Budgeting is a pest. It's one of those detailed, fiddly tasks that every manager has to do at least once a year. Tabulating the previous year's expenses and comparing them to estimates is tiresome, and generating estimates about new projects and associated costs is not much better.

A couple decades ago when most of us got started, time and billing software was rather primitive stuff. Most of the advantage of using, say, Timeslips or a similar program was that it tied into the network and allowed the cost accountants to generate reports fairly easily that showed everyone's hours with cost and account breakdowns. But the software tended to be standalone stuff that didn't integrate well with many other products.

Every business, big or small, needs a website. Your website tells people how to find you, advertises your products and services, and stakes your claim in your marketplace. Your website is also an essential part of your marketing plans, by allowing you to identify your company's brand: what are you focusing on, who is your target market, and what are you best equipped to do for them?