From free voice mail to free Web hosting to free faxes to free online calendars, a parade of new services makes it possible to set up a virtual office without investing a dime. Quality varies widely, and some have intangible costs that can make free programs expensive in the long run. Take fax services, which promise a private phone number and documents delivered via E-mail. Some tack unrelated ads on your documents. And while the service is free to you, the area code may be half a continent away, sticking your clients with big long-distance bills.
Web host goes down.
Even happy customers note drawbacks. John Boyles, a telecommuting equipment engineer in Turlock, Calif., needed to send as well as receive faxes, so he had to pay to upgrade his account with eFax. Indeed, you can find some remarkable deals in messaging centers and wannabe intranets. We reviewed nearly 50 services, screening out those that didn't offer professional appearance and execution. Of the rest, none is perfect in every respect, but they do the basic job as advertised.