Top 5 Web App Combos for Running an Online Business
Posted September 3, 2008 in Business, Tools/Resources 61 Comments »
When it comes to freelancing and working on the web, few things are more important than the online applications that make it all possible. From project management, to invoicing, to contact management, and more — each of these apps play a critical role in running an online or freelance business.
At FreelanceFolder, we’ve been on a sort of quest to find the ‘holy-grail’ — A combination of web apps that completely fulfills a business owner’s needs without breaking the bank or over complicating things. We’ve organized our findings into the following top 5 web app combos:
Combo #1 — Business on a Budget
This combo is a great way to get started on a really small budget. Most of these apps are well thought out and very functional, but you may have to live with a few extra ads. If you’re just starting out, though, this is really a perfect choice. Total Cost: $27/mo.
- Wrike — Project Management – Premium plan, $8/mo
- ZOHO Invoice — Invoicing — Basic plan, $5/mo
- Gmail Contacts — Contact Management — Free!
- RememberTheMilk — Task Management — Free!
- Google Docs — Document Sharing — Free!
- Skype — Call Management — SkypeIn + Unlimited World, $14/mo
Combo #2 — Simplicity Rules
Everyone knows that an online tool is only as useful as its interface. For those workers who need tools that are simple and elegant, without any complication, this collection of apps is for you.Total Cost: $84/mo.
- Basecamp — Project Management — Basic Plan, $24/mo
- Freshbooks — Time Tracking + Invoicing — Shuttlebus plan, $14/mo
- Highrise — Contact Management — Basic plan, $24/mo
- Google Docs — Document Sharing — Free!
- RingCentral — Toll Free + Calls + Fax — Business Plus, $24/mo
Combo #3 — Host it Yourself
If you don’t like the idea of recurring charges, and can’t stand putting your data in someone elses hands, then this is your combo. Each of these apps have been picked because 1) they rock, and 2) you can pay for it once and install it on your own server. Total Cost: $298 + Hardware.
- ActiveCollab — Project Management — Small Biz Version, $199
- Invoice That — Invoicing — $99
- Simple Customer — Contacts + CRM — Free!
- SmartFTP — File Sharing — Free!
- KnowledgeTree — Document Management — Free!
- Asterisk — Build your own PBX — Good Luck :-)
Combo #4 — Feature Complete
For those of you who want to have the most possibilities and the most options in the future, this is the right package. Each of these webapps was chosen for its robustness and completeness, though to be fair we made sure they were easy enough to use too. Total Cost: $107/mo.
- ActiveCollab — Project Management — Basic Plan, $24/mo
- QuickBooks Online — Invoicing + Accounting– Online Plus, $34/mo
- SalesForce.com — Contacts + CRM — Group Edition, $25/mo
- Google Docs — Document Sharing — Free!
- Toodledo — Task Management — Free!
- RingCentral — Toll Free + Calls + Fax — Business Plus $24/mo
Combo #5 — Open Source All The Way
For open source junkies, your train has come in. This package features all of the best open source products you need to build the perfect virtual office. Though, we don’t recommend this package for the technically-averse, since code and server knowledge is a usually a must. Total Cost: Free + Hardware.
- DotProject — Project Management — Free!
- BambooInvoice — Invoicing — Free!
- vTiger — Contacts + CRM — Free!
- FileZilla — File Sharing — Free!
- KnowledgeTree — Document Management — Free!
- Asterisk — Build your own PBX — Good Luck :-)
What Do You Use?
Do you know of a better app for one of these combos? Do you use something extraordinary that we need to know about? Let us know in the comments…
About the author: Mason Hipp is an entrepreneur, marketing guru, and writer. He blogs about life and business at FreelanceFolder.com and is co-author of the Book The Unlimited Freelancer. Follow him on twitter @MasonHipp
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61 Comments
James Paden
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:02 pmWow, great post! I really like your approach with grouping the apps. Definitely bookmarked for the future and will be very useful to passing along to clients as well.
shiido
September 3rd, 2008 at 1:54 pmCurdBee, for invoices
Coded preview, for webdesign preview
Goplan, for managing projects and collaborations.
and all of them are free!! ( or have a free plan )
Qoska
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:02 pmCurdBee is great. Paper and pen are always helpful to.
Bitmap Junkie
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:04 pmIntuit Billing Manager – Free!
Mason Hipp
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:05 pm@Shiido and Qoska — It sounds like CurdBee is definitely a worth addition, probably for the “Business on a Budget” category. Do you know if they support recurring invoices?
