We've moved! Visit
The Keyword
for small business news, stories and resources.
Small Business
Tips and tricks for managing your business with Google’s solutions
Celebrating small businesses and integrated, easy-to-use web tools
Monday, May 16, 2011
Posted by Joanne Schneider, Google Apps
Small Business Team
In honor of
National Small Business Week
, we’d like to take time this week to share ways that
Google Apps
and the
Google Apps Marketplace
can help small businesses work more productively and efficiently.
Today, we’re highlighting a few of the
Small Business Web
apps in the
Google Apps Marketplace
, and how our customers run their businesses on them every day. Google shares the Small Business Web’s dedication to providing tools that have enterprise-grade functionality, as well as align with small businesses’ priorities.
Apps that work together
Particularly for companies without a dedicated IT team or person, the list of necessary business tools can quickly become unmanageable. Web apps that provide deep integrations with Google Apps and with each other are especially useful for growing businesses that don’t have time to manage multiple, distinct applications.
Olark
lets customers live chat with website visitors directly from the Gmail interface through Google Talk, and provides easy access to chat transcripts. Peter Macaulay of
KitchenwareDirect.com.au
says, “The ability to live chat with customers without leaving the Google Apps interface is a huge productivity advantage. The simple and elegant implementation meant we were up and running in a matter of minutes. Staff members are easily able to set their availability for chat, enabling them to easily multi-task.”
WORKetc
is another app that makes Gmail into the front end workspace, but for CRM, project management, and customer support. It let’s you easily share emails related to particular projects with relevant team members without forwarding or copying other email addresses. D. Hogan of
Varis Energy
says, “Any emails that need to be shared with my team get tagged in the WORKetc gadget that is built right into Gmail. This immediately lets everyone else who is assigned to a project or lead have access to the new information from the received email.”
Access all the time
As compared to larger businesses, small businesses are even less suited to managing servers, and tend to have many employees on the road or in non-office locations. Accessing their data and documents from anywhere, on any Internet-connected device is a core benefit of using web-based tools like Google Docs.
OfficeDrop
digitizes paper documents to make them text-searchable in Google Docs.
Greg Skidmore of
Belpointe Asset Management
says, “Each month we send a box of paper files to OfficeDrop and have them scanned directly into Google Docs. If I have a document that I need scanned right away, I use OfficeDrop’s scanning software,
ScanDrop
, and upload it immediately.”
Easy to Use
Small business owners and employees often wear a lot of hats and they’ve asked for solutions that are easy to learn and use. Michael Bower of
Michael Bower Digital
says, “I always need to know where my money is, without wasting time organizing my paperwork. As my business grew, I was losing control of my cashflow. Both Google Apps and
FreshBooks
have just enough features to keep my workflow and invoicing organized, allowing me to focus on my work.”
These are just a few examples of the many Small Business Web app vendors in the Google Apps Marketplace who provide the functionality and integrations a small business needs. Over 30 Google Apps Marketplace apps have already joined the Small Business Web and declared their commitment to helping small businesses focus on what they do best. They include:
Finance
Bill.com
billFLO
EchoSign
Expensify
FreeAgent
Freshbooks
Harvest
Kashoo
Outright
Shoeboxed
CRM
Assistly
Batchbook
CRM
Capsule
CRM
Connect2Field
Disqourse CRM
Get
Satisfaction
PipelineDeals
SAManage
Solve360
CRM
Tactile
CRM
WorkETC
Doc Management
Box.net
FormLizard
OfficeDrop
Collaboration
MindMeister
Teambox
uberVU
YoolinkPro
Sales and Marketing
Mailchimp
Olark
SiteKreator
VerticalResponse
zferral
We celebrate National Small Business Week to recognize the importance of small businesses for promoting a healthy economy, and we’re excited to help them continue to grow and succeed through the smart use of technology.
Labels
Brazil
1
Business Photos
2
Chromebooks
1
consumer surveys
1
Economic Impact Report
3
Education
1
English
419
Events
3
Get Your Business Online
7
Gmail
8
GoMo
1
Google Ads
61
Google AdSense
4
Google Analytics
7
Google App Engine
1
Google Apps
60
Google Apps for Work
2
Google Calendar
6
Google Docs
18
Google Domains
3
Google Forms
1
Google Maps
15
google my business
16
Google Offers
1
Google Partners
2
Google Places
45
Google ReWork
1
Google Search
6
Google Shopping
2
Google Sites
7
Google Small Business
20
Google Small Business Blog
419
Google Small Business Community
9
Google Tags
4
Google+
9
Google+ stories
8
Help Desk Hangouts On Air
20
Holiday
3
Learn with Google
4
Livestream
1
Local Services
3
marketing
1
mobile
13
mobile optimization
4
mobile sites
4
Mobile Speed
1
National Small Business Week
3
Newsletter
3
Online security
3
Primer
2
Research
1
reviews
1
Rio de Janeiro
1
Road Trip
1
site design
1
Small Business Saturday
1
Small Business Week
4
Street View
1
TalkBin
2
Test My Site
1
Training
2
Webmaster Academy
2
YouTube
7
Archive
2018
Dec
Oct
Jul
Apr
Feb
Jan
2017
Oct
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
2016
Nov
Oct
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
2015
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
2013
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Feed
Follow @googlesmallbiz
Follow
Site Feed
Follow
