Gotta’ Have It

Must Have Software for the Home Office

Name two pressing questions that small-business owners need to answer.
• How do I keep track of billable time spent for clients?
• How do I send critical 1M or larger files that my Internet Service Provider (ISP) can’t/won’t handle?

I’ve solved these needs with two downloadable software programs, Officetime and SendThisFile. Both are moderately priced:

Officetime costing $47 – a one-time fee
SendThisFile – a free version with advertisements or an upgraded no-advertisement version sending up to 5 files at a time costing me $4.95 per month.

I’ve used Officetime for 7 years and value it highly. It is a very intuitive time tracking software. It tracks time by project and category with notes available for each session. It can also track expenses. At the end of my billing period, I can with a few key strokes generate invoices. Additionally, Officetime easily generates reports that I can use or can send to clients who need to track expenses for their clients. Also, Officetime has both PC and Mac versions, a very unique feature for time-tracking software. You can find this software at http://www.officetime.net.

How often have you tried to e-mail an important file only to have your ISP refuse it or your e-mail program freeze? SendThisFile solves this problem. In three easy steps I can send my files to any e-mail address (the recipient actually gets an e-mail notification and a link to the website to download the file).

1. Enter the recipient’s address.
2. Select the file from your computer.
3. Click the Send-This-File button.

I started with the free version that sent any size file very efficiently. Sending lots of files regularly, I upgraded to the starter plan that allows me to send up to 5 files at a time (which sped up the process, nearly cutting the time in half). The only drawback to the starter plan (also true of the free plan) is that it only allows me 1 recipient per send. The only drawback to the starter plan (also true of the free plan) is that it only allows me 1 recipient per send. The enterprise plan allows one to send to multiple recipients at a time but costs $69.95 per month – right now my business is too small for that and I seldom have the need to send to more than one recipient at a time. You can find this software at http://www.sendthisfile.com.

So if you need solutions to the opening questions, I’d highly recommend both OfficeTime and SendThisFile.

Does "Free" Software Mean Winning the Software Lottery

So you’ve just won the lottery. You could easily spend it all on software to improve your business operations and accuracy by purchasing a shopping cart full of wonderful software. New applications are put on the market every day. On the other hand, you could download a myriad of “free” software and spend the lottery money on yourself. OR – you can take an intelligent approach to upgrading your computer’s ability to improve your operations.

As we all know, Microsoft, Adobe, Sun, and many others have experienced experts developing excellent software to enable our computers to do wonderful things for us. We also know that the price tags on these can be really daunting for the entrepreneur/small business owner. As for “free” software, we’ve all learned there are questions too. Namely:

1. Is it really free? Will charges incur after one week or one month?
• Downloading software can be a very efficient way to acquire software.
• Really free software will not incur a fee. Be sure you know before downloading.
• Free downloads with a one-week, 14-day, or 30-day trial can be a great way to find out if a product really works for you.

2. Can free software really do the job? Is it so elementary that it is frustrating?
• Some downloads are great (See Item 4, bullets 2 & 3)
• Many free downloads are so elementary that they impede your efficiency. Before acquiring free software, ask yourself if your existing software programs might already perform the functions you need with just a little bit of training. Like, who can possibly know all of Excel’s functions unless you’re a certified expert?

3. Will it integrate with other software I use?
Also, if you can use existing programs such as the MS, Corel, or Adobe suites, they readily interact with one another.

4. Why is it free?
• To gain access to your computer, e.g., hackers. So know your source, ask folks, and read before, downloading.
• To get you to use their products, such as Avery’s Wizard which efficiently enables one to use its forms and labels.
• To introduce you to their products or on-line services. Limited free versions, such as Adobe Reader, makes one aware of the full .pdf applications that can improve your business communications.

In my next posting, I’ll list a couple of free applications that I find very valuable to my operations.