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><channel><title>AppVita &#187; Save Time</title> <atom:link href="http://www.appvita.com/category/save-time/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /><link>http://www.appvita.com</link> <description>Discovering web-based applications that just make life better</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:30:52 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en</language> <sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency> <item><title>FaxDesk – Send Faxes Online</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/17/faxdesk-send-faxes-online/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/17/faxdesk-send-faxes-online/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:30:17 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[faxes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[faxing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[productivity]]></category> <category><![CDATA[saving money]]></category> <category><![CDATA[small business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[telecommunications]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Telephone]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8382</guid> <description><![CDATA[The time has come to get rid of the clunky fax machine taking up precious space in your crowded office. When you use FaxDesk, you can send and receive faxes without any hardware, software, or expensive equipment. In some cases, FaxDesk users don’t even need a computer. The web-based application lets people send and receive [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-faxdesk.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8383" title="ss-faxdesk" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-faxdesk.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>The time has come to get rid of the clunky fax machine taking up precious space in your crowded office. When you use FaxDesk, you can send and receive faxes without any hardware, software, or expensive equipment. In some cases, FaxDesk users don’t even need a computer. The web-based application lets people send and receive faxes from anywhere in the world when they’re using certain mobile phones.<span id="more-8382"></span></p><p>If you’re tired of paying for expensive cartridges and paper for a fax machine that only works half the time, then click over to FaxDesk and create an account. Although you need to sign up for a paid plan to get access to a dedicated fax number where clients and associates can send faxes full time, you can try out the web-app for free and get a dedicated fax number that expires after 24-hours with a trial account. Once you sign up and get your dedicated number, you can have it printed on business cards and websites just as you would any other business fax number. When associates and clients send faxes to this number, you’ll receive an email from FaxDesk with the faxed document attached. This document can be downloaded and saved or printed immediately. To send faxes through FaxDesk, just email the document to FaxDesk and the web-app will immediately send the fax on your behalf.</p><p>People who use iPhones will especially enjoy the benefits of FaxDesk, since the mobile application makes it easy for people to send and receive documents quickly without ever touching a fax machine or desktop computer. For any business that is looking to trim its budget and reduce its environmental impact, FaxDesk is a frugal and eco-friendly alternative to traditional fax machines.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Send faxes to a client when you’re not at a computer</li><li>Receive faxes directly in your email inbox</li><li>Save money by not paying for fax machine repairs</li><li>Distribute documents to multiple associates with a few clicks of a mouse</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Companies with existing fax numbers can get their numbers ported to the FaxDesk system</li><li>iPhone users can download the FaxDesk mobile app</li><li>Groups with paid accounts can add multiple users to a single plan</li><li>Dedicated FaxDesk numbers are available in 30 countries</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>People who use FaxDesk don’t have to worry about their phone lines being tied up</li><li>The mobile app lets people send and receive faxes without any fax machines or computers</li><li>Companies can work with clients who prefer faxes without spending money on unnecessary equipment</li><li>FaxDesk users can receive an unlimited number of inbound faxes</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Users are limited in the number of outbound faxes they can send each month</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>eFax – <a href="http://www.efax.com">http://www.efax.com</a></li><li>FaxZero – <a href="http://faxzero.com">http://faxzero.com</a></li><li>MyFax – <a href="http://www.myfax.com">http://www.myfax.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://www.faxdesk.com">http://www.faxdesk.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free trial</li><li>Preferred plan is $14.99/month</li><li>Exclusive plan is $19.99/month</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2008/08/15/faxage-your-fax-machine/" rel="bookmark">Faxage – Your Fax Machine, Unplugged</a> - If you travel often, work from home, or don’t have access to a dedicated fax line, you know how frustrating it can be when it’s ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/02/26/docq-ditch-the-fax-machine/" rel="bookmark">DocQ – Ditch the Fax Machine</a> - DocQ is a webapp that aims to make fax machines obsolete by allowing users to edit, annotate, digitally sign, and distribute PDF documents with anyone in the ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/03/25/bill-on-site-send-invoices-from-a-mobile-phone/" rel="bookmark">Bill On Site – Send Invoices On-the-Go</a> - In the past you needed envelopes and stamps to send invoices, then you needed a fax machine or a computer. Now you don’t need any ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/06/16/docusign-digital-document-signing/" rel="bookmark">DocuSign – Signatures Without the Ink</a> - In today's fast-paced business environment, people are rarely sitting at their desks when important contracts come in. So what's a businessperson to do when a ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/02/10/rightsignature-digital-document-signatures/" rel="bookmark">RightSignature – Ditch the Legal Paper</a> - What do you do when you need a document signed ASAP? When meeting in person or faxing the document aren’t viable options, e-signatures have traditionally been ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/17/faxdesk-send-faxes-online/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>AfterSteps – Get Your Affairs in Order</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/14/aftersteps-get-your-affairs-in-order/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/14/aftersteps-get-your-affairs-in-order/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:30:56 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[death]]></category> <category><![CDATA[estate planning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[family wishes]]></category> <category><![CDATA[inheritance]]></category> <category><![CDATA[legal]]></category> <category><![CDATA[wills]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8388</guid> <description><![CDATA[AfterSteps is a tool that people can use to help get their estates in order before they pass away. The online planning service guides its users through the steps that are necessary to create comprehensive estate plans, financial plans, funeral plans, and legacy plans. By locking these plans into place, people who use AfterSteps can [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-aftersteps.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8389" title="ss-aftersteps" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-aftersteps.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>AfterSteps is a tool that people can use to help get their estates in order before they pass away. The online planning service guides its users through the steps that are necessary to create comprehensive estate plans, financial plans, funeral plans, and legacy plans. By locking these plans into place, people who use AfterSteps can achieve peace of mind and relieve stress on grieving family members after their eventual deaths.