Terminal starting mock-up

Pros and Cons of Linux for Small Business Owners

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If your small business has a computer terminal in your office or a dedicated machine for business use, it is a near certainty that the machine is running a version of Windows (or sometimes MacOS). There is, however, another operating system platform available to small business owners that often goes under the radar of non-techies: Linux. Linux is a fully open-source operating system that works in tandem with a companion process called a “kernel.” While Linux on its own is unable to operate like Windows, Linux with the help of a distro like Ubuntu, Mint, Manjaro, or several more, can function near-identically to Windows, and in specific use cases may run better than Windows.

Linux is a fast, free alternative to Windows that may sound too good to be true; that’s about half right: Getting Linux and your kernel of choice off the ground isn’t as simple as booting up your machine and letting it do its own thing. Getting a functioning version of Linux on your machine can take a decent amount of time and know-how; and managing Linux if a problem arises can take some astute troubleshooting as well. It is then essential that small business owners get a full picture of the pros and cons of Linux for business before making the plunge.

Pros

Highly Customizable

Compared to Windows, Linux gives users a near-unlimited amount of choices as to how you would like your computer to run. For example, if you want an experience visually identical to Windows but detest always-online features or bloatware, there’s a kernel for you. If you want a barebones (and we mean barebones) OS that puts all of your machine’s power only where you specifically want it, you better believe you can do that too. The conclusion is, if you know exactly what you want to do with your work terminal, there is likely a Linux distro that can help you do it better with very few, if any, downside. Since Windows is a catch-all, general OS, it can do everything very well; but some workplace terminals have one dedicated process and plainly don’t benefit from Windows’ many hats.

Runs Faster

While modern Windows 11 (or even Windows 7) can run blazing fast when installed on modern NVMe SSDs, it is inherently true that since most Linux distros are more lightweight than Windows, they will run faster since there is less to load on booting up or loading new processes.

Using a version of Linux on an older machine may also speed up a machine outright. A system test performed by DXM Tech Support found that when running Windows 11 and Linux Mint (nowhere near the most lightweight distro out there), Mint outperformed Windows consistently across the board in examples like launching Slack and or even launching more complex GNU image manipulation programs like GIMP.

Run Offline for Software-Specific Terminals

Running Windows offline can be an unnecessary hassle, as Microsoft has a tendency to remind users that they are offline or flat out not functioning; of course, implying that there is no reason a Windows user wouldn’t want to be connected to Microsoft’s watchful eye. There are several practical use cases for running your machines offline, several being related to server functions, but several more examples could be related to software with sensitive information that ought not be online at all. One of the most versatile options for fully-offline systems is Debian which is a prime choice for terminals that run a set few pieces of software that have no benefit being online.

Less Susceptible to Cyber Attacks

Because Windows is the overwhelming OS of choice among consumers, the vast majority of malware and other cyber threats are designed to infect Windows users. There is an increasing amount of focus on Linux distros, but experts have long-held that Linux operating systems are consistently safer than Windows. If any of your workplace terminals deal in sensitive data, it is more than worth considering switching to a Linux distro for the security boon alone.

And for those still concerned about cyber security on Linux systems, there are several additional kinds of cyber security software available specifically for Linux users.

Cons

Wild West of Tech Support

It is near impossible to render a Windows machine unusable via user error; but on Linux that is a real possibility. When configuring a Linux machine, there are more than a few places where a mis-click, or a not-fully-installed process could lead to a broken distro and hours of trial and error finding out what isn’t working. While Windows has dedicated FAQ pages and authorized support channels for dealing with the infrequent errors that show up, Linux tech support is almost entirely community-based; and finding the specific help you need usually means you’ll need to ask the question on a forum yourself; so, you’ll need to have a pretty good idea of what went wrong in the first place.

Customizability comes at the expense of a high chance of user error, so it pays to genuinely know your Linux distro of choice inside and out. There are several free resources for learning the basics of Linux and even a few coding tips for beginners, however, that can make getting to the bottom of tech issues much easier to do on your own rather than depending on hobbyists and casual users for help.

Not All Windows Programs Work Natively (Or at All)

Some of the most frequently used business web tools on the market are built for Windows and thus, do not work natively on most Linux distros. The big (maybe obvious) example is the Microsoft Office Suite which includes Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, etc. which can be a big hit for businesses that either have a long history of saved Excel files in storage… or is it? The open-source Office alternative, Libre Office, has taken the Linux (and even Windows) world by storm being a free, functionally identical version of Microsoft Office which has full compatibility with all MS Office file types.

Another example of non-natively running software is QuickBooks. The only way to get QuickBooks running on a Linux machine is to emulate an instance of Windows. There is, of course, a great open-source alternative to QuickBooks, CashGnu, which functions near-identically to QuickBooks.

Benefits Certain Fields Disproportionately

Small businesses who would benefit from Linux tend to be from very specific fields and perform very specific processes on their terminals. A great example of where Linux can increase efficiency is patient management software for a dental or healthcare office. Many medical offices use a version of Linux for their internal software because of some combination of the above-listed benefits of a custom Linux distro. But if you aren’t using patient management software or some other industry-specific software, Linux benefits become a bit more abstract. Small businesses that use their terminals to answer customer emails, for example, don’t have much to gain by switching their Windows machines to Linux. The same is true for businesses that critically depend on software like QuickBooks or the Adobe Suite; they would likely have to run an emulated version of Windows on their Linux machines to get work done.

Those use cases of offline terminals or servers in general, however, would likely see tangible benefits in switching to Linux; it is, of course, important to note that this represents a very specific type of small business.

Efficiency After Trial by Fire

The greater community of Linux users revel in the operating system’s freedom and customizability. But just as well, after spending the not-insignificant amount of time learning the finer points of Linux, it’s only natural that users would come to accept that system as preferable. Clearing that trial by fire is no joke; getting Linux off the ground is a great means to see how many processes are automated in Windows or MacOS.

Linux certainly is not for every small business owner. Windows has been continually refined as an OS for the better part of 30 years and now functions just about seamlessly in any way a business owner could need. For those with unorthodox needs like always-offline terminals, web servers, or industry-specific technical software, however, Linux is likely a dancing partner worth taking to the soirée. If your styles don’t match, of course, Windows will welcome you back with open arms.

Does Your Small Business Need a Local Server?

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It may not feel like it, but we are in a golden age of consumer and business-grade technology. The COVID-19 pandemic and supply chain shortages have dulled the age’s gleam just a touch but stay with me: even 10 years ago, installing a local web server in any small business would have been taxing, ridiculously expensive, and required not-a-small-amount of technical know-how. Servers and their mainframe grandfathers have long been reserved for NASA, IBM, or other important acronyms but that is no longer the case. There are more than a few reasons even non-tech-affiliated small businesses may want to at least consider setting up a basic server in their place of work. Before taking the plunge, be sure to ask yourself, as well as your staff, these essential questions:

What is a Server?

A server is a dedicated machine with the sole purpose of “serving” whatever request is asked of it by devices connected to the local network. Servers are, in essence, just computers specifically configured to complete a certain process. A server “serves,” in that, the server is the mechanism by which the requests you make to your computer are processed and the proper result is delivered to you. A good way to think about servers is through the “server, client” relationship. A device that requests things is a client and a device that stores and delivers things is a server.

A local web server, then, is a computer dedicated to completing either requests from machines on your local network or designated web-based requests from people outside your network interfacing with something you are hosting, for example, a website.

Confusingly, “server” can both refer to the physical computer used as a server as well sometimes the software that computer is designated to run. For the rest of this article, “server” will refer specifically to the hardware definition unless otherwise stated.

Why Would You Want One?

Communal Storage: The most straightforward benefit to maintaining a server is having local access to files communally. Think of Microsoft OneDrive: this function allows multiple devices to share and collaborate on files by using Microsoft’s cloud storage. It is, however, entirely possible for you to configure a server to function identically to OneDrive but simply serve machines on your local network. While cloud storage is incredibly reliable in the modern age, the technical reliability of cloud computing is often not the concern of dissenters: if you are handling very sensitive files, hosting them on a local server rather than the Microsoft cloud can lead to much stronger peace of mind being that no device except those on your local network can access them.

Host Your Website: Web Hosting companies like Amazon Web Hosting are incredibly robust cloud hosts and offer everything clients would need to get their website off the ground… but for a monthly or annual hosting fee. Using a virtual sandbox environment like Local by Flywheel, you can host your own WordPress website completely free. Or, if you want to host a static website, like a blog, consider using GitHub Pages, another free solution. Especially tech-savvy business owners may also want to try their hand at development environments like XAMPP which give you the tools to build your website from the ground up (once again, completely for free.)

Host an Email Server: If you are interested in using email addresses with your website in the address rather than “@gmail.com,” hosting your own email server is a straightforward solution to give you and your business a professional edge. A local email server is essentially a digital mailroom inside your server which receives incoming mail from external addresses and sends outgoing emails when prompted to do so. Hosting your own emails locally is also a security gain: the only way for a hacker to penetrate your inbox would be to penetrate your entire network rather than guess an email password.

Closed-Circuit Surveillance: Using a local server is a great way to view CCTV cameras remotely without Internet access. With programs like DVR Viewer, business owners can view their CCTV footage from any device, even off their network if configured to do so. Your local server is also a great place to store recorded CCTV footage for easy access if it should need to be pulled up.

Manage Your Own Ecommerce: Using open-source software like OpenCart, small business owners can host their own highly customizable ecommerce interface for completely free. Ecommerce software like OpenCart allows small business owners to maintain all digital sales completely in-house: I don’t have to explain to small business owners why this is both a time and money-saving miracle.

CRM, HR, and other Software: If your small business uses bulky software for integral processes across multiple devices, installing that software on a server can be a great way to free up space and power on your on-site machines. And even if your client devices (on-site work computers which interface with your server) aren’t connected to your server by ethernet, using software over the wireless network is generally quite reliable under most Internet providers.

What Are You Willing to Pay?

Build your budget for your server based on what you would like to use it for. If your server is simply for file access across multiple devices on your network, you may be able to snag a great device for less than $500. For the most basic server needs, a device like the Supermicro SuperServer e200-9B System  or similar could meet your needs. But if you are interested in hosting your high-traffic website or ecommerce platform on a local server, this machine likely won’t suit your needs, as its processor clock speed maxes out at 2.4 GHz and only has one hard drive bay. If you want your server to host any multiple of the services listed above, you will likely need a machine exceeding $1,000. A good example of a quality, high-end server is the Lenovo ThinkStation P520 Workstation which has never cost less than $1,600.

Who Will Maintain it?

Maintaining a server is easier than ever but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. If your small business does not have a dedicated IT department or staff person, it may come down to you, the small business owner, to keep your server (and the essential processes it maintains) alive. If you are interested in genuinely learning the means to manage a server, there are plenty of online and in-person courses that can help boost your server knowledge. If you are genuinely considering any amount of web hosting, however, you may realize why there are so many full-time IT professionals in the business world.

So, Do You?

The price tag for local servers as well as the hefty work necessary to keep a machine live is enough to turn away many small business owners from buying their own local server. Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars a decade ago, reliable machines now may only cost a tenth of that. And while learning to maintain a server once was actually akin to rocket science, the technology behind servers today has never been more user-friendly. Sit down with your staff and do a full technology audit of your workplace. Before choosing a server or even deciding to buy a server, determine every process the machine will be responsible for and how those processes are currently being done. Consider just as well how much labor it would take to transfer those existing processes to your server. Then, once your machine is live, do you have enough dedicated and educated staff to maintain your machine? Adding a local server to your small business has the potential to modernize and streamline your business but just make sure that streamlining isn’t a detriment to your existing structure; your server is supposed to make your life easier, not harder.

Choosing the Right Anti-Virus Software for Your Small Business

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Small business owners face a fabulous pickle when shopping for anti-virus software. While every piece of software claims to be the perfect cybersecurity solution, how is it possible that one solution could fit every small business from manufacturing to florists? Short answer: it’s not possible. Every small business has its own unique cyber security needs. The most important fact, however, is that you do need sufficient cyber security measures. Verizon found in their 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report that 43% of data breaches that year fell on small and medium companies. That number is at  risk to increase until businesses adopt up-to-date cybersecurity best practices like modern antivirus software. The market for antivirus, however, has become flooded with more competitors than a business owner likely has time to investigate. Before a business owner can weigh the pros and cons of certain antivirus software, they must know what it is they plan to protect. Depending on your technological infrastructure, operating system of choice, and a multitude of other factors, one anti-virus software choice can be miles better than another.

What Devices do You Want Protected? (And How Many?)

While the right answer is technically all of your devices, this question is asking both what kind of devices you use at work and how many. Every device that connects to your business’s Wi-Fi network introduces the potential for a threat; this includes tablets and mobile devices. Take an inventory of your business’s total number of computer terminals, laptops, tablets, and phones that handle your sensitive information like banking, email, or inventory software. Once you have that total, that is the number of annual or monthly software licenses you will likely need to fully protect your sensitive information. While it may sound like overkill to use antivirus on phones and tablets, it is not. Those devices use the Internet and communicate with networks in identical ways to traditional computers. Plus, cybercriminals are keenly aware that mobile devices are often overlooked when choosing cyber-protection.

A good jumping-off point for multi-device small businesses is likely one variation of McAfee® Total Protection which, even in its most basic package, still allows protections for up to five devices; and, at the high end, allows it for unlimited devices.

What Operating System Do You Use?

While a good majority of small businesses use the most updated version of Windows because of its versatile compatibility with industry software for inventory management and other specialist tasks, there are still a fair few businesses who prefer macOS or even use a specific version of Linux.

Windows, being the baseline, is compatible with near-every kind of antivirus tool, macOS users have a more personal question to ask themselves: are you fully trusting of Apple’s built-in antivirus tool? While Apple is adamant that their suite of proprietary tools like the M1 chip and System Integrity Protection “make it difficult for malware to do harm,” tech experts still advise Mac users to seek out extra protection.  Specifically, the Integro Mac Premium Bundle X9 has been hailed by MacWorld and Time Magazine as one of the best options for Mac users looking for extra security.

If your business terminals run a version of Linux, however, that is a whole other beast. Businesses using Linux usually run the operating system in service of another proprietary software that doesn’t run cleanly with Windows. If your Linux-based terminal isn’t connected to the Internet, it likely doesn’t need antivirus software since it is a truly closed-circuit system (but you need to make sure it is truly closed and not vulnerable!). If that device is connected to your local network, however, having an antivirus tool is likely a good investment. Popular Linux distributions like CentOS and Manjaro are on the road to becoming major consumer operating systems and with that rise has come the interest of cyber criminals.  A good first consideration for business Linux-based protection is the Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security Package which is frequently rated as one of the best antivirus solutions for Windows as well as Linux.

What Additional Features Could You Benefit From?

It is exceedingly common for antivirus software to come with a suite of other helpful cybersecurity services. Beyond the most basic virus prevention methods, here are the most common additional cybersecurity features that may come with your software:

VPN Services: Virtual Private Network (VPN) services are a great tie-in benefit to modern antivirus. If you don’t already have a VPN service on your business devices, you absolutely should consider using one. Modern VPNs are just as essential for privacy protection as they are for protection against hacking and cyber breaches. Cybercriminals have taken increased interest in local Wi-Fi networks and keeping your connection secure is now just as important as keeping your device secure.

Web-Based Security & Network Protection: Antivirus software sometimes includes web-based protection which means that in addition to the antivirus software performing local scans on your hardware, the device is also in communication with a cloud-based threat-prevention network. This is another big win for small businesses, as cloud-based and general network protection often was only afforded to companies willing to shell out for expensive cloud services like hulking servers. Being that cloud-based protection used to cost companies massive sums, scoring web-based protection as a tie-in with basic local antivirus is another win for small business owners.

Password Manager Software: Antivirus software bundles often tote “password manager software” as one of the several benefits you get for subscribing. While password manager software was once a worthy investment on its own, in 2022 password management software is no longer a good enough reason outright to choose an antivirus solution. This is because browsers like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla’s Firefox all include this kind of software natively for free. Since you will be generally entering your passwords on browser windows anyways, those native solutions are likely sufficient.

Endpoint Security: Endpoint security is by all means the future of antivirus. Endpoint security, like cloud-based protections, was largely relegated to mainframe machines and companies with dedicated IT administrators that manage all of a local network’s threat potentials in a live sense. If the antivirus software you are considering includes endpoint protection without a major price increase, the increased protection is likely worth it. While antivirus is local and contained to the device it is downloaded onto, endpoint protection views and monitors the synchronicity of all the devices on your network and may be the key to insulating your business from more sophisticated cyberattacks like Internet of Things breaches.

What are Your Privacy Considerations?

Like anything else you download on your computer, especially a business device, you should be intimately familiar with how your data and information will be processed by the company which owns your antivirus software. Be aware that multiple antivirus software companies have been found to sell user trend data like search and browser history to third-parties.

Another privacy concern growing among antivirus software users is government intervention. Well-known Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab was tied up in a scandal when Israeli government hackers found that the company had tools with digital signatures originating from America’s National Security Agency. This led to the Department of Homeland Security to make a statement that Kaspersky may be in cooperation with Russian information systems. While antivirus agrees to protect us from malware, there is little to protect you from antivirus.

What is Your Budget?

Antivirus software bundles and multi-license deals can cost hundreds annually making them sometimes unappetizing to small business owners on a budget. The good news is, finding the right antivirus solution doesn’t need to alter your existing budget. Free solutions like Malwarebytes Free offer basic virus protection without the real-time bells and whistles like endpoint and network protections. Almost every software solution, as well, offers timed free trials, so feel free to shop around and find the best choice for your business. Free trials are a great time to see if your chosen software has any noticeable effect on your device’s performance or speed. If you are looking for a paid antivirus for multiple devices and real-time features like endpoint protections, average costs range anywhere from $70 (McAfee Total Protections Ultra for unlimited devices) to $120 (Bitdefender GravityZone Security for 5 devices) annually.

 

Take Your Time but Don’t Waste It

Antivirus software will likely become a financial obligation for your company, so it pays to choose wisely. Businesses with a good hold over their needs, however, should find it in them to choose a software solution sooner rather than later. Cyber disaster strikes unkindly and can be debilitating for businesses with no protection. If you are using Internet-connected devices in your workspace, make it your immediate prerogative to consider the above criteria and find the cybersecurity solution best fit for your business. Those businesses who fester in indecision become all the juicier targets for cybercriminals.

Celebrating FOSS: Free and Open-Source Tools to Help Run Your Business

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There is a liberating feeling which comes packed in with all open-source software. Open-source software is the ultimate space for creatives and the ultra-diligent to craft software to their specific needs and then share those tools with the greater world. Often led by non-profits or community collectives, open-source software is one of the most major achievements in the tech space and has the potential to be the same in the small business sphere; while small businesses offer catered, curated alternatives to the corporate big players, open-source software plays the same David against Silicon Valley.

February is Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) month and is dedicated to celebrating these open-source tools and to help spread awareness around the free software available .  In recognition of FOSS February, enjoy this curated list of tools created specifically for the needs of the small business business community, built from the ground up to become robust competitors to expensive, big-name software.

LibreOffice

Businesses big and small all bow to Microsoft, right? Absolutely not: LibreOffice is an open-source Office alternative that has been making massive waves in the digital document space for good reason. LibreOffice is a “community-driven” collection of programs built as a clear replacement to the Microsoft Office 365 Suite. Operated by The Document Foundation, this collective of creators invites all users to rework and improve LibreOffice for the benefit of the greater community. There is almost no small business that couldn’t benefit from this collection of tools; from accountants to store clerks, everyone must deal with a document or spreadsheet eventually. LibreOffice is fully compatible with Microsoft file types and has been continually tweaked to fit near-all document types making it not much of a concession at all to switch. For those companies looking for an alternative to monopolistic players like Microsoft or have documents too sensitive for cloud storage with Google Docs, LibreOffice is a massive game changer.

MariaDB Foundation

One of the first of its kind and now one of the most popular, the MariaDB Foundation is an open-source relational database. Countering titans like Google Drive and beyond, MariaDB is a non-profit and open-source platform for cloud storage. Incredibly, the tools from MariaDB are so cutting-edge that massive websites like Wikipedia and WordPress have taken advantage of MariaDB server space.  While MariaDB is a dauntingly open-source platform, there is a massive amount of tutorials and learning resources on their website built to get even the most basic Windows user savvy. Even if your company doesn’t store a massive amount of information or actively interface between multiple terminals, taking advantage of non-profit cloud storage allows small business owners to enjoy full transparency about their data storage that is usually not afforded by commercial database systems.

Jitsi

I dare anyone reading to toss a stone; I guarantee it will hit at least five people begging for a Zoom alternative. Enter, Jitsi, the video conferencing tool with all of Zoom’s best features but also boasting an incredibly active community of developers constantly improving this free software. Instead of shelling out $149 for even the most basic Zoom business package, consider Jitsi which recently surpassed 20 million monthly users and participated in a European Commission-sponsored hackathon where some of Zoom’s most popular features like polls and breakout rooms were among the community-created highlights. Small businesses who strictly use Zoom internally among a small group of employees should highly consider using Jitsi as an alternative, as the two pieces of software are drifting very close to becoming functionally identical.

