The best business apps

If, like me, you value the recommendations of friends and trusted colleagues, then a new website for business products should be well worth repeat visits.

The idea behind BestVendor.com is to create a resource for reviews and recommendations of business products in a way that people trust.

“It’s a business directory with social recommendations,” says founder and CEO, Jeff Giesea. “The directory part lets you see what products are recommended based on your job. The social function allows you to browse other people’s profiles and see what they’re using.”

Although the site will appeal to a wide variety of people, freelancers and micro-businesses should find it particularly useful. For example, I could search for the top apps used by freelance writers, or look for the highest-rated accounting app used by freelancers. Certainly saves me the time of researching and trying out new products for myself.

“BestVendor only launched in beta in November 2011 and is initially focussing on business apps and software and building a Wikipedia approach to the product pages,” says Giesea.

However, like any give-to-get community, the site needs people sharing their favourite apps. The site is free to join and all you need to do is share the three apps you would recommend to a friend. Sign in through Linkedin, and you can start discovering.
As for Giesea, his three current faves are cardmunch, hipchat and quicklytics. Give them a try.

What apps have made your life easier as a freelance?