Free and Cheap Tools to Save Startup Business Costs

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Funding a startup business isn’t easy. There are a high number of expenses that have to be dealt with when starting a business. Hopefully, some of these tools will help retract a load off the financial headache that comes along entrepreneurship. These ideas may not save you a fortune, but you will save enough so that you can use your money in ways that may benefit your business more.

1. Big Central – http://www.grandcentral.com – Got a cell phone or existing phone line? Great. Forget getting a costly business phone line. Grand Central is a currently completely FREE tool that allows you to link all of your phones to one central phone number. When someone calls your assigned Huge Central number, by default, ALL of the phones you have added to your account will ring. Grand Central will alert you when the caller has dialed your Grand Central number, so you will be able to differentiate between people dialing your existing phone line, and the forwarded call from Tall Central. Grand Central also comes with online voicemail that you can listen to over the internet by logging in at GrandCentral.Com. You can also place filters on your Grand Central record so that certain calls go to certain phones. It’s a very stout service, and for the moment it’s completely free!

2. Skype – http://www.skype.com – Skype also addresses the phone line expense. Skype allows you to talk over your existing internet connection. Simply load their software, grab a microphone and get ready for unlimited outgoing calls to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada for around 29.99/year. To receive calls from non-Skype members (meaning anyone can dial you), you’ll have to get SkypeIn, which runs around $40/year and comes with free voicemail. It’s a great alternative to a monthly business line which usually doesn’t include long distance. Skype does. For around 69.99/year, you can have all the free phone calls to anywhere within the U.S. and Canada that you want.

3. eFax – http://www.efax.com – eFax.Com is a leading email based faxing provider. You are given a fax number, and when someone faxes you something, it is delivered to your e-mail box. When you wish to send a fax, you simply e-mail the address given to you by e-fax, and they will convert your file and send it to your recipient. Most eFax packages come with point and click management software also. There are different subscription levels, each costing a different amount. The prices start around 16.95/month, worthy cheaper than having a secondary phone for just faxes. If you’re using one of the solutions above and you already have a phone line, check and scrutinize if your local phone company will activate the sending of faxes over it and how grand it’ll cost. Some phone companies don’t allow a residential line to send or receive faxes, or they charge a fee for each fax.

4. Google Docs and Spreadsheets – http://docs.google.com – No extra money for Microsoft Office? Use Google Docs and Spreadsheets, an internet based desktop publishing application. It will allow you to create and edit basic documents, and then share them amongst employees or other users. Google Docs and Spreadsheets supports most popular file types including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, etc. Even if your files have existing data and formulas, Google Docs will be able to import the data intact. One key feature is the ability to store documents online, meaning you can access them ANYWHERE you go and there’s no fear of power outages and hard drive failures deleting your data. You can also publish your data online easily to show as web based presentations or the such.

These solutions should attend you save a bit of money by not having to opt for the more expensive routes. Most should be used temporarily until your business grows and has more capital to spend on more costly solutions. For example, a con to using Skype is that there is no ability to dial 911 services. Hopefully you’ll have a cellular phone that you can use in that situation. Also when using eFax, you’ll have to scan in documents that aren’t on your computer to when you want to send a fax, adding in an extra step. While the costs are significantly lower, there may be an extra step or to that wouldn’t normally be in a more expensive route, so you have to ask yourself if the lower cost justifies the extra work. Good luck on your business endeavours!