YourBusinessWithJamesCaan2016 - 119

SOFTWARE

Despite being relatively unknown,
Opera is fast proving itself to be more
than just the underdog of the browser
market. This application seems to
relish whatever limitation you throw at
it, with options to reduce battery usage
of laptops and improve performance
by routing your traﬃc through its own
servers. If the bandwidth you have
isn't suﬃcient for your needs, this is
the browser for you.

TURBO MAIL

There are two types of email. Webmail
(Gmail or Outlook) stores your mail
online and can be accessed from any
device with an internet connection.
Desktop email refers to email stored
by company-owned servers, eﬀectively
restricting access to on-site only.
Desktop is considered to be safer, as
you are retaining ownership of your
own data, can set encryptions and back
up your emails at will. The ability to
access them oﬄine is a deﬁnite bonus,
as is the knowledge that neither Google
nor Microsoft is scanning your emails
for tips on how to advertise to you. If
you're considering desktop email,
Postbox is a solid choice.

If you would rather access your
email anywhere, you can't go wrong
with the classics. Gmail has powerful
ﬁltering tools, automated sorting and
several diﬀerent layouts, allowing you
enormous ﬂexibility in how you want
to interface with your email. In contrast,
Outlook oﬀers a single streamlined
aesthetic, but has excellent synergy
with other productivity tools, such
as Evernote or Boomerang.
Having your company's name in
your email address looks professional,
but it doesn't come cheap. While both
Gmail and Outlook oﬀer the ability to
customise your email address, it is
locked away behind their premium
tiers and subject to fees. If you're
after a free alternative, consider the
Yahoo-owned Aabaco Small Business,
which includes a free domain name.

SUITE THING

When it comes to productivity
software, Microsoft Oﬃce has enjoyed
a monopoly for much of its history, but
users may ﬁnd the cost of a licence
outweighs its usefulness. Fortunately,
Microsoft's competitors understand
how important familiarity is to the
Many companion apps
offer full functionality

consumer, and many alternatives
are compatible with the Oﬃce suite,
mirroring the functions we're used to.
Leading the pack is Google Apps,
which allows multiple people to edit
a ﬁle simultaneously - especially useful
for those communicating remotely. As
long as you remain online, documents
constantly save any changes. It's not
the fastest package, but it doesn't
require a download - and it's free.
If you were alienated by Microsoft's
constant changes to the layout of their
suite, then LibreOﬃce is the package
for you. The interface is similar to that

The company name
in your email
address looks
professional, but it
doesn't come cheap
of Oﬃce 2003, but an injection of
colour keeps the suite feeling modern.
Though the applications emphasise
familiarity, functions such as automatic
word completion show the developers
are not afraid to innovate. Regularly
updated, and with a host of free
extensions and templates, LibreOﬃce
is more than just a nostalgia trip.
SoftMaker FreeOﬃce is faster and
more intuitive than rival LibreOﬃce
- but less powerful and featurecomplete. The suite is an unabashed
advertisement for its premium cousin,
SoftMaker Oﬃce, and as a result locks
away cross-referencing and mailmerge functionality. But if you're
handling multi-page spreadsheets or
long documents, you could do much
worse than this free suite.

ACCOUNTING ON IT

Intuit's QuickBooks Online is far and
above the most popular accounting
software among new business owners
- as well as with accountants. A highly
simpliﬁed interface complements the

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