GnuCash

GnuCash is an incredibly feature-rich piece of accounting software that, like all of the software on this list, simply begs to require a monthly-fee, or some other ticket to ride. Yet here we are: this accounting software has a genuinely impressive amount of functionality. Customer and vendor tracking, invoice and bill payment, tax and billing terms, statement reconciliation, scheduled transactions and much more is all included in GnuCash. Small businesses no longer have to keep their QuickBooks subscriptions up-to-date or become incredibly crafty with spreadsheets in order to bookkeep. GnuCash even aims its tools at small businesses directly, claiming that they can even manage payroll.

OpenCart

OpenCart is a bafflingly powerful open-source ecommerce platform. Not only is OpenCart (as the name hints) open-source and free, but there is also no limit whatsoever to the number of products or categories you can list for your ecommerce store. OpenCart has continued to evolve with community development and now has several features – such as integrated customer ratings and rewards point system integration – making it possibly superior to paid ecommerce platforms. Unlike most of the software on this list, OpenCart is also exceedingly simple to install on your existing web store. 

Unlike other software on this list, an ecommerce platform appears to be directly at odds with the spirit of open source software (being that ecommerce is all about, well, commerce). But, truly, OpenCart is one of the best examples of where open source software can thrive. Ecommerce is the perfect meeting of the web developers who make open source software a reality and the web merchants who bring the space to life; both parties have an inherent reason to seek out better software solutions for ecommerce and what better way is there to develop that software than through cross collaboration!

ERPNext

ERPNext is a CRM, accounting, and human resource software bundle which has near-anything a small business could need in those spaces; what it doesn’t have, however, is a price tag. ERPNext is an open-source miracle which, if used to fill the three solutions it advertises, could save small business owners a hefty sum in annual or monthly licensing fees. Human resources is a heavy drag on small businesses in the first place but ERPNext’s powerful attendance tracking, expense claim, recruitment, and payroll capabilities make the tool a wiry, agile thorn in the heels  of industry leaders. This, of course, is only a piece of what ERPNext offers to users. ERPNext’s CRM tools are a great starting point for small businesses who want to begin lead capturing and tracking presales but haven’t yet developed a strategy. ERPNext’s intuitive tools even include a small business guide to CRM making it easy to get up and running.

Considering Open-Source 

While some may say open-source software solutions are born from frustration with commercial options, this is often not the case. While certainly Microsoft can employ multiple thousands of software developers and pay them a steady wage to churn out top-of-the-line digital solutions, open-source projects have the incredible advantage of the minds and vision of the thousands upon thousands of developers who donate their time and effort to make a solution which they could never have finished themselves. No corporate brainstorming session can beat the multi-thousand brained one that happens each day in the digital background on every piece of software on this list. So when considering new tools for your business, don’t forget to look into the open-source versions.  They may just be exactly what you need.

Man leans over computer with widened eyes

Best Cyber Monday Deals for Small Business Owners

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Cyber Monday is no longer just a corporate excuse to empty out old warehouse stock for cheap. Ecommerce, as well, is no longer reserved for use only by the world’s richest companies. If your small business is looking for deals this Cyber Monday, there are several bundles and sales with just the right bits for one of several upgrades to your storefront or web presence. So before stopping by the regular big-box suspects, take a look at several Cyber Monday sales and deals geared for small business owners.

 

MOO (Stationery and Paper Products)

If you haven’t worked with MOO before, Cyber Monday is a great time to get acquainted with this authentic and detail-oriented paper company. MOO consistently offers generous Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals but tend to keep the specifics close to their chests until the day-of. If your business is looking to step up your shipping presentation, update your business cards, or modernize your flyers, MOO is a stand-up company to work alongside. Keep a close eye on MOO social media pages over the Thanksgiving weekend to see what deals come to pass.

 

Ring (Security Systems)

While Ring largely brands themselves as a home security company, their suite of advanced tech is equally effective for small businesses with storefronts. Ring released their flyer of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals earlier this week and several of their security bundles offer comprehensive, modern security solutions that can easily fit small businesses. Our recommendation is the 5-Piece Alarm Security System which comes with a base station, wireless keypad, a contact sensor for doors or windows, a motion detector, and a range extender for your base station for only $119.99 instead of $199.99. This is one of several security configuration sales due to kick off Monday, so take a look at the Ring website’s full selection of deals to see which bundle works best for your business.

 

DreamHost (Hosting, Websites, and Domains)

DreamHost is one of the most reputable web hosting small businesses in operation today and Cyber Monday is the perfect time to take advantage of their superior resources. DreamHost offers their best sales of the year on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, so there is no better time to step up your web presence. DreamHost will kick off their massive domain sale this Black Friday and Cyber Monday with exclusive deals as follows: $5.99 per month per “.com” domain (down from $17.99), $0.89 per month per “.xyz” domain (down from $12.99), and stunningly, $0.99 per month per “.online” domain (down from $29.95). See DreamHost’s full flyer for other deals and bundles only this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

 

Antivirus & VPN Services (Cyber Security)

One of the biggest reasons consumers and business owners alike turn down premium cyber security and VPN services are the sometimes-pricey annual fees. Black Friday, and obviously Cyber Monday is a great time to invest in your business’s cyber security.

VPNs: Keep a close eye on NordVPN and ExpressVPN this Cyber Monday. These two companies are the leaders in both consumer and business-grade virtual private network services; they also tend to go head-to-head with competitively low sale prices each Cyber Monday. Nord went out of their way to kick off Cyber Monday deals early: New subscribers can score a two-year subscription to NordVPN for $3.16 per month, or $79.00 for the two years which is a massive discount for their regular $298.75 two-year price. Expect similar deals from ExpressVPN who have not released their catalog yet.

Antivirus: The two antivirus services to watch this Cyber Monday are Norton Antivirus and Bitdefender. Norton is offering deals up to 83% off several of their cyber security bundles. Most notably, Norton 360 Deluxe is only $19.99 for the first year, down from $104.99. This particular bundle allows up to five devices to connect per license making it perfect for a business with multiple computer terminals. Another quality antivirus option is Bitdefender whose Total Security bundle is $27 this Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This plan also allows up to 5 devices to connect and for an extra $29.99, you can add in Bitdefender’s premium VPN making the package especially lucrative.

 

Design a Shirt (Company Apparel)

Company merchandise is a must-have no matter how small your business is. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a great time to either test out your logo on some shirts or go all in and buy bulk. Design a Shirt is offering three tiers of discounts depending on your chosen shipping speed. This Cyber Monday, any orders with their free (but slowest) shipping speed will be 15% off after $150. For those who pick their fastest shipping rate, orders over $150 are 18%.

Design a Shirt is one of several custom apparel companies vying for your attention this Cyber Monday, so be sure to keep an eye on companies like Custom Ink who don’t publish their deals until the day-of.

 

Make Cyber Monday Work for You

While Target, WalMart, and Amazon are sure to make a killing this Cyber Monday, make the holiday work for your business by taking advantage of any of these deals. Being that supply shortages have been rampant this past year, Cyber Monday is bound to be especially hectic in 2021. Even worse, supply line slowdowns mean that shipping dates ought to be padded by several extra days. If you have been putting off any choice upgrades for your business, this Cyber Monday may be the last day in the calendar year to actually get those items in hand.

Father and daughter having a telehealth consultation with a doctor through a laptop.

How to Market Your Telehealth Capabilities

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Telehealth is fast becoming the new normal among healthcare and medical practices. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente reported in 2016 that it treated more than half of its patients – some 52 percent, or 59 million – via telemedicine. The consortium also reported that the number of telehealth appointments shot up by 3700% from 2019 to 2020, as more patients continue to seek treatment for non-emergency-related conditions from the comfort of their own home via computer, tablet or smartphone. 

Whether you’re a primary care physician or a mental health practitioner, if your practice has set up a telehealth practice, how will you let your patients know about it, as well as educate and inform them when it is appropriate to use? The challenge now is leveraging your telehealth services to maximize your brand and differentiate you from other physicians, as well as use it to take a leadership position among competing practices and physicians. 

How Can You Make Telehealth User Friendly?

Before even thinking about marketing your telehealth service, you need to make sure  that it is user friendly. Patients should be able to schedule telehealth visits on your website and be able to include their insurance information or make direct payment. For example, Vanguard Medical Group, a small consortium of independent physicians in Cranford, NJ, allows patients to make appointments  through its eCare service found on its website, and charges a flat fee of $45 for its telehealth visits. Patients can access the telehealth visit on their computers, smart phones, or tablets. 

As a physician, you also want to set up strict guidelines for telehealth visits. In the case of Vanguard, the medical group will only allow patients who have a history with Vanguard to use it, and if it is determined through the telehealth visit that an in-person visit is needed, it will waive the $45 fee. 

“In the end, this service helps us take better care of our patients, especially at a time when the industry is evolving towards value-based payment systems,” said Dr. Thomas McCarrick, Vanguard’s chief medical officer. “This service reduces fragmentation – if our patients can’t get in touch with us, their next option often is the emergency room or an urgent care unit where they won’t know the doctor who is treating them. So, we think this service enables us to better build a relationship of trust with our patients that will improve the care and outcomes of cases.”

Marketing Tips For Your Telehealth Business

There are many ways to incorporate telehealth to make your brand stronger to both current and existing patients. Some may take more time and effort than others, but those efforts will be worth it to showcase your telehealth capabilities. Some tips:

    • Use SEO and paid social media to speak directly to target audiences. They are often avid internet users;
    • Post an educational video on both your website and social media channels on how to use your telehealth services; 
    • Invest in external advertising on the web and in print ads to get the word out that you offer telehealth. You may even consider investing in paid social media ads to extend your branding reach;
    • Send broadcast telehealth marketing emails: Inform past and current patients about telehealth options and how they can benefit, especially if you practice in a rural area where patients might have to drive a long way to see you;
    • Offer a telehealth option with each patient phone call. This way, all of your patients will know that you offer the service and that it can be used at their convenience. 
    • Broadcast your telehealth services via direct email to your patients. This will serve as another channel to inform current and new patients of your services, and
    • Post POP signage internally: Reinforce your message with in-office signs and posters. Include with staff/provider conversations with patients and keep it fresh.
    • Present patient testimonials on your web site on how convenient and easy-to-use your telehealth services are. Encourage your patients to provide testimonials, and use telehealth as a way to increase patient satisfaction.

You’re Part of the Future

Most patients want telehealth, especially if a trip to the doctor’s office is inconvenient for them, and consumers in general expect to see telehealth as part of the new normal in medicine, especially after the pandemic. Now is the time to show your patients that you have embraced the future by offering this service, and that you’re part of the positive changes happening in the healthcare industry. 

Statoscope on the clip board, doctor hands typing on the laptop

Tools to Help Automate Independent Medical Practices

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If you’re an independent medical practitioner, it may seem antithetical to want to automate various systems in your practice. After all, the one big advantage you have over those large healthcare networks is that, since you’re independent, you can offer more personalized care to long-time patients.

Using tools to help automate various aspects of your practice, however, can relieve you of a lot of tedious paperwork and free you up to spend more time with your patients and make your practice run more efficiently. If you haven’t looked into automating certain systems yet, there are easy, inexpensive software tools available to help you. 

Some of the areas you may want to automate are:

#1 Automated Patient Intake Forms

Typically, patients new to your practice must fill out a lengthy intake form on their first visit, which usually includes their personal information, medical history and insurance information. Patients often do not fill out the form completely, leaving gaps in the patient’s history that will take up valuable office time to fill. You may ask your patients to fill them out at home, but sometimes they will forget to bring them.

Automated patient intake software, such as PatientPop, can save you time and effort as a medical practitioner.

The best solution for this is to utilize automated patient intake software such as PatientPop, which offers the most popular medical practice software, or Klara. These are relatively inexpensive software packages that will enable your patients to complete new patient intake forms and provide insurance information at their convenience on their computers or portable mobile devices. This software will allow you to review your new patient’s information before the patient arrives at your office, making your practice more efficient.

#2 Automated Appointment and Reminders Notices

Scheduling and reminding patients of their appointments can be an all day task for your assistant, and having to constantly leave voicemails for your patients is simply inefficient. Text messages are the new way to remind people, especially tech-savvy millennials and Gen Z, of their appointments, and this automation can drastically reduce no shows. Automating this function can make your practice more time-efficient as it will ensure there are no gaps in your day due to unfilled appointments because patients simply forgot to come in. Inexpensive, HIPAA-compliant medical scheduling software such as SimplePractice, Experian Healthcare Patient Scheduling or Vagaro can be a useful tool to manage appointments and waitlists.

#3 Automated Billing System

Software such as AdvancedMD can help make your billing system easier.

Managing patient billing through a spreadsheet or, worse yet, on paper, is time consuming and prone to mistakes, which could be very costly to your practice. Consider automating your billing system with popular, low-cost medical billing software such CureMD, EpiCare or AdvancedMD. Billing software automatically sends invoices to patients, keeps track of patient payments and sends out late notices when a payment is overdue. 

#4 Automated Patient Charts

As a physician, you want to spend the day focusing on patient care, and not spending hours manually typing updates to your patient charts. Automated patient chart software such as NextGen Healthcare, RXNT or Kareo Clinical would allow you to quickly update patient information computers, smartphones and tablets and link it automatically to cloud software, thus freeing up more time for you, the doctor.

#5 Automated Patient Interaction 

Automated patient interaction would allow your patients to schedule or change appointments, request prescription refills or leave messages to ask follow up questions after appointments. Not only does this improve the efficiency of your practice, it also helps improve patient satisfaction by giving patients a quick and easy way to interface with your practice. The same system can be set up to send appointment reminders and follow up instructions to patients. Some of the most popular automated patient engagement software are from companies such as SR Health, Well and Luma Health. 

#6 Automated Personalized Messages

As a physician, dentist or mental health provider, can you actually remember the birthdays of your patients, or when it’s time for them to receive wellness checkups or to remind them to take the necessary steps to ensure their good health? If the answer to those questions is no, then you should consider software such as Segment, BlueShift or Unboxing that can automate that process for you. The benefits from automating this function are quite clear: your patients will feel like they are getting individual attention, thus improving patient satisfaction, and you don’t have to be bogged down by manually sending personalized messages. 

