What accounting software do you use?
Hi,
I've lurked for a while here, and I'm now finally in the process of starting on my own. The business will likely be a mixture of consulting and web/sw projects, at least at the beginning.
One thing I really don't know anything about is the finance side of business. What do you guys use to for cashflow tracking and budgeting? I plan to use an accountant for the tax side, but I'd like to have a view of the situation at all times, for the sake of my mortgage :) I can budget with spreadsheets, but when it comes to logbooks, building something from scratch looks time-consuming.
For the record, I'm UK-based, so anything that can work in multiple currencies would be a bonus.
Thanks for your time!
I use timelyapp.com.
***Thomasongeri.com
Great app 🙌
Xero.
The only way is Xero.
I have started using and.co for invoicing on Freelance work but for Accounting I have previously used Wave Apps as had easy bank, PayPal and stripe integration and is free. You can also give an accountant read access so you know that they can view all data without accidentally deleting any.
I use QuickBooks Online. Integrates well with Stripe, and accountants can easily access it to review monthly and take care of taxes.
I use Xero for my main business. I pay for a slightly higher tier so I can have multi-currency support, but if you just want single-currency it's a bit cheaper. Overall it's great. My accountant can log in and fix mistakes or make changes, it pulls my bank feeds every day so I'm always up to date, reconciling is quick, it can send invoices.
I also use manager.io for another side business I run. I use the free desktop version of the software rather than the cloud version. It's a lot simpler, but it does everything I need for that business. I didn't want to pay for another monthly subscription for that business because it's not making huge amounts of money at the moment.
I use manager.io and it has been great for me! Free and all the features that I need! I am uncomfortable on sharing this data if it is not necessary, so I wanted something locally. You do have to take care of backups, but this is easy. My accountant has no problems with it. I did have to make a simple script to import from my european bank but I will open source this.
manager.io seems like it would be a prime example of a business that should be interviewed here no IH! AFAIK it's just a single guy running it.
I use Zipbooks.com for my little server management and hosting business. Very flexible for my needs: you can even easily switch between cash and accrual accounting.
Zipbooks is what I use presently, although I previously used and liked QuickBooks online.
If you like working on your local computer and fancy simple text files, ledgercli or hledger are great options. The latter is what I used before I started to write my own accounting/forcasting webapp (yet to be released)
I used bench.co $100/month but totally worth it.
They assign you a real live accountant, and pull in all your transaction data through their app.
It's comforting to able to ask questions about a field I had no experience in.
I'm using and.co for invoicing, but haven't had to produce accounts yet..also interested in what people are using
I am using ( http://www.hyperdrivesolutions.com/hdpos-smart/billing-software ) HDPOS Smart for more than 3 years and quite satisfied with it.
ProfitBoard.
ProfitBoard analyses current & past accounting data to come up with an accurate & appropriate solution to erase all cash flow, budget & finance related woes.
Shrav from Pilot.com here! Pilot takes care of your bookkeeping by pairing you with a dedicated bookkeeper, who is assisted by a bunch of software we’ve developed to help out with the heavy lifting. We do accrual-basis or cash-basis books for you in QuickBooks Online, so you’re never locked in.
Pilot focuses exclusively on tech startups, which is why hundreds of startups (including 50+ Y Combinator companies) use us for their bookkeeping, including Bannerman, Scale, and OpenAI. Several of the products listed on Indiehackers actually use Pilot to do their bookkeeping.
Please don't hesitate to reach out!
An opinion of a CPA / software developer / founder: (a) There are numerous accounting packages; however, many do not have a general ledger - which drives accurate reporting and becomes critical as you grow. (b) Ask your accountant for advice. You'll save money by using the software they recommend and letting them set it up for you. Re-casting data is expensive. Most accountants will tailor income and expense categories to your tax requirements. (c) And, I'd avoid accountants wanting a monthly retainer for accounting services. It's an unnecessary expense. A good accounting package and their help with your tax return is probably sufficient. (d) Also, it's important to keep the 'books' up to date. If you find yourself checking your bank balance before writing checks, you're on the wrong path.
I wrote my own one...
Most solutions that we looked at required Windows or didn't offer a solution to automatically create entries based on credit card transactions – which we have a lot of.
So I took 3 months off and teached myself accounting and wrote our own solution. Figured we might sell it to other small companies / startups sometime in the future, but so far I didn't have the time to market it.
If whoever reads this is based in Switzerland and might have a need for this, lets chat.
FreeAgent - https://www.freeagent.com – I've been using it for a decade and it's brilliant. I like it so much that I have a side project to automate the few manual tasks: DoubleAgent - https://doubleagent.io :)
I have moved over to Zoho because the pricing of their Zoho One offering meant I got books along with hosting, CRM, subs etc. for about the price of one service elsewhere. Note there is one minor gotcha - Zoho One only covers one accounting entity in their Books license. I have two separate companies, one of which is my startup, so have to pay $120/year for a separate Books license - that's still cheaper than Xero or Quickbooks.
I've been using FreeAgent for the last 3 years while freelancing and contracting and it's been great. It's aimed at small businesses in the UK so sounds like it'd be great for your needs. http://fre.ag/44n8zoxa gets you 10% off for life if you do sign up, and if you're looking for an accountant to work with it they've got that covered too: https://www.freeagent.com/find-an-accountant/.
Have been using FreeAgent for the past few years https://www.freeagent.com/?referrer=45zjh7ek
As my startup is still not that big , so a ios app called money lover pro is a life sever for me. it has nice UI with easy to use functions. https://moneylover.me/ .
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