Top 3 Free and Low-Cost Tools to Simplify Business Processes

I’m sure you’ll agree. Technology is a great thing. But then, if you’re planning on embarking on a new business, it can also be a barrier to entry, especially if you lack the needed funding to implement so many technological advances that can simplify your business processes. Good thing there are a number of online tools out there that seek to bridge this gap, tools that are either free, or at most, low-cost. Here are three of these tools:

1. Bitrix24.com

In the business world, the search for tools that promote efficiency in the workplace is always on, corporate intranets and CRMs among them. In general, big companies don’t have trouble implementing them because they have the financial leverage that most small companies don’t. To keep pace and compete, what’s a financially constrained small business to do?

Bitrix24.com is a social collaboration platform specifically created for the workplace and is free for companies with a total employee count of 12 or less. Bitrix24 combines several disparate work tools in one application such as free intranet, free CRM, free real-time viewing, free activity planner and calendar, free workforce monitoring, free sales funnel, free file sharing and a whole host of other features. Further, Bitrix24 is cloud-based, and therefore, requires no installation. It can also be accessed anywhere, either through a PC or a phone, making your workplace mobile and not confined to an office building alone. For companies with more than 12 employees, an upgrade to unlimited user use is available for a monthly subscription of $99.

2. PickyDomains.com

Branding is an essential element of every business venture. Without proper branding, a business’ prospects of success may be limited. In this same vein, the name you choose to use for your business, service or product is critical. If you get it right on your own the first time, then, good for you. If not, it’s time to explore other avenues that will help you come up with a name that’s worth advertising about. Branding agencies, of course, know this by heart, which is the reason why they still are in business. The only trouble with these agencies, they charge a lot, up to thousands of dollars.

PickyDomains.com is a naming service that capitalizes on the crowdsourcing platform to come up with relevant, unique, easy-to-remember and catchy slogans, names and domains for small businesses and individuals alike. PickyDomains, having been in business since 2007, has a solid base of more than 50,000 registered contributors from different parts of the globe. To start receiving suggestions, become a client by registering with the site, pay the required downpayment of $50 for a domain/name, or $75 if it’s a slogan you’re looking for, and map out your naming requirements. If none of the suggestions sent out by contributors meets your needs, you get a refund, making the service absolutely risk-free.

3. JetRadar.com

Some businesses require constant travel. And whether some people believe it or not, air travel is still, and perhaps will always be, the safest and fastest way to get around. With the arrival of online ticket brokers and low-cost airlines, air travel has become dramatically cheaper, but with this innovation comes the ever-increasing competition among low-cost carriers. Carriers who melted under the pressure had to close down, leaving those that are still in business to confine their airfare deals into their own sites or partner sites instead of the old practice of pitching them to comparison websites. This, in turn, results in the airfare deal hunter practically scouring all flight and airline sites to clinch the deal that ultimately satisfies all of his travel requirements, not to mention, budgetary constraints.

JetRadar.com is a meta search engine that functions as a fine-tooth comb sifting through 700+ airline websites plus hundreds of ticket and flight sites for the best airfare promotional offers available, and makes the information ready and accessible by the public in a single location. With JetRadar, time and effort spent to search for the cheapest airfare deals online is conserved.