Growing It
Aug
20
15 Free Accounting Programs For Small Businesses
When it comes to accounting, most business owners grimace. It’s a good feeling, however, when you have it all done and up-to-date even when the bottom line isn’t what you hoped. The sense of accomplishment and having it all done (and behind you) is worth all the time it took. TIME being the key word here. One of the most valuable resources in an entrepreneur’s toolbox, finding the time to do all there is to do is always complicated. An intuitive and efficient accounting program can make all the difference, given the ease of use. Naturally, cost is a factor even when most entrepreneurs would pay most anything to find the right program for the job.
Surprisingly, there are many free online accounting programs available. Given what most entrepreneurs would pay for the right program, I’m guessing that these free programs won’t be free indefinitely. However, entering all your data into a program takes time so trying out different programs is not an option. PC Magazine has rated the top programs, and we are trying a few of the top ones out to see if we concur. Most HOMESCHOOL entrepreneurs have different needs than the average entrepreneur, so we thought it would be worthwhile to check them out, also.
Note: Although PC Magazine’s article is fairly recent (March 2011), I thought I would mention that Intuit’s Billing Manager is discontinued as of Sept 30th, 2011.
Here are PC Magazine’s top accounting programs:
1. Quick Books Premier Edition 2011 – 4.5 stars; Starting at $79 first month, $39/month thereafter
The only one that is not free, QB Premier Ed 2011 is at the top of the list but is overwhelming for many small businesses. As you grow and your needs change, QB is where most end up. All the following online systems are very aware of this staunch competitor and work hard at making theirs easier and more thorough. In time, they may succeed.
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2. FreshBooks (Free, 4.5 stars)
According to PC Mag, Fresh Books is easily the best of the free small business applications they’ve tested. Even their website exemplifies their name with its fresh and simplified interface. Good one to start with, I’d say.
3. Zoho Invoice (Free, 4 stars)
Advertised as a complete set of tools for your business, accounting software is just one of many productivity tools you can find here at Zoho.
Calendar
Notebook
Planner
Zoho Office for MS Sharepoint
Collaboration Apps
Business Apps
Even a Bug Fixer!
Check out the wide variety of helps at Zoho.com
4. Outright (Free. 3.5 stars)
While Outright maintains 3.5 stars due to lacking some key components, PC Mag believes their innovation, security, and simplicity make it a good choice for the self-employed and very small businesses owner.
5. Billing Boss (Free, 2.5 stars)
Counter-intuitive due to the fact that users must do (and redo) a lot of unnecessary data entry as they create invoices. It’s recommended only if you want to retire your clunky credit card terminal for the convenience of your smartphone according to PC Mag.
6. Wave Accounting (Free, 2 stars)
What can I say? When you hit the bottom of the list of all these great offerings, why bother? (sorry, Wave…) Or, maybe you would like to give PC Magazine’s underdog a try. They may have changed what the critical reviews accused them of and will climb to the top soon*. I took the video tour and unless they are falsely representing themselves, they look like the option I would most likely try first.
*Editor’s note: It seems that many of these programs PC Mag tagged as ‘free’ are only free on the trial version. It appears that Wave Accounting is the only truly free program.
Then I found this site and another full list of what is referred to as ‘Open Source’ aka ‘free’ of accounting programs. While many of the ones mentioned above appear to only do invoicing, these seem to be full programs and completely FREE. I am not familiar with any of them, but using several barely known ‘open source’ products myself, (like Open Office and FileZilla) I thought they would be worth listing.
Here’s their list: (Read more about each one and find the download link by clicking on each link or find more free software at: I Love Free Software.com )
Track your accounts and balances hassle free, just like you use your register and other books.
The application is known for its ease of use, aims at providing you most comprehensive tool for accounting basic use, and takes very less time for simple set up.
The app is a free account software that simplifies your accounting problems and you can us the app for your small business and personal work. You can create and manage any type of bookkeeping activity and break out the entries and transactions to any number of accounts.
This program is designed to give you set of tools for better book keeping and accounts maintenance.
FrontAccounting is web-based free accounting software and free ERP software designed specially for all small and medium size business…full featured including:
Purchase Orders
Accounts Payable
Goods Receivable Notes
Supplier Invoices/Credit Notes
Payments
Allocations
Items and Inventory
Customer Invoices/Credit Notes
Deposits
Allocations
Stock
Manufacturing
Languages
Currencies
Several Companies
Sales Orders
Accounts Receivable
Dimensions
General Ledger with Budget
SQL-Ledger free web based accounting software for all small-sized business enterprises. The app is downloadable and requires quick installation. The app is very easy to handle and very simple to use. The easy to use interface will help you keep up with the accounts and maintain your books. >>more
13. TurboCash *also offered free in Spanish
TurboCash is yet another free accounting software. The freeware is fully featured with the tools and techniques offering wise packages of accounting that suits all kind of users and business firms. This open source accounting software is loaded with features for full reporting and analysis. You can also maintain more than one company at a time suing this app and add more than one users for better capabilities and division of book-keeping task. This free accounting software aims at making your accounting experience an easy one. However,. . . >>more
14. osFinancials
“osFinancials is a free accounting software that allows you full accounting utility. It is licensed under the GNU/GPL license which authorize the program to be free and can be used any users and free to download. This free accounting software is reliable, easy to install and very easy to administer. One problem I face with osFinancials is that website itself is in Dutch, and lot of parts do not have translation. Even most of the forum posts are in Dutch.” (?!?) >>more
15. PhreeBooks
“PhreeBooks is an open-source accounting program. PhreeBooks is designed to provide an accounting solution that allows businesses to track inventories and plan resources. PhreeBooks’ full-featured, user-friendly interface makes it the perfect solution for both experts and those who are new to accounting.
