Work less. Do more. Our small business accounting software simplifies the income tax preparation process and saves time. The source code is ready to put together a powerhouse of small business accounting software that will make your life easier and your business look good!
Do you want to create your own accounting software solution but don’t have the skills? Here is an opportunity for you. The code is 100% functional and can be used as a starting point to create your own accounting software solution. There are also some completed applications which can be used.
Wave
4.4/5.0
1,037 reviews
The main dashboard in Wave Accounting (Source)
Designed with the small-business owner in mind, Wave—which was acquired by H&R Block for around $400 million in July of 2019—prides itself on its simplicity and ease of use. Its intuitive user interface keeps the most important financial data front and center, accessible immediately after signup via any device with a web browser.
The idea here is that keeping things simple relieves much of the stress associated with accounting software. But don’t be deceived by this bare-bones approach; for a free piece of software, Wave is rich in features. This includes informative user dashboards, unlimited income and expense tracking, and customizable invoicing and sales tax processes.
Other features include:
- Fast setup
- Bulk transaction updates
- Exchange rate conversions
- PayPal, Shoeboxed, and Etsy integrations
- Unlimited bank and credit card accounts
- Bill and invoice reminders
While the accounting app really is free, accepting payments (2.9% + 30 cents per credit transaction, or 1% per bank transaction) and running payroll ($20 per month plus $4 per employee) are paid, optional features.
Wave also appears on our Accounting FrontRunners list for 2021.
ZipBooks
4.5/5.0
93 reviews
The main dashboard in ZipBooks (Source)
Like some other free accounting systems, ZipBooks offers a complimentary starter tier to its more robust paid options. The free version does offer notable useful features for small businesses.
For no cost, users can send unlimited invoices, process digital payments, and manage as many vendors and customers as they need. This cloud-based solution also boasts integration with third-party applications such as Square, PayPal, Slack, and Gusto, giving organizations the freedom and flexibility to do business on their terms.
Other features include:
- Custom invoices, quotes, and estimates
- Ability to toggle between cash- and accrual-based reporting
- Vendor and customer detail tracking
- VAT, taxes, and invoice discounts
- 1099 payment and expense recording
- Balance sheet and profit and loss reporting
Akaunting
(No reviews yet)
The Accounts overview in Akaunting open source accounting software (Source)
The curiously named Akaunting had its first stable release in 2018 and has been growing steadily ever since, with 180,000 downloads, 80,000 cloud users, and 10,000 project contributors, according to the Akaunting website. It is available in almost 50 different languages.
Akaunting aims to remove the stigma of open source software being difficult to use, claiming to get users up and running and fully functional in less than five minutes. Users can download the main accounting core, which includes all the standard accounting features small businesses will need, and add optional features as app downloads. Some of these optional apps include contract management, documents management, white label customization, and some integrations are paid.
If you run into trouble, free support comes through extensive online documentation, and community forums and chat rooms. The project is also monetized through a paid, dedicated support service, starting at $99/month if you really need help and don’t mind spending to get it.
Core features include:
- Modern, intuitive, mobile-ready interface
- Free updates for life
- Advanced reporting
- Customer and vendor management
- Recurring billing and invoicing
- Categorization and bulk actions
Skrooge
Key Highlights:
- Personal finances manager
- Tailored for Plasma Desktop but compatible with others too
- Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, and macOS)
Skrooge is one of the most useful personal finances manager by KDE. It is originally tailored for the Plasma Desktop but other desktop environments are compatible.
Supports most of the basic features (reporting, budgeting, etc.) and allows you to work on some pretty big data sets.
Apache OFBiz
Key Highlights:
- ERP & CRM
- Developer-friendly
- Powerful Java Web Framework
- Cross-platform (Linux and macOS)
We’ve already mentioned this in our list of best open source CRM software. Apache OFBiz is an impressive open source solution that incorporates an ERP system and a CRM suite for various types of requirements.
