Work online and managing your software expenses
Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 5:31 PM Who would have believed when the internet started back in 1957 that by 2008 that we would be so reliant on it for our day to day work that, should we be off-line for even a day we get the jitters?
Many curse how reachable we have become by means of email, mobile phones, PDAs, Blackberries or the latest incarnation the i-Phone. Yet at the same time we would be lost without them.
So in this technological age there has also been a shift to working directly on the net instead of having proprietary software (aka pay big bucks to our favourite software suppliers) to that of Open Source such as OpenOffice.org and Joomla, but they don't even scratch the surface.
A few online software services that I have been using of late, that are either FREE or affordably priced (eg. US$5-20 per month) are:
www.rememberthemilk.com - If you like to create a To-Do List then this is the link you need. Great thing about this is that it links in with Gmail. Not quite sure what Gmail is, then you need to read my article on the Google Applications on my website. Both FREE.
www.88miles.net - This great tool helps you log your time on the jobs you are working on. From the basic 40 hours per month FREE to a paid monthly full workforce time billing system the scope is fantastic.
www.PipeLineDeals.com - Need a tool to manage your CRM. What's CRM? Customer Relationship Management. There is a huge range to choose from but if you really need to know the projected dollars your contacts are generating for you then don't pass this one. About US$15/m single user licence.
www.saasu.com.au - This is an accounting package, thinking MYOB, then here is your online equivalent. From FREE to paid.
www.oDesk.com - This can be either a place to source work or hire someone for a range of different tasks, whether it be a VA (Virtual Assistant), like myself, to Software Development and those dreaded code creators. FREE for seekers, percentage of overall quote for hirers.
www.box.net - Need a great place to store your data? Well, if GoogleDocs isn't able to hold it for you try this place. FREE to US$19.95/m.
So what is the benefit of using these?
Well, wherever you are if you have an internet connection you can access your software. No more hassle of its on my desktop but not on my laptop and the multiple software licences that can cost an arm and a leg.
Hopefully you will find some of the above helpful. If you do or you would like to share some information about the online products that you use, please feel free to leave your comments.
Reader Comments (3)
Hi there, i have put a posted good peice of free accounting software i found online a few weeks ago, i'm sure everyone here will find it of use
all the best
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