Free Technology Tools For Your Small Business With the generous sponsorship of:

Free Technology Tools For Your Small Business

With the generous sponsorship of:

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© 2009 Northern California SBDC, All Rights Reserved

Overview

10 free apps covered in detail Similar apps listed Small selection of what’s available Most apps provide full value when you

move to a paid plan, but using free version is a great way to test it

You don’t have to spend a significant amount of money to have a fully functional, efficient IT applications infrastructure for your small business

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Productivity/Collaboration Apps – Google Appshttp://www.google.com/apps/Business Benefits: Full suite of productivity apps to replace historically expensive desktop

applications Integrate nicely with each other – saving you time in double data entry Remain free irrespective of the number of staff in your small business Provide 80% of MS Office functionality – probably most of what you’ll

need unless you’re a power user Can replace or provide a cheap supplement to existing desktop

applications Fully compatible with Microsoft File formats Enable a ready made collaborative environment with full version

tracking

Important apps for small business: Gmail Google Docs and Spreadsheets Sites Calendar Google Voice


Productivity/Collaboration Apps – Google Apps

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Other Free Productivity/Collaboration Apps

Open Office: http://www.openoffice.org/ Zoho: http://www.zoho.com/ IBM Lotus Symphony:

http://symphony.lotus.com/software/lotus/symphony/home.nsf/home

AbiWord: http://www.abisource.com/ Central Desktop:

http://www.centraldesktop.com/

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File Storage Apps- Box.net

https://www.box.net/Business Benefits: Free online storage for each member of staff

(1GB) Provides an easy, secure way to share files with

staff, clients and vendors You can track who has accessed and updated files Folder hierarchy imitates desktop file storage for

easy staff training & acceptance Easy collaborative environment includes file

commenting, discussions etc. Platform neutral


File Storage Apps – Box.net

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Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/ Filesanywhere:

http://www.filesanywhere.com/ Dropbox: https://www.getdropbox.com/

Other Free File Storage Apps

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Backup Apps – MozyHome Free

http://mozy.com/Business Benefits: Free online backup up to 2GB for home edition.

Enough room to store your most vital business files Easy, intuitive interface. Little or no training

requirement Backs up both open and closed files (this is a big

deal!). Backups don’t have to be done overnight – continuous (no loss of productivity)

Very secure – 448 bit encryption Automatic, according to your schedule Backs up Outlook files incrementally (again, this is a

big deal!) Online solution has built-in redundancy, and is

physically remote (important for earthquake regions)


Backup Apps – MozyHome Free

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Other Free Backup Apps

Yuntaa: http://www.yuntaa.com/ File Hampster:

http://www.mogware.com/FileHamster/ Comodo (Windows only):

http://backup.comodo.com/ Hinx Easy: http://www.hinxsoft.com/index.php?

page=bueasy Syncback (Windows Only):

http://www.2brightsparks.com/downloads.html

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Conference/Meeting Apps – FreeConference.com

https://www.freeconference.com/Business Benefits: Free, on demand audio conferencing and desktop

sharing No need for costly PBX functionality – no upfront

investment Meetings can be set up on-the-fly Costs can be pushed to clients/suppliers. Obviates

need to set up expensive phone bridges, or 800 numbers

Automated email invitations. No need for an admin to “ring around”


Conference/Meeting Apps – FreeConference.com

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Other Free Conference/Meeting Apps

Meeting Wizard: http://www.meetingwizard.com/mwiz/home/default.cfm

Yugma: https://www.yugma.com/ Fuze Meeting: http://www.fuzemeeting.com/ Dimdim: http://www.dimdim.com/

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Unified Messaging Apps – Google Voice

https://www.google.com/voiceBusiness Benefits: Aggregates all your numbers under one number – you

can always be available for clients Can call different numbers depending on the time of

day Set up “routing rules” depending on who is calling you

– you are in charge of who gets through VoiceMail via email – great way to “batch” your call

replies for when it suits you Set up different voicemails for different customer

contact scenarios for greater efficiency Put “Web Widgets” on your Web Site – customers can

call you without you revealing your number Free local and long distance calls in US


Unified Messaging Apps – Google Voice

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Other Free Unified Messaging Apps

