Best / Small-business accounting
Best open-source Small-business accounting
The best self-hosted small-business-books split in the c17.io catalog is ERPNext for GPL-3.0 ledgers next to inventory (the published QuickBooks / Zoho Books / Wave / Xero-shaped books when you want OSI), InvoiceShelf when the job is AGPL invoices rather than a full ledger, Akaunting when you want that BSL-1.1 general ledger (not OSI) — /compare/erpnext-vs-akaunting, and Firefly III when the job is an AGPL-3.0 personal ledger rather than a shop's books. This is not Zoho Books' every GST or payroll SKU, Wave's every receipt-scan pack, or QuickBooks' bank-feed marketplace. Invoices-only stays on /best/invoicing-accounting. Payroll stays on /best/hr-software.
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Ranked picks
1
ERPNextGPL-3.0 ERP books — the c17 Zoho Books / Wave ledger path if you want OSI. /compare/erpnext-vs-akaunting.
When to pick it: A chart of accounts next to inventory you host.
40,366 stars in the catalog
2
InvoiceShelfAGPL invoicing fork of Crater already on /best/invoicing-accounting.
When to pick it: Send invoices without a BSL or ELv2 license.
1,858 stars in the catalog
3
AkauntingBSL-1.1 general ledger already on /stacks/invoice-ninja-books. Not OSI. /compare/erpnext-vs-akaunting.
When to pick it: A PHP ledger if you accept BSL.
10,188 stars in the catalog
4
Firefly IIIAGPL-3.0 personal finances already on /best/personal-finance.
When to pick it: Household books, not Zoho Books payroll.
24,929 stars in the catalog
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ERPNext | GPL-3.0 | Medium | A chart of accounts next to inventory you host. |
| InvoiceShelf | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | Easy | Send invoices without a BSL or ELv2 license. |
| Akaunting | Business Source License 1.1 | Medium | A PHP ledger if you accept BSL. |
| Firefly III | GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 | Easy | Household books, not Zoho Books payroll. |
Related pages
- Akaunting / Invoice Ninja stack
- Frappe HR stack
- Firefly III / Akaunting stack
- Replace QuickBooks
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- Replace Xero
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- Replace Wave
- Replace BambooHR
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FAQ
- ERPNext or Akaunting?
- ERPