A US software company that gives its workers free beer on Friday afternoons has been named the "Best Small Company to Work for in America".

Analytical Graphics, Inc (AGI) also gives workers access to a free laundry service, free meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner - all week and access to free snacks, confectionary and drinks. And if there are concerns that all this free nosh might pile on the pounds, there's also a gym. Which is free.

In fact, AGI spends around $1m a year on freebies and perks for staff, according to the Detroit Free Press. As a result, workers are more productive, motivated and enjoy coming to work - while the company saves buckets loads of dosh in recruitment and training.

The Philadelphia, PA, company, which provides geospatial analysis and visualisation software to the aerospace and defence industries, topped the list of the "Best Small Company to Work for in America" award among the "Best Small Companies" category.

The awards were organised by the Great Place to Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management - and they're aready on the hunt for next year's likely winners.

So if your small.biz provides free beer and tequilla slammers all week and freedom to use the company credit card any time at all, check out the competition organisers' site here. Deadline for entries is 15 August. ®

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