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The tools you need to get ahead in business

EVEN IF YOU DON'T DO BUSINESS ON THE WEB, THE WEB can help you succeed in business. Dozens of Web-based services are vying to help you streamline your operation and best the competition--even the big guys. How? Say a large firm needs extra help to handle a new account. While the large firm hands the task off to the human resources department, you sidestep the corporate layers and mine talent directly from any number of job and executive recruitment sites, and yield a stack of impressive resumes that same afternoon.

Using Web technology, you can find the resources to finance your venture, reduce your phone expenses, network with other small and home-based businesses, and even learn how to provide better customer service. Add to the mix application service providers (ASPs)--Web sites that rent you business applications that live on the sites' servers. These ASPs offer a host of services, such as team meeting and collaboration, document management, online data storage, and billing and expense tracking software--much of it free. Instead of installing software, you type in a Web address. Similarly, online desktops provide calendar and contact management applications you access from anywhere there's a Web connection.

The tools are out there; now we'll show you how to work--the Web way.

Work With Me

Corporations have in-house networks that let employees stay in touch, share documents, and schedule meetings. But these companies also have hefty bills for multiuser software licenses. You can get the groupware advantage without paying big bucks for hardware and software at a variety of sites, including Visto.com Corp. (www.visto.com), HotOffice Technologies Inc. (www.hotoffice.com), Intranets.com (www. intranets.com), and When.com (www.when.com).

Although each company puts a slightly different spin on teamwork, each offers calendar functions and lets you manage address books, to-do lists, and e-mail. You can also share documents with clients and schedule group meetings.

HotOffice offers both free and paid versions of its meeting tool. And When.com has an extensive listing of worldwide events you can add to your personal calendar--or list your own. Visto, also a free service, supports both guest users (those you've given permission to view your personal calendar) and groups (full intranet service, including a private group bulletin board, calendar, and photo gallery). Intranets.com also lets you host real-time meetings with members of your private group, and features a group calendar as well as document management and instant messaging functions.

Meeting and collaboration tools such as WebEx Inc. (www.webex.com) and Evoke (www.evoke.com) take things a bit further, letting you work with clients and colleagues around the world via the Internet. The cost for hosting an Evoke meeting depends on how many users access your conference; so an hour-long meeting with six people, for example, would cost about $86 (including a $10 setup charge).

WebEx is free to users who limit meetings to four participants for less than an hour. Larger and longer meetings are charged on a sliding scale (an hour-long, six-person meeting that allows incoming teleconference calls would cost about $78). (For more information on virtual meetings and collaboration, see "Let's Get Together" in this issue's Workstyles section.)

Once you've collaborated on a project, you'll need to store it. If you're like most home workers, you keep files on your hard disk. But if you have several clients or several iterations of a project, your hard disk can get cluttered quickly. Or maybe a file's too large to store on a floppy. That's where online storage services such as NetDocuments (www.netdocuments.com), X:drive Inc. (www.xdrive.com), and MySpace.com (www.myspace.com) come in.

These sites operate as banks for your documents--secure yet accessible. One advantage of storing documents on the Web is that clients (to whom you've given access) can view works in progress--and make changes quickly and conveniently; and you won't incur additional costs for overnighting packages, for instance. Most of these services let you store the first 10MB or 20MB of data for free, then typically charge a small monthly fee for an additional 50MB, 100MB, or more storage space.

Cash Concerns

If you bill clients by the hour, it's important to keep track of the time you spend on a project and bill in a timely manner. Sophisticated software solutions aren't usually within a home business's price range; but OpenAir.com, formerly TimeBills.com (www.timebills.com), makes the billing pain- and cost-free. The site lets you log your hours and create invoices.

OpenAir.com lets you password-protect your records from unauthorized users, but you can let employees add their hours before you submit your invoice. The result is accurate and fast billing, even when your group works from disparate locations.

The Time Bills, Expense Reports, and Time Sheets services are free for the first five users on an account. The cost for each additional user is $3.95 per month for one service or $6.95 per month for use of all three.

If clients aren't paying promptly and you need the extra cash to grow your business, you might consider getting a loan. Until recently, though, this was a tedious process that involved researching rates, gathering paperwork, and waiting. And the results were, at best, hit or miss.

If you're a savvy business owner who's already banking online, you can apply to 27 different lenders--including American Express, Wells Fargo, and Provident Bank--with just one application. At LiveCapital.com (www.livecapital.com), you provide basic information about yourself and your company--such as how long you've been in business, how much money you need, and your current checking account balance. LiveCapital.com submits your application and returns with loan offers from several banks. You choose the terms you find most agreeable, and the bank calls you to complete the deal.

If you'd rather go with a brick-and-mortar institution, you can check with BankOnline.com (www.bankonline.com) to see if your local bank is an online lender.

Talk Is Cheap

Despite the ease of e-mail, the phone is still an essential business tool. But you can use your computer to help locate phone service that fits your budget. Decide.com (www.decide.com) provides a rich resource for selecting cellular, long-distance, and calling card services. The site lets you create customized side-by-side comparisons of telephone services, and offers explanations of communications jargon, such as the universal service fee (a charge passed on to customers to pay for FCC-mandated subsidies to low-income customers and public-interest groups).

Point.com (www.point.com) specializes in cellular phones, service plans, and accessories. Not sure which phone is right for you? Point.com provides buying information as well as tips on general phone care and maintenance. For instance, if you forget your cell phone number, just press the recall button and then the # key (on phones without a recall button, try the control key, then #).

Amazingly thorough, A Bell Tolls (www.abelltolls.com) evaluates long-distance phone services to help you find the perfect plan. It also includes a listing of 10-10 dial-around codes that let you access a long-distance carrier other than your own. The site also offers advice on avoiding phone scams, changing carriers, and ditching those annoying telemarketers.

This Gun's for Hire

As your business grows, you may need to hire an employee or two. Before you place that ad, visit Nolo.com (www.nolo.com) to learn about your legal responsibilities as an employer. The site provides a full rundown on how to stay on the right side of the law. For instance, Nolo.com suggests ways to avoid discriminatory language in ads and job applications, using words such as salesperson, not salesman; energetic, not young; and part-time worker, not college student.

Once you've decided to hire someone, you have to settle on a salary. To stay competitive, you need to offer the market rate--or perks that make the job more attractive. The Wall Street Journal's online employment pages (careers.wsj.com) provide a salary calculator that helps you determine the going rate in your job market. A worker leaving a $30,000 job in Boca Raton, Fla., for example, would need to earn $80,000 in New York City to maintain the same lifestyle. The site also has articles that can help you understand what, besides money, you can offer to attract skilled applicants.