Business growth?

[knowrelation]

Hey everyone

This isn't limited to the graphic design field but my freelance work has really been taking off lately, so I'm looking for ways to capitalize on that while keeping my head above water. I may actually start outsourcing some work to a friend of mine as well. However, I'm trying to get all my accounts organized with calenders, shared workspaces, etc. To cut to the chase, has anyone used a product like Office Live or something comparable? I haven't heard great things about Microsoft's product but they're probably the biggest name in that market at the moment.

[Alan G]

I'm not getting a clear concept of what you're trying to organize. "Accounts" as in money, or as in clients? "Shared workspaces" as in two or more designers sharing a project folder, or something else?

You should certainly invest in Quickbooks to get your financials under control. Extensis Portfolio is a great way to organize project files and assets and keep track of them. And there are enough sharable calendar options out there, open source stuff, all free, that you don't need to go with anyone's proprietary solution.

Give us a bit more of a picture, and the collective wisdom of the forum will give you plenty of suggestions.

[bejamshi]

tell us how your business grew?

[CkretAjint]

tell us how your business grew?


By adding more clients... ;)

[bejamshi]

You again? Oh boy

[CkretAjint]

You again? Oh boy

...*deep breaths*...

[SpugNothuson]

Extensis Portfolio at first glance looks a lot like Adobe Bridge. Am I right in this assumption?

[mattbing]

A great tool for keeping your invoicing/estimates/timing is Billings, try it out and it's a good deal.

[knowrelation]

OK, thanks for all the responses! I'll field some of your q's:

I'm not getting a clear concept of what you're trying to organize. "Accounts" as in money, or as in clients?

Clients. I have quickbooks for all accountING issues and I'm considering hiring an accountant to handle taxes. What I need is a system for CRM, calenders, shared workspaces as in FTP space that I can use for transferring files between clients and other designers. That's what I also mean by "shared workspace," if I hire another designer that works from their own home.

Extensis Portfolio is a great way to organize project files and assets and keep track of them.

Thanks, I'll check it out!

And there are enough sharable calendar options out there, open source stuff, all free, that you don't need to go with anyone's proprietary solution.

Well, yes, but can anyone recommend one? I'm looking for something I can streamline with other applications, if possible. I know google has some options with this...

Basically what I'm looking for is an online system for CRM and account management. I know there are also some web-hosting options that include alot of this stuff, which would be great since I'm launching a new web site in about a month (hopefully).

Thanks again for all your help!

[CkretAjint]

Extensis Portfolio at first glance looks a lot like Adobe Bridge. Am I right in this assumption?

Correct. We use both here at work...