Free Software Tools for Businesses

A recession economy is often a time for cutting budgets and pulling in belts. But for many budding entrepreneurs, it's also a good time to finally launch the business you've been planning, or to start the consulting firm you've always dreamed of.

Earlier this year we praised Google Docs for its contributions to our own office communication infrastructure, and how helpful it's been for us in keeping a multi-national company in touch and on-the-ball.

But Google Docs is not the only web-based application that's really helped us save costs while maintaining a high level of performance. There are literally hundreds of free, web-based applications out there available for small businesses.

Here's a rundown of a few other applications our office would be helpless without:

Freshbooks - Easy to use invoicing and payment tracking application. Can print PDf invoices or mail them directly to your clients. Free limited trial of up to three clients plus advanced customization capabilities for larger businesses.

Zoho - Project management system. Assign tasks, add deadlines, and generate reports on your company's progress for different contracts.

Skype - Powerful voice conference tool that's free to use with other Skype users. Quickly becoming one of the major VOIP players on the market.

Drupal - A CMS or content management system that's quick to install and packs a lot of power. Drupal is an open source CMS great for building websites. You can add on modules to customize for your specific purposes. Best of all, it doesn't require a professional system administrator or webmaster to maintain.

Website Spark - A new program from Microsoft we thought worth mentioning. For web developers, participating in this program means free server licenses and access to other great Microsoft software at no charge to you!

What if you don't see anything helpful to you on this page? Don't panic just yet. This is but a tiny, minute fraction of what is available out there. You can check out more listings like on Mashable's 230+ Tools for Running a Business Online or The Entrepreneur's article, "The Best Things in Life are Free" for even more options.

So good luck with the business! And don't forget, if you really can't find what you need online, you can always contact our custom application development team for a quote.