One of the best things to happen to small business the last several years is the arrival of computing services that you access online. They are cheap (often free) and eliminate the need for you to have expensive hardware and software in your own location.
Among the most prolific of these services are online billing and bookkeeping Web sites. They range from free and simple services that let you create and send invoices, to full-blown financial management solutions.
Here are some of my top online invoicing and bookkeeping services for small business:
• WorkingPoint.com (previously called NetBooks) aspires to be much more than just online bookkeeping. It’s an end-to-end solution that lets you manage your entire small business online. This includes invoicing, bookkeeping, contact management, expense tracking, financial reports, inventory management and more.
The site’s latest offering is a new company profile feature that gives you a free Web page. The basic WorkingPoint service (one user) is free “forever.” For additional users, rates start at $10 monthly.
• Freshbooks.com – among the first online invoicing services – has hundreds of thousands of users and an expanding lineup of services. It’s core service lets you send and manage invoices and collect payments online. You can brand your system and invoices with your company’s logo.
Where FreshBooks stands apart from most other services is its ability to also let you track time and expenses for yourself, your staff or contractors who may be working on various projects with your team. You can invite contractors to join your team on FreshBooks and receive their invoices all in one place.
• Zoho Invoice (www.zoho.com) is one of 10 helpful business applications from the popular online collaboration site Zoho. It’s free for up to five invoices per month. For larger numbers, pricing ranges from $8 to $35 per month. Zoho Invoice lets you easily send professionally designed invoices and price quotes to your customers. You can select from different invoice templates, or design your own with your own logo. Plus, you can track invoices, send reminders, accept payments online.
• QuickBooks Online Free: This simplified, free version of the QuickBooks accounting and bookkeeping system for small business lacks the more powerful features of QuickBooks’ other versions, but it still packs a nice little punch for a small, solo business if your needs are modest. You can instantly create invoices, track your money and manage up to 20 customers. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
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