What are some alternatives to QuickBooks and FreshBooks?
I am going to review three accounting programs that are free and also are one-click installs provided by Softaculous. Softaculous is an App installer that is provided by a webhost for free. Most webhosts have Softaculous, and it is likely yours does too. You don't need Softaculous but the installation process will be more difficult. I
n order to get started you'll need a webhost and a website address, like www.my-website.com.
What if you don't have a webhost or website? You can install the accounting programs on Windows 10 (or 7) using these instructions. This basically involves setting up a web server on your PC. Then you have to install PHP and some kind of database software like MySQL or MariaDB. Finally, you can install an accounting program last. Having a webhost. website and Softaculous takes care of this for you but there is monthly cost for the webhost. Although, the monthly cost of the webhost is going to be a lot cheaper than regular accounting programs like QuickBooks and FreshBooks.
The three accounting programs on Softaculous are: Akaunting, FrontAccounting and WebERP-
Akaunting seems to be the most popular "free" accounting program. It is free but some people may need third-party add-ons that aren't free. That's how the developers make money. Note that sometimes when Akaunting releases an update that some add-ons can break. There is always the risk of this problem. It happens in WordPress too. I would really try to limit the number of add-ons so you can avoid trouble. The reviews for Akaunting (click the "Reviews" tab) over at Softaculous seem to be pretty good. It gets a rating of 4.7 at Softaculous out of 175 votes. You can see the features of Akaunting here.
What about importing data from QuickBooks?
"Now is the best time to switch from QuickBooks Online to Akaunting. Easily move your customers, suppliers, products, services, invoices, and all your other history to Akaunting with a few clicks."
You can also import from Wave, Xero and ZohoBooks.
Apparently, people are able to export data but the extent is not clear.
FrontAccounting is a solid alternative to QuickBooks. You can get a list of features here. The reviews at Softaculous are mostly good but it's not as popular at Akaunting. The biggest problem in working with free software is dealing with the quirks. That's why you'll want to read over the wiki before you install it.
You can take a look at a demo here: FrontAccounting - Demo
FrontAccounting has the ability to import and export CSV files. These are simple data text file in a comma delimited format. QuickBooks exports data to CSV files, and these could be imported in FrontAccounting. However, you'll probably have to do several imports to get the data you need.
It gets a rating of 3.7 out of 5 at Softaculous. It's not as popular as FrontAccounting. About 28% of the raters gave it a 1. About 61% gave it a 5. See a list of features here.
Does WebERP import and export data? Yes, but some data might be slightly complicated. You may need to go to the MySQL database and import/export there. Your webhost typically has a database interface, like PHPMyAdmin, in the webpanel. Most people have cPanel for their webpanel. Just snoop around cPanel until you find PHPMyAdmin. Go into PHPMyAdmin and do the import/export there. PHPMyAdmin will import/export CSV files.
For billing and invoicing solutions at Softaculous, check out these options: