Front Accounting looks like one of the best free and open source accounting applications to emerge in recent years, but I'm wondering if other UK SMEs have experience with it. In particular how good it is at handling VAT, and also how easy it would be to output year end data for an accountant in a form they'd be happy with. Front Accounting runs on a web server (which we would run on our LAN) and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. We use Linux where there is lots of good, free software; but good (UK compatible) accounting apps are rather limited, so I'm hoping this might be the one.
please introduce yourself to the forum as at the moment this looks like an advert disguised as a question.
Personally I've not heard of this software.
Shaun.
__________________
Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Sadly no-one is paying me for this! I run a small wholesale/retail/mail-order business, but due to the aforementioned lack of good VAT-handling accounts software for Linux our accounts are mostly done on spreadsheets. We switched from Windows to Linux several years ago, and in most other respects I'm really glad we did - I hate all the hassle with [anti-]malware, licensing, etc, eg: when I have to fix problems on my daughter's Windows laptop.
Some applications are cross-platform so that they are ported to both Windows and Linux (and often Mac - now very Linux-like) but unfortunately most accounting applications for SMEs are of US origin and don't handle VAT. Postings on other sites indicate that some people are using, or at least tried, Front Accounting with VAT, so I'm hoping to get some response from them. Front Accounting is listed at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_accounting_software - it split from an earlier app: webERP which started in 2003.
The simplest solution for us would be an online service (Software as a Service) like Kasflow or Xero, but I worry about where our data would be stored and what it might be used for without our consent.
Any informed comments would be welcome. Thanks, Steve
Shaun - Not one I've heard of either, but after googling it I discovered it's open source. I'm a big believer in open source applications and will use them wherever possible. Accounts though is probably a different kettle of fish, and if it were me I'd give it a go whilst proceeding with caution.
Steve - as you're already using spreadsheets why not download it and give it a try along side them, then let us know how you get on.
__________________
John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
You are correct - in my opinion - to be concerned about 'cloud' solutions. I don't refer to them as 'Software as a Service' but as 'Data as a Protection Racket' because, since your data is in someone else's hands, you can effectively be held to ransom over it.
It's interesting to hear of someone moving away from Windows, and all the problems inherent with the platform. I've wondered about what accounting options there are on Linux myself; I don't use it, but it's something I occasionally wonder about in this very context - so now I know that it may not be so practical!
Like Shaun, I've not heard of Front - so I can't comment on that. However, I wonder if there's another possibility: What about trying a UK-friendly Windows package of some sort under WINE?
__________________
Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
Ive never heard of them neither - Canadian isnt it. I was just struck by the number of 'updates'. Most cloud/online are a no-no for me - what happens when t'internet is down?!!
__________________
Joanne
Winner of Bookkeeper of the Year 2015, 2016 & 2017
Thoughts are my own/not to be regarded as official advice,which should be sought from a suitably qualified Accountant.
You should check out answers with reference to the legal position
The internet being down should only be a problem if you are running it on a remote server. The OP said it runs on a web server, and then "which we would run on our LAN"
What that means is a computer is set up on the premises which acts as a web server (running Apache, for example), and Front is installed on that - then any computers connected to your office network can access Front on that computer: you're still using a web browser to access it - it's still a website - but instead of it being on some distant machine accessed over the intertubes, it's (say) the computer in the cupboard under the stairs.
Edit: Just looked at the Front Accounting website, so I see there's a $9.95/month option to use it in the cloud. However, you don't have to use it that way; that's for people who may not be able (or want) to run a web server on their LAN.
-- Edited by VinceH on Friday 24th of July 2015 05:28:38 PM
__________________
Vince M Hudd - Soft Rock Software
(I only came here looking for fellow apiarists...)
Front Accounting looks like one of the best free and open source accounting applications to emerge in recent years, but I'm wondering if other UK SMEs have experience with it. In particular how good it is at handling VAT, and also how easy it would be to output year end data for an accountant in a form they'd be happy with. Front Accounting runs on a web server (which we would run on our LAN) and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. We use Linux where there is lots of good, free software; but good (UK compatible) accounting apps are rather limited, so I'm hoping this might be the one.
Cloud version not sure but what typically the cloud version do is Host this software's on a Virtual Desktop or a Virtual Server and give it to the customers as a package. So you can also go for a Virtual Desktop and install the application on it and use it from anywhere.
Cloud version not sure but what typically the cloud version do is Host this software's on a Virtual Desktop or a Virtual Server and give it to the customers as a package. So you can also go for a Virtual Desktop and install the application on it and use it from anywhere.
__________________
John
Any advice given is for general guidance and professional advice should be sought applicable to your circumstances.
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
