The Not-So-Free Google Apps for Business

Google Apps is a powerful tool for Business that integrates mail, calendars and documents all within the familiar Google interface.  For businesses with a limited amount of users and email inbox size, businesses could sign up for an account at no cost.  But now Google has changed their sign-up process which seemingly eliminates the free account altogether.  In its place is a 30-day free trial with an unlimited amount of users and 25G of inbox space.   After 30 days, the business will be charged $5 per user per month.

Google Apps is estimated to be used by about 5 million businesses so they can pretty much do as they please.  But there are ways to work around this.

1. Use the Old Form - While Google is still rolling out this plan, the old form used to sign up for the completely free account is still active out there.  Use this while it lasts.
2. Sign up for the free trial and then downgrade the account - The free trial is only good for 30 days and if there are 10 users or less for the business, you can still keep the free version of Google Apps for Business.

Follow the instructions below:

• Log into Domain Management in your Google Apps account
• Chose Domain Settings in the top navigation menu
• Select Subscriptions and Billing and you should see the trial account listed here

• Click “Cancel Google Apps for Business” and the chose the Downgrade option
  That's it.

In the future, as the business grows, you may always upgrade to a paid account by
returning to Domain Settings and clicking on Account Information.