All-in-all, while purchasing and setting up automation software will be an additional cost for your practice, it can also be a blessing, as automating certain functions will increase patient satisfaction (which can, in turn, increase the positive reviews of your services). It will also make your office run much more efficiently, thus freeing up time to do what you do best – taking care of your patients.

Woman smiling working on her laptop, dollar bills flying around her.

What Kind of Website Do I Need, Are Websites Worth It

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Now that you’ve decided to build a website for your small business – congratulations. Your company will receive more visibility, better branding, and eventually more sales.

Before you build your site however, there are several questions you’ll need to answer in order to to determine if you should build a site through a low cost, do-it-yourself website platforms such as Wix, SQUARESPACE or GoDaddy, or make the significant investment in building your own robust website:

  • What products are you looking to sell on your site, and how do you plan on selling them?
  • Are you selling subscriptions? Will the purpose of your site be to make appointments for people to come into your brick and mortar business to buy products or services? 
  • Are you seeking to sell products directly through your websites via online payments?
  • Do you plan to feature industry content or a blog on your site?
  • How will your site stand Apart From Competitors?
  • What Actions Do You Want Site Visitors to Take?

What Should Your Site Accomplish?

Now that you’ve answered those questions, you essentially have two choices: You can use a DIY website platform, which does have its advantages – most of them charge a low monthly fee; provide an easy-to-use website template, and provide web security and basic analytics. This may be the best option to choose if you’re simply looking to expand your presence and just check off the “web presence” box for your business. 

For example, if you’re an independent restaurant owner who wants visitors to use your site to make reservations, or a car dealership owner who wants your site visitors to make appointments for test drives of your vehicles, then a DIY site may be the best choice for you.

DIY platforms do have their drawbacks, though. Almost all of them charge additional fees if you look to add features to your site, and many of them will ask for a large percentage of your revenue if you are seeking to use your site for direct sales. Additionally, the web template that you choose may be being used by other customers, so your website may not look unique.

If you want your website to do more, however, such as accommodate direct sales of your products, offer sales or discounts, or generate industry buzz through a blog page, then building your own website is probably the best bet for you. 

Be warned, however: while building your own site will be well worth the effort from a sales and marketing standpoint, it will be a long, arduous, and expensive process, and one that will require you to first analyze whether it will be worth the money to do so. 

Figuring Out if it’s Worth it

Now the question becomes: based on your wishlist for a website, is building a site worth the money? The answer to this question is paramount in deciding whether to invest capital into building your own site. The process of answering this question is also a bit complicated and may require you to hire an outside web consulting firm to assist you. 

The first thing to do is to figure out the cost of building a website. A basic laundry list of things you will likely need to spend money on in order to create your own site can include:

Do some research to find out the fees of website consulting firms and the market price for a web designer/programmer, if you choose to hire those. In order to house your website and make it available to the public via the world wide web, you can either purchase your own server – the machine that will house your site and may cost upwards of $1,000 – or hire a website hosting platform such as Bluehost or HostGator for a low monthly fee to house your website for you. 

There are many advantages to using a web hosting service – you won’t have to pony up the cash for your own server, and they provide web security for your site. Keep in mind, however, that a hosting platform will charge you the monthly fee for as long as your business’ website exists (which could be up to $60 per year), and there could be add-on charges if you look to make changes to your site.

In addition to hosting costs, leasing an original domain name through services such as GoDaddy, Domain.com or Name.com can cost anywhere between $20 to $50 per year, on average; and purchasing a domain name outright could cost you thousands of dollars.

Other costs to consider: If you do not have expertise in building a website, you may want to hire an experienced web designer/programmer to help you. Hiring an outside firm or an internal employee to do this may be expensive but making a mistake in building your site could be even costlier. Also, you will need a payment processing app to enable your customers to purchase items from your site. Apps such as Merchant One, Clover or ProMerchant will enable them to do that.

Estimating Your Site’s future Revenue

Now that you have an idea of the cost, the next thing you should do is have your website consulting firm assist you in creating a general, one-year projection of revenue for your site, since the process can be complicated. Some lenders may ask for this if you look for financing to build your site.

Of course, we all know that a general calculation of ROI is income minus cost divided by cost, but how do you calculate that if you don’t know what the actual revenue of your site will be? 

While it is impossible to calculate exactly what the revenue will be, you can make a rough estimation by examining the benchmark for similar-sized companies in your industry. The web consulting firm you hire should have data on this, or you can use an online tool called Similarweb, which tracks that. You can also use a web service called Unbounce, which can give you a benchmark conversion rate – the percentage of visitors of an ecommerce site who end up becoming customers. 

“This way, you’ll have an idea of what to expect in terms of revenue,” said Lucie Loubet, director of digital marketing at web design firm DesignWare. “Just remember to look at the paid vs. organic traffic breakdown in Similarweb to understand how much additional money you will have to invest in customer acquisition.”

Dawid Zimney, product manager at web consulting agency NerdCow, added “Your web agency needs to know your conversion rate, your market and your audience. They need to benchmark this against the historical improvements of the conversion rate on their clients’ websites.”

Another marketing term to know is customer lifetime value (CLV) – the estimated value of a return customer. For example, if you own a restaurant and you see certain customers coming back because they love your food, or a retail clothing store and you see customers returning for the service, you can calculate the average amount they spend per visit and multiply that by the number of times they visit your business. 

The website firm you hire can help you estimate the percentage of customers who will become repeat customers, as well calculate their CLV.

Final Calculation

Nikita Chen, founder and CEO of item authentication firm LegitRails, said the final step in calculating your website’s future ROI is to multiply the number of estimated customers with the CLV, and then determine whether that number is greater than the cost of building the website. The web marketing firm you hire should help you with that. 

“If the number is higher, you are in profit, and it is, therefore, a good idea to create the website,” she said. “If the number is lower (which could be the case if you’re running excessive ads) it might not be in your best interest. The figure you come up with at this stage will also determine your ROI,” said Chen.

Financing Options to Pay for Your Site

If you’ve realized that your needs require you to build a custom website but you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for it, that’s okay. There are several financing options you can choose from. 

A business line of credit may be a good option for you since building a website will not be a one-off expenditure. A business line of credit – much like a personal credit card – will give you the flexibility to spend as you go along in the process of building your site, and you will only be charged interest on what you borrow. You can also pay it down as you go along.

If you’ve predetermined a budget for building your site and plan to stick to it, then a business loan may be right for you. If you go to a traditional lender, they may ask you for a business plan or projected ROI on your website. Alternative lenders such as Kapitus will generally just ask to see your company’s revenue history and approve you for financing more quickly than a traditional lender.

Test Your Site First

Now that you’ve decided to go ahead with your site, you should have your web designer/programmer build a test site, typically referred to as a beta site. Pick the top functionality of your site, have your programmer design and build it, and release it online. The beta site should be a limited release of your website with the goal of gauging audience reaction a nd finding bugs before the final release of your site. 

The site is usually opened up to a limited number of users, such as employees of your company or friends or family. The idea of the beta site is to listen to their feedback and use that to make improvements or adjustments to your final website. 

Next Up

“If you build it, they will come…”

Now that you’ve done the calculations and figured out that building your own site is worth it, how do you build a site that is visually appealing, user friendly and will generate additional sales? In the next article, we will discuss what your site should look like to make that happen.

How Do Small Business Owners Build Their Websites?