Keep the suggestions coming! I’ll tally the best recommendations into a post sometime next week.
POTOR
September 3rd, 2008 at 2:53 pmWow! What a graet list of programs! A great resource for any entrepeneur. Just a quick addition: I use invoicejournal.com and it is incredibly easy. Unlike a lot of free invoice trackers/creators, there is no limit to the numer of invoices, clients, etc you can have. Hope this helps someone out. Great article.
Vin Thomas
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:11 pmGreat post! Very helpful.
Mike Smith
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:27 pmI use the following:
Google Docs – writing articles, keeping notes, ect
http://www.btmclients.com for client management (using it upon the new blog theme machine launch)
http://www.Pidgin.im – IM with clients
http://www.Kall8.com – 866 number
Max | Design Shard
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:38 pmAwesome post, not heard of most of these so i will be checking them out.
Phillipe Calmet
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:56 pmGreat combos there. There is also an alternative to ActiveCollab, called ProjectPier, that can be installed in your own server, and it is actually free to use. Might be useful to decrease even more the price of these packages. There is no online version, though… :P
Kari - The Caffeinated Copywriter
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:56 pmJust started using CurdBee, and I LOVE it. I also use Slimtimer for time tracking, which is free and web-based (so I can track my time on any computer).
I’ve just gotten a toll-free fax number for $5/month through TrustFax (trustfax.com). I have yet to receive any faxes though, so I can’t speak to that yet.
Of course, Google has all those awesome free apps – I use Docs (for sharing and for downloading useful templates), Sites (for my portfolio), and Talk (for client chats).
Rohan
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:06 pmHere’s a great free task management app – http://www.statuswiz.com
Mason Hipp
September 3rd, 2008 at 8:02 pm@Phillipe — I’ve used ProjectPier before and it’s definitely not bad. Actually, what happened was the ActiveCollab developer went from open source to closed source, and projectpier is the remaining open source fork. Personally, I think ActiveCollab is worth the price for most business uses though.
@Kari — I love the fact that RingCentral has fax capabilities built in. I don’t know what I’d do with out it, because I absolutely hate real faxes.
@Rohan — Looks interesting, I’ll have to check that out in more detail.
Fresh Rayanne
September 3rd, 2008 at 9:41 pmHey Mason,
What an extensive and useful list of online business go-tos! Thanks so much for the shout out. FreshBooks’ Shuttle Bus package is actually $14, but what’s a couple bucks? ; )
Mason Hipp
September 3rd, 2008 at 11:00 pm@Fresh Rayanne — Thanks for the catch, fixed now :-)
Mason Hipp
September 5th, 2008 at 7:06 amHey everyone, just a quick note — Somehow commenting got turned off on this post, but it’s back on now. So comment away :-)
Cedarwings
September 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pmSimple personalized graphic interface makes reading a breeze. Bookmarked for future reference.
John
September 5th, 2008 at 6:54 pmWe use Intervals for its unique blend of time tracking and task management. The reports are great, too, and can be a lifesaver when billing clients.
Allan Collins
September 6th, 2008 at 12:17 amThis is absolutely fantastic! I am definitely bookmarking this post.
The company I work for uses ChangePoint for project management.
It’s pricey, with a tough learning curve…
Thanks for this!
Narayanan Hariharan
September 6th, 2008 at 10:41 amHey.. Amazing list! Bookmarked for future use already..
BTW how about GNU Cash for billing and managing finances.. It’s free and open source and can be installed on your desktop!
C Carter
September 8th, 2008 at 2:25 amThe additional comments with more avenues to explore help round out this already great article. Thanks!
Praveen
September 8th, 2008 at 12:38 pmneat list. Thanks!
Just wondering , if i can take all the open source softwares in Combo#5 and host it on amazon ’s computing cloud.
How much would it cost then?
Dan
September 8th, 2008 at 1:57 pmFor software project management (on a budget):
Unfuddle http://unfuddle.com/ – Free for small projects, inexpensive for larger projects. Includes issue tracking / Subversion and Git hosting / milestone tracking
Also, Google apps (for your domain) offers contact sharing and website hosting on a budget (free for certain organizations):
http://www.google.com/a/
Tom Brander
September 8th, 2008 at 2:57 pmJust a thought the Microsoft office Live offering http://home.officelive.com is pretty good for a lot of what you are discussing, and it’s FREE! Free web hosting with authoring tools, free collaborative tools free email, free project management free document management (all based on Sharepoint.
