Our ultimate goal at UntouchableMarketing is to unleash the power of the internet in fantastic ways. Whether this is leveraging data-mining for lead generation, or simply getting a site to the top of results, it’s all for the goal of impressing business owners with the sheer power of the web.

But we all know that what we do, and how do it are two different things. Every business (even a consultancy) needs to run the day to day: client communications, billing, time tracking, expenses. Since I’ve gotten this question so much lately, I thought I’d give out some endorsements to the software that makes UntouchableMarketing WORK.

Project Management

At the heart of any good consulting relationship is accountability, communication and execution: also known as project management.

Basecamp - This 37Signals product is one of the best out there for project management. It allows us to use templates to easily set up most projects within 10 minutes. We can also invite clients to view the milestones, when appropriate, and update the project with messages, notes and files.

Things - Although we love Basecamp, for day to day tasks it doesn’t quite fit the GTD (‘get things done,’ or our preferred acronym ‘GSD’) model. Things does. Beautifully. My only complaint is that the desktop app is currently Mac-only, which means I have to enter each task via the phone keypad. However, this app is definitely worth it, I keep mine in the main app-bar on the iPhone between ‘Mail’ and ‘Messages.’ It’s a great way to stay on-task.

Time Tracking and Billing

The least fun part of UntouchableMarketing.

Freshbooks - The fact that we’ve gotten as many compliments on our billing system as on our actual work should tell you something. Freshbooks is amazing. Not only do they have an iPhone app for time tracking and manipulating invoices, they also have Windows/Mac gadgets/widgets for time tracking on the desktop. The interface is painless.

My only complaint is that you can’t create multiple invoices simultaneously, but billing could certainly be more painful.

PaySimple - We have just signed on with PaySimple this month, but the promise of ACH drafts and automated payments is music to my ears. I have heard nothing but good things about PaySimple’s service, so I will report back once I’ve had some more experience.

Communication

The most vital part of any relationship.

Google Apps for Domains – We’ve been using Google Apps since it was in Alpha and have had few complaints. Administration is easy to accomplish, and Gmail is still one of the best spam-defenders we’ve ever seen. Plus we can share calendars and contacts across the world, and given that our team ranges in location from San Diego to Philly, it’s a good thing.

Pidgin - As more of the “Millenial” generation enters the workplace they’re bringing with them a favorite tool from their high-school and college days. Internet marketing being what it is, we all have AIM, Yahoo, and Google messenger accounts. Pidgin helps manage all of them from one interface.

Miscellaneous

The other stuff that helps us GSD.

MileBug - This handy little iPhone app tracks your mileage, allowing you to export reports via email. For me, this is amazing because I am terrible about mileage logs. This way, I make sure I get my $0.55/mile back from the government every year.

Pandora - Unlimited, portable music for $15 a year? Sign us up. Great internet marketing is the result of music and caffeine.

That concludes the round-up of our favorite tools for getting work done. This framework allows us to concentrate on the really important stuff: traffic and sales.

Tags: billing time, client communications, day tasks, sheer power, task time, two different things

This entry was posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 8:25 am and is filed under The Untouchable Playbook. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.