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So you’ve decided to take your small business to the next level by building a website – you should congratulate yourself for taking the leap into the Internet. Whether you’re a small business with 200 employees and several different offices, or you’re an independent retail business or restaurant owner, you are about to expand your customer base and company brand to web browsers around the world. 

In our last article, What Kind of Website Do I Need, and is it Worth it?, we discussed the cost of the things you will need to build your site, such as a domain name, web hosting platform, etc. Here, we will discuss the steps you need to take to build your new site.

Starting from scratch can be confusing, as there are lots of choices to make. First, there are two ways you can go: if you are looking to simply promote your brand and check off the box for your business that says “online presence,” then low cost, do-it-yourself website builders such as Wix.com, SQUARESPACE or GoDaddy would be the best bet for you. 

If you’re seeking to build a robust site that can generate online sales and market yourself as an authority in your industry, then creating a site from scratch may be your best bet. This will, of course, require a commitment of time, patience and money, but it will be well worth the effort. 

DIY Website Pros and Cons

Using a DIY website builder is, of course, the cheapest route to building a new site, and there are plenty of advantages to using one of them: they’re relatively cheaper than building your own site, usually costing a low monthly fee; they’re easy to use, and they typically provide search engine optimization (SEO) and analytics features, as well as security. 

Some of the drawbacks are, however, that there can be hidden fees if you choose to expand your site, and other users may use the same website template that you’ve chosen, which would make your site look unoriginal. Here is a full list of pros and cons of using a DIY web builder that you should be aware of: 

Investing in Your Own Site – What you Need

If you are looking for a site that can process direct sales from customers, attract lifetime customers and build sales leads, then you most certainly should look to construct your own robust site from scratch. While this will entail a long, costly process, the effort will be worth it in the long term, as it will most likely yield the best results in terms of increased sales, brand recognition and customer base. The cost of a new website may be daunting at first, but remember the old adage, “you have to spend money to make money.”

Just consider – according to the US Census Bureau, e-commerce sales accounted for 13.8% of all retail sales in the first quarter of 2021, a steady rise from 5% in the first quarter of 2012. The pandemic only increased online purchases, as people had to make purchases from the comfort of their homes. Most economists believe, however, that the steady increase of online shopping, including food orders from restaurants, will only increase. 

Keep in mind that e-commerce sales are so prevalent now that they even contributed to the fall of brick and mortar giants such as Toys R Us, and economic experts believe e-commerce will only continue to rise. Given this, now is the time to offer your products and services online through your own site. 

A basic laundry list of things you will need to create your own site include:

  • High Speed Cable Internet;
  • A Domain name;
  • A Web hosting platform such as BlueHost, HostGator or GoDaddy, or your own server;
  • A Basic website layout;
  • A content management system;
  • A web designer/programmer, and
  • A Web-based Payment Module 

Designing & Building Your Site

Now that you’ve decided to build a website, know that designing a thorough and visually appealing site will be as important as the quality of the products or services you are selling. Examine the websites of your competitors to get ideas of what you believe works and doesn’t work.

The first thing you will need to do is ask yourself what you want your website to accomplish so that you can create subsets of your website’s welcome page. If you are seeking to expand the reach of your brand and ultimately increase sales, a basic list of items to highlight on your site could include:

  • A welcome page that will include your company’s logo, a basic explanation of who you are, your mission statement, and company reviews. 
  1. Remember, the welcome page is the first thing that web browsers will see, and it will be the initial reason they decide to stay on your site. Work with an experienced web designer to make it visually appealing, and without being too wordy, define your company and what it has to offer. 
  • A subset page that offers a catalogue of your company’s products.
  1. A subset page where browsers can actually purchase your products. This will also require your page to have a web-based payment module to process payments via credit or bank card.
  2. An “About Us” subset page informing browsers who you are, your history and perhaps any video presentation demonstrating your dedication to your products and services.
  3. A “Contact Us” subset page, and
  4. A blog subset page where you can write and post articles about trends in your industry to make you seem like an expert in your field. Content management systems such as Wordpress, can make blogging easy.
  1. While it is time consuming, blogging SEO optimized articles about your industry is one way to keep potential customers coming back to your site and thinking about the industry in which you are selling products.

The second task you want to complete is to formulate a basic layout of your website. 

For our purposes, we used a fictitious company, “Joe Smith’s Construction Supplies,” to create an example of how you may want to outline your website:

Nuts and Bolts

As far as the nuts and bolts of building your own site goes, you can take courses to learn computer code and web design which, of course, will cost you time and money. Otherwise, you probably will need to hire a web designer/programmer to build your site. You can hire one on a freelance basis, but as you interview them, ask to see websites they have constructed in the past, as well as references. 

Once you do, work with both them and your website consulting firm to create a visually appealing, original and user friendly, responsive site that is optimized for computers, tablets and smartphones. You may even consider creating a limited test website, known as a beta site, to find any bugs in your site before you officially launch it. 

Next Up

“If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”

What good will an awesome new website do you if no one is looking at it? Now that you’ve gone through the long and arduous process of building a great website, it won’t automatically mean more sales. 

In the next article, we will discuss general ways to draw viewers to your site. After all, web traffic turns into sales, and sales turns into potential lifetime customers. 

Best Zero-Budget Productivity Software

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For virtual, hybrid, or even fully in-person workforces productivity software has become the newest must-have technology for organizing team members and upcoming projects. Productivity software is any program that boosts team member productivity by putting all documents, calendars, databases, and files in an easily accessible digital format on one platform.

Corporate giants have turned to productivity software as a sleek, modern means to organize employee assignments and streamline collaboration, and it’s time small businesses consider doing the same so that they can streamline projects and remain competitive. While  many of the most popular software solutions are paid tools and several more software solutions lock key features behind paywalls, there are, however, several zero-budget productivity software options for small business teams to consider when looking to kick your cooperation into overdrive.

This software collection is in no particular order of preference, as each piece of software is best suited for certain types of teams and businesses. By learning more about each productivity software’s individual perks and features, you can best determine which software solution is best for your team.

Asana

Asana is one of the most well-known productivity software options for small and large teams. The app’s sleek look is distinct and professional. It’s suite of features is robust, allowing quick integration of data visuals and a unique Timeline feature that shows a timetable overview of every team member’s assignment. Asana has integrations with Dropbox, Slack, Google Drive and Microsoft Outlook making it one of the most accessible companion tools on the market today.

Pricing: Asana’s free version allows for unlimited tasks, messages, and file storage. Free users have access to almost every feature in Asana’s diverse suite, but only 15 team members can join at once.

Bitrix24

Bitrix24 prides itself as the business software solution for any size team. Bitrix24 uses integrated video call and chat services. By cutting down on the number of programs employees must keep track of, Bitrix24 advertises themselves as a “single ecosystem” solution. Bitrix24 is especially helpful for companies with sales teams as their built in CRM suite allows salespeople to run customer support, market analytics and real-time quotes and invoices all from one page.

Pricing: Bitrix24’s free version is notably feature rich. Unlike Asana, Britix24 has no team member limit. The company increased their free software’s team member limit from 12 to unlimited during the COVID-19 pandemic and have made no indication when the limit will return. Free users have access to up to 5GB of cloud storage and basic access to CRM solutions. The only features fully cut in the free version of Bitrix24 is their outward marketing program for CRM and their Sales Intelligence advertisement data synthesis tool.

