More start-ups offer online software and services for a fee - USATODAY.com

A year ago, Roy Thompson had no use for software salespeople. "We make money fixing your car," says the owner of Thompson's S&S Collision Repair in Sacramento. "I'm not one of these tech junkie guys." Yet, last March Thompson accepted a 30-day free trial offer from ClaimTools Solutions. The Nanaimo, British Columbia-based software firm sent him five rugged digital cameras configured to send photos over the Internet to ClaimTools' computer servers for archiving and processing.

Repairmen began using the cameras to document every step of each repair job. Within a week, Thompson signed up for a three-year, $300-a-month, subscription. The rented technology has boosted the body shop's revenue by $3,000 a month...