<span id="more-8388"></span></p><p>In an effort to simplify and streamline the process of creating a comprehensive end-of-life plan, AfterSteps has put together a series of interactive checklists and informative articles that you can read once you’ve signed up for an account. Using AfterSteps’ checklists, you can start gathering copies of your wills, insurance policies, and healthcare proxies. When you get to a checklist item that you haven’t already completed, such as putting together an advanced directive, for example, AfterSteps will match you up with a vendor who can help you complete that task. The documentation you’ve scanned and stored online will remain safe and secure until after you pass away. At that point, AfterSteps will automatically transfer your plan to the beneficiaries you have designated.</p><p>Some of the unique features that AfterSteps offers are its personalized reminders and alerts. Using these, the web-app will automatically notify users when changes in local regulations require that they make updates to their estate plans and wills. The service will also help users make decisions on what should happen to their online social networking and email accounts when they die. For people who want peace of mind knowing that their loved ones will be secure after their deaths, AfterSteps is a great solution.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Find out what you’ll need to do to create an end-of-life plan</li><li>Get help creating a will or living trust</li><li>Make sure your relatives have access to important records after you pass away</li><li>Store important documents and financial records securely online</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Beneficiaries will receive login information after an AfterSteps user passes away</li><li>Tracking feature shows people how far they still have to go in the planning process</li><li>Insurance and financial documents should be uploaded to the AfterSteps site</li><li>Users are notified when changes have been made to estate laws in their areas</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>People can create comprehensive plans without visiting multiple attorneys and accountants</li><li>Selected beneficiaries are sent login information after a person passes away</li><li>AfterSteps lays out all the steps a person need to take to create an end-of-life plan</li><li>People get alerts when parts of their estate plans need to be updated</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>People who use AfterSteps will still need to visit an attorney for expert guidance when creating a will or living trust</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>ItsMyLife – <a href="http://www.itsmylife.com">http://www.itsmylife.com</a></li><li>LegacyLocker – <a href="http://legacylocker.com">http://legacylocker.com</a></li><li>LegacyWriter – <a href="http://www.legacywriter.com">http://www.legacywriter.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: July 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts</li><li>Founded by: Jess Bloomgarden</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://www.aftersteps.com">http://www.aftersteps.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>$4/month</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/04/17/legacy-locker-a-safe-for-your-digital-assets/" rel="bookmark">Legacy Locker &#8211; A Safe For Your Digital Assets</a> - It’s not hard to see the need for a service like Legacy Locker. In fact, the surprise is that it doesn’t already exist. Legacy Locker ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/09/18/learnvest-smarter-finances-for-women/" rel="bookmark">LearnVest – Financial Freedom Through Education</a> - LearnVest is a website that offers information and support for women looking to take control of their finances. In addition to an array of money-related ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/03/cake-health-get-medical-expenses-under-control/" rel="bookmark">Cake Health – Get Medical Expenses Under Control</a> - Healthcare costs are rising, and personal incomes are remaining flat. When budgets are tight, every dollar counts. Cake Health is a free online tool that ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/06/16/docusign-digital-document-signing/" rel="bookmark">DocuSign – Signatures Without the Ink</a> - In today's fast-paced business environment, people are rarely sitting at their desks when important contracts come in. So what's a businessperson to do when a ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/08/03/simplee-simplified-healthcare/" rel="bookmark">Simplee – Simplified Healthcare</a> - Health insurance is confusing, there's no way around it. As if managing multiple deductibles, premiums, and co-pays wasn't complicated enough, families today are also struggling ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/14/aftersteps-get-your-affairs-in-order/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>SnatchCode – Instant Site Safety</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/13/snatchcode-instant-site-safety/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/13/snatchcode-instant-site-safety/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:30:51 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[backup]]></category> <category><![CDATA[failover]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hackers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[hacking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[protection]]></category> <category><![CDATA[website backups]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8391</guid> <description><![CDATA[SnatchCode is a tool that people can use to ensure the security and safety of their websites – with virtually zero effort – thanks to the web-app’s automatic backup system. SnatchCode is not the first company to help people prevent having their sites taken down by hackers, of course, but it is unique in its [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-snatchcode.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8392" title="ss-snatchcode" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-snatchcode.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>SnatchCode is a tool that people can use to ensure the security and safety of their websites – with virtually zero effort – thanks to the web-app’s automatic backup system. SnatchCode is not the first company to help people prevent having their sites taken down by hackers, of course, but it is unique in its devotion to maintaining a simple and straightforward experience for users who want to protect their systems without getting bogged down by unnecessarily complicated workups.<span id="more-8391"></span></p><p>If you’ve got your FTP details and five minutes to spare, then you’ve got everything you need to get started protecting your site with the help of SnatchCode. Select a pricing plan based on the size of your site and hand over the information SnatchCode requests. In most cases, this is as simple as typing in your FTP details or MySQL database information. SnatchCode will begin taking site backups automatically each hour or each day. You’ll receive an email each time your data is backed up, and the information itself will be stored securely in the cloud. If your site is hacked or another catastrophic event occurs, just head to your SnatchCode dashboard and request the latest backup of your site. In no time at all, your website will be back up and running.</p><p>Users with upgraded SnatchCode Plus and SnatchCode Pro accounts also get access to the web-app’s Undo Feature, which helps eliminate human error and easily lets people replace broken files with their latest daily backups. Site owners who login to the SnatchCode dashboard and click “undo” will automatically see their broken files replaced with data from the latest backup. For people who want to protect their sites from hackers but aren’t sure where to start, clicking over to SnatchCode is a step in the right direction.