5 cheap tools to help online startups

Start Up Online

Jeremy and Oliver review some handy tools for running an online startup business. They discuss tools for creating and sharing wireframes and design mock-ups, bookkeeping, sales presentations, website analytics and more.

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1. iPlotz helps us create and share wireframe designs quickly

We use this great little app to build wireframes and mock-ups of new site designs, features and functionality. It’s easy to collaborate on design concepts and then export images or preview links to share with others. We find it particularly handy for explaining design concepts to our outsourced design team. You can get a free account to test it out or it costs about $99 per year.

2. Prezi helps us create engaging sales presentations

Prezi lets you create non-linear, 3-dimensional presentations which are incredibly engaging compared with the standard Powerpoint slide show. You really need to create your own presentation with Prezi to fully appreciate what it’s all about. You can create a free account to try it out.

3. Record how people use your site

Clicktale creates flash videos of your site visitors as they navigate around your site. It’s like you are watching over every visitor’s shoulder as they use your site. You will quickly discover which pages people get stuck on, and general trends about common navigation paths. This is a bit more expensive at over $100 per month, but really useful.

4. Google Analytics

The best general analytics program available in the market. It’s free, too.

5. Saasu helps us with bookkeeping

We use this online bookkeeping service to stay on top of our financials. You can quickly import and classify transactions from your bank accounts, take care of payroll issues and tax requirements. It also has great reporting features which allow us to keep investors abreast of the company financials. We pay about $50 per month for our Saasu account.