DIGITAL MANAGER
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11.12.99 |
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Portal Power
A flock of companies are trying to win over the small-business market. Here are some of the leading players:
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allbizdepot.com
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Assembles third-party sales promotions and its own forms and software.
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Encyclopedic. Anything re-related to small business gets space.
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Most downloads are free. Clever section also lists other Web freebies.
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Poor design. You don't find things here, you stumble upon them.
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allbusiness.com
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Offers 41 small-business tools and services.
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Helpful Q&As explain how and why to use each service. Business-hour phone support.
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350 business forms are free. Premium services run at market rates.
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Separate IDs and passwords needed for most services.
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digitalwork.com
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34 different biz services. Emphasis on publicity and employee recruitment.
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Hands-on customer support. Press release service an early fave among users.
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Services retail at standard prices. Occasional promo rates.
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Sparse offerings for finance and Web-business tasks.
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freeworks.com
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Web-based way of creating and circulating business paperwork.
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In theory, does away with the clutter and hassle of "pushing paper".
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Entirely free, though company says it will add premium fees.
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Premiered very recently, so appeal and real use remains unclear.
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onvia.com
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Mix of third-party services, product offers, and small-business advice.
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Cleanest design of the group. A price-quote feature for users who prefer negotiating.
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None to get advice. $5 flat-rate shipping for office products.
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Special members-only prices are available elsewhere on the Web.
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smartonline.com
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Interactive software and data libraries speed tasks such as biz-plan writing.
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Attention to detail. Helpful database combines stats from various government agencies.
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All services under $25 each. Some legal forms sell for $5.
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Limited number of tools. Software can sometimes bog down slow modems.
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