Trello

Trello is the quintessential, no-consequence, free productivity software solution. While Trello doesn’t have nearly as many specialized features as its paid competitors, Trello offers unlimited members with unlimited storage to effectively organize projects. With bold testimonials from eBay, Wall Street Journal, and even the Detroit Red Wings, Trello asserts itself as an industry player fit for any team. Trello even has no-code automations functioning – almost identical to paid software like Monday.com – which makes projects less of a chore as statuses go from “working on it” to ‘done.”

Pricing: Trello is completely free for unlimited users, but there is a paid version which adds some additional dashboard viewing options and ups the number of boards from 10. The strict functions of Trello are free and equally as effective as paid solutions.

IFTTT

IFTTT is different from the other productivity software on this list. While every other software works with boards and collaborative calendars to coordinate team members, IFTTT is a program that allows a team to consolidate all other apps and software for their job into one place using their proprietary format: Applets. IFTTT is one of the most succinct solutions for merging every piece of software a team uses into one place. For example: if a team uses slack, outlook, Monday.com, Google Drive, Zoom and several other programs daily, IFTTT Applets allow an easy no-code way to put all of those apps on one landing page, making workspaces considerably less cluttered for team members.

Pricing: IFTTT’s free version allows a user to make 3 Applets. In order to combine all workplace software, a team would only need to make one Applet. Free users can also access unlimited Applets created by other users.

Todoist

Todoist functions both as a desktop and mobile app allowing team members to connect from wherever is most convenient. Todoist allows users to connect accounts from Dropbox, Google Calendar, IFTTT and even Amazon Alexa to update dashboards and work calendars with real-time updates from other apps. Todoist also includes a unique “Karma” system that rewards team members for completing tasks. Todoist functions near-identically to paid services like Monday.com but has its own flair through “productivity visualizations” which gamifies tasks. Todoist’s slate of tools and unique features as well as it’s pricing model gears it toward small teams collaborating on one or a few projects.

Pricing: Todoist’s free version has a 5-user cap and only allows one week of activity history. Free users can also only upload files up to 5 megabytes, meaning video production collaborators may seek out different tools.

Wrike

Wrike is production software for perfectionists. Wrike prioritizes customization and uses AI systems to make automations and visuals approachable. Wrike allows users to build their dashboard from the ground up, meaning it can be developed to suit any kind of team. Wrike’s proprietary features like Gantt charts and Kanban boards also make the software one of the best tools for collaboration. Wrike’s“visual proofing” system keeps a detailed log of changes to projects and documents rivaling the detail of the G Suite. Wrike is likely best suited for startups or companies looking to collaborate multiple teams or branches at once; its project portfolio management system could easily bridge information from a sales team to a marketing team with quick detailed visuals.

Pricing: Wrike’s free version is surprisingly robust. There are no active user caps and file sharing has no data caps either. Free Wrike comes with 2 gigabytes of storage, but also allows integration from free cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox. Some of the program’s more advanced features like Gantt charts and shareable dashboards are locked behind paid versions of the software, but the free version is more than sufficient for organizing a team.

Slite

Slite brands itself as the zero-learning curve productivity software. Their claim proves entirely true as the program’s template and table features are natural and intuitive to use. Slite allows full integration from Google Drive, Drop Box, Github and even Asana. Slite’s dashboard is notably sleek and devoid of clutter. The program’s “Catch Up” feature is very snappy and features more than the basic daily updates integrated into most productivity software. Slite morning updates will feature team trends and other data like if a team member made a change to an uploaded document.

Pricing: Slite’s free version is a great bargain. There is no cap on team members or the number of integrations you can add to your team’s dashboard. Slite’s free version only allows 50 documents to be uploaded at one time, but integrations with Google Drive or Drop Box could easily replace Slite’s document viewer. Slite’s paid version is comparably kind when looking at its competitors. Slite is one of the very few productivity programs that does not have an annual fee. Also, Slite only charges for each user that was active during the month.

Airtable

Airtable is supremely effective for planning marketing campaigns or coordinating writing campaigns. Airtable’s calendar and grid view templates allow photo integration which spices up what is often the most boring part of productivity software: the dashboard. Airtable’s sleek design is reminiscent of 2010’s MacIntosh minimalism and offers one of the most diverse customization options for grid and work board views. Airtable is especially helpful for marketing teams and has endorsements from Time, Levi’s Jeans, Autodesk, and Buzzfeed. Airtable’s dashboard system allows easy integration of content campaigns, ad spending and asset collections all in one place. The program’s diverse set of tools could likely be reworked to suit any team, but Airtable’s sleek design and quick ad integration makes it the marketers’ dream tool.

Pricing: Airtable’s free version has no team member cap, allows real-time commenting and collaboration, 100 automation runs per month, and two-week revision history. Free users also have access to Airtable’s best dashboard view options including grid, calendar, Kanban, and gallery. The only advantage paid users have is access to longer revision history, slightly larger attachment size limits and access to advanced visuals like Gantt charts.

Miro

Miro is the premier online whiteboard and brainstorming option for remote teams. Miro’s impressive collection of tools and features allows for seamless collaboration from remote workers on a digital whiteboard. Miro is a masterful piece of software best suited for design teams and brainstorming sessions. Overlaying Miro during a Zoom brainstorming session is one of the best means to layout flow charts, sketches, or even just virtual sticky notes. While Miro does not offer calendar view dashboards like its competitors, it is entirely conceivable that a team may prefer to layout projects in Miro’s freeform whiteboard system. Integrations with Slack, Google Drive and DropBox make Miro the best tool for guiding a meeting but lacking in scheduling features.

Pricing: Miro’s free version allows a team to use three editable whiteboards at a time. There are, however, no limits to the number of team members that can collaborate on each board. The only features locked behind the Miro paywall are an increased amount of boards and additional integrations with apps like Asana. Basic apps like Google Drive and DropBox still work with the free version. Miro paired with Asana is likely one of the most feature-rich options for teams willing to pay for both services at once.

Sligrid

Sligrid is an effective tool for small teams to organize projects and ideas. Like the other programs in this list, Sligrid offers grid and calendar views of upcoming projects and assignments. Sligrid, however, offers another more free-flow system for organizing and connecting tasks called workspaces. Workspaces function like flowcharts and allow one task to connect to another in a visually engaging way. Sligrid is as feature-rich as other free and some paid competitor and is likely best suited for teams benefitting from more open-ended dashboards.

Pricing: The Free version of Sligrid allows 5 team members per workspace and up to 3 workspaces. Free users have access to Sligrid’s collection of basic templates and real-time collaboration modes making the free version a solid choice for small teams. The paid version of Sligrid unlocks the number of workspaces and team members, but not many more features.

 

Navigating the Dense Market of Productivity Software

Remote work caused such a radical boom in productivity software that it can quickly become overwhelming when deciding which program is best for your team. Each program has its own unique flair, but the base function of each is the same: to help organize your team. Since each program is free in some capacity, feel free to test out each program’s proprietary features to see which best suits your style of work.

If you know of any free productivity software that should be added to this list, please contact us at Kapitus.

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