# Our tools



## George Z (Apr 15, 2007)

I thought I would share the following list
of free or very inexpenive tools we have been using.

This one has been a life saver https://www.dropbox.com/


Almost three years of this one and works so good http://www.tsheets.com/


Google http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html


and now finally http://www.zoho.com/crm/index.html


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## y.painting (Jul 19, 2009)

I'll share mine:

1) ACT! - Track all leads info/follow-ups/email marketing/syncs all QB data via QBSales

2) Gmail - Pretty much the best emailing host available  You don't have to use a gmail address either - you can add @youcompanyname.com accounts for sending/receiving. I have 5 different email accounts (business, personal, junk email, etc) and everything just goes through one gmail account. You can manage multiple signatures for each account using Gmail Signatures. 

3) QuickBooks - self explanatory

4) Google Calendar - All jobs are scheduled on here. Google calendar then syncs with my BlackBerry using Google Sync. Your contact can also sync the same way.

5) DropBox - Like George, I have also been a happy user for a while.

6) WhitePages.com - A lot of times a prospective customer will only give you their cell. You can use WP to find their home phone number. You can also often see their spouse's name listed at the same address. You can search by name, by phone number, or by address. A bit stalkerish, but useful at times.

7) Zillow.com - I use this to verify the year a home was built in for RRP purposes. Just put in the address and you'll get the year + historical sales data (most of the time).

8) Bing Maps (Bird Eye View) and Google Maps (Street View) - sometimes, if I have time, I like to "check" out an aerial photo of a home before getting there in person. In Bing, put in the address and then click on "Aeriel" and then pick "Bird's Eye"

EDIT: 9) Forgot to mention, online banking and online money management. I usually deposit all checks through an ATM at night when driving home so I'm not rushing to make it before they close. All payments are initiated automatically for all CCs/charge accounts. All bills also paid automatically using BillPay. All statements come to my inbox. No more paper. If you're still writing paper checks...they invented this thing called the computer


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

I like the look of t sheets, if I do go to smart phones when I can upgrade phones I will look into that for time clocks. 

I have a technet subscription which allows me to "test" all of those great OS, server, and apps that MS makes.


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