Resources for small business

Alvin Chey14 appsUpdated May 9, 2019

A list of free/open source software / resources helpful for a small business.

Thunderbird
Like
Cross-platform email client providing POP/IMAP support, robust filtering, multiple accounts, and chat. Extendable via add-ons with RSS/Atom, etc.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
Email Client
Calendar App
Platforms
Windows
Linux
Android
BSD
AppImageHub
Snapcraft
Obtainium
Flathub
PortableApps.com
F-Droid
OpenAPK
Homebrew
Chocolatey
Mac
+7
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
If you use Message Storage Type "maildir" (one file per message), it makes incremental backup easier. Furthermore, your profile, which stores all your email, contacts, add-ons, etc, is very easy to relocate to another PC.
Zim
Like
Zim brings the concept of a wiki to your desktop. Store information, link pages and edit with WYSISYG markup or directly typing some lightweight markup syntax and see it previewed as-you-type. Creating a new page is easy by either clicking on the "Create new note"...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking Tool
Task Management Tool
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Flathub
Flatpak
+2
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Lightweight, portable, flat-file based note-taker.
TreeSheets
Like
A "hierarchical spreadsheet" that is a great replacement for spreadsheets, mind mappers, outliners, PIMs, text editors and small databases.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
Note-taking Tool
Mind Mapping Tool
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
+5
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
What a find. You really need to try it if you've always wanted to add spreadsheets into mind maps into spreadsheets into ...
Mozilla Firefox
Like
Open-source browser with Gecko engine, supporting HTML add-ons and providing privacy features like Enhanced Tracking Protection and third-party cookie blocking.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Web Browser
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
BSD
HUAWEI AppGallery
iPad
AppImageHub
Snapcraft
Linux Mobile
Flathub
Samsung Galaxy Store
PortableApps.com
Haiku
Flatpak
Homebrew
Chocolatey
Gecko
F-Droid
+8
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
It works really well, especially with the following add-ons: Tree Style Tab, Print Edit and uBlock Origin.
KeePass
Like
Free and open source password manager storing passwords in a local encrypted database with strong AES or Twofish encryption and master key access.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
Password Manager
Authenticator
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
Mono
+5
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
With the need to access many web services, it is a great tool to keep track of all passwords and notes. I prefer to keep my passwords safe and in a thumbdrive.
yEd Graph Editor
Like
yEd is a powerful diagram editor that can be used to quickly create diagrams manually or import external data for analysis and auto-magically arrange even large data sets by just pressing a button. You can use yEd to quickly create flow charts, BPMN and UML diagrams...
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
Diagram Editor
Mind Mapping Tool
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Online
BSD
+2
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Easily create diagrams.
DokuWiki
Like
DokuWiki is a standards compliant, simple to use Wiki, mainly aimed at creating documentation of any kind. It is targeted at developer teams, workgroups and small companies. It has a simple but powerful syntax which makes sure the datafiles remain readable outside the Wiki and...
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Wiki Engine
Platforms
Self-Hosted
Cloudron
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Manage sharing of company document for all parties.
Font Squirrel
Like
Font Squirrel is a collection of free fonts for commercial use. We scour the internet for truly free, AND, high quality fonts. We also have the world's greatest, and only of it's kind, @font-face font generator.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
Font Hosting Service
Font Library Tool
Platforms
Online
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Clear licensing information so that you know what you're using for your business needs.
Multi Commander
Like
Multi Commander is a multi-tabbed file manager and is an alternative to the standard Windows Explorer. It uses the very popular and efficient dual-panel layout.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application type
File Manager
Platforms
Windows
+6
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Very versatile two-pane, multi-tabbed file manager. Folder comparison, calculate folder size, Most file operations could be queued so I do not have to wait for completion. Portable version allows you to add this to your toolkit across PC.
Imagine
Like
Imagine is an Image & Animation Viewer for Windows with screen capture function.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
Image Editor
Image Viewer
Platforms
Windows
Windows Mobile
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Not many image editors are free for commercial use.
7-Zip
Like
Efficient file archiver offering superior compression and encryption. Supports multiple formats such as TAR, ZIP, with a unique self-extracting feature.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
File Archiver
File Compressor
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
PortableApps.com
ReactOS
Arch Linux
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
This is especially useful when you need to handle other format beside ZIP archives.
VLC Media Player
Like
Cross-platform, free media player supports multimedia files, DVDs, streaming, offers hardware acceleration, 4K, lossless audio, and more.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application typeApplication types
Media Player
Audio Player
Platforms
Mac
Windows
Linux
Windows Mobile
Android
iPhone
Android Tablet
BSD
HUAWEI AppGallery
iPad
AppImageHub
Apple Watch
Snapcraft
Google Chrome
Apple TV
Flathub
PortableApps.com
F-Droid
Kindle Fire
Haiku
Android TV
OpenAPK
Homebrew
Chocolatey
Xbox
+4
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
Portable version could play any media in any presentation PC.
PDF-XChange Editor
Like
An efficient PDF viewer and editor with advanced features like direct content editing, OCR by ABBYY, form filling, annotation, and offline access.
Cost / License
Freemium
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Platforms
Windows
PortableApps.com
Wine
+3
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
OCR works great for scanned document. Good set of feature for managing PDF annotations. Portable version could show presentations previously saved as PDF.
PDF24 Creator
Like
PDF24 Creator is free and feature-filled PDF creation, merging and conversion tool for Windows. Its unique feature among the free PDF printer tools is an editor, which allows to easily assemble, create and modify PDF files with Drag & Drop.
Cost / License
Free
Proprietary
Application typeApplication types
PDF Editor
PDF Reader
Platforms
Windows
AC
Alvin Chey’s note
The Page Creator could easily sort, merge, discard pages in PDF documents. Doubles as a PDF printer.