mail for your iPhone/iPad or for your Android phone.

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