Developed by a US firm, Meeting Miser can be configured to work in UK currencies, and operates very much along the lines of the sort of clocks you get in taxis.

Input the job title of each person attending the meeting, adjust the salary levels so the Meeting Miser can keep tabs on the total cost per minute, and set the clock running. Before your very eyes, the costs will keep on mounting until you call time. It's even possible to set an alarm to ring when you reach a pre-defined time or cost ceiling.

Of course, first of all you will have had to organise the meeting. That's all very well when everyone's in the same organisation and they all use Outlook's calendar. But how do you agree a time and date that suits people when that is not the case?

That's where Doodle comes in. The service allows you to create what is in effect an online poll. The meeting's organiser can offer a number of different dates for the meeting and invite participants to "vote" for one or more options that suit them.

Having scheduled the meeting, what should you wear? As anyone who has read the most recent IRS dress code survey report (subscription required) will know, this can be a tricky question. What, after all, is the difference between "smart casual" and "business casual"?

Thankfully, dresscodeguide.com has the answers. Select the region of the world in which you are doing business, choose from a drop-down list of dress codes, and you will be presented with guidance on everything from hats to boots.

Should you wish to do so, dresscodeguide.com also allows you to suggest amendments to its sartorial advice, so that when clothing norms move on the service stays up to date. Snorkel and flippers for "formal businesswear" anyone?