It never fails that when you’re on-site at a program, you call the office in a panic because the 50-page presentation they were supposed to send – the deadline for which is T-minus 10 minutes away – can’t be located.
In this day and age – no matter where you are, no matter what you’re doing – you can stay ahead of the curve with on-the-go applications.
By now, most pros are familiar with Google Apps, the office suite that offers e-mail, documents, spreadsheets, notebooks and more. There are lesser-known applications, however, that pick up (and subsequently take off) where Google falls short.
To help you make the most of your time between remote meetings, The Coleman Center has compiled this list of seven Web apps our guests have found helpful. The relevance of these applications to your company will depend on its size, of course. While some applications work for small businesses, they may not apply to larger companies – and vice versa.

Blinksale – An invoicing app that allows you to send “elegantly formatted invoices to anyone with an e-mail address.” It also offers professionally designed templates, importation of client records, tagging to find past invoices using keywords, and more.

ThinkFree – Turns portable devices into mobile offices. View and edit documents and manage files with increased productivity. ThinkFree Mobile includes performance enhancements to speed up loading and response times, providing more out-of-office work time.

Harvest – Tracks times, logs expenses, and keeps track of account receivables and revenue. You can use graphical reports to see the distribution of your company’s resources in a visual, intuitive way, and quickly create an invoice to bill a client. Harvest lets you do it all, so you can run your business with style and ease.

Blist – Sharing your lists online is simple. Consumers and knowledge workers now have the power of a relational database, combined with a user interface that’s easier than a spreadsheet.

PayPal – With a free app now available for download onto the iPhone, PayPal users can buy and sell their eBay tchotchkes from anywhere in the world – whether or not there’s an available Wi-Fi connection within range.

Vello – An audio-conferencing service that allows you to call participants simultaneously, making meetings more productive. There are no dial-in numbers or access codes to remember. First, upload contacts from Microsoft Outlook using the Vello Contact Sync Tool. Then select the participants from your computer or mobile phone, press “Call Now” or “Schedule,” and the call begins. Simple as that.

Remember the Milk – PC World says that this task-management application “reinvents the to-do list.” Features include an intuitive interface that makes managing tasks fun; maps to see where your tasks are located in the real world; the ability to share, send and publish tasks and lists with contacts; and an option to receive reminders via e-mail, text and instant messenger from AIM, Gadu-Gadu, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber, MSN, Skype and Yahoo!

This short list is just the tip of what’s now available online and on-the-go to help you manage your office while you’re away from it. If you have a business-based Web app that you live by, tell us about it in the comments section.

From Coleman Center