Skype: www.skype.com K7: www.k7.net YouMail:

http://www.youmail.com/home/index.do

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Customer Relationship Management/Contact Management Apps - Highrisehttp://highrisehq.com/Business Benefits: Easy to use and learn – little to no staff training

required Contacts accessible online in one place for all

members of staff Different levels of assignable “Group” security Sales staff can record all interactions with a client You can track deals in the pipeline and deal outcomes Easy to export/import contact information You can automate and track account/client follow ups

(anf have them delivered via email) You can copy emails to a “dropbox” and have them

automatically assigned to a client/case


Customer Relationship Management/Contact Management Apps - Highrise

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Other Free Customer Relationship Management/Contact Management Apps Zoho CRM:

http://crm.zoho.com/crm/login.sas Saleforce CRM Personal Edition:

http://www.salesforce.com/ap/products/editions-pricing/personal-edition/

FreeCRM: http://www.freecrm.com/ Keepm: http://www.keepm.com/ Tactile CRM: http://www.tactilecrm.com/

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Project Management Apps - Basecamphttp://basecamphq.com/Business Benefits: Online Project Management app accessible by anyone with a

browser – including clients and suppliers with appropriate security Open, transparent design promotes effective collaboration both

internally and externally Platform-agnostic. No need to standardize your infrastructure Easy to learn, but powerful – not over engineered like Microsoft

Project. You don’t pay for unneeded functionality, and not a huge training overhead for staff

Open API integrates with a massive number of Web based apps like Freshbooks/Cashboard, and a number of iPhone apps – obviates need for data re-entry, saving you time

Collaborative environment with version tracking replaces traditional project stores such a SharePoint – significant cost savings

Easy to set up Milestones, assignable To-Do’s, and keep participants on track via email based task management. Provides better visual management of your important business projects


Project Management Apps - Basecamp

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Other Free Project Management Apps

Gantter: http://gantter.com/ GantProject: http://www.ganttproject.biz/ jxProject: http://www.jxproject.com/ OpenProj: http://openproj.org/ Zoho Projects: http://projects.zoho.com/ Viewpath: http://www.viewpath.com/

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Financial Apps - Freshbooks

http://www.freshbooks.com/Business Benefits: Financial time tracking, estimating and invoicing all in

one app You can send and manage invoices online or offline –

get paid faster, and easily track who has paid Track expenses and re-bill clients Online time-tracking (allows you to track time at client’s

place of work) – also integrates with iPhone app. Makes sure you invoice all billable time

Integrates with several online accounting applications allowing you to avoid inefficiency of dual data entry. Also integrates with Salesforce, Basecamp, PayPal etc.

Allows online management of contractors and clear, transparent recording/access for clients – helps you build client trust and avoid nasty invoicing surprises


Financial Apps - Freshbooks

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Other Free Financial Apps

Cashboard: http://www.getcashboard.com/ Outright: http://outright.com/ Shoeboxed:

https://www.shoeboxed.com/index.htm QuickBooks Online:

http://oe.quickbooks.com/ Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2009:

http://www.ideawins.com/

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Business Management Apps – Working Pointhttp://www.workingpoint.com/Business Benefits: Enter Client Data Once - Eliminate data entry errors Become more responsive to client requests – one

place to look for information on whole account Streamline administration - Improve efficiency and

boost productivity Achieve a 360 degree view of your company using

one integrated application Link production to orders, sales accounts to

inventory, stock replenishment process to inventory Critical business information is online with

redundant backup


Business Management Apps – Working Point

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Social Networking Apps - Ping

http://ping.fm/

Business Benefits: Allows you to update social networking site from

a variety of entry points: Mobile Phone, SMS, MMS, IM, 3rd party apps

Posts out same message to over 40 social networking sites, saving you the time of updating them all

Allows clients, suppliers, partners, to follow you on their social networking platform of choice


Social Networking Apps - Ping

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Any Questions?

RESOURCES:

~ Friends of the Santa Cruz County Library: http://www.fscpl.org 831-420-5790~ Santa Cruz Public Library Business & Company Resource Center: http://www.santacruzpl.org/websites 831-420-5730~ Central Coast Small Business Development Center: http://www.centralcoastsbdc.org 831-479-6136~ Downtown Association: http://www.downtownsantacruz.com~ Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce: www.santacruzchamber.org 831-457-3713

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Free Technology Tools For Your Small Business With the generous sponsorship of:

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