I’m all for saving a buck and spending wisely, especially when you’re opening your own business. There’s no faster way to sink a business than to overspend before you start making money.
Many beginning entrepreneurs use the multitude of free software titles on the market to get their business running while enjoying the “free” price tag. GMail and Microsoft Excel are among the most popular free titles that many people use.
But is it good business sense to use this free software? Let’s compare benefits…
Gmail and Yahoo Mail are extremely popular because they are web-based programs (and they’re free!) but do you feel professional enough printing a gmail account on your business cards? Even if you have your-company-name@gmail.com everyone will know it’s a free account.
To give a more professional image, purchase your company’s domain name (or website URL) so you can personalize the email like I did with trevor @ thereibrain.com
Microsoft Excel is another free spreadsheet software that many people are trying to use in place of traditional accounting software. While the price tag is nice there are inherent problems with data integrity and the ability to easily change formulas. Yes, Excel is user friendly but too much user friendliness in an accounting program will cause massive headaches down the road when trying to balance your books.
Traditional paid accounting software is still easy to use but there are built-in safety nets in place to avoid massive errors in record keeping.
Another software that people skimp on is mailing list or email marketing software. Free titles will severely limit the number of people you can have on your list and will usually have “this service provided by ABC Free Software” plastered all over the outgoing emails. These free companies might also have hidden limitations in terms of deliverability. If your email marketing provider can’t guarantee delivery, what good is that program?
Paid email marketing software is fairly inexpensive if you’re just starting out and you have a very small list. Many companies offer varying plans depending on how many names are on your list. Paid software also has more HTML templates to choose from to personalize your company newsletter.
Keep in mind…email marketing software is different from Gmail. List building involves having people sign up for your newsletter and their name automatically goes on your list so you can send mass emails about your business. If you decide to send a mass email to a Gmail list, they’ll think you’re a spammer and will shut down your account mighty fast.
There will always be a place for free software but decide what image you want to portray for your business and choose your software wisely. If you need help choosing between property management software titles, check out our reviews.
Trevor, always a pleasure reading your articles. I believe M$ Excel is still a paid application; however, many people already have it installed on their computers or it comes with their computers so in effect I understand the message. Also Google has their free spreadsheet program which competes with Excel too. All in all, the free apps do have their place which is mostly residential or “light duty”. We continue to offer a free version of our software to the smaller landlords, but the benefits of the enhanced versions often compel users to upgrade just for the added features that go well above and beyond anything Excel or Google have to offer landlords.
Thanks again for the excellent site and great articles!