See my site at http://tombrander.com for an example free web site.
I’ not normally a MS fanboy (I’m trying to stick to all freeware) but this service is really pretty good and free.
You can do a lot with wordpress.com as well (the site in my header)
Tom Brander
September 8th, 2008 at 3:03 pmYou can also check my Wordpress blog which is focused on using free services and freeware for many uses at http:tombrander.wordpress.com
Nick
September 8th, 2008 at 8:53 pmThis is a really great list. I have tried a few of these and have had others recommended. I guess it is time to give them a try.
Shane G
September 10th, 2008 at 8:15 amA life saver of an article ! I am in the process of leaving my “Job” and starting out on my own as a freelance designer / developer. This article is exactly what i was looking for. Sometimes putting all the pieces together can be real challenge when starting up and having articles like this (along with valuable comments) are so useful, thanks again.
Joe Manna
September 10th, 2008 at 2:55 pmGreat entry, Mason. Personally, I really dig combo #4. These are excellent combos for running a small business; there’s a problem that I hear from small business owners all the time — there is a learning curve for all these products and services. In addition, not all systems talk to each other, unless the provider has open APIs and a small business owner has a Web developer connect them up.
I think all-in-one solutions are great and connect the dots for small business owners in to automating and managing their small business effectively. One such software is Infusionsoft, boasting automated follow-up marketing, e-mail campaigns, voice/fax broadcast support and fulfillment automation. Many small business owners are turning to Infusionsoft to run their business. The only thing lacking is finances like QuickBooks and the price is a bit high — $299/monthly, $5,000 setup and consulting.
You can learn more about Infusionsoft and even get an exclusive demo at https://crm.infusionsoft.com/go/crmdemo/jvm/ if you’d like.
Keep it up, I love this blog!
~Joe
Rajesh Kumar
September 15th, 2008 at 4:28 pm1. Amazon S3 – Jungle Disk for storage – $20 one time, around $5 a month for 5 GB storage
2. Google Docs for Word, Excel, Powerpoint
3. Host website in a shared host – http://www.midphase.com – $6-8 a month
Free 24/7 support, email and they fix problems with site.
4. Hire a php freelancer, to create a Simple CRM app in the shared host – $120 One Time
PHP/MySQL
5. Company email – Gmail for Domain – Free
Narayanan Hariharan
September 16th, 2008 at 12:06 amI had subscribed to the comments of this post and Rajesh’s comment made me come back here for another comment.
I’ve been using midphase’s services for the last 20 days and shifted to them after checking out all the rave reviews that they got. Since then I’ve had over 10 hours of downtime and their support don’t really support you. I had to send them 6 emails, go thru 3 chat sessiong and 2 calls just to change MX records!! This is an example for pathetic service.
I think midphase is in the process of losing more than one customer!!
julie
September 17th, 2008 at 10:50 pmTim Ferriss made a great post with some cool resources as well. Less about running a business and more about running your life, but some of the applications he mentions are pretty helpful too. Check out his post at: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/09/17/how-to-never-forget-anything-again/
Sal
September 18th, 2008 at 6:30 amWe use DeskAway to manage our people, projects and processes.
Ryan D.
September 30th, 2008 at 12:48 pmInstead of pay invoice services try a free alternative if you’re not sending out hundreds of invoices a month.
http://www.invoicejournal.com
Patrick Godbey
December 13th, 2008 at 3:57 pmI personally use Collabtive for project/time management, paypal for invoicing, gmail for calendar/todo/multiple email accounts, etc, google docs for document management/sharing, and vonage for telephone/fax.
Chloe Sanders
December 13th, 2008 at 9:06 pmI’ve been using Jexxe Freelancer from http://www.jexxe.com for the last month.
I’ve found it to have just the right mix of invoicing and project management all in the one app. Its also hosted on my own website so I have been able to rebrand it to match my own site
its perfect for me :-)
Esther
January 17th, 2009 at 1:23 amWe use CurdBee for invoicing, project pier for project management, and pidgin for IM
Bruno Lima
January 26th, 2009 at 2:25 pmGreat post!
I’m using Harvest for invoicing. For me it works great since I’m brazilian and I need to customize all fields of the mailing invoice.
Still looking for a CRM and Project Management that works for me.
Best to all.
Bruno Lima
Jon Clark
March 5th, 2009 at 11:58 amI just recently signed up for BaseCamp (love it so far) and signed up for CurdBee as a result of this post. This is a fantastic list – my business has recently started to take off and getting a CRM, invoicing, etc in order was becoming a big problem.
