Hello there, if you're reading this then I can assume that you're curious about what the deal is with Google and its multitude of different apps and platforms. Today I've decided to talk about the benefits of using Google Drive + Google Docs in your business. It is a great collaboration tool if you have subcontractors or  employees. This is also a free service and can assist in every day planning, development and growth of your SME.

Firstly, I'm going to tell you how to use Google Docs for iPad/iPhone/Android

Google Docs - A brief how - to

1. Go to your App Store (apple products) or the Play store and search for Google Docs.

2. Once the app has downloaded, you'll be encouraged to sign in. Sign in using your Google account (....@gmail.com) or create an account.

3. Once step 2 is completed, you'll be introduced to a Microsoft word type layout. From there it is the same.

4. To save your document, press the tick button in the left hand corner. It will come up with an option to save to Google Drive.

Google Drive - How to.

Google drive is essentially the same concept as the iCloud and Windows, One - Drive. You'll be sharing and uploading documents into the clique for easy access or to share with whoever you choose.

1. Download the Google drive from the App Store. (Android devices usually come preloaded with the essential Google apps but if it's not there, just go to the Play Store).

2. As with the Google docs, sign in using your Google ID (email).

3. On the left hand side, you'll see a menu button. Click on that and the following appears:

• My drive: all your saved documents

• Shared with me: those who have decided to let you view or edit documents

• Google photos

• Starred: basically the same function of a favourites button for your most used or frequent documents

• Offline: documents you choose to view or safe as offline mode. You can edit documents in offline mode and changes will be saved when you come in range of your internet.

4. To share a document:

• Click on the (I) part of the document

• A menu will pop up on the right and you press on "add people"

• You can invite by email or add a person already in your Google contacts

• They can either view and edit documents or just view.

5. To create a document in the Google drive, make sure you have Docs installed and press the red button in the bottom right corner and press the documents button.

Hopefully this has saved you some research or helped you just a little bit. For more information, the Google website is very helpful. A VA or IT guru can help you get everything set up or you can play yourself.  Google has a plethora of different apps such as Google places to assist with your business - be sure to check them out!