PhreeBooks was created as a full featured ERP/accounting system designed to run in an internet environment. This free accounting software is based on the administrator interface of the well established ZenCart shopping cart application. . .” >> more
Well, if you don’t find the accounting program you need for your business from this list, then I suggest you just take your shoebox to your local accountant and move on. Accounting is one of those activities like brushing your teeth. It’s something you have to do or you will pay the price later. Have fun!
Has anyone tried any of these programs and liked it? or didn’t like it? Why? You’d be helping others by sharing your knowledge! Thanks!
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May
24
Teen Entrepreneur, Ashley Qualls
One of the most impressive teen entrepreneur stories has been Ashley Qualls, who made $2700 from Adsense her first month online-$5000 her 2nd month, and $10,000 her 3rd month. She gave away her product, but the traffic was so high, she made more than she ever would have imagined simply by placing those little Adsense ads on her website. Her advice is to do what you love and the money will follow. It is good advice, but often does not seem quite that easy. However, following your passion is your best place to start. We’ll work on some blog posts that might help homeschool families play that out.
Anyone have any ideas on how to follow your passion that might help, too?
May
17
Top 10 Business Blogs and WHY
I just came across an excellent blog post on http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com that I plan on incorporating into my Entrepreneurship 101 course for it’s educational value.
The author of this blog is very talented with creating visually appealing content as you will see when you visit. However, it’s not only a beautiful blog, but I was very impressed with not only his top 10 selection, but his reasons WHY he chose them. He builds on the theory that you don’t need to re-invent the wheel, but simply model the best.
Take your blog to the next level by studying these unique, successful blogs and the reasons they have done so well. I plan it-and sure have a lot of work to do!
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More From HomeschoolEntrepreneur
Apr
15
How To Create a Profitable Blog
There are so many tools out there online anymore that just about anyone can create a good looking blog. In fact, blogging is becoming the national past time – and a very popular way to make a little extra money. While many are still doing it just for fun, there are those that aspire to that “6 figure blogging” reputation. Why not? Its start up cost is almost nothing and all it takes is your time. Or is it?
It looks to me that blogging for income will soon mirror the 2 out of 3 failure rate of new businesses. Actually, I don’t think the majority of new blogs will succeed for the same reason: Poor planning and lack of focus on how it will make money.
This is just one reason that teaching the basics of business to your teens is so important. The common mindset is “Just Do It”. It looks so fun, doing what you want, when you want, how you want. Why wouldn’t anyone want to have their own business or blog?
What happens when they have spent hours and hours buried online, pouring their heart and soul into what inevitable becomes a source of deep discouragement and frustration with no monetary return. Was it really so free? How much could they have had in the bank if those hours had even just paid him minimum wage? The “Build It and They Will Come” attitude doesn’t work any better with blogs than it does with a new business.
There are many that are very public with their opinion that you can’t make money blogging because they tried it and didn’t work, like Daniel Lyons, a talented blogger known for two years as “Fake Steve Jobs” (until Newsweek revealed his identity). In an excellent post by CopyBlogger, Daniel Lyons tell how he only made a little over $1,000 after a traffic spike of 250,000. If you can’t make money with that kind of traffic, he rationalizes, no one can succeed with a blog.
On the other side of the coin, there are many very successful bloggers that share their so called “secrets” and became successful doing just that. But that’s not the only way to succeed. Top bloggers like Darren Rowse with his photography blog will tell you he makes far more with helping those with their camera than he ever did helping beginner bloggers. I’m not sure it’s a secret or not, but there are some essential factors to actually making money with your blog.
CopyBlogger, in that same post referred to above, gives the cornerstone of any successful, profitable blog:
If you want to make money in the real world, solve real problems.
It’s sounds simple, and it really is-but most new bloggers don’t realize this. They jump into creating a blog on whatever suits their fancy. This is a sure recipe for failure. That is, unless what suits your fancy includes helping others suit their fancy. You must have a plan and direct the purpose of your blog to something that will solve real world problem for your intended readers.
If you would like to transform your blog into a profitable blog, study other great bloggers. CopyBlogger is a must read. Of course you must apply the principles, and work at it like a job, but to make money online you have to make yourself useful. Make sure your vision includes a purpose that has income potential.
I agree and personally need to take CopyBlogger’s hard hitting command to heart:
It’s time for online business to grow up
I love that. When blogging first started, most blogs were personal diaries and people loved (and still do!) seeing inside other people’s lives. Now that Facebook takes care of that in a big way, personal blogs have gone back stage. Everyone wants information that will help them in some part of their life that bothers them, and there are a multitude of ways to serve that up. What can YOU do to help someone else?
CopyBlogger is one of my absolute favorite blogs because it is intensely useful. Take a look at his headlines and you will find yourself wanting to read every single one. (at least I do..) He knows what bloggers need (goes beyond want) and gives practical advice that works. Learn from one of the best, go to http://www.copyblogger.com/no-money-blogging/ . Another excellent place to gain a full blogging education is http://www.problogger.net/.
Do you have a favorite blog or one that has useful information on how to blog? Please share with us in the comments. I’d like to compile a list of great bloggers that share it all and we can all learn from – who do you think makes it to that list?
Apr
12
Secrets To Making Money Online by ProBlogger
You all know that I highly recommend all of Darren Rowse’s materials if you want to succeed as a blogger, and his website is a goldmine of information. I recently came across this video that I wanted to share with you:
Please share with us any ideas or (secrets) you might have to making money online with your blog. Thanks!
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