Posted by: in Business News
Filed under: Business, World wide web
It turns out Zoho, Invoice Journal, Invotrak, and Freshbooks aren’t the only companies offering online invoicing solutions. Intuit, the company behind the QuickBooks accounting software also has a billing solution, cleverly titled Intuit Billing Manager.
This free web service has been around since last year, but we first heard of it when WebWare ran an article this afternoon. Intuit Billing Manager offers users several templates for invoice creation, and you can slap your company logo on any invoice. You can also email your invoices to clients directly from the internet site. They’ll received a text based email with a link to an on the web version of the invoice. Unfortunately, there’s no way for them to pay the invoice on the web using the service.
Once you’ve added your company info and created a few clients, you can create and send invoices in a matter of seconds. We do wish there was an easy way to save invoices as PDF files which look a tiny more professional than text based emails. We tried printing an invoice using a print to PDF application, but the results didn’t fit properly on the page. Still, if you’re not happy with the umpteen other services offering online invoicing solutions, you might want to check Intuit Billing Manager out.
Read
Share This
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by: in Business News
Filed under: Business, Internet, Blogging
Online classifieds site Craigslist has always thrived on its simplicity. While other web services have added bells and whistles, AJAX, and Flash, Craigslist has a look and feel reminiscent of the dawn of the internet age. Of course, the site has ben thriving, so there hasn’t been much need to change.
But Craigslist has been in the news a bit over the last few weeks for some less than pleasant reasons, so it’s kind of nice that Craigslist now has an official blog where CEO Jim Buckmaster can post his thoughts. Up until now, the closest thing there was to a Craigslist blog was the personal blog of founder Craig Newmark.
Now, here’s the interesting thing. Buckmaster is discussing the huge issues of the day on the blog, and engaging with his audience directly. Users can even leave comments on blog posts (although you’re redirected to the user forums when you click a comments link). But the blog still feels very 1999. It has a stark layout, and there’s not an RSS feed in sight. So no, our headline isn’t a typo. We’d love to state we’re welcoming Craigslist to the 21st century, but even the Craigslist blog feels care about it was designed over a decade ago.
[via TechCrunch]
Read
Share This
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by: in Business News
Filed under: Business, Finance, Web services
Zillow is taking the wraps off its new service today, the Mortgage Marketplace.
Designed as a meeting ground between mortgage borrowers and lenders, Zillow Mortgage Marketplace aims to solve most of the common complaints that borrowers and lenders have with the normal mortgage process.
For starters, the marketplace does not require that borrowers provide extensive personal information up front. In place of personal information are detailed loan request forms, where you can customize the offering you are looking for. When a lender sends a quote, you are alerted by e-mail to view, then accept or decline, the customized offer.
Lenders can register for a small fee; once registered, they have the ability to submit quotes to potential borrowers, and view any competing quotes for the same borrower. Zillow requires full disclosure from the lender; that is, any quote must include all fees, as well as estimates of taxes, insurance, the whole kit and kaboodle.
The Mortgage Marketplace is an excellent idea. It grants the borrower to shop extensively without having to reveal all of their personal information, and saves them the time of filling out form after form. Zillow’s full disclosure policy insures that there will be no surprise costs. Lenders will also benefit from having a big pool to pull customers from for a relatively low cost.
The question is: is anybody even buying a house right now?
[via CNet]
Read
Share This
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Deals, Launches, Industry, Consumer experience, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), AT and T (T)
AT&T (NYSE: T) is giving out strong hints that it might use the new Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android mobile operating systems in handsets it will release later this year. Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) is the “official ” search engine on AT&T phones now. That could be something of a problem for the beleaguered portal company.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the chief of AT&T’s wireless operation “noted that AT&T will be able to customize the Android software’s open-source coding to promote the carrier’s own data and content services.” That might be in place of what the telecom company is doing with Yahoo!.
It is hard to say whether Android is picking up business because the software is so good or because Google has such great clout. Either way, it may be pushing other operating systems from Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Symbian out of a piece of the market. Since Android is an open source system, it grants programmers to add features in a way that other mobile softwares do not.
Google likes to give its competition fits. It looks care about it is succeeding again.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Share This
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Before the bell, Deals, Industry
The deal could be worth $150 million. Live Nation (NYSE:LYV), which is normally in the concert business, is close to a 10-year deal which would give that company a piece of each aspect of the business dealings of rapper Jay-Z. The arrangement could hardly be more broad. According to The Wall Street Journal :”Live Nation would underwrite other of Mr. Carter’s (Jay-Z) business ventures in areas such as clothing, out of a fund of $25 million; in the past, Mr. Carter has been involved in clothing and nightclub businesses.”
The contract is a large risk for Live Nation, and one which it probably should not take. Shares in the company have fallen from a 52-week high of $24.09 to $12.70. The firm’s profits have been unusually modest. In the final quarter of 2007, LYV had operating income of $4 million on revenue of just of $1 billion. Debt service cost the company $16.6 million. The company has long-term debt of just under $1 billion.
While signing up massive stars for long contracts may seem to be attractive, a lot can go wrong over ten years, especially if the star in question loses much of his popularity. Live Nation has a similar deal with Madonna. Perhaps that’s why the company’s shares have done so poorly
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Share This
Share This
No Comments »
Posted by: in Latest News
Filed under: Deals, Law, Bank of America (BAC), Countrywide Financial (CFC), Housing
The troubles never ends for Countrywide (NYSE:CFC), but that may be its own fault. According to The Wall Street Journal: “A federal judge has authorized an in-depth probe of Countrywide Financial Corp.’s mortgage-processing systems by bankruptcy investigators hunting for evidence that the huge mortgage lender has systematically abused borrowers.”
Who knows? Maybe Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) will still walk away from its deal to purchase the mortgage company.
Among the charges is that Countrywide got people into mortgages and pumped up fees as customers made payments late. The court is concerned that the “fees” were no accident.
Similar charges keep jumping up as the world learns more about how Countrywide was run. As the old saying goes, where there’s smoke there’s fire. The number and depth of concerns about how the company made loans and handled customers appears to increase by the day.
The top executives at CFC are getting rich packages as the buyout by Bank of America continues. But, even the bank only has so much patience if the legal bills keep piling up.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Share This
Share This
No Comments »
Entries (RSS)