Web 2.0 Tools for Modern Business

Andrew Martin Creative Director

As part owner of a small business, I am always on the lookout for methods to save time and money. Luckily, there are many great tools for businesses that came about during the 'web 2.0 revolution.' Either free or inexpensive, many of these tools can save your business thousands of hours, and, in turn, thousands of dollars. While there are too many to list, I've listed our three favorites, in hopes that I may help a fellow business owner find the outstanding benefits we have from these great tools.

The best part of the apps I've chosen to highlight is that they all integrate with each other! Manage a project in Basecamp, invoice with Freshbooks, and record the income in Outright. Short of an all encompassing system, it couldn't be any easier. I tip my hat to the creators of these great apps. Cheers!

	Basecamp is an unbelievably easy-to-use project management system. In the design business, communication between team members and clients is absolutely essential. We have streamlined our workflow in a very short period of time, thanks to Basecamp. (Free for 1 project, $24/mo for 15 projects)
	FreshBooks is an online invoicing system, which simplifies the process greatly. Business owners can choose between offline or online methods (including payment gateway integration) of collection, and FreshBooks offers a good amount of visual customization to the invoices, so you can maintain your brand identity. (Free for 3 clients, $14/mo for 25 clients)
	Outright is a totally free online bookkeeping application, and let me tell you, friends - it's a good one. Ease of use is at a maximum here, and the designers of Outright have really made the mundane task of entering income and expenses as painless as possible. The expense categories, by default, are set to the IRS' expense categories. A great timesaver! (Free)