HispanicBusiness

"This can be very helpful on the fly," said Monty Lapica, founder of Coloma Ventures, a local firm that matches tech startups with investors.

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Expensify

Available for iPhone, iPad

Cost: Free

Expensify automates the expense reporting process.

The app syncs with credit cards and bank accounts to track purchases as they happen. Users can scan and upload receipts by snapping photos of them and submit expense reports electronically. Mileage can be inputted electronically via GPS or odometer.

Developers say Expensify, which gained 1 million users in four years, processes more than $2 million in expenses daily.

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Intro

Available for iPhone, iPad, Android

Cost: Free

Intro helps businesses grow by connecting people.

Using information from users' LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts, the app creates customized, ranked listings of people to meet. It shows where users' social networks overlap, such as having shared contacts or similar educational backgrounds, and allows members to contact one another through the app's network.

Thomas Knoll, a Las Vegas entrepreneur who used to work for Zappos, said Intro allows him to stay on top of connections that could lead to new hires or business deals.

"There is a ton of value in discovering the connections all around me," Knoll said.

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iReferDR

Available for iPhone, iPad, Android, tablets

Cost: Free for generic version, customized version costs $7,500

iReferDR is a customizable app for healthcare organizations. Companies can build personalized programs with branding, location, worker profiles, patient information, call buttons and links. A patient referral feature allows doctors to make referrals quickly and easily.

Nationally, more than 200 million doctors and health care providers use mobile apps.

"The use of a tablet or iPad among doctors in the United States is currently 62 percent, almost double from 2011," said Karen Rubel, vice president for development at Nathan Adelson Hospice, which used iReferDR to develop a customized app. "Our healthcare system has benefited greatly from advances in communications technology, and smart phones and tablets are changing the way health care professionals communicate. iReferDR allows companies to embrace these advances in technology."

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Forte Specialty Contractors app

Custom, for internal use

Not available to the public

Forte Specialty Contractors is among the Las Vegas companies developing their own custom apps.

Forte's program will allow construction workers to report work hours from the field. Traditionally, workers logged their hours on paper, then Forte spent additional time and money having staff re-enter the data into office computers.

The new app will work with any smart phone, computer or tablet.

"We will be able to tell what job every one of our workers is at, what task they are working on and whether they are clocked in or out," Forte Co-owner and President Scott Acton said. "This is seamlessly entered into our accounting software and can be tracked by management in real time."

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Facebook Pages Manager

Available for iPhone, iPad

Cost: Free

Pages Manager helps people quickly access and manage Facebook pages remotely.

Users can post updates -- text or photo -- and interact with subscribers through comments or private messages. Push notifications alert users to new activity, and the app supports Page Insights and analytics. Business owners also can create Facebook Offers using the app.

For many small businesses, Facebook pages have replaced company websites.

"Facebook is an integral part of my social media marketing, and this app helps me manage my page effectively," said Michele Rothstein, president of Balloons With A Twist. "I get notifications about new activity on my page right away. On some days, I'm overseeing several events. Because of the instant notification feature through Facebook Pages Manager, I have been able to help out clients at the last minute or attend an event I might not have known about."

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Awesome Note

Available for iPhone, iPad

Cost: $3.99

Awesome Note is another personal organization app for creating notes and lists. Customers can use it for memos, diaries, to-do lists, shopping lists, travel journals or ongoing projects.

Users can customize its look and choose personalized colors, background images, fonts and icons.

"Professionally, I use it to take notes in meetings and to keep and update my to-do list," said Debra Alexandre, president of the Nevada State Development Corp. "I am able to set up files to hold information such as office maintenance records, inventory, room measurements, goals, books and articles to read and favorite websites. Because all of those files are with me wherever I go, it allows me to access them when I am in a store or at a meeting. It even syncs my to-do list with my Outlook calendar."

"Personally, I use it to store music I hear and may want to buy, gift lists, my travel diary, room measurements in my home, household information such as filter sizes and miscellaneous useful information," Alexandre added. "It is easily the app I use the most."