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Five Ways to Get Your Home Business Organized

By Elizabeth Wasserman

Before computers, before the Internet, before faxes and before FedEx, there were home-based businesses. But not everyone felt like owning up to it, because home businesses used to feel a bit less than legit. Now that's changed.

“It used to be, back then, that you would be embarrassed about working from home,” says Barbara Weltman, an attorney and author who started a business in her Millwood, N.Y., home in 1983. She has since authored numerous books on small business, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting a Home-Based Business (Alpha 2000). “You took an outside address so it wouldn't sound like you were out in the suburbs. But that's not so anymore.”

One of the reasons it has become even trendy to operate a home-based business is because computers and the Internet have extended all the conveniences of a downtown office to your side street in suburbia. Business transactions once done only at an office can now be done online or via your desktop computer. For example, organizational tools on the Internet abound and can now help you start a business, get legal work done, professionalize your accounting and billing, and collaborate with others.

If your home business still needs to get out of the dark ages, here are five ways web resources can help you get organized:

Step 1: Start Your Business
If you're just launching your business, the Internet is a great place to start your research. For basic information and resources, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) operates a web site flushed with tips on setting up a business, getting financing, and whether there are any government programs for which your business may qualify.

Magazines geared to small businesses, such as Inc. magazine, feature how-to guides on their web sites about planning a home-based company, setting up a home office, tax strategies and tips for getting paid. In addition, the Business Owner's Toolkit is another good resource that can help you select a business, write a plan, get loans, market your work and more.

Another benefit of using the web to jump-start your home business is that you can hang out your shingle online, too. “The Internet has replaced the yellow pages,” says Dan Furman, a Kingston, N.Y. writer, and author of Start & Run a Real Home-based Business (Self-Counsel Press 2007). “When people are searching for anything, they'll find your web site as long as you position yourself right.”

In other words, a web site is a selling tool. And just like the yellow pages, it can bring business to you if you market your site correctly. Furman recommends buying certain key words (e.g., the name of your type of business in your hometown) through a program such as Google AdWords. In the case of Google AdWords, Internet searchers will more easily see your ad when they're looking for the services you offer.

Step 2: Make Sure Your Business Is Legal
The Internet is also a good place to look to determine whether there are legal issues you need to be aware of. Most state government web sites allow you to download the forms you need to incorporate or to form a limited liability company (LLC). You can always hire a lawyer to help. But a lot of do-it-yourself resources online make such paperwork easy to navigate. BizFilings or Legal Zoom are web sites that feature resources you can use to make your own legal decisions -- such as whether you should file for an LLC versus other types of corporations like a C Corp.

In addition to legal issues, you need to be aware of tax laws that may affect your home-based business. Weltman recommends turning to government tax web sites, such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and state tax departments, to research any obligations, such as sales tax, that you may have to meet. These government web sites often allow you to download the tax booklets you need and to place an online order for a federal employer identification number or state sales tax number.

“You also have to be aware that if you have any employees, including yourself, and you incorporate, there may be labor rules you need to know about,” Weltman adds. She recommends federal and state labor department web sites to research labor laws.

Step 3: Get accounting, billing or shipping services
In addition to taxes, another aspect of your home business finances involves accounting and maintaining a cash flow. Many home businesses rely on popular accounting software packages, such as QuickBooks from Intuit or Microsoft's Office Accounting. But these products now also have online components that might be attractive. QuickBooks has an online version, which means that all your business financials are maintained on QuickBooks computers so that if your computer gets stolen or crashes, you can still access and download your books.

Office Accounting has online add-ons of services your business might need, such as online payroll and credit card processing. One free product that Weltman recommends is MyBizDashboard, which extracts information from your QuickBooks software and displays it on your computer screen in an easy-to-understand “financial dashboard” graphic. “It lets you follow -- for free -- all your cash flow, so you know when things are going to be collected and when things are owed,” Weltman says.

If your home business needs to mail packages, you can sign up for online services from the likes of the U.S. Postal Service and, with an online registration and quick software download, calculate postage and print your own shipping labels for pickup by your postal carrier.

Step 4: Connect with customers or consultants
One of the drawbacks to running a business from home has traditionally been the difficulty of working with others. But not anymore. The Internet offers a variety of options to conference, collaborate or communicate better with clients. You can stay organized by using an online calendar, which you can share with clients or business partners to schedule meetings.

Free calendaring is available from Google, but other for-pay programs are available from such vendors as HyperOffice and EZWebCalendar. Web conferencing and collaboration tools are available, including WebEx and GoToMeeting.

And the Internet can also help you find support staff for your home business. Weltman, the attorney/author, has hired a “virtual assistant” over the Internet who now helps her with administrative and other duties that Weltman needs assistance with. She found the assistant through a web-based business called AssistU. “It's sort of like having a secretary,” Weltman says.

And that's the sort of luxury home businesses of old often could never afford -- until now.