When you are a part of a small business, you always look for any possible chance to save money. Sometimes, business owners and managers buy expensive softwares for office needs but what they don’t know that in most cases they can find a free softwares which is available for unlimited time usage.
These free softwares can replace any of the expensive software that you mostly use for business purposes like operating system, email servers, human resources softwares, word processing programs, graphic design softwares or antivirus program.
In this article, I have gathered some free and open-source alternatives of some expensive softwares out there like Microsoft Office, Windows OS, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Exchange server etc. All these softwares listed here are free to use legally for your business.
So, have a look on SaveDelete’s compilation of 8 best and free open-source softwares for small business. I hope some of these programs would fit your business needs and it can certainly save some serious cash by using them.
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1) OpenOffice : OpenOffice is an open-source alternative to Microsoft Office and other similar software suites. This software is free to download and use. It contains programs like word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and more.It is available in many languages and works on all common operating systems. If you looking for online word processing apps, you can check this link.
2) OpenProj : OpenProj is a open source project management desktop software by Serena Software. It is replacement of Microsoft Project . Speaking of Microsoft Project, OpenProj does everything that Project does. It also adds a few tricks Project hasn’t learned: it works on Windows, Mac, Unix and Linux. And it’s completely free.
3) GNUCash : GnuCash is personal and small-business financial-accounting software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows. It is designed to be easy to use and allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports. The main features includes double-entry accounting, stock/bond/mutual fund accounts.
4) OrangeHRM : OrangeHRM is a free and open source human resource management software with rich features and easy to use interface. OrangeHRM has users worldwide enjoying a free, stable and highly usable HRM solution. The system is backed by professional support and services as well as a fast growing, receptive and knowledgeable worldwide open source community.
5) Ubuntu : Ubuntu is an open-source and free operating system which is very light and loads quickly than windows platforms. It has all the features which a OS have like chat and email, office apps, Firefox for browsing etc.
6) GIMP : GIMP is a free and open source alternative of Adobe Photoshop. GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed program for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It has many capabilities. It can be used as a simple paint program, an expert quality photo retouching program, an online batch processing system, a mass production image renderer, an image format converter, etc. Alternatively, you can check our article for more options of free photo-editing softwares.
7) Zimbra : Zimbra Desktop is a free email and calendar client which runs on any Windows, Apple or Linux desktop computer. It works online and offline and works with any POP or IMAP email account as well as Yahoo! Mail. Zimbra syncs to smartphones (iPhone, BlackBerry) and desktop clients like Outlook and Thunderbird. Zimbra also features archiving and discovery for compliance. Zimbra can be deployed on-premises or as a hosted email solution.
8 ) Clamwin : ClamWin is a free and open source antivirus program for Microsoft Windows 7 / Vista / XP / Me / 2000 / 98 and Windows Server 2008 and 2003. ClamWin Free Antivirus does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware. You can also look other best antivirus programs of year 2010 which is totally free to download and use.
July 23, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Thanks for this and i use Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx in Windows Vista partition. I mean Dual Boot and i have some problem with my Wireless Internet using on Ubuntu 10.04. I didn’t removed it but i use internet via Windows Vista and i love Ubuntu’s Gadgets and open source widgets. So, i kept it alive in my Dual boot.
Bittu´s last blog ..Motorola Droid X Root available – How to Root the Motorola Droid X Step-by-Step
July 23, 2010 at 7:23 pm
you should also include PHPlist… it is a free mailing list program. and it is also open source.
August 19, 2010 at 2:20 am
I use PHP list myself. I agree it should’ve been in the list
HD Guy´s last blog ..Panasonic Viera GT25 3D-capable Plasma HDTVs
July 23, 2010 at 7:51 pm
This list is far from complete. There is a host of other projects you can include here. What about running a server? You can add open source CMSes. Then network management tools, desktop publishing, etc.
Kaushik´s last blog ..How to access your Google Analytics account from Excel
July 23, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Xampp – This is a quick and easy one file install for PHP/Apache/MySQL. Great for having a intranet on your company servers.
Wordpress – a very popular web site framework. It can be easily installed with Xampp.
Dia – Flowchart software like Visio.
Notepad++ – text editor
This is just a few…
July 30, 2010 at 10:21 pm
I love to use Xampp my favorite PHP/MySQL server.
July 23, 2010 at 10:06 pm
As always a great list! I hadn’t heard of most of these. Thanks for sharing them!
Kevin M.´s last blog ..Why I chose to monetize my blog
July 23, 2010 at 10:11 pm
this is really useful article..
July 23, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Yogesh, I tried out OrangeHRM before and found it to be a bit odd since you have to install it on a local web server. We ended up going with a paid (cheap) service called EffortlessHR.com
GIMP is just great for photo editing. It can do so much and has a great community that creates plugins for it as well.
Aaron´s last blog ..blogReaction Introduces Revenue Sharing on Free Blogging Platform
July 24, 2010 at 2:10 am
If you need a desktop publishing solution, check out Scribus.
July 24, 2010 at 4:17 am
Open Office is great. I’ll have to look into that GnuCash, it sounds pretty interesting.
