There are plenty of resources
available in the small business tool box.
I can freely admit, I am a technology nerd. I love gadgets and electronics and pretty much anything to do with computers or the internet. I have to balance my techno love with the businessman side of me that understands, these are tools and should be used as such to make your life easier or business better. In that vein, I want to focus on a few internet tools I believe small businesses should consider using. The criteria for my list is the tool has to at least have a free option and it has to be an application that somehow brings value to a business.
Outright.com I have blogged about this site before, but if you are a sole proprietor and have not checked them out, shame on you. TOTALLY FREE BOOKKEEPING I know it is the one task you hate doing and these guys make it so easy, you won't even know you are doing accounting.
Quickbooks Online The more I learn how to fully use Outright the less enamored I am of Quickbooks free online version, but it does have its place and there are plenty of good reasons you should check it out. Especially if your business is more complex than a standard Schedule C company. (or at least you have high hopes it will be soon)
Freshbooks I am a CPA so I have a bias that I like good bookkeeping products like the two above, but I am a business person and I know that what really matters is billing and accounts receivable. Freshbooks does a very good job with both. The free version is limited to one user and 3 customers, but that is enough for many folks and there are other offline ways you can maximize the three free limit.
Shoeboxed After not having any bookkeeping records and poor billing practices, the biggest problem I see with my small business clients is not keeping up with all the receipts, bills and documents you generate in a year of doing business. Shoeboxed gives you an electronic document management option, so you don't miss all those business deductions at the end of the year because you lost the receipt. You will eliminate a lot of paper and you may save a few trees!
PayPal You need a PayPal account. Not just to pay for stuff you buy online, but you need to sign up for their merchant services also. It is free and allows your business to receive payments online. You don't have to sell online to get paid online. Have you seen the price of gas lately? It is worth 1.9% for me to not have to drive to the bank and wait in line to deposit checks. (no driving, no checks, no deposits slips save time, money and another tree)
GoogleDocs If you ever share documents with another person or if you ever use a home computer to work on letters or spreadsheets for work, you need to check out GoogleDocs. All it takes is a gmail account, which is free. GoogleDocs lets you create word processing documents, spreadsheets, database forms and presentations online using the Google tools. There is no software to install on your computer and you can access and modify your documents from any computer with an internet connection. Additionally you can grant access to share any specific documents you want with any other person that has a Gmail account. You can also read and write to Microsoft Office and OpenOffice formats.
All these tools can save you time and money and let you focus on making your business grow.
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