# Free Accounting Software



## baby141

Does anyone know where I can get or download a free accounting software. I want to do my own bookkeeping. It is not worth my paying a bookkeeper at this time.


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## plen

This is an old thread but I thought it'd worth mentioning that GnuCash is a nice little cross platform bookkeeping/accounting package. I use it on both my Linux desktop and my Vista laptop. If you have both Mac and Windows it could also prove helpful.

It doesn't have all the bells and whistles of Money or Quicken but it does the job.


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## atrp2biz

Quickbooks also has a free version, but there are definite limitations.

I am a Quickbooks fan.

http://quickbooks.intuit.ca/accounting-software/quickbooks-easystart-free.jsp


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## wheel

Gnucash and quasar are both open source. I've looked at both and will likely be moving to one of them for my business in the future. Not because they're free, but because they run on linux .


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## canats123

QuickBooks provide several versions to do the bookkeeping, You can get the best software there.


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## 44545

Microsoft Money.

You can download, for free, Microsoft's Money Plus Sunset Deluxe Edition, here:

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=20738

I bought Quicken 2012 last week, wasted a weekend setting it up, and realized it had fatal flaws.

The biggest Quicken flaw: when calculating cash flow, Quicken doesn't take into account budget items. (read that again - I'm not kidding)

Money, on the other hand, will calculate account balances based on not only "scheduled bills" (like Quicken) but also based on your budgeted amounts.

The difference to my accounts, based on that difference between Quicken and Money, is nearly 33%. 

Back to MS Money.


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## A320

^ just downloaded MS Money and am trying it out but am finding it keeps failing when inputting my windows live ID I created to sync my info with my live account online. When you say quickbooks doesn't take into account "budget items" can you elaborate on what you mean is missing here? Quickbooks 2012 is on sale half off right now but I'm a bit hesitant as I do get the feeling that they practice obsolescence.

Thanks


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## 44545

A320 said:


> ^ just downloaded MS Money and am trying it out but am finding it keeps failing when inputting my windows live ID I created to sync my info with my live account online. When you say quickbooks doesn't take into account "budget items" can you elaborate on what you mean is missing here? Quickbooks 2012 is on sale half off right now but I'm a bit hesitant as I do get the feeling that they practice obsolescence.
> 
> Thanks


Money Sunset doesn't connect via Windows Live anymore. Set it up to use a local password only and it'll work fine.

Quicken was what I was referring to, not Quickbooks. I'm unfamiliar with the latter. The former doesn't factor items you enter in a budget into cash flow projections. 

Example: your income is a recurring $3,000 cheque each month. OK, no problem - since it's a recurring bill, Quicken gets that.
With no expenses, at the end of the year, Quicken would estimate you would have $36,000 in the bank. 

Now, add a budgeted expense, not a recurring bill, of $400/mo for groceries. It isn't a "bill" since you don't go to the grocery store only once per month and spend exactly $400 at a time - you probably spend $150 this week, $50 next week, nothing in week three and $200 in the final week of the month.

Quicken won't factor the budgeted $400/mo into your cash projection - it will still assume you'll have $36,000 at the end of the year.

Where it's really critical is shorter time windows: will you have an extra $100 for that insurance payment next month? No help from Quicken with that. It could easily result in bounced cheques, missed payments and all sorts of financial pain. 

MS Money, on the other hand, will properly factor that in, projecting your end of year at $31,200. It's even smarter than that, since it compares your actual spending (say you spent $600 last month on groceries with a $400 budget) and will update your cash flow projection accordingly. ($31,000 at the end of the year)


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## Spudd

A320, Quickbooks is accounting software for businesses. If you're trying to track your personal finances I don't think you'll find it much help.


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## A320

No I'm looking at Quickbooks for a small startup business. Thank you both for the quick replies. Not sure if MS Money will properly handle the business aspect I'm looking for here. Might have to look closer at Quickbooks then. I overlooked in your post that you were referring to Quicken not Quickbooks CJOttawa.


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## Homerhomer

A320 said:


> No I'm looking at Quickbooks for a small startup business. .


Is the business incorporated or not?


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## A320

Sole proprietorship.


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## 44545

There's actually a business version of MS Money Sunset:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7564

I haven't used that one but for "free" it's a good value _if_ it suits your needs.

When I ran a small business, I was using "Simply Accounting Pro" for bookkeeping.


