A physical document archive isn't working very hard if it's in a filing cabinet. Instead, if you digitize all of those old papers, you could search them from a PC. You could even store them online and browse from anywhere. Instead of relying on a scanner to manually make this transition, fax in files to the free-to-a-point online service, DepositDox.

You'll sign up, and secure a personal, toll-free number to which you'll send files. From your office, just load up the fax machine and fire them into the service.

A screen-sharing program can help train workers or update clients. They'll see your PC as if looking over your shoulder, even if they're across the office or around the world. But before you splurge on a paid service with unlimited connections, consider free and cheap alternatives. You can save if you only need to share a few times a month, or scale up if you need to buy more functionality.

One sharing service, Yuuguu fulfills my biggest demand for online collaboration; participants don't have to install anything. They just connect through a Flash-enabled web browser on any computer.

Conference call service--like most telecommunications--has become a commodity. Dump costly companies, and save your business money with one of many free options.

While the name and URL sounded like a typical Internet scam, FreeConference.com, lives up to its promise for basic service. Up to 150 people can join the call, giving ample headroom for nearly any small- or medium-business situation.

When you need additional workers but you can't afford to hire employees, you might turn to contract help. If you lack the established connections to find the right person for the job--or you just want to try a new option--turn to an online labor marketplace. These services match companies with skilled freelancers.

One of these marketplaces, Guru.com, combines elements of eBay, Craigslist, and dating sites to give workers and companies ways to connect.

Disk space is cheap, but that doesn't mean it's free. By archiving old email and attachments, you can reestablish room for new messages, saving the cost of new drives. But even better, your server performance could improve, and you could gain other supplemental benefits.

An archiving tool moves old messages off of your main email server into a different storage area. Your email traffic should flow more efficiently for routine messages, plus you can have more room in daily use. You'll probably only need to retrieve old messages once in a while, so those are offloaded to another location, accessible through a search function or directly in your mail application.

I'm scraping together phone service for my startup, mostly relying on mobile numbers that my contacts already know. But I'm considering Internet telephone alternatives, such as VoIP calling to save money.

Some online phone services combine the routing magic I like from Google Voice with more VoIP and business features. One example, RingCentral, sells a small-business tier of service with these functions in mind. RingCentral partly replaces traditional lines and partly supplements them.

You might think that your small-business file-storage needs have to span several companies: remote backup plus local backup, employee and client file-server access, and collaboration tools. But you might save money by choosing a single host that can provide all of those functions.

Egnyte combines these elements into one service. Client software enables Macs and PCs to access storage directly through those respective, familiar OS-enabled network interfaces. Or you can tap in through a browser or FTP application.

I've recently incorporated a business, paying a local attorney what I thought was a reasonable rate to provide assistance. But compelling web services can perform the same process, minus the value of a personal contact. How much is a local attorney worth to you? In my case, the difference was about $1,000, and I wish I'd considered the web alternative.

MyCorporation submits your basic filing, registering your corporation and generating its tax ID number. The service frequently mentions that it's owned by Intuit, trying to ease fears that a website can substitute for an attorney. If you trust Intuit's financial applications, there's not much difference trusting the company for this service.

You could spend a lot of time creating email newsletters and promotions, only to take even longer trying to manage lists and send everything out. Forget trying to send to Outlook groups; spend a little extra, and go with an email campaign service. You'll make up the difference in your labor costs and valuable tracking results that can hone your next mailing.

Emma email marketing service handles almost everything except your specific message content. The company designs an email template based on your preferences, website, and logo. So for future mailings, you can just change the text for a new message.

Invoice management is crucial for any business. But especially if you're just starting out, you might be tempted to save a few dollars on an invoicing application by submitting bills as Word docs or other text files. Don't waste your time trying to invent your own payment system. A free, server-based tool could be all you need.

Bamboo Invoice is young; its developer hasn't yet christened it with a "1.0" name. But it could save you money versus a paid tool; it's not just free to download, it's an open-source application, so other developers are free to make improvements and add features.

If you can lovingly call your small- or medium-sized business IT department "scrappy"--maybe you're both company president and network administrator--the right tools can make the most of your resources. Inventory auditing software can keep track of company hardware and software without taking your time from other tasks. You'll be able to keep track of assets, plus you'll gain valuable troubleshooting clues, such as an always-current list of software version numbers.

Network Inventory Advisor from ClearApps seeks out these details across your company PCs. The tool runs from a Windows system, but it can also audit Mac and Linux clients. You'll install the software, and it'll return a list of systems attached to the network.

If you route incoming calls to a voice prompt, that recording gives customers their first impression of your business. Keep them interested with a professional voicemail system.

Think that you're saving a lot by using the intern for a greeting? Online services let you get great results without overspending; you could pay about $100, or even less.