List of free and open source Accounting software (Part 2)

In yesterday’s article we introduced the concept of free open source accounting software (Part 1) and we looked at GnuCash, TurboCASH, Lazy8Ledger, Pbooks and AdminsoftAccounts.Try Xero for FREE – Online accounting software for small businesses.

Today we will be looking at some more options of free open source accounting software available.

• Front Accounting includes enterprise resource planning (ERP) elements and is web-based.
• It is suitable for small to medium companies.
• It supports multi-currency and multi-branch companies.
• Software requirements: Apache, PHP 4.3 or 5.MySQL 3.1

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Yes
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book / Bank Reconciliation	Yes
Manufacturing	Yes

• Sadhanasoft’s Aqura Lite provides for multiple companies to be created and custom vouchers and it comes with a built-in tutorial.
• It also offers more than 100 reports, each having various options for customization.
• Please note however that the Aqua Lite (the free version) does not have all the functionalities of the full Aqura version.
• It works with Windows but not open source.

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Yes
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book / Bank Reconciliation	Yes
Manufacturing	No

• Ledger is developed using Delphi and is a basic desktop application accounting system which is easy to use and install.
• Windows based, but for Windows Vista some small changes to the BDE configuration is required before the program will run.

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	No
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	No
Creditors control	No
Reports	No
Cash book	Yes
Manufacturing	No

• OneStep Accounting is designed for small to medium sized companies which includes report designing functionalities.
• Runs on Windows
• Available for free but not open source

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Yes
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book	Yes
Manufacturing	No

• QuickBooks accounting software has different versions. The Simple Start Free version tracks up to 20 customer and vendor contacts.
• QuickBooks includes online banking, manage payroll and payroll taxes.
• Runs on Windows and is not open source.

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Not in the free version
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book / Bank Reconciliation	Yes (but download of bank and credit card transactions is only available in the Pro version)
Manufacturing	No

• Tryton is more than merely an accounting software package and is rather considered a business solution.
• It is a fork of the version 4.2 of TinyERP (later called OpenERP).
• Available on Linux, MacOS and Windows

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Yes
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book / Bank Reconciliation	No
Manufacturing	No

• Suitable for small and medium business.
• It is web-based.
• It is available as a stand alone application or also as a set of modules for eGroupware.
• Runs on Apache, PHP, MySQL

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Yes
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book / Bank Reconciliation	No
Manufacturing	No

• WebERP is a popular accounting / ERP web-based open source application for small to medium-sized enterprise.
• It is multi-language and allows for multiple currencies.
• The latest version was released on 8 Nov 2009.
• It is rich in functionality and even includes serial tracking capabilities.
• Runs on Apache, PHP, MySQL

Modules	Included
General Ledger, Trial Balance	Yes
Stock Control	Yes
Debtors control, invoicing and statements	Yes
Creditors control	Yes
Reports	Yes
Cash book / Bank Reconciliation	Yes
Manufacturing	Yes

It is still important to look at a demo of potentially suitable free open source accounting software for enterprises before making a final decision.

The look and feel should be considered, the speed of the software, as well as security considerations such as the possibility of password protection.

As businesses grow and more functionality may be required at a later stage, it is good to go for a solution that allows for such future growth. For example, if only services are delivered, and later on inventory are being sold as well, it would be a frustration if the chosen software solution does not allow for inventory control when the business eventually needs it.

The same consideration should be given to the number of users allowed on the system simultaneously.

Yolande Kleynhans
(yolandek ‘at’ mtn.blackberry.com)

* Updated 1 Feb 2010: Check out this new post regarding an affordable web based online accounting system.