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## Homerhomer

A320 said:


> Sole proprietorship.


Unless you will have a huge volume of transactions excel should be just fine, you just need to create a worksheet with revenues and expenses (by category), seperate hst if you are registered, if you want to be more fancy and have financials statements you can create templates in excel as well.


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## A320

Thanks everyone. CJOttawa, thanks for that link, I'll have a look at that version. And no I don't have that many transactions so my next step was to do just that, create a couple of spreadsheets to do some simple adding and keep track of things in a simple format.


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## Ohmsford

Quicken 2012 has come up a few times in the thread, and it is what I use and I've been really happy with it. I haven't noticed the budgeting problems that CJOttawa was talking about, but I have not delved too deep into the budgeting and recurring bills section.

I originally started using Quicken 2011 recommended to me, received a copy from a friend and I was using it for the better part of the year, but the investing sections never wanted to work, everytime I would try to input a new trade, it would ask for me to create a new security, even if it was a security already input, and I had to change the name slightly, otherwise it would display "security already exists, change name". When I purchased Quicken 2012 to use instead, what I found was the version of 2011 I had been using had all of the currency settings removed, so every account was considered a "Blank" currency. Trying to input funds or quicken files from my banks website into the same accounts in Quicken 2012 brought up crazy exchange rates from this blank currency to Canadian currency.

Regardless to say, it took me a long time to get it all sorted out and using Quicken 2012 properly, but every problem I was having was resolved. Since then though, I have been really happy with Quicken, and I would recommend it. But Microsoft Money has also come up in alot of discussions regarding a free personal finance software and its been recommended lots, but I haven't used it.


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## A320

So I'm creating my spreadsheets, does anyone have the formula or a good method for carrying over balances from sheet to sheet. For instance I want each sheet to represent one year, the data is simple, just expenses and revenue, with a grand total cell showing P/L somewhere on the sheet, when the sheet is completed, I'll start a new one for a new year and want to carry over that P/L amount to the new cell.

Any ideas?


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## HaroldCrump

A320 said:


> when the sheet is completed, I'll start a new one for a new year and want to carry over that P/L amount to the new cell.
> Any ideas?


The syntax is:
_=[SheetName]![CellReference]_

For example, to carry over an amount from cell D36 on the sheet titled Dec2011, you will write:
_=(Dec2011!$D$36)_


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## A320

Thanks for the quick reply. So now in my new sheet I want for example the sums of B5 to B45 to be added to the balance brought forward with your formula. How would the whole thing look?


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## HaroldCrump

A320 said:


> Thanks for the quick reply. So now in my new sheet I want for example the sums of B5 to B45 to be added to the balance brought forward with your formula. How would the whole thing look?


_=((Dec2011!$D$36) + SUM(B5:B45))_


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## Will

Have you tried Wave Accounting yet? They're free and based in Toronto


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## A320

Thanks Will, gonna have a look. Gotta wonder if it's free what kind of data they mine from your information.


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## Trevor

www.dbsonline.com/download/
has:

BS1 General Ledger - Free General Ledger Software

BS1 Accounting - Free Accounting Software
AP, AR, GL, Inventory, Sales Analysis

BS1 Professional Time Billing - Free Time Billing and Accounting Software
AP, AR, GL, Inventory, Sales Analysis, Time Billing

BS1 Enterprise Accounting - Free Accounting Wholesale Distribution ERP Software
AP, AR, GL, Inventory, Sales Analysis, Sales Orders, Purchase Orders

The free versions are single-user with no free support, and some features disabled such as import/export from/to Excel.


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## tim_yonkers

There is no online accounting services which is full free. If anyone is full free then I have doubts. But some has some free options. I am using online bookkeeping services from ZipBooks. Most of its feature are free. And you can get most of it for free. Another one is Guncash. But I don't like its interface. In every other aspects its good.


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## Brainer

A couple of nitpicks. First, I'm assuming you mean Gnucash, a multi-platform free software app. Don't want anyone to think you are encouraging armed robbery. 
However, it is NOT web-based, it operates on your device directly. I have started to play with KMyMoney, and I like the interface a little more.




tim_yonkers said:


> There is no online accounting services which is full free. If anyone is full free then I have doubts. But some has some free options. I am using online bookkeeping services from ZipBooks. Most of its feature are free. And you can get most of it for free. Another one is Guncash. But I don't like its interface. In every other aspects its good.


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