15 Useful Digital Tools for Running a Business in High School
Running a business in high school has become far more manageable thanks to the wide range of digital tools available today. Whether you're handling design, payments, accounting, scheduling, marketing, or team collaboration, these tools help streamline almost every area of a business.
How can digital tools for running a business in high school be useful for you?
Digital tools help reduce costs by replacing expensive professional services with accessible, student-friendly platforms. Instead of hiring designers, bookkeepers, or marketers, you can create visuals, manage cash flow, track customers, or schedule clients on your own with software that’s either free or low-cost. They make daily operations faster and more efficient, from automating routine tasks to organizing information in a way that reduces errors and saves time.
Why is this a good time to incorporate digital tools for running a business in high school?
Today, adopting digital tools is easier than ever. With AI features built into many platforms and countless online tutorials available, you can learn to use even the most advanced tools quickly. It also shows that you have strong technical skills, business acumen, and the ability to work with modern systems: qualities colleges and future employers actively look for.
If you’re also looking for startup internships, go here, or check here for teen startup accelerator programs.
To help you choose the best options, here’s a curated list of 15 digital tools that can support and scale almost any high school business.
15 Useful Digital Tools for Running a Business in High School
1. Canva
Initial cost: Free plan available; Pro plan starts at $12.99/month.
A design tool you can use to create logos, flyers, pitch decks, social media posts, and product mockups. It’s great for running small school businesses because you can build brand identity without needing advanced graphic design skills.
2. Google Workspace
Initial cost: Free for basic Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets; Workspace Starter begins at $6/user/month.
It is useful for organizing business documents, managing spreadsheets, sharing files, and maintaining operational workflow. Google Sheets and Docs help you track expenses, inventory, and customer lists professionally.
3. Trello
Initial cost: Free plan available; Standard plan starts at $5/user/month.
A project-management tool structured around Kanban boards. It is ideal for planning marketing tasks, production workflows, deliveries, or even school-event-based businesses. It helps you visualize timelines and stay consistent.
4. Shopify Starter
Initial cost: $5/month for Shopify Starter.
It’s a simplified version of Shopify that lets you sell products through a shareable link or social media without needing a full website. It handles payments, simple inventory tracking, and order management.
5. Square
Initial cost: Free app; transaction fees apply (2.6% + 10¢ per swipe/tap).
This is a tool for accepting payments. It’s especially useful for school events, bake sales, craft businesses, tutoring services, or any in-person selling. Square offers a free POS app and charges only per transaction, making it beginner-friendly.
6. Notion
Initial cost: Free personal plan; Plus plan starts at $10/user/month.
Notion is a flexible workspace where you can build pages for business plans, task lists, inventory logs, customer records, and meeting notes. Great if you want an all-in-one tool instead of juggling multiple apps.
7. Mailchimp
Initial cost: Free for up to 500 contacts; Essential plan starts at $13/month.
An email marketing tool you can use to send newsletters, product updates, event announcements, or promotional campaigns. It is good for high school businesses trying to build a loyal audience or repeat customers.
8. QuickBooks Online
Initial cost: Simple Start plan begins at $30/month.
It is an accounting tool to manage finances, track expenses, create invoices, calculate taxes, and monitor cash flow. It is useful if your high school business is generating consistent revenue and you want real bookkeeping experience.
9. Hootsuite
Initial cost: Professional plan starts at $99/month (no longer offers a free plan).
Hootsuite is a social media management tool for scheduling posts, tracking analytics, and organizing content across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and more. It’s good for students running marketing-heavy businesses or social media-based startups.
10. Wix
Initial cost: Free plan available; premium website plans start at $17/month.
A drag-and-drop website builder you can use to create a portfolio, online store, booking system, or informational page for your business. The learning curve is minimal, and templates make it beginner-friendly.
11. Stripe
Initial cost: No monthly fee; 2.9% + 30¢ per successful card charge.
An online payment processing tool that lets you accept payments through your website, online store, or even custom-built apps. It’s useful for high schoolers building more advanced digital businesses or subscription-style services.
12. Slack
Initial cost: Free plan available; Pro plan begins at $8.75/user/month.
A communication tool for team-based student businesses. Channels help you separate marketing, operations, finance, and project discussions, while file-sharing and integrations make collaboration smoother.
13. Calendly
Initial cost: Free basic plan; Standard plan starts at $10/month.
It is perfect for tutoring businesses, consulting services, school-event planning, or any business that requires scheduling appointments. You can share a booking link and automate reminders without back-and-forth messaging.
14. Zapier
Initial cost: Free plan available; Starter plan begins at $29.99/month.
An automation tool that connects your apps and handles repetitive tasks. For example, you can automatically add Shopify orders to Google Sheets or send Slack messages when a customer fills out a form. Ideal for more tech-savvy students.
15. Airtable
Initial cost: Free plan available; Plus plan starts at $20/user/month.
A database-style tool combining spreadsheets with powerful organization features. It is useful for inventory-heavy businesses, event management, or operations tracking. You can build custom dashboards, forms, and workflows.
Looking to Build and Scale Your Own Business? Check Out the Young Founders Lab!
If you want to go beyond using marketing tools and actually build a full, revenue-generating venture, the Young Founders Lab is one of the strongest programs you can join in high school. It’s a 100% virtual start-up boot camp run by Harvard entrepreneurs, designed specifically for students who want to launch a real company or non-profit.
In this program, you’ll get hands-on mentorship from founders and professionals from Google, Microsoft, McKinsey, and YC-backed companies, while building a venture that solves a real-world problem. You’ll attend live workshops, explore business fundamentals, refine your idea, and work toward a fully developed MVP and pitch.
Multiple cohorts run throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring, so you can join whenever it fits your schedule. Financial aid is available, and the program is open to all high school students, with no prior experience required.
You can check out the brochure and apply for the next cohort here!
Image Source - Airtable logo