Accounting Software

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kalevra

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I run a small business... I've been using Excel to capture invoice and have not been doing other reports etc as they are manual and prone to error.

I know I need proper accounting software so I can run management reports etc. so I'm out looking for the most cost effective solution.

Does anyone know of any OpenSource accounting software? I'm a bit hesitant to use something OpenSource which isn't widely used as it will be difficult to get help with the software, your accountant won't be familiar with it (most likely - I'm assuming)

Alternatively there's Pastel or Quickbooks... We can get QuickBooks from ABSA for R165 a month... I've heard you can get Pastel for around R5000?
 
I use Phreebooks, its PHP + MySQL and web based. Support is great on their forum and its completely free. The only downside is that you will have to host it somewhere and pay for the hosting. It can do purchase orders,sales orders, invoices, quites, inventory and all the standard accounting stuff, and my bookkeeper said that its extremely user friendly, she never saw it before and just knew how it works! And I searched more that a year for this type of solution since my idea is to at some stage also connect it to my online shops.
 
I also use TurboCash and it works well, but I'm looking into changing to fincon as it has better features.
 
Then there's Fluttervoice, with whom you can do it all online:
Why should I use Fluttervoice?
Fluttervoice helps you make invoicing real easy. You no longer have to deal with Excel or Word documents. You can easily keep track of invoices going out, and payments coming in. And there's a special area for your clients [URL="http://demo.fluttervoice.co.za/summary/457524a9a503312e/fa325e628d05c9e0"](DEMO)
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to view all of their past invoices sent by you - now that's cool.

How much does it cost?
Fluttervoice doesn't cost anything if you don't send more than 3 invoices per month. If you need to send more, there are three pay plans available, ranging from R55 - R300/month. Sign up for a free account then decide later if you want to upgrade - you can use the free plan for as long as you like.

What's the difference between the free and pay plans?
The paying plans allow you to create quotes, and more invoices and clients than the free plan allows you to. And the pay plans also allow you to upload your own invoice stylesheets. There are no set-up fees, cancellation fees, or long term contracts.

What are my system requirements to run Fluttervoice?
Since we host Fluttervoice for you there's nothing you need to install. Therefore you only need a webbrowser. Fluttervoice is a modern product and requires Internet Explorer 6.x, Safari, or Firefox. Fluttervoice doesn't work with Internet Explorer 5.x. It's just too old. Other browsers may or may not work, but only the three listed are guaranteed compatible.

If I don't like it, can I cancel and take my data with me?Of course. Your data is your data - we're just helping you organize it. You can export anything you've typed into Fluttervoice at any time into a clean XML-formatted text file. You can cancel your account at any time in your account section after you have logged in.

Can I upload my own logo?
Yup. Not only that, but you can also choose from a range of ready designed templates, and - if you're on one of the paid plans - you can also upload your own stylesheets to make your invoices look the way you want them to.

What about printing?
You can print your invoices from Fluttervoice, or your clients can print out the invoices too from their own client area.

Will you use my personal information and sell it on to evil people, or lock me into having to use Fluttervoice forever and strip me of my basic rights to my own information?
Who hurt you?
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[/URL]Reposted here 'cos I think this is too fabulous for the community here NOT to know about ..hey, does this kinda, sorta qualify as SaaS? :p
 
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If your requirements aren't too high you can take a look at Pastel My Business. I paid around R700 for mine and it works nicely for my small business. Handles stock and invoices without any problem, but functionality is somewhat limited in certain areas.
 
econoaccounting

Locally developed, the feature I love is the importing of the bank statements downloaded. So you bank account is always reconciled. Look here econoaccounting I use it and recommend it.Read up about the features they really make accounts easy. It is not free but is very reasonable.
 
Crusader said:
If your requirements aren't too high you can take a look at Pastel My Business. I paid around R700 for mine and it works nicely for my small business. Handles stock and invoices without any problem, but functionality is somewhat limited in certain areas.
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That's how Pastel make money - always an upgrade path.

The fundamental difference between Pastel and Quikbooks is that you can crook the books with Quik. Pastel shows a clear audit trail, unless you start everything over.
 
Ianf1 said:
Locally developed, the feature I love is the importing of the bank statements downloaded. So you bank account is always reconciled. Look here econoaccounting I use it and recommend it.Read up about the features they really make accounts easy. It is not free but is very reasonable.
Click to expand...

Would be really nice if you could download a demo. You can't even see screenshots on their page. Not a good advert for the product.
 
I use Quickbooks - 2005 version - for my small business - best software as far as I'm concerned -- very easy to use and understand. It's not opensource or free, but definitely worth the R165 if you can get it for that...
 
Crusader said:
If your requirements aren't too high you can take a look at Pastel My Business. I paid around R700 for mine and it works nicely for my small business. Handles stock and invoices without any problem, but functionality is somewhat limited in certain areas.
Click to expand...

Theres a new version out with more features, MY Business 2, don't thinks theres an upgrade charge if you already have my business (1)

I also bought Pastel Mybusiness, tested it for a very short period. Now I'm looking into getting fincon so if anyone wants to buy pastel My businnes let me know as I'm trying to sell my copy.
 
Abe said:
Would be really nice if you could download a demo. You can't even see screenshots on their page. Not a good advert for the product.
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For econoaccounting, I would contact them directly and see if they want to give a demo. When i bought it I just read their write ups and that made me buy. You can buy the lite version it was under R1000 and upgrade it to the full version which allows invoices and multiple companies.
I am very happy with it.
 
Ianf1 said:
For econoaccounting, I would contact them directly and see if they want to give a demo. When i bought it I just read their write ups and that made me buy. You can buy the lite version it was under R1000 and upgrade it to the full version which allows invoices and multiple companies.
Click to expand...

We are using Quickbooks and are happy with it at the moment, although we do have quite an old version. It's far too much effort to go off and get a demo for something we don't need, although if we could download and check out the product quickly, it could possibly be a different story.
 
I find this thread very interesting. I've used Quickbooks and it is brilliant. If a free program can come close to it I will take it! :)

Anybody toyed around with Compiere and its friends yet? Is it useful for a small business?
 
Anybody here care to give feedback on Fincon?

I'm also looking for free accounting software and Turbocash seems to have died (last update 2008)
 
PhreakBoy said:
Anybody here care to give feedback on Fincon?

I'm also looking for free accounting software and Turbocash seems to have died (last update 2008)
Click to expand...

Has some good features... I bought it last year but sill haven't started using it, although I imported most of my stock and client details, I haven't used it due to lack of time.. Download the trial and see how it works... Just note that there is a charge for the software (R1695x for 1 user [2009]) and then a per user annual license fee R1650x for 1 user... Price Differs depending on the number of users.. In comparison to software packages that I use for my other businesses its not that expensive...

I also use TurboCash 4, also quiet easy to use, and its free... IF you need multiple users go for version 3.. Also development on ver 4 still continues, ver 3 might have stopped though...
 
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