July 24, 2010 at 7:26 am
very helpful article. thank you for sharing
July 24, 2010 at 7:27 am
nice info. I agree with your article
healt and loan´s last blog ..Home Insurance Tips For Money Saving
July 24, 2010 at 7:35 am
I’m already using most of the software this list. But I didn’t know Open Proj. I’m trying it right now – looks promising.
July 24, 2010 at 9:22 am
I like this list, had never heard of OpenProj, but I’m excited to try it out. Some that i use for my personal businesses are
SimpleInvoices (for client Quotes, Invoices, Receipts, and Billing) found at http://www.simpleinvoices.org
The other one I use as a great Cash Register software is PHP-Point-of-Sale, it can be found at http://www.phppointofsale.com/
Hope you all find these useful as well.
July 24, 2010 at 3:12 pm
http://www.lemonpos.org is a better POS system in my opinion.
July 24, 2010 at 5:12 pm
These are all good applications, but they are found wanting compared to the paid versions. There is a reason why these are free and the others aren’t. Except for Ubuntu. Love it.
Still, these are good enough for people who want everything for free.
July 24, 2010 at 6:29 pm
OK that makes a lot of sense to me dude. WOw
Lou
http://www.post-anonymously.at.tc
July 24, 2010 at 11:32 pm
I would have included Open Fire and Spark. It’s a great inter company chat client/server to easily communicate internally. It also has support for voice calls if typing isn’t your thing.
“Openfire is a real time collaboration (RTC) server licensed under the Open Source GPL. It uses the only widely adopted open protocol for instant messaging, XMPP (also called Jabber). Openfire is incredibly easy to setup and administer, but offers rock-solid security and performance.”
July 25, 2010 at 2:11 am
Great article. Thanks!
July 25, 2010 at 12:18 pm
Redmine is a great project management system that runs on Ruby on Rails. It’s very flexible, and is even better for software related companies. Go open source!
July 26, 2010 at 12:45 am
All the above open source softwares are nice but openoffice and Ubuntu are on the top of my list.
Asad @ XP Themes´s last blog ..Visual Styles – Download Free Windows XP Themes and Skins
July 26, 2010 at 7:17 am
Hi Yogesh,
I am using Ubuntu, Open office and OrangeHRM for my business.I will try Gunu cash as well , thanks for your list.
July 26, 2010 at 7:55 am
This Article is very useful, thanks for sharing
etipz´s last blog ..9 steps to avoid seasickness
July 27, 2010 at 9:24 am
nice info,thanks
July 27, 2010 at 11:39 am
ZImbra is the one software that never i heard before from the list above, I will absolutely try this before I migrate from Thunderbird.
Nico´s last blog ..Installing Wine 12 stable release di Ubuntu
July 27, 2010 at 7:25 pm
You should also have a look at SSuite Office for a free office suite. They have a whole range of office suites that are free for download.
Their software also doesn’t need to run on Java or .NET, like MS Office and so many open source office suites, so it makes their software very small, efficient, and easy to use.
You may try these links for more info:
http://www.ssuitesoft.com/index.htm
or
http://www.ssuitesoft.com/ssuiteexcalibur.htm
or
http://ssuite5element.webs.com/thefifthelement.htm
.
July 28, 2010 at 1:05 am
Open office is one of the best office software for small business, I think it is the second best after Microsoft office.
July 28, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Let me also add TeamLab to this list: http://teamlab.com
This is a 100% free open-source platform for intra-company project management, collaboration and instant messaging. A free alternative to such services as Basecamp, CentralDesktop or activeCollab.
July 29, 2010 at 1:17 am
I am using Open Office as an alternative to Microsoft Word and it’s great!
Gadget Guy´s last blog ..Arthouse Lumigon Android phones launching this autumn
August 1, 2010 at 4:11 am
I am using Ubuntu and Open Office from this list. Good round-up
Techie Saves´s last blog ..Unable to recognize specified IPSW with iOS 4
August 4, 2010 at 5:23 am
Wonderful round-up! I am using Ubuntu out of you list but I might be using others in this article also
NewGadgetz´s last blog ..BlackBerry Torch 9800 Now Available from AT&T
August 6, 2010 at 3:03 pm
openbravo and sugarforge might be useful to add to the list as well.
August 6, 2010 at 7:05 pm
I use Open Office myself, it’s a great free alternative to Microsoft Office
Proiecte case´s last blog ..Case din Lemn
August 12, 2010 at 8:26 am
what about notepad ++.
Hieu Martin@Blog Tips´s last blog ..5 Ways to Make Money Blogging
August 13, 2010 at 9:42 am
There is one more free software for recording the minutes of a meeting. Its simple, useful and just perfect.
http://www.minutesofmeeting.net/mom/
Thanks
Aparna
August 23, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Hi,
I would say http://www.HRStop.com is also one of the most important free resources for HR Management System.
August 26, 2010 at 8:31 pm
I find your tips very useful, but I’d like to add to your list an open-source ERP. It’s license free, customizable and very easy to use. OpenERP is a comprehensive suite of business applications and has a modular approach which allows customers to start with one application and then add other modules as they go.
Also, the cool part is that OpenERP works together with its partners and community to improve the product and offer professional services. To check out the line of products available, follow this link:http://bit.ly/9NjbMA.