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Keep up with website safety protocols and maintenance</li><li>Safely store your site data in the cloud</li><li>Undo any mistakes you make to your site</li><li>Backup the data from your WordPress blog</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>SnatchCode stores its users’ FTP details in an encrypted form for protection</li><li>People with WordPress blogs can use the MySQL database beta feature</li><li>Users receive an automated email every time their files get backed up</li><li>People can delete their FTP details from SnatchCode at any time by clicking “Delete”</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>SnatchCode is a great option for publishers with limited tech knowledge</li><li>Websites can be completely restored with a single click of the button</li><li>SnatchCode works on any platform</li><li>Automated backups eliminate the need for people to remember to backup their files</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Nothing</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>Drop My Site – <a href="https://www.dropmysite.com">https://www.dropmysite.com</a></li><li>EVBackup – <a href="http://www.evbackup.com">http://www.evbackup.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: September 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: India</li><li>Web site: <a href="https://snatchcode.com">https://snatchcode.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free plan</li><li>SnatchCode Plus is $7/month</li><li>SnatchCode Pro comes with custom pricing</li></ul><p><strong>Rating:</strong></p><ul><li>5 out of 5 (wow)</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/12/13/backupify-%e2%80%93-back-up-your-online-accounts/" rel="bookmark">Backupify – Back Up Your Online Accounts</a> - You might back up the information on your hard drive every week or month, but when was the last time you backed up the data ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/09/18/carbonite-keep-your-data-safe/" rel="bookmark">Carbonite &#8211; Keep Your Data Safe</a> - It happens when you least expect it. You turn on your computer, and there’s nothing but a black screen and a flashing cursor. If your ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/11/02/backupelf-com-never-lose-a-file-again/" rel="bookmark">BackupElf.com – Never Lose a File Again</a> - BackupElf.com just might be the simplest way to backup all types of computer documents. Forget downloading files onto a CD each month or installing complicated ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/07/25/splarchive-digital-file-management/" rel="bookmark">Splarchive – Save, Search, and Store PDF Files</a> - Everyone could use a little more space, especially when it comes to online document storage. Luckily, Splarchive is a web-app that anyone can use to ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/03/06/syncplicity-online-backup-made-simple/" rel="bookmark">Syncplicity &#8211; Online Backup Made Simple</a> - Online backup doesn’t get much simpler than with Syncplicity. It’s a great way to sync, save, and share your files while ensuring they are available ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2012/01/13/snatchcode-instant-site-safety/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Tallyzip – Business Management Goes Social</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/29/tallyzip-business-management-goes-social/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/29/tallyzip-business-management-goes-social/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 29 Dec 2011 13:30:13 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Business]]></category> <category><![CDATA[central dashboard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[collaboration]]></category> <category><![CDATA[crm]]></category> <category><![CDATA[customers]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Planning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[sales]]></category> <category><![CDATA[stats]]></category> <category><![CDATA[teams]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8409</guid> <description><![CDATA[For freelancers and small business owners who need a better way to manage their enterprises online, Tallyzip is a web-application that doesn’t leave anything out. Rather than just being a CRM tool, an accounting and invoicing application, or a task management and collaboration platform, Tallyzip has decided to become all of the above – and more. If [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-tallyzip.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8410" title="ss-tallyzip" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-tallyzip.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>For freelancers and small business owners who need a better way to manage their enterprises online, Tallyzip is a web-application that doesn’t leave anything out. Rather than just being a CRM tool, an accounting and invoicing application, or a task management and collaboration platform, Tallyzip has decided to become all of the above – and more.<span id="more-8409"></span></p><p>If you’re looking to free yourself from the mundane tasks that take up a good portion of any entrepreneur’s day, then it’s time to start streamlining. Tallyzip can help you organize your office by putting many of the tools you need to run a business in one central place and automating as many frequent activities as possible. Tallyzip has many features and tools, but the web-app itself can be broken down into three main sections: CRM, online accounting, and task &amp; collaboration. You can use the social CRM tool to keep a company-wide database of all your contacts, clients, and customers. Each contact gets his or her own profile page, where you can add personal information, telephone numbers, email addresses, and transactional data. The CRM section is also where you’ll create estimates, communicate with colleagues about client relationships, and track which orders have been placed. You can use the application’s invoicing tools to send bills and view updated financial statements for your company at any time. Finally, the task and collaboration features can be used by teams to communicate about ongoing projects, delegate tasks, and view real-time activity feeds that show what everybody’s up to on a given day.</p><p>Not one feature described above is unique to Tallyzip, of course. Competing applications have been offering collaboration tools and invoicing capabilities for years. What makes Tallyzip unique – and what ultimately makes the application so useful to business owners – is the ability to combine these tools and make them all available in one place. Users don’t have to worry about importing files or managing multiple accounts on separate business applications once they start using Tallyzip.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Follow up with potential clients who you haven’t heard from in a while</li><li>View the status of a recent transaction before replying to a customer email</li><li>Send invoices and track which clients have been paying their bills on time</li><li>Review financial statements for your business without having to import any files</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Businesses can interact with other Tallyzip users using social CRM</li><li>The global search feature lets people find people, tasks, and records by keyword</li><li>See what your employees are working on by checking out the activity feed</li><li>Tallyzip offers inline commenting to keep employees’ conversations organized</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>Business owners only have to pay for one application when they use Tallyzip, as opposed to pay for separate invoicing, CRM, and project management apps</li><li>The keyword search is useful when people are looking for specific transactions or documents</li><li>Tallyzip is designed in an intuitive way that makes it easy to navigate</li><li>Individual client information, including past transactions and outstanding invoices, is accessible from the client’s contact page</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Businesses have to upgrade to the Plus or Premium plan if they want access to priority user support</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>37signals – <a href="http://37signals.com">http://37signals.com</a></li><li>Nutshell – <a href="http://www.nutshell.com">http://www.nutshell.com</a></li><li>Salesforce – <a href="http://www.salesforce.com">http://www.salesforce.com</a></li><li>Tree.io – <a href="http://tree.io">http://tree.io</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: October 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Chandler, Arizona</li><li>Founded by: Nathan Pearson, Juan Trujillo, and Andy Hawkes</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://www.tallyzip.com">http://www.tallyzip.