Open-source QuickBooks alternatives

Akaunting is an accounting application delivered over the web and aimed at small businesses and freelancers. It is built with Laravel, Vue, Tailwind and a RESTful API, and its modular structure supports an app store where users and developers can extend the core product with additional features.

The topics show its scope: invoicing, billing, payments, expenses, budgets, bookkeeping and balances, with further hints at payroll, CRM and ERP use. It installs with Composer and npm, needs PHP 8.1 or higher and Node.js 18 or 20, and works with MariaDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL or SQLite behind Apache, Nginx or IIS. An optional command seeds sample data for trying it.

The project offers a forum for support, documentation, a developer portal and the app store. The repository lists the license as Other, so check the licence file for terms. Because it is PHP and Laravel based, it suits teams that want to run and customize their own accounting system on a standard web hosting stack.

Invoice Ninja is a source-available application for invoices, quotes, projects and time tracking, built with Laravel and Flutter. Freelancers and small businesses use it to bill clients, record expenses and tasks, and take payments. Topics in the repository include expenses, kanban task boards and electronic invoicing.

Two setups are offered. The hosted version is a software-as-a-service product that is ready in minutes with no server to manage, while the self-hosted version gives full control over hosting and infrastructure. According to the README, all Pro and Enterprise features of the hosted app are included in the source code, and self-hosted installs work with the desktop and mobile apps.

Apps exist for iPhone, Android, F-Droid, macOS, Windows and Linux via Snap or Flatpak. Self-hosted options include a server or VM, Docker, Cloudron, Softaculous, Elestio and YunoHost, with Stripe and Postmark suggested as providers. A Go SDK and an API are available. The license is listed as a custom source-available one, with a white-label license for removing branding.

GnuCash is financial accounting software for individuals and small businesses, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. It lets you track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses, and it is built on professional accounting principles so that books balance and reports are accurate.

The interface is meant to be as quick and intuitive as a checkbook register while still being flexible. It is double-entry accounting software, and it is available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, macOS and Microsoft Windows, with a Flatpak build on Flathub. The website lists documentation, an FAQ, mailing lists and chat, and the interface is available in many languages.

GnuCash is developed, maintained, documented and translated entirely by volunteers, and the project invites help with development, documentation and translation. It is written in C, and older releases remain available for Windows 7, older macOS versions and PowerPC Macs.

Bigcapital is accounting and inventory software for small and medium businesses. It aims to keep business finances in one place and automate accounting processes, producing financial statements and reports to support decisions. The project is positioned as an independent alternative to QuickBooks, Xero and Wave.

Repository topics cover double-entry accounting, invoicing, bills, expenses, payments and inventory management. The README describes multiple ways to get started: use Bigcapital Cloud, or self-host the open-source edition on your own servers with Docker. It is written in TypeScript and gives teams the ability to inspect and adapt the code.

Bigcapital is available under the AGPL license for self-hosting, while the vendor runs the managed cloud version. It suits freelancers, small companies and bookkeepers who want accounting control without per-user subscriptions to a closed platform.

IDURAR is an open-source ERP and CRM application that covers invoicing, quotes, payments and customer management, with accounting-oriented features. It is built on the MERN stack of MongoDB, Express.js, React and Node.js, with Ant Design for the interface and Redux for state.

The README lists invoice management, payment management, quote management and customer management as its main features and links to a hosted enterprise cloud version. It states clearly that you may use IDURAR for free for personal or commercial purposes. Repository topics include accounting, e-commerce and CRM, and it is written in JavaScript.

GitHub lists the license as AGPL-3.0, so check its obligations if you modify and offer it over a network. IDURAR is deployed on your own server, or you can use the vendor's cloud. It suits freelancers and small businesses that want a basic invoicing and customer system they can customize in JavaScript.

InvoicePlane is a self-hosted web application for managing invoices, clients, and payments. It is written in PHP on the CodeIgniter framework and is aimed at freelancers and small businesses that want to run their own billing system instead of paying for a subscription invoicing service.

It covers invoice and quote creation and sending, client records with contact details and transaction history, a product catalog and tasks that can be added to invoices, payment tracking with reminders, and integration with several payment gateways. Templates, themes, and settings can be customized to match a brand, and reports summarize financial performance.

The project publishes release notes, a changelog, and upgrade instructions, and it asks administrators to read the changelog before updating because some releases are security fixes. A Docker compose file is available for local development and testing only. Check the repository for the exact license terms, which the input lists only as other.

Midday is an open-source business assistant for freelancers, contractors, consultants and solo entrepreneurs. It brings functions that are usually spread across several tools into one system, covering time tracking, invoicing, matching receipts to transactions, secure file storage and an overview of finances. The code is TypeScript and is licensed under AGPL-3.0.

According to its README, time tracking records live work on projects, Magic Inbox matches incoming invoices and receipts to the correct transactions, and Vault stores contracts and agreements. Financial data can be exported as CSV files for accountants. An assistant provides insights into spending patterns and helps locate documents. Invoicing was listed as an upcoming feature in the README at the time of the snapshot.

The architecture is a monorepo using Bun, React, Next.js, Supabase, shadcn and Tailwind CSS, with Tauri and Expo for apps. Bank connections use GoCardless in Europe and Plaid or Teller in North America, and the hosted service runs on Supabase, Railway, Vercel and Cloudflare. The README says documentation for local development is still being written.

InvoiceShelf is a self-hosted web application for creating invoices, tracking payments and expenses and keeping customer accounts organized. It is aimed at freelancers and small businesses that want a focused workflow while keeping control of their business data. A public demo with sample data resets automatically, so you can look around before installing.

Its capabilities include creating invoices and estimates and exporting them as PDFs, recording payments and seeing what each customer still owes, and tracking expenses, taxes and business reports. Recurring invoices can be scheduled for repeat work, customers get a portal with invoices, estimates and payment history, and you can manage multiple companies and invite team members with scoped roles. Optional official modules add specialized features.

The README distinguishes two versions. The 2.x release is the supported production version, installable from the self-hosted download page or with the official Docker image, while the default 3.x branch is an alpha preview suitable only for testing with disposable data. A minimal SQLite Docker setup is described. It is written in PHP and licensed under AGPL-3.0.