Detailed below is a collection of online tools that will benefit small business owners looking for simpler ways to run their business. I use many of them each day in my own business, while others are simply the industry leaders in their category. Many are free, or at least provide a way of trialing the service without outlaying any money.
"To-do" lists
Stay organised in your small business with one of these free, online “to do” lists.
Gootodo: www.gootodo.com
Only in beta stage, so you will need to apply for an early-adopter account.
Taa-da List: www.tadalist.com
A simple yet elegant way of recording your daily tasks.
Voo2doo Lists – www.voo2do.com
Track time spent and remaining, and even add tasks by sending an email.
Calendars
Calendars have come a long way since that first diary you were given back in primary school. Both the online calendars listed here are free.
CalendarHub: www.calendarhub.com
Ditch the Filofax and move online, with this functional, easy to use calendar.
HipCal: www.hipcal.com
HipCal has been getting some strong reviews on Internet forums. Try out their demo account to see why.
Text collaboration
Need to share and collaborate with another party on the text of a document? Stop sending Word documents back and forth and move online with these free alternatives.
WriteBoard: www.writeboard.com
I can personally recommend this one as I once used it in a consulting project that required the review of over 400 letters. Simple to use and extremely powerful, Writeboard is an indispensable online tool.
Writely: www.writely.com
Another solid online tool to create and share online documents. With an interface similar to MS Word, even your Mum will get the hang of this one!
Invoicing
Paperwork is tough enough to follow up on at the best of times. Make life a little easier with one of these cost effective invoicing solutions.
2nd site for business: www.secondsite.biz
Includes online invoicing, recurring billing, employee timesheets and automated reminders. Deliver invoices via email, or allow your clients to log on and review their invoice history.
Blinksale: www.blinksale.com
Create service, product or time-based invoices which are automatically emailed to your client. For the more technically minded, use CSS to ensure that the invoices reflect your existing branding.
Project Management
If you are completing work for a client offsite, you could use an online project management tool to keep them informed of your progress.
Basecamp: www.basecamphq.com
I use this in my own business every day. Integrate it into your own website and your clients need never know that they are leaving your site. The software comes with Taa-Da List and Writeboard already built in. Designed with web developers and small agencies in mind, but adaptable enough to be used by anyone. Small monthly fee, but worth every dollar spent.
File Storage
While hard drive space is cheap these days, we can always do with more. Try an online service for storing files that you need to access while at a client's place of business.
Xdrive: www.xdrive.com
Store, access, share and backup. Use Xdrive to send those large files to your client that won’t squeeze through email filters.
Openomy: www.openomy.com
1 gigabyte of storage for free, which should be ample for most people who need to share files online.
OmniDrive: www.omnidrive.com.au
Although this service has not yet officially launched, the buzz around town for it has been so extensive that I included it here just in case you want to check it out. It is Australian after all!
Do you use any of the online tools listed, and do you find them useful? Have I missed any online tools that you use regularly in your business that would help others?