The tools that we use to run our businesses and organize our lives are supposed to make thing easier. We choose them because we identify a need — a pain point — and are looking for a solution. In my experiences working with small business, bookkeeping is a common area where most folks are looking for some help.
In my review of bookkeeping and tax prep service Outright back in April, I highlighted not only its ease of use, but also its ability to play nicely and communicate with other apps. As a bookkeeping app is just a part of the chain of tracking income and expenses, these connections to your existing data are critical and keep data entry times to an absolute minimum.
I’m thrilled to hear that the Outright folks are extending this reach, with two major additions to the list of apps that Outright is compatible with being released today. Both should really help the typical small business keep finances and expenses in check.
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Outright and Expensify, web apps that we’ve covered previously on WWD, are joining forces to make expenses management even simpler. As Jennifer reports over on GigaOM, bookkeeping app Outright today releases a beta version of the site that uses Expensify’s API, meaning that credit card expense data generated using Expensify can be automatically imported into your company’s books in Outright. If you’re in the Outright beta group you can try out this feature right now; everyone else will have to wait for the full launch, due in about two weeks’ time.
Outright is part of the Small Business Web, a movement that we’ve written about before, which aims to bring closer collaboration between web apps in order to make their offerings stronger. Expensify and Outright are certainly a very natural fit — hopefully more companies will be persuaded that joining together like this results in a better product.
What other apps would work well together like this?
I’ve written in the past about the handy features of bookkeeping and tax preparation service Outright. Its easy-to-use interface and integration with other apps make it almost a no-brainer for small business that aren’t satisfied with their existing accounting process.
As we’re at the midyear point, now is a good time to evaluate how prepared you are for tax preparation, rather than wait for year end. To sweeten the deal a bit, the folks at Outright have partnered with Network Solutions to offer a free domain name and business profile page for one year to new signups. The promotion runs through until the end of July.
If you don’t already have a web presence, this might be a great way to get yourself online, and to get the bookkeeping and tax preparation benefits of Outright. Just register as normal with Outright and they’ll send you the details on how to get your domain name. It is estimated that 50 percent to 60 percent of small businesses do not yet have an online presence; offers like this can give people the ability to take the plunge and move their business to the web.
What I really like about this offer is that it is very much in the spirit of the Small Business Web movement that I think is tremendously important for the long-term success of web services. While not an integration move, it shows how service providers can work together to bring a real benefit to their small business users. I’ve watched these interactions and relationships develop online and am thrilled to see real benefits coming out of these partnerships.
Is your business online? Could you use a free domain name?
As we approach April 15th and tax time, it is normal for us to think about how we maintain our books and evaluate if our current process is working for us.
While there’s no shortage of accounting programs available, with varying levels of complexity and pricing, it can be difficult for a small shop to find the right solution. Focusing on ease of use and integration with other web apps, Outright is a great choice for web workers.
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Amidst the noise being generated by those attending and reporting on the SXSW conference, I caught wind of a particularly interesting announcement made by BatchBlue and some other web service providers about a “Small Business Web” of integrated SaaS products designed for small business.
“The Small Business Web is a movement to bring together like-minded, customer-obsessed software companies to integrate our respective products and make life easier for small businesses,” Pamela O’Hara, CEO of BatchBlue, told me via email.
By using the APIs, or Application Programming Interfaces, present in each other’s products, the participating companies hope to offer a very high level of integration between their services. This will allow each company to focus on its own core competency, while allowing for easier data portability and a better overall experience for the user. Read the rest of this entry »
The tools that we use to run our businesses and organize our lives are supposed to make thing easier. We choose them because we identify a need — a pain point — and are looking for a solution. In my experiences working with small business, bookkeeping is a common area where most folks are looking for some help.
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