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free plan</li><li>Starter plan is $19/month</li><li>Plus plan is $49/month</li><li>Premium plan is $149/month</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/09/07/skylight-all-the-tools-to-help-your-business-run-better/" rel="bookmark">Skylight – All the Tools to Help Your Business Run Better</a> - Skylight is an application that combines many of the tools that people use to make their business run smoothly—including scheduling, invoicing, and task assigning software—and ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/02/23/mavenlink-bringing-business-to-the-forefront/" rel="bookmark">Mavenlink – Bringing Business to the Forefront</a> - Mavenlink is a web-app that brings together all the tools that entrepreneurs need when running small to medium sized businesses. Managers who use Mavenlink can ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/31/projectbubble-%e2%80%93-get-organized-in-an-hour/" rel="bookmark">ProjectBubble – Get Organized In An Hour</a> - ProjectBubble is a project management application and invoicing tool that can help companies break free of all the clutter that’s slowing business in as little ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/07/18/invoice-bubble-%e2%80%93-stop-paying-to-send-invoices/" rel="bookmark">Invoice Bubble – Stop Paying to Send Invoices</a> - Invoice Bubble is a free invoicing service that allows freelancers and small business owners to send professional-looking bills to all of their clients without spending ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/06/19/milton-hire-a-virtual-employee/" rel="bookmark">Milton – Hire a Virtual Employee</a> - Milton can do many of the same things as your own employees—managing contacts, organizing projects, and handling financial reports—but without all the overtime pay and ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/29/tallyzip-business-management-goes-social/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Gaug.es – Web Stats Without Delay</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/25/gaug-es-web-stats-without-delay/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/25/gaug-es-web-stats-without-delay/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sun, 25 Dec 2011 13:30:20 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Dashboard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[executive summary]]></category> <category><![CDATA[health monitoring]]></category> <category><![CDATA[stats]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Traffic]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8421</guid> <description><![CDATA[When you can’t wait hours to find out what’s going on with your website analytics and traffic stats, you need Gaug.es to handle the job. The real-time traffic tool gives web publishers a quick and easy way to collect and analyze the data that’s coming in from all their websites on one central page. Whether [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-gauges.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8422" title="ss-gauges" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/ss-gauges.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>When you can’t wait hours to find out what’s going on with your website analytics and traffic stats, you need Gaug.es to handle the job. The real-time traffic tool gives web publishers a quick and easy way to collect and analyze the data that’s coming in from all their websites on one central page.<span id="more-8421"></span></p><p>Whether you manage one site that gets 100,000 views per month or 100 websites that average 1 million views per month, there’s a Gaug.es pricing plan that fits your needs. Just enter your email address and select a password to start tracking your sites. Choose a title and select a time zone for your new “Gauge,” and you’ll be given a few lines of script to paste into each page you want to track. When you’ve linked up all the pages on all the sites you want to track, you can head back to the Gaug.es dashboard page to see an overview of everything that’s going on. See how many views you’ve gotten over the course of the past day or the past two weeks, and see which times of the day people are most likely to check out your sites. Gaug.es will also show you which articles or post are drawing the most readers, as well as which referring sites are bringing people your way. Gaug.es lets you get as deep into your analytics and statistics as you want.</p><p>When Gaug.es says that its data shows up in real-time, it means it. Page views show up almost immediately after a visitor has clicked onto your site, making is possible for publishers to quickly adjust story positions on their main pages to accommodate hot topics and breaking news. The application’s AirTraffic Live tool is interesting, as well, in that publishers can watch as new placemarkers pop up on a world map in real-time as visitors continually click onto their sites.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Promote the articles that are getting the most hits on your site</li><li>See which websites are referring the most visitors to your blog</li><li>Find out what time of day your websites get the most traffic</li><li>Keep track of the geo-location of your website visitors</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Gaug.es offers a WordPress plug-in for bloggers</li><li>Overall traffic data can be viewed by day, month, or all time</li><li>Referring URLs are listed in order, based on which are bringing in the most traffic</li><li>Publishers can track which browsers and screen sizes their visitors are using</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>Setting up Gaug.es is no harder than setting up Google Analytics</li><li>Traffic information is delivered in real-time, which helps publishers react to trends</li><li>Publishers can see stats for all their sites on a central dashboard page</li><li>People can try out Gaug.es for free before deciding whether to select a paid plan</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Gaug.es doesn’t have all the features that Google Analytics provides, and people who sign up for Gaug.es probably won’t want to dump their current analytics platform altogether</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>Clicky – <a href="http://getclicky.com">http://getclicky.com</a></li><li>Google Analytics – <a href="http://www.google.com/analytics">http://www.google.com/analytics</a></li><li>Reinvigorate – <a href="http://www.reinvigorate.net">http://www.reinvigorate.net</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: March 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: South Bend, Indiana</li><li>Founded by: Ordered List</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://get.gaug.es">http://get.gaug.es</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free 7-day trial</li><li>Solo plan is $6/month</li><li>Small plan is $12/month</li><li>Large plan is $48/month</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/02/09/clicky-monitor-traffic-in-real-time/" rel="bookmark">Clicky &#8211; Monitor Traffic In Real-Time</a> - Clicky is a web analytics tool that helps website publishers monitor, analyze, and react to their traffic in real time. In a crowded field of ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/03/02/gosquared-keeping-an-eye-on-traffic/" rel="bookmark">GoSquared – Keeping An Eye On Traffic</a> - GoSquared is a traffic monitoring application that keeps track of everyone who’s signing up and logging on to its users’ websites. What makes GoSquared innovative ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/07/newscurve-analytics-for-the-newsroom/" rel="bookmark">NewsCurve – Analytics for the Newsroom</a> - NewsCurve is a tool that web publishers can use to decide which stories to promote on their online sites. Rather than basing their decisions on ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/02/chartbeat-%e2%80%93-eavesdrop-on-your-website-visitors/" rel="bookmark">Chartbeat – Eavesdrop on Your Website Visitors</a> - Chartbeat is a tool that offers businesses