Creative Business Solutions for 2011

Welcome to 2011, the year to get your business on track by making smart decisions that will help you be successful and run more efficiently. Whether you’re a one-person-show or you are a small/medium sized business with employees/associates, there are certain cost effective techniques and tactics that you can be doing so that your time goes to where it matters most. At JWatson Creative, our philosophy is developing effective design to ensure the prosperity of your business. As we grow, we tend to find resources that we feel would benefit our clients and those who have an established interest in our company. With that said, we would like to present you with 4 resources we think will be instrumental to you saving time and money, while giving you the opportunity to focus on what matters for your business.

1. Freshbooks: Have you heard of Freshbooks.com? Create custom invoices online that are branded with your company logo. If you are a service company, you can easily track time on your projects and automatically include that in your billing. You can invite contractors in on your projects. Don’t lose time trying to determine who has paid their invoice or not, Freshbooks automatically sends out reminders to the parameters you set. One seamless system, multiple options for you to be paid for your products/services, and less time worrying about invoicing. Freshbooks offers a 1 month FREE trail.

2. Shoeboxed: Seriously, do we really need to tell you why this company is so amazingly awesome? Have you ever stuffed a receipt in a drawer or box to deal with later, only to forget about it? Have you run into a receipt explosion when it comes time for taxes? Shoeboxed simplifies vital business tasks like expense reporting, accounting, tax prep and contact management. How? By digitizing your paper documents, unlocking the data trapped on them, and organizing everything neatly in your secure online account. You can mail them in through the postal system, you can forward emails to your account from online purchases, and you can also take photos with your smart phone and send them in that way. Super easy and convenient. Shoeboxed offers a 1 month FREE trial.

3. EcoSign: From security to legal simplicity, there are hundreds of reasons to insist on a contract before starting a project.  EchoSign is a simple online contract application that allows you to send and edit agreements before commencing a project. The pricing plans are clear, and the system itself is secure-some of the world’s largest banks, wholesalers and client-driven businesses use it. Thousands of leading corporations use electronic signatures to get contracts signed faster and close more business. The EcoSign website features free tutorials, case studies, and also a FREE trial.

4. Google Apps: This is a central hub for being organized. Google Apps is a one stop shop for managing components such as your data, your email contacts, and projects that you collaborate on. Google Apps offers simple, powerful communication and collaboration tools for any size business – all hosted by Google to streamline setup, minimize maintenance, and reduce IT costs. As your needs expand, Google Apps will grow with you. Whether you need a CRM, accounting or project management app, the Apps Marketplace helps you discover, purchase and deploy top web apps that integrate with their system. And just in case you didn’t already guess, they absolutely have a FREE trial for you to get your feet wet.

Here’s to a prosperous new year!