Tablet computers, such as the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy, can be great tools for your business.

“There’s a ton of potential uses for tablets [by financial advisors],” says Kevin Cork, a financial planner with the Absolute Group and a technology writer based in Calgary, “whether it’s online access, the use of social media or creating websites.”

Cork offers these tips to help you improve your productivity by incorporating a tablet into your daily work habits:

> Catch up on your reading
Use your tablet’s PDF reader to stay up to date on all your reports and required reading.

Tablets are useful in enabling you to read all the reports, updates and manager bulletins you receive electronically, Cork says. These devices allow you to read up on the latest information when you’re away from your desk — whether you’re waiting for an appointment or sitting in your car.

All tablets come with a PDF reader, he says. So, take some time when you first get your device to familiarize yourself with that software.

> Stay up to date
Upload client information onto your mobile device and it will always be handy.

Through a service such as Gmail, Cork says, you can upload all your client contact information to the web. That means you will always have access to that information as long a you have your tablet.

> Arrange more effective meetings
Make client meetings more inclusive by taking advantage of the web-cam feature on your tablet.

Cork uses the camera on tablets to set up group web meetings. For example, Cork says, he has met with an older client couple in his office and had their daughter participate in the meeting via web cam.

> Create dynamic presentations
Use your mobile device to make your client meetings and presentations interactive.

Tablets allow you to create a full multi-media experience for your clients, Cork says. Your presentations no longer have to be limited to paper charts and graphs. Instead, you can jump to various websites or have a client watch a video from a portfolio manager.

Additionally, if you are having a web-based meeting with a client and he or she has a tablet, Cork says, you can send the client slides from your computer to illustrate the presentation.

This is the first instalment in a two-part series on using mobile devices. Next: Choosing apps that are useful for your practice.