a way to find out what’s going on with their websites in real-time. With instant analytics tools and ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/02/08/seevolution-web-analytics-you-can-see/" rel="bookmark">Seevolution – Web Analytics You Can See</a> - Web analytics tools are a dime a dozen, and most of the web-apps already on the market serve their users’ needs quite well. So how ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/25/gaug-es-web-stats-without-delay/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Lanbito – Create Forms for Mobile Devices</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/17/lanbito-create-forms-for-mobile-devices/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/17/lanbito-create-forms-for-mobile-devices/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:30:23 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[google]]></category> <category><![CDATA[mobile forms]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online forms]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8290</guid> <description><![CDATA[Lanbito is a tool that people can use to build all sorts of customizable forms that can be used on all sorts of mobile devices. By using Lanbito to create the forms a company posts on its website or blog, business owners can make it easier for customers to view these forms on their iPhones [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-lanbito.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8291" title="ss-lanbito" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-lanbito.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>Lanbito is a tool that people can use to build all sorts of customizable forms that can be used on all sorts of mobile devices. By using Lanbito to create the forms a company posts on its website or blog, business owners can make it easier for customers to view these forms on their iPhones and iPads—ultimately leading to an increase in the number of responses they receive.<span id="more-8290"></span></p><p>If you want to use Lanbito to start creating forms, you’ll need to sign in with a Google account. By doing this, you make it easy for Lanbito to save your collected data in a Google spreadsheet that can be accessed by you at any time. When you get to the “New Form” page, you’ll see a mockup of an iPhone screen that represents how your form will look on a mobile device. Drag individual fields from the left-hand column and drop them into place on the mockup screen. Customize the properties for each of these fields, and choose a color or theme for your form. You’ll also want to give your form a title, include a bit of header text, and add instructions for users when necessary. Lanbito gives you the option to redirect users to a different URL or to allow only one entry per device. When you’re ready to go, just click the “Publish” button once and your form will be created.</p><p>When your form is live, you’ll be able to view it from any iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC. Lanbito will provide you with a link to the form, which you can post on your website or tweet out to followers online. Additionally, Lanbito forms can be downloaded and embedded for even further integration. Overall, Lanbito is a really quick and easy way to create forms that people can submit from their mobile devices.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Embed a registration form for an upcoming event on your business website</li><li>Let customers place orders from their iPhones and iPads</li><li>Collect demographic information from your Twitter followers</li><li>Invite wedding guests to RSVP online</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Lanbito forms can be viewed on any iPhone, iPad, Mac, or PC</li><li>Form creators can prevent people from entering a contest more than once from a single device</li><li>Users have 12 themes to choose from</li><li>The data collected on forms is saved to a Google spreadsheet</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>Businesses that use Lanbito are likely to get more responses from customers</li><li>People can access the data they gather right away</li><li>All forms are based on HTML5</li><li>Users can choose whatever theme they want without having to pay any extra</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Users have to pay if they get more than 100 submissions on their forms in a month</li><li>Lanbito can’t guarantee that its forms will work on all Android, Blackberry, and Nokia devices</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>JotForm – <a href="http://www.jotform.com">http://www.jotform.com</a></li><li>MoFuse – <a href="http://www.mofuse.com">http://www.mofuse.com</a></li><li>Wufoo – <a href="http://wufoo.com">http://wufoo.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: September 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Hong Kong</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://lanbito.com">http://lanbito.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free for up to 100 entries per month</li><li>After 100 entries, the price ranges from 3 cents to .2 cents per entry</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/02/20/wufoo-the-easy-form-creator/" rel="bookmark">Wufoo &#8211; The Easy Form Creator</a> - It is not always easy to collect information on the internet – or at least it wasn’t until Wufoo came along. Wufoo takes the hassle ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/11/formstack-make-forms-surveys-and-more/" rel="bookmark">Formstack – Make Forms, Surveys, and More</a> - Formstack is an application that bills itself as the smart way to collect and manage data online. With an army of customizable form building features ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/07/14/pandaform-the-fast-easy-form-creator/" rel="bookmark">PandaForm – The Fast &#038; Easy Form Creator</a> - PandaForm is a web-based form creator that lets users build, track, and process forms that can be managed or updated from any computer, anywhere, at ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/06/15/jotform-%e2%80%93-a-better-form-builder/" rel="bookmark">Jotform – A Better Form Builder</a> - Jotform is a web-based form builder that gives webmasters an easy way to create all different types of web forms—from feedback surveys to event calendars, ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/06/07/icebrrg-form-creation-for-everyone/" rel="bookmark">Icebrrg &#8211; Form Creation for Everyone</a> - Let’s face it, online forms are one the Internet’s killer features enabling everything from online shopping, to surveys, customer service and more. Icebrrg isn’t the ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/17/lanbito-create-forms-for-mobile-devices/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>ZipList – Creating Smarter Shopping Lists</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/16/ziplist-creating-smarter-shopping-lists/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/16/ziplist-creating-smarter-shopping-lists/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:30:25 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[listing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online organization]]></category> <category><![CDATA[organizational application]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shopping]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8287</guid> <description><![CDATA[Grocery shopping is about to get high-tech, at least for people who are using ZipList. The online tool aims to simplify people’s lives by automatically importing the shopping lists they’ve created online to their mobile phones and organizing their lists by aisle or by store. Once a ZipList user gets to the store, the application [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-ziplist.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8288" title="ss-ziplist" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-ziplist.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>Grocery shopping is about to get high-tech, at least for people who are using ZipList. The online tool aims to simplify people’s lives by automatically importing the shopping lists they’ve created online to their mobile phones and organizing their lists by aisle or by store. Once a ZipList user gets to the store, the application will search the person’s list and bring up any relevant coupons that match the items.<span id="more-8287"></span></p><p>Move your cooking into the digital age by tearing down the shopping list that’s stuck under a magnet on your refrigerator door and creating an account with ZipList. By adding the ZipList bookmarklet to your web browser, you can quickly “clip” recipes that you’d like to try and add the necessary ingredients to your shopping list. ZipList will search through the coupons available in your area and send you an email list of all that apply based on what you’re already planning to buy. When it comes time to head to the store, just click over to ZipList and decide whether you want to import your list to your mobile phone or share it with the family member who will be doing the grocery shopping this week.</p><p>People who use ZipList can actually get through the store in less time thanks to the application’s store management feature. Not only can you easily separate lists and sort your items by store, but you can also use ZipList to keep track of the order of the aisles in your favorite markets. ZipList will use this information to automatically rearrange your shopping lists based on the location of the items as you make your way through the store.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Spend less time at the grocery store</li><li>Find recipes that look good and add the ingredients to your shopping list</li><li>Save money by using coupons to purchase the products you were already going to buy</li><li>Send your shopping list to your husband’s mobile phone</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>You can assign items to be purchased at more than 400,000 local and national stores around the country</li><li>ZipList tells you which items you may already have on hand, such as water or salt, before populating your list with a recipe’s ingredients</li><li>Users can create multiple lists</li><li>ZipList users can share their lists with people who haven’t registered for accounts</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>The aisle-organizing feature could be very helpful for people who shop in a hurry</li><li>ZipList emails relevant coupons to its users</li><li>Spouses and families can share shopping lists easily</li><li>Shopping lists can be re-arranged or edited on the fly</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Users have to set up the aisle organization for each store they frequent, as opposed to the web-app automatically pulling that information for people use</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>aisle411 – <a href="http://aisle411.com">http://aisle411.com</a></li><li>Grocery Server – <a href="http://www.groceryserver.com">http://www.groceryserver.com</a></li><li>Kitchen Monki – <a href="http://www.kitchenmonki.com">http://www.kitchenmonki.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: February 2010</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Sterling, Virginia</li><li>Founded by: Steve Geyer and Geoff Allen</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://get.ziplist.com">http://get.ziplist.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/13/food-on-the-table-plan-meals-save-money/" rel="bookmark">Food on the Table – Plan Meals, Save Money</a> - When you have a house full of picky eaters to satisfy, it can be nearly impossible to stock a pantry with all the fixings to ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2008/09/05/cozi-command-central/" rel="bookmark">Cozi – Command Central for your Home</a> - Organizing family life can feel more like organizing a small business than a home. With work, school, extra-curricular, travel, and weekend schedules, planning can be ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/10/14/wishpot-manage-your-wishlist-in-one-spot/" rel="bookmark">Wishpot &#8211; Manage Your Wishlist In One Spot</a> - If you’ve ever bemoaned the need to have a different wishlist on each of your favorite shopping sites, then Wishpot is for you. This online ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/07/03/alice-household-necessities-without-the-hassle/" rel="bookmark">Alice &#8211; Household Necessities Without the Hassle</a> - If you’re fed up with having to run to the store every time you use the last roll of toilet paper (and who isn’t) then ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/12/04/cooklet-take-your-recipes-online/" rel="bookmark">Cooklet – Take Your Recipes Online</a> - Recipes are meant for sharing, and now an application called Cooklet is taking that idea to a whole new level. The online “culinary organizer” offers ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/16/ziplist-creating-smarter-shopping-lists/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Table&#8217;s Ready – A Solution for Busy Restaurants</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/14/tables-ready-a-solution-for-busy-restaurants/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/14/tables-ready-a-solution-for-busy-restaurants/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:30:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online reservations]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8280</guid> <description><![CDATA[Busy restaurants with long waits for tables will love Table’s Ready. The innovative web-app eliminates the need for expensive pagers, beepers, and buzzers and uses guests’ cell phones instead. Restaurants that use Table’s Ready can send text messages to their guests to let them know when their waits are over and their tables are ready. [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-tablesready.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8281" title="ss-tablesready" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-tablesready.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>Busy restaurants with long waits for tables will love Table’s Ready. The innovative web-app eliminates the need for expensive pagers, beepers, and buzzers and uses guests’ cell phones instead. Restaurants that use Table’s Ready can send text messages to their guests to let them know when their waits are over and their tables are ready. They can also use a bevy of analytics tools to track wait times and determine when additional staff needs to be brought on board.<span id="more-8280"></span></p><p>Before you throw out the pagers or buzzers your restaurant has been using to let guests know when their tables are ready, you may want to take Table’s Ready on a test drive for a free 30-day trial. Fill out a form with your restaurant name, the phone number that guests will receive alerts from, and a script that will be texted to your patrons. Ask guests for their name, phone number, and party size when they arrive at the hostess’ station or call for a reservation and add that information to your Table’s Ready account. When a table opens up, you can click onto the Table’s Ready app to send a text to the next guest in line. The guest will instantly receive a text message with your pre-selected script informing him or her to proceed to the hostess stand to be seated immediately. If a guest doesn’t show up promptly, just click the app to page the person again or call the person directly to let him or her know that the table is ready. You can add special notes to individual reservations, and keep track of the average wait time for a table on any given night.</p><p>Table’s Ready is a web-based app, which means it can be accessed from a desktop, laptop, or even an iPad for smaller restaurants that don’t have built in computer systems at their hostess stations. Restaurants that use this app can save money by not having to replace expensive pagers each week and save time by not having to call out guests’ name when their tables are ready.