By: Co-Editor: RB

For better or worse, the health care debate is over. Here in the Northeast the snow has melted and the weather has warmed. We are looking forward to a real turn in the economy and to once again enjoy robust commercial interaction. So use this Easter holiday (or Passover for our Jewish readers) to enjoy yourself and let go a little bit.

We will be back on Monday April 5 to bring you Great Startups.

As Emily Dickinson once wrote:

A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King.

Post from: GreatStartups.com

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

Companies seeking to provide web-based solutions for small business are easy to find on the web. Indeed, GreatStartups.com has covered several startups operating in this space. Fore example, Beezang.com (helps roommates and colleagues manage joint expenses), Outright.com (Free Online Bookkeeping), Projjix.com (helps business engage with consultants) and Invoicera.com (eBilling).

Out of Australia now comes BillsTrust.com. Launched two weeks ago, BillsTrust is a flexible and novel way to pay all your bills and invoices online, both handwritten and printed. The idea is to help users avoid late payment fees by taking care of each and every bill in due time. Once the user has signed up he will have access to a dashboard in which he will see all his upcoming bills queued up as well as historical payment information and digital copies of bills in an archive. That is, the individual will have a true overview of what has to be dealt with, instead of having to browse through bills individually.

When bills are paid by the due date, SMS or email alerts are sent to the client keeping them in the loop at all times.

The system requires no data entry, at least not in the conventional sense as users simply fax/scan and email their bills to the company to have them added to their control panels. Clients are also provided with personalized 2D bar-coded (QR code) stickers, and these are stuck onto the front of their bills as they receive them. The moment a bill is paid the individual will receive both an SMS and an email notification letting him know that the bill has been paid, and also how much money the transaction has entailed.

There is no service on the Internet that keeps customers in control of all their bills especially handwritten ones like plumbers and suppliers.

The service uses latest technology with QR codes and OCR technology to queue up what was a paper bill into data that can be held and only paid on the due date.

BillsTrust helps businesses affected by the credit squeeze to manage their cash flow by delaying payments on their payment terms, not their suppliers without them having to keep in trays full of accounts payable, allowing them to focus on their business rather than administration of it.

Reasonably priced at between $24-49 per month BillsTrust.com may be worth a try.

Post from: GreatStartups.com

By: Co-Editor, Bobby B:

The Internet is the perfect vehicle for aggregating information for those disseminating and those consuming that information. However, as myriad startups demonstrate everyday finding a niche that will bring user back over and over is the hard part. Usually, when a site does heed that call, it is almost so simple that you want to say, “why didn’t I think of that.”

The newly launched Rentjungle.com based in Pittsburgh is just such a site. The concept is simple, but it is in the execution that it succeeds. If you are looking to rent an apartment this site should be your first stop.

The site has more listings than any other online site, and its innovative technology shows you every available listing on a user-friendly map. You instantly know where each vacancy is located and what’s nearby: parks, shopping, ultra hip watering holes. Rentjungle.com works much like Google in that it scours the Internet and pulls together apartment listings from a variety of sites and puts the listings on a single results page.

RentJungle.com launched on June 1, 2009 and within four weeks had experienced nearly 1000 unique daily visitors though word-of-mouth advertising only. Behind its success is Rick Ferris, a real estate broker with over 30 years experience in residential and commercial realty. He founded RentJungle.com to fill a real void in the online real estate market by offering a simple, easy-to-use directory and one-stop-shop destination for leasers.

On the site you will find listings from all the major apartment websites. You then click through for full information. Then, whether you need a mover or guidelines for negotiating your first lease, the site is full of articles and resources to help you along. From help with roommates to renter’s insurance, they have it all.

Resources about locating, leasing, moving and decorating a new apartment can also be found on RentJungle.com. The site features both the most complete and user-friendly listing of vacancies on the web, as well as articles on everything from down payments to what to consider when signing a lease.

RentJungle.com also has launched an apartment search and sharing application that is first of its kind in the apartment industry. You can you search for apartments using our Facebook Apartment App without even leaving the Facebook site. You can share apartments and invite your friends to comment. And it is all free.

The Apartment Blog on the site features such pertinent articles as “How much security deposit should you pay” and “Setting up your new apartment’s utilities”.

So if you are looking for an apartment, want to see or if you are overpaying on your current apartment, check out RentJungle.com.

Post from: GreatStartups.com

By: The Editor

For the past few months GreatStartups.com has primarily written about companies less than 2 years old. Today, I decided to write about a company that has been around since 1999. I think as entrepreneurs it is always great to see companies that were just startups that have blossomed into successful businesses.

Based in San Mateo, California, Vendio.com has grown tremendously over the last 10 years. If you have something to sell online, chances are you want to use some of their online services.

Vendio lets you reach buyers where they are shopping, without forcing you to learn a different interface for each channel. Whether you are a seasoned online sales veteran, or the next ecommerce success story, Vendio makes it easy to build and run your online business no matter where your buyers shop.

Vendio says on their website “The keys to successful selling: Get quality products in front of buyers at a reasonable price, and manage your sales and customers effectively. The Vendio Platform provides you the easiest and most robust solution available to manage all your online selling: eBay, Amazon.com, or your own store. Completely hosted with nothing to install and no upfront fees, the Vendio Platform grows with you. Describe an item once and make it available to buyers on your own free online store, Amazon.com, eBay, Google Product Search, and other online channels. As sales come in, the Vendio Platform enables you to process all orders using one convenient interface while keeping inventory quantities in sync across your sales channels.”

Vendio did a 40-minute interview with Cindy Shebley of Web Seller Circle. This video provides a great overview of who Vendio is a company, what they do and how they can help you reach buyers where they are shopping – whether it’s eBay, Amazon, Google or your own store.

Web Sellers Circle Presents: Vendio – A New Solution for Multi-Channel Sellers from Vendio Services on Vimeo.

I think it is fair to say that Vendio gives you a competitive edge regarldess of what product you are offering to the public. The Vendio Platform lets you manage items, orders, buyer communication all through one integrated Platform. Vendio is offering your very own store for free. If you sell online or are thinking about it, be sure to visit http://vendio.com.

Post from: GreatStartups.com