Put a little Life in your Work
Let’s face it, you didn’t dive into small business ownership because of all of the free time it’s going to afford you. For most of us it means longer hours, less sleep and a lot of uncertainty. However, being your own boss does have its perks. Being the boss means choosing what time of the day to work, freeing up your schedule to spend time with your family when you’d otherwise be chained to a 1970’s era wood-veneered anchor. The reward for the late nights, and the weekend Skype™ meetings is the opportunity to see firsthand that the athletic gene definitely skips a generation. Check out these applications that just may help tip the work/life balance a bit more in your favor.
Document Management
Google Docs is a cloud based application suite that aims to eat the lunch of native applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Docs hangs its hat on the fact that you can access, share and edit any document in your library anywhere you can get your mitts on a browser and an internet connection. This is an appealing option for those of us that like to work via our iPhone or iPads, and take advantage of mobile platforms. This can easily allow you to be productive in unsuspecting places like the waiting room at the dentist. Another great feature is the drag-and-drop capability in the Chrome and Firefox browsers. Simply drag files from your desktop, and they are uploaded to the cloud. You may be asking, “what if I have a bunch of Word, Excel and PowerPoint files that I want to upload?” No problem! You can upload any file format and choose to either leave them as Office format or convert to Google Docs! Best part? Google Docs is free! Learn more at www.google.com/docs.
Dropbox is also a great document repository in the sky, which allows you to save and share all of your files on the web. Dropbox is great for all you Microsoft Office lovers out there who are happy with their current document editor and just want a place to corral their files to make them accessible to your multiple computers. A nice feature that Dropbox added is file integration for Windows and Mac where you can save to the web just like native documents in the file tree. There are also sharing options which allow you to invite collaborators to your files. Dropbox is free for 2GB, and you can add free space by referring friends. You can also get 50GB for $99/year, 100GB for $199/year. Visit www.dropbox.com for more information.
Workflow Tools
ContentCube® is a tailor made workflow tool for graphic designers, filmmakers and photographers. Not only does the application have best-in-class digital asset management features, but it also features presentation tools and secure browser based file sharing. Need the ok from your client like, yesterday? Invite them to comment on preview quality JPEGs in a brandable guest user interface. Subscriptions start at no cost for a basic plan, to $44.95/month for the “team” plan. Check it out @ www.contentcube.com.
WORKetc is a comprehensive workflow tool for small business. Their embedded customer relationship management tool (CRM) keeps all your client obligations organized and allows you to run your entire business from the cloud. Integration with Google Docs and Evernote makes online collaboration effortless. Let’s not forget the money! The integrated billing makes it easy to get paid on time, every time. Another great feature is the integrated timekeeper function that allows you to easily keep track of your time spent on each project. For $39/month you receive unlimited online storage and contacts. The company also offers comprehensive training and support to ensure that you’re getting all you can out of the application. See what it’s all about at www.WORKetc.com.
Accounting Software
Don’t ignore those pesky numbers! With all of this increased productivity you’re going to need to keep on top of those extra revenues. Wave Accounting offers freelancers a full featured accounting suite to help you get a handle on the debits and credits. Trust me; your accountant will be impressed! If numbers aren’t your thing, the collaboration feature allows you to invite an outsourced accounting solution (i.e. SkySync!) to access your Wave account and keep your books for you! Try Wave Accounting for free at www.waveaccounting.com.
Need something a bit more robust? Xero is a full featured Quickbooks beater that can help make the business of running your business a lot easier. Xero offers everything from comprehensive financial reporting, inventory tracking, to an impressive list of add-ons to integrate your favorite payroll or billing software. It also offers a collaboration feature that allows you to invite an accounting expert (think SkySync!) when your numbers require some extra crunching! Give Xero a try for free for 180 days at www.xero.com. Tiered pricing starts at only $19/month.
At SkySync we understand the needs of tech savvy start-ups, because WE ARE a tech savvy start-up! We are always looking for ways to better serve our clients, and we are eager to unleash some of our accounting mojo on your business. Give us a tweet and find out what outsourced accounting is all about, you won’t regret it!
601.383.1230
@skysyncacctg