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Let your guests know when their tables are ready</li><li>Find out how long your guests are waiting for a table</li><li>Send out additional pages and calls if a guest doesn’t respond promptly</li><li>Add notes to remind the waiter about a guest’s birthday or special event</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Restaurants can create their own scripts to be texted to guests</li><li>The app works on any desktop, laptop, or iPad</li><li>Businesses can view analytics stats that show average wait time trends</li><li>Certain restaurants can elect to call their guests rather than sending texts</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>Restaurants can save money by not buying expensive pager systems</li><li>People can walk as far away from the restaurant as they want and still be “in range” when their tables are ready</li><li>Analytics help managers pinpoint which nights have the longest waits</li><li>Table’s Ready can be used to handle reservations and walk-in guests</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>People who are worried about spam or privacy may not give out their cell phone numbers</li><li>Standing in a cell phone dead zone could cause a person to miss a text</li><li>Restaurants that send more than 100 texts per night may have to pay an additional charge per message</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>OpenTable – <a href="http://www.opentable.com">http://www.opentable.com</a></li><li>ReadyPing – <a href="http://www.readyping.com">http://www.readyping.com</a></li><li>Recess – <a href="http://www.recessapp.com">http://www.recessapp.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts, and Denver, Colorado</li><li>Founded by: Andy Ellis and Bill D’Alessandro</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://www.tablesready.com">http://www.tablesready.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free trial</li><li>$69.95/month</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/03/16/buzzeromatic-the-smart-apartment-buzzer/" rel="bookmark">Buzzeromatic – The Smart Apartment Buzzer</a> - Buzzeromatic is an application that can help you manage your door buzzer and let people in and out of your building no matter where you’re ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/05/15/zankyou-wedding-website-and-gift-list-creation/" rel="bookmark">Zankyou &#8211; Wedding Website and Gift List Creation</a> - For brides and grooms to be, Zankyou offers a fast, easy way to create your own wedding website and gift list. Zankyou boasts of providing ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/03/26/doattend-manage-events-with-ease/" rel="bookmark">DoAttend – Manage Events with Ease</a> - DoAttend is an online event registration system set up directly for event managers and party planners. The feature-packed application has all the tools to let ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/13/buy-our-honeymoon-not-your-basic-wedding-registry/" rel="bookmark">Buy Our Honeymoon – Not Your Basic Wedding Registry</a> - What’s the point of registering for fancy china and custom dinnerware that you’ll only use once a year? Instead of wasting your wedding guests’ money ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/10/17/imguest-the-business-travelers-social-network/" rel="bookmark">IMGuest – The Business Traveler&#8217;s Social Network</a> - IMGuest is a tool that businesspeople who travel regularly can use to meet likeminded professionals while they’re out on the road. The social networking tool ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/14/tables-ready-a-solution-for-busy-restaurants/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>2</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>NewsCurve – Analytics for the Newsroom</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/07/newscurve-analytics-for-the-newsroom/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/07/newscurve-analytics-for-the-newsroom/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:30:18 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online analytics]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[web publishing]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8256</guid> <description><![CDATA[NewsCurve is a tool that web publishers can use to decide which stories to promote on their online sites. Rather than basing their decisions on emotions or opinions, editors can now make split-second decisions on when to post and promote important news stories based on traffic statistics and user engagement figures. NewsCurve offers real-time analytics [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-newscurve.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8257" title="ss-newscurve" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-newscurve.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>NewsCurve is a tool that web publishers can use to decide which stories to promote on their online sites. Rather than basing their decisions on emotions or opinions, editors can now make split-second decisions on when to post and promote important news stories based on traffic statistics and user engagement figures. NewsCurve offers real-time analytics tools that editors and publishers can use to see which topics and staff writers are generating the most interest and page views on their sites.<span id="more-8256"></span></p><p>If you’ve ever questioned which story to promote on your homepage or wished you knew more about what your readers wanted to see, then you’re in luck. NewsCurve is a web-based tool that can answer those questions and more. From a central dashboard page, you can see which articles are trending on your site in real-time. Of course, page views don’t tell the whole story. That’s why NewsCurve puts together all the levels of audience engagement—including comments, sharing, and subscriptions—when ranking the content on your site. With the click of a button, you can see which articles are inspiring the most reader engagement, which are trending upward, and which are trending downward. Break the data down even further by comparing authors or topics in a head-to-head format to see what, or who, comes out on top.</p><p>By using NewsCurve, you can let analytics be your guide when deciding which articles to post on the main page of your new site, how long to leave them there, and when to change headlines or tweak the wording of story leads to generate better traffic. If a story is trending, then NewsCurve may even recommend adding hour-by-hour updates to keep the topic moving forward. For publishers and editors who are looking to increase page views and user engagement on their sites, NewsCurve takes a mathematical approach to help answer many of online publishing’s most burning questions.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Find out which writers are bringing the most traffic to your site</li><li>Promote stories that seem most interesting to your readers</li><li>Discover small changes you can make to boost the way people interact with your content</li><li>Write about the topics your readers find most engaging</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>NewsCurve uses a proprietary algorithm called NewsCurve PULSE to measure reader interest</li><li>Publishers can get real-time updates when a story is trending</li><li>Editors can put writers head to head to see who is bringing in the most traffic</li><li>NewsCurve keeps track of how many times a story is being shared</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>Publishers who use NewsCurve can take the emotion out of deciding which stories to promote</li><li>Analytics information is delivered in real-time</li><li>Editors can use NewsCurve to create the type of content their readers want to see</li><li>NewsCurve points out minor changes that can significantly increase the level of engagement on your site</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Nothing</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>Chartbeat – <a href="http://chartbeat.com">http://chartbeat.com</a></li><li>Clicky – <a href="http://getclicky.com">http://getclicky.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Belgrade, Serbia</li><li>Founded by: Boris Krstovi?</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://newscurve.com">http://newscurve.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free plan for websites with fewer than 100,000 pageviews per month</li><li>Bronze plan is $29/month</li><li>Silver plan is $79/month</li><li>Gold plan is $149/month</li><li>Platinum plan is $249/month</li></ul><p><strong>Rating:</strong></p><ul><li>5 out of 5 (wow)</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/25/gaug-es-web-stats-without-delay/" rel="bookmark">Gaug.es – Web Stats Without Delay</a> - When you can’t wait hours to find out what’s going on with your website analytics and traffic stats, you need Gaug.es to handle the job. ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/02/chartbeat-%e2%80%93-eavesdrop-on-your-website-visitors/" rel="bookmark">Chartbeat – Eavesdrop on Your Website Visitors</a> - Chartbeat is a tool that offers businesses a way to find out what’s going on with their websites in real-time. With instant analytics tools and ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/10/18/everwrite-develop-content-that-gets-noticed/" rel="bookmark">EverWrite – Develop Content That Gets Noticed</a> - EverWrite is a tool that publishers, marketers, and writers can use to craft online content that will get noticed by search engines like Google and ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/02/09/clicky-monitor-traffic-in-real-time/" rel="bookmark">Clicky &#8211; Monitor Traffic In Real-Time</a> - Clicky is a web analytics tool that helps website publishers monitor, analyze, and react to their traffic in real time. In a crowded field of ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/05/29/bibliofaction-share-your-writing-with-the-world/" rel="bookmark">Bibliofaction &#8211; Share Your Writing with the World</a> - Publishing is changing. Left and right you’ll see articles about how self-publishing is gaining credibility and the web is changing the face of how writers ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/12/07/newscurve-analytics-for-the-newsroom/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item><title>Bellstrike – Websites for Nonprofit Groups</title><link>http://www.appvita.com/2011/11/30/bellstrike-websites-for-nonprofit-groups/</link> <comments>http://www.appvita.com/2011/11/30/bellstrike-websites-for-nonprofit-groups/#comments</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:30:59 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator>Stephanie Miles</dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Save Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[marketing tools]]></category> <category><![CDATA[nonprofit marketing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category><guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.appvita.com/?p=8299</guid> <description><![CDATA[Bellstrike is a tool that nonprofit groups can use to create professional looking websites in very little time and without spending much money. In mere minutes, a charity organization can design a website that impresses patrons and accepts donations from online visitors from around the world. The idea behind Bellstrike is that charities and nonprofit [...]]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-bellstrike.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-8300" title="ss-bellstrike" src="http://www.appvita.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ss-bellstrike.jpg" alt="" width="454" height="344" /></a></p><p>Bellstrike is a tool that nonprofit groups can use to create professional looking websites in very little time and without spending much money. In mere minutes, a charity organization can design a website that impresses patrons and accepts donations from online visitors from around the world.<span id="more-8299"></span></p><p>The idea behind Bellstrike is that charities and nonprofit groups that do good for others should have a way to solicit funds from potential donors without forking over tons of dough to build and maintain an online presence. It follows, then, that getting started and setting up a website with Bellstrike should be both easy and free. Type in your name, email address, the name of your organization, and choose a Bellstrike web address even if you’re planning to purchase a custom domain at some point in the future. Next, you’ll need to create a WePay account to start accepting online donations. Design your website to fit your tastes and the message of your group, and add your own photos for a completely custom feel. You can brand your webpage even more by adding your organization’s logo, and typing up your own content and information about what types of donations you are looking for. Bellstrike is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter, so sharing your message with friends online is easy once your site is up.</p><p>What Bellstrike offers that most other website creation services don’t is the ability to easily solicit and collect donations online. Organizations can create gift catalogs that show people what they need or what they plan on buying with the funds they bring in, and donors can give money without ever having to open up a checkbook or attend a charity event in person. Bellstrike collects the email addresses of everyone who donates through a charity’s site, making it easy for the group to send personalized thank you notes and reminders about events coming up in the future.</p><p><strong>Practical Uses:</strong></p><ul><li>Create a website for the charity you’re starting</li><li>Help the soup kitchen in your town build a website to solicit donations</li><li>Let people know what your group plans on buying with the funds you raise</li><li>Boost your search engine ranking by creating a website that is SEO-friendly</li></ul><p><strong>Insider Tips:</strong></p><ul><li>Organizations must connect with WePay to accept online donations</li><li>Bellstrike collects email addresses from every donor who pays online</li><li>Groups can create blogs to promote upcoming events</li><li>Gift catalogs can be created to let people see what their money will be buying</li></ul><p><strong>What we liked:</strong></p><ul><li>Groups that use Bellstrike only have to pay money if they’re successful in online fundraising</li><li>Nonprofits can create websites that look professional and modern</li><li>Organizations can collect email addresses for fundraising efforts in the future</li><li>Users can download information about their donors to a spreadsheet at any time</li></ul><p><strong>What we didn’t like:</strong></p><ul><li>Groups must give 6% of all donations to Bellstrike and 3.5% to WePay</li></ul><p><strong>Alternatives:</strong></p><ul><li>CityMax – <a href="http://www.citymax.com">http://www.citymax.com</a></li><li>Doodlekit – <a href="http://doodlekit.com">http://doodlekit.com</a></li><li>Yola – <a href="http://www.yola.com">http://www.yola.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Company Info:</strong></p><ul><li>Launched: August 2011</li><li>Privately Held</li><li>Headquarters: Greenville, South Carolina</li><li>Founded by: Dodd Caldwell, Marshall Klickman, and Sean Gaffney</li><li>Web site: <a href="http://bellstrike.com">http://bellstrike.com</a></li></ul><p><strong>Costs:</strong></p><ul><li>Free setup</li><li>Groups pay 6% of all donations to Bellstrike and 3.5% to WePay</li></ul><div id="seo_alrp_related"><h3>More to Read</h3><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/12/10/wepay-collect-payments-from-your-friends/" rel="bookmark">WePay – Collect Payments From Your Friends</a> - Everyone’s been there. You do a nice thing by paying for the limousine your friends are renting or paying for the new uniforms your son’s ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/10/10/crowdrise-do-your-part/" rel="bookmark">Crowdrise – Do Your Part</a> - Looking for ways to make the world a better place? With Crowdrise, you can help improve the world around you while having a little fun ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2010/03/11/givv-centralize-your-giving/" rel="bookmark">Givv – Centralize Your Giving</a> - Givv is a web-app that makes it easy to donate to all of your favorite causes—whether that’s two, 10, or 20—with the click of a ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2011/06/28/sparked-give-back-your-community/" rel="bookmark">Sparked – Volunteering For People With Busy Lives</a> - Sparked is a website that makes it possible for everyone volunteer and help out their communities thanks to something it calls "microvolunteering." Instead of stalking ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><p><a href="http://www.appvita.com/2009/05/15/zankyou-wedding-website-and-gift-list-creation/" rel="bookmark">Zankyou &#8211; Wedding Website and Gift List Creation</a> - For brides and grooms to be, Zankyou offers a fast, easy way to create your own wedding website and gift list. Zankyou boasts of providing ...</p></div></li></ul></div>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>http://www.appvita.com/2011/11/30/bellstrike-websites-for-nonprofit-groups/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>