It’s completely free – however, you will have to host it yourself (or just hire someone to do it). In addition to all the basic features needed for accounting software, it lets a developer extend/enhance features easily while being a Java-based web framework.
iDempiere
Key Highlights:
- Community-focused
- Simple and useful
- Cross-platform (Linux and Windows)
Originally based on ADEmpiere ERP. It is a community focused accounting software maintained by an active group of people. iDempiere aims to utilize technologies like Apache Maven to provide a business suite ERP/CRM/SCM.
There’s a ready-to-use Virtual machine available to download. In addition, you can utilize it on Windows or Linux.
NewViews
NewViews is an accounting software that is developed by Q.W. Page Associates Inc. You can adapt this app to sync with all your bookkeeping related needs.
Features:
- It enables you to create custom report layouts.
- You can allocate costs to multiple activities or projects.
- It is one of the best bookkeeping software provides a full history of your account.
- You can integrate NewViews with payroll and Electronic funds Transfer (EFT).
Link: https://newviews.com/newviews/
Xero: Best for Growing Businesses
XeroXero offers more than 700 app integrations to manage all aspects of your business.You get support via email and live chat 24 hours a day.Xero isn’t as well known as QuickBooks, which may affect your accountant’s learning curve.COMPARE QUOTES
Although many businesses start small, they don’t always stay that way. You want accounting software that can grow alongside your business, and Xero does exactly that.
Editor’s score: 8.5/10
GnuCash
4.6/5.0
40 reviews
Checkbook-style register in GnuCash (Source)
This on-premise accounting solution offers a robust set of features—recurring transactions, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting among them. What’s more, it’s as affordable as it gets (i.e., free) and endlessly customizable.
The GnuCash register is like a digital checkbook of sorts, with the ability to split transactions, display multiple accounts in a single window, and tailor the appearance to your liking. But the software’s signature quality is its “double entry” feature, which mandates that all transactions must debit and credit accounts in equal measure—keeping your books balanced at all times.
Other features include:
- Track individual stocks and portfolios
- Regularly updated stock and mutual fund quotes
- Check printing
- Payroll management
- Auto-fill frequent transactions
- Income and expense categorization
Openmiracle
Key Highlights:
- Plug-ins available
- Completely free
Openmiracle is a quite popular open source and free accounting software. There’s no premium plans to it. So, you can utilize all the power and flexibility for free.
It features all the necessary options needed in an accounting software. From setting the budget to managing the payroll, there’s a lot of things to explore.
LedgerSMB
Key Highlights:
- Dead simple open source ERP
- Optional commercial support available
- Cross-platform (Windows, Linux, and macOS)
A powerful yet simple open source accounting solution. It has been tailored to small and medium sized businesses. Starting from managing invoices to inventory – you also get the ability to translate (up to 45 languages supported). You can try pre-release version or just get the latest stable build to test it out yourself!
GNUKhata
Key Highlights:
- GST, VAT compliant Invoices if you are based in India (tailored for Indian users)
- Easy to use
- Simple user interface
- Cross-platform (Windows and Linux)
We already covered an article on GNUKhata, if you want to dive into the details.
However, it is simple and robust accounting software that is available for free. From the looks of it, the setup is easy and anyone can get used to it. Feel free to try it out and explore.
KMyMoney
Key Highlights:
- Simple and functional
- Cross-platform
- Easy-to-use
KMyMoney happens to be yet another free and open-source software managed by KDE. You can easily utilize this for managing accounts, transactions, ledgers, and a lot more.
It offers a simple user interface but gets the job done. As you can see in the screenshot above, it appears to be a full-fledged (if almost) solution. You can get it installed from the software center – however, you can also choose to install it from git if you want the latest version.
Odoo
Key Highlights:
- Web-based app
- 15-days trial (not completely free)
- Bunch of 3rd party integrations
If you might have read about the best open source CRM software, you could have noticed the suite of open-source web apps offered by Odoo.
Fortunately, they also offer something for accounting. If you do not mind paying for accounting software (maybe for your enterprise) while having an open-source solution, this can be your choice.
Conclusion
Complete Small Business Accounting Software Package. Customizable. Includes free hosting, free edocs documentation, source code and a custom data feed to import your transactions with ease. Use this package to run your business!