{"id":5181,"date":"2011-05-05T10:19:57","date_gmt":"2011-05-05T10:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/?p=5181"},"modified":"2011-05-05T10:19:57","modified_gmt":"2011-05-05T10:19:57","slug":"9-free-software-alternatives-to-keep-your-business-it-costs-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heartinternet.uk\/blog\/9-free-software-alternatives-to-keep-your-business-it-costs-down\/","title":{"rendered":"9 free software alternatives to keep your business IT costs down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Software and IT costs for any small business can soon mount up especially with so many providers charging on a user by user basis. Although not as well-known as the large software providers, there are dozens of open source or freeware alternatives waiting to help you with your business software requirements. The added bonus is they won\u2019t charge you or your business a penny!<\/p>\n

Email & instant messaging<\/h4>\n

Always being connected and contactable doesn\u2019t have to cost you any money as a business. Google\u2019s email services<\/a> are widely considered to be amongst the best available and allow users to access their emails on multiple devices plus includes features such as real time collaboration and built in instant messaging. Obviously an email address such as \u201cbusiness-name56k@gmail.com\u201d doesn\u2019t portray you as a professional company or maintain a consistent brand. However, you can use your own domain name\u2019s email addresses as well with Gmail. This \u201cHow to Use Gmail With Your Own Branded Domain<\/a>\u201d guide takes you through the necessary steps to set this up.<\/p>\n

You can also use the likes of Talk, Calendar and Docs through “Google Apps<\/a>”. To setup Google Apps for one of your domain names login to our control panel<\/a>, click \u201cManage Domain Names\u201d, select the domain you wish to update and then click \u201cDNS Management\u201d. On this page there is a new section called \u201cSetting DNS for Google Apps\u201d. Click the link in this section and all the settings will be made automatically for you.<\/p>\n

Documents, spread sheets and presentations<\/h4>\n

Save on licensing fees by looking beyond Microsoft office. Open Office<\/a> is a fully formed and professional suite of software, and they are all great alternatives to Microsoft\u2019s products. The Open Office suite includes a word processor, spread sheet software, presentation software and database software. If you are worried about compatibility with other companies who use Microsoft, you can also open and save files in Microsoft\u2019s file formats e.g. Word\u2019s .doc.<\/p>\n

Ecommerce & billing<\/h4>\n

In their own words \u201cosCommerce Online Merchant<\/a> is an Open Source online shop e-commerce solution that is available for free with a feature rich set of out-of-the-box online shopping cart functionality that allows store owners to setup, run, and maintain online stores with minimum effort and with no costs, fees, or limitations involved.\u201d\u00a0 [Available as a one click install for Home Pro, Business Pro & Reseller Pro customers]<\/i><\/p>\n

No business can survive if clients aren\u2019t paying on time, so to help chase those bills and keep records of payments use Simple Invoices<\/a>, a free and open source invoicing system packed full of some great features.<\/p>\n

Customer support<\/h4>\n

Whether it is by phone, email or web forms, If you offer customer support services to your customers you can use OSticket<\/a> to maintain a centralised record of your customer contacts without having to pay a software supplier any monthly usage fees. [Available as a one click install for Home Pro, Business Pro & Reseller Pro customers]<\/i><\/p>\n

Project management<\/h4>\n

As your business grows, managing all of your on-going projects can become increasingly difficult and inefficient. Rather than adapting your CMS software or using a spread sheet, to keep up to date you can use dotProject<\/a>. dotProject is purpose built project management software and completely free. [Available as a one click install for Home Pro, Business Pro & Reseller Pro customers]<\/i><\/p>\n

Web design & graphics<\/h4>\n

If you like to dabble with web design or add content to your site, you don\u2019t have to buy the likes of Dreamweaver to do this. Aptana Studio<\/a> is a HTML and CSS design suite also used by programmers who write in PHP, Ruby and others. You can also save on Photoshop licenses by using the likes of GIMP<\/a> and Inkscape<\/a> to draw and edit images.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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