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 · 175+ 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.
Every template suite and blueprint is built to run on exactly this stack, so what you buy drops straight into what you already pay for.