There are a lot of tools out there that you can use to collaborate with others. Here’s a list of my favourites, none of which should be totally unheard of.
- Dropbox– My favourite way to share files with clients. I’ve got folders for all of my clients and most of their documents and graphics are stored in their dropbox folder. I also use it personally to upload photos I’ve taken from my phone, to store documents & music for my tablet and to share things (mostly photos or video) with friends and family.
- Google Calendar – I use it to set appointments for clients, my clients give me access to their calendar so I can add and change appointments. I also store information like their phone number, their PA’s name & number in the appointment just in case there is some problem later on. It means that both the client and I can just go to the appointment and all the information we need is there.
I also use it to make sure ALL my appointments from my personal and my work calendars are in the calendar on my phone so I have one calendar I can check for everything.** If you use Outlook as well and want to be able to see all your appointments on one calendar, grab a copy of Google Calendar Sync and it’ll take care of it for you.
- Google Docs – I use this mostly to make presentations, but also for documents and spreadsheets where Office is out of the question. It also can be used for creating & editing images and allows you to create forms which it can then collate as responses are received.
- Skype– I don’t have a landline, so I make most of my calls via Skype. I have it set up to display my mobile number which gives people a number to easily call back on. I can easily download a spreadsheet of calls made during a month so I can track how much I’m spending on behalf of a client if I want to bill call charges. I also have it loaded on my mobile phone so I can accept Skype calls when I’m out of the office. If you do this, just beware that you may chew up your data allowance.
- 37Signals Suite – I’m a huge fan of the 37signals products. I was introduced to them by a client, I recommend them to clients and I use some of them for myself. There are very limited free versions available if you don’t have a large need (I use the free versions of Highrise & Basecamp) and there are several purchase options. Lastly, a huge selling point for me is how helpful they are with any queries whether it’s a helpdesk enquiry or a feature request. The individual products are:
- Basecamp – for project management
- Highrise – CRM
- Backpack – to share files
- Campfire – for collaboration
That’s the list of tools I can’t live without. If you have another collaboration tool that you’d use instead of one of these, or for a different purpose please let me know in the comments.