Oh, on the IM front – I use Digsby. Great app!
Ryan
March 6th, 2009 at 10:00 amI’ll be using http://www.sixcentral.com as soon as it’s launched. As a freelancer, it will be a perfect fit for client and proposal management for me.
Elle
March 7th, 2009 at 12:31 ami’m glad to see filezilla in your list — i was so pleased to have discovered it awhile ago. for a free/open source program, i found it to be _extremely_ well done, and i enjoy and appreciate using it. (fyi, to use on a mac, you’ll need 10.5+. this was kind of a bummer for one of my machines that is still tiger.)
+1 on the basecamp + freshbooks combo. if you’re just starting out with at most 3 clients, the free freshbooks account (’moped’) is a great deal. the basic ($24/mo) basecamp price is not too bad either, as although it could use man feature upgrades, it’s a very useful tool. i use basecamp for not only project management, but also task management (to-do lists) and some documents sharing (writeboards).
37signals’ backpack tool is available free for minimal features, although i’ve found that its usefulness for me professionally has been somewhat limited. but perhaps it can also be used for task management, or other creative uses.
Niche Pro
March 11th, 2009 at 8:00 pmGreat post! Thanks for the info I’m still checking it all out.
Alex
March 27th, 2009 at 6:36 pmWe use our online project management tool SantexQ in-house. It’s similar to basecamp in that it’s simple but elegant. The focus is task and time management but the latest version also includes invoice creation. It’s a great tool for keeping all your projects organized as well as keeping track of progress.
Internet Strategist
March 30th, 2009 at 2:55 pm#GeekTip – Google & install “ToodledoAir” & “Snackr” – these two combined make organising & managing your tasks a breeze with ToodleDo (grab your task feed in TD and subscribe in Snackr) batch process your rss feed during the day. GTD Nirvana :D
David Cobwell
April 24th, 2009 at 6:48 pmGreat topic thread, found it really useful. Personally I have gone with Jexxe at http://www.jexxe.com and finding it to be exactly what I need.
Not bloated, but got all the features we need, can’t recommend it highly enough for small freelancers
Another Collaboration Tool for SMBs
June 29th, 2009 at 6:15 pmI like HyperOffice because it is most like the most comprehensive in terms of feature range. It includes completely integrated collaboration features(online document management, intranet and extranet workspaces, contact management, project management, calendars, forums, polls, mobile access), messaging features ( web and mobile email, Outlook integration, shared Outlook tasks/calendars/contacts) and also integrated web meetings and web databases.
What more could a freelancer, small business want!
nagendra
July 10th, 2009 at 5:32 amWow, a great list of web apps and great combination.
Cheers
Dani Schenker
September 1st, 2009 at 4:32 pmI was searching for something like BambooInvoice for a long time. Thanks a lot!
Jake Napster
September 10th, 2009 at 9:33 amWe use a HyperOffice – Skype combo. (It has even won an award recently – http://share.skype.com/sites/business/2009/09/hyperoffice_competing_to_win_g.html)HyperOffice provides for our online collaboration, project management, email, document sharing needs, and Skype allows us to quickly get together and confernence in audio, and chat in real time. It is especially great that theyre both integrated.
Bennie
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 pmThanks for the combo set. I think there should be one more listed tools from 5PMweb
The great alternative for all known services like Basecamp, Activecollab and etc…
Maria
October 2nd, 2009 at 6:35 amThanks guys for recommending Curdbee, such a lovely app and exactly what I have been looking for months when I want to invoice my clients.
I’ve tried quite a few products out there from Harvest, Freshbooks and Zoho but I can certainly confirm the free version of Curdbee does invoicing better than their counterparts.
Its indeed a time saver for me and will save some bucks too. Love you all those who share great tools like these :)
Patrick Dodd
October 27th, 2009 at 3:02 pmWe have found that many small businesses love using Blinksale as part of their combo because of the simplicity. Would love to answer any questions for anybody regarding Blinksale plans.
Thanks!
Patrick
patrick@blinksale.com
Joel Passen
November 11th, 2009 at 1:31 amFirst of all, I disagree with Salesforce making this list. The others, all good calls. Salesforce is way too feature rich and thus complicated but, they have done a good job of extending their integration with other apps.
Alexander
February 1st, 2010 at 6:41 pmActiveCollab is greate. My choice is ActiveCollab
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