Free Tools and software for Starting and Running a Home Based Business
When it comes to free stuff, we can all agree that free is good. But, we also know that you get what you pay for. Sometimes, however, a freebie comes our way that is worth its weight in gold.
From free phone usage, to free graphics, following are some free tools and software to aid in your small business decision making.
Free Accounting Software
QuickBooks Simple Start A free, scaled-down version of the well-known QuickBooks accounting software suite. Create professional looking invoices, write and print checks, manage payroll, record deposits are just a few of the tasks you can perform with this free version.Free Label Templates
WorldLabel.com Downloadable templates for all size labels.Free Fax Services
E Fax Free for one month, send and receive faxes.Fax Digits This never busy, always on fax service allows you to receive faxes as PDF files to your email.
Free PDF Creator
PDF-o-Matic Convert a web page to a PDF document fast and easy.PDF Producer Convert plain text into PDF documents, without ANY Adobe components
Free Website Statistics Tool
Google Analytics Goolge offers this free tool to webmasters. A comprehensive website statistics tool to review the traffic to your site.Stat Counter A reliable, hidden web counter. Place the code within your website and review the actions of visitors who came to your site
Free Websitesite Templates
Arcsin Many well put together website templates to use for free.FreeLayouts.com Thousands of free templates. You can use them as they are or customize to suit your needs.
OSWD A large selection of free website templates. Many colors, styles, and formats from which to choose.
Sarkis Web Designs A nice selection of free website templates
Free Copywriting Instruction
TrevorCrook.comFree Online Store
Cafe Press Create and sell t-shirts and mugs with this free service.ECrator A free web store builder and free market place. Includes free web hosting, free sub domain, and powerful administration tool.
Popshops A very easy to use interface, Popshops allows you to create stores for Affiliat marketing
Golden Can This company has been around for many years, and still provides great service. Create an online store in minutes with the use of this program.
Free Merchant Account (accept credit cards)
PayPalAccept payments online via check, debit and credit cards. PayPal has a free and easy to follow interface.Free Website Creater
Build a website in minutes. Free trial!Free Computer Access Software (Remote Access)
GoToMyPCLogMeIn.comFree service to log into your computer remotely.
Free Conference Calls and Phone Service Software and Tools
FreeConferenceCall.com Allowing up to 96 conference callers per session, this truly is a free service - not just a free trial - free all the time. The only expense is any normal long distance charge. Recorded conference calls are stored for up to 120 days.Jott Convert your voice into emails, text messages, reminders, lists and appointments. This service transcribes your voice message into text and sends it to your contacts. Additionally, they also send an audio link, or play back number to your contacts. Your cellular carrier will apply the standard text message charge that may apply.
Free Anti-Virus Software and Tools
AVG Free This free anti-virus software is available to home users, and is easy to install. Updating their virus database frequently, this service is aware of the most recent virus threats. Some of the features of this free software are: automatic update functionality, real-time protection as files are opened and programs are run, free Virus Database Updates for the lifetime of the product, and AVG Virus Vault for safe handling of infected files.Avast.com Free of charge for non-commercial home use, this software features automatic virus protection updates, an easy to use interface, web and network shields.
Free Web Mail Tools
YPops! Download your Yahoo email from within your POP3 email client such as Outlook, Thunderbird or Eudora with this free, easy to set up tool.FreePOPS Download your email from HotMail, AOL, Yahoo!, Juno, Libero and other email clients through your POP3 protocal. FreePOPS is for receiving email only and has no sending capabilities.
MrPostman Very similar to FreePOPS, MrPostman allows access to the most popular email accounts from your favorite mail client.
Pop Peeper This tools notifies you when new mail has been received by any of your various email acounts. Simply install this program on your window's task bar.
Free Time Cards and Project Management Software and Tools
BillQuick Lite Free software that allows for the creation of time cards and project management.Job Timer Use this tool to keep track of how much time you have spent on a job. Automatically start programs and track computer usage.
Free Word Processor Software and Tools
AbiWord A free word processing software similar to MS Word. Imports MS Word files and offers all the necessary features for every day document writing.KWord A word processing and desktop publishing application. Easy to use.
Writer Part of the OpenOffice suite, Writer word processor and desktop publisher is a very powerful free tool.
Free Spreadsheet Software and Tools
Base Another part of the OpenOffice suite. This spreadsheet software allows for easy creation of tables, forms, queries, and reports.KSpread An easy to use spreadsheet application allowing for the creation of multiple tables and sheets per document. Additionally, KSpread allows for row / column custimization, insetion of html, and many other features of MS Excel.
Free Presentation Software and Tools
KPresenter This presentation application allows for text and graphs to be presented in a variety of formats. A user can embed images and clip art, has a play screen with effects, and many templates for ease of use.Impress Part of the OpenOffice suite, Impress is a presentation software that creates effective multimedia presentations. Includes easy to use drawing and diagraming tools, slide show animation and effects, and the ability to save your presentation in PowerPoint format.
Free Graphics Software and Tools
Draw Yet another component of the OpenOffice suite. You can import any image file type and create flash versions of your projects.Gimp A perfect free tool for photo manipulation, supporting a wide range of image formats.
Inkscape This free vector graphics editor is comparable to Illustrator and CorelDraw, using the standard vector graphics file format.
Free Banner and Logo Creation Tools
High Power Graphics This is a very easy to use tool for creating free customizable banners.Quick-Banner A free banner generation tool. Create and personalize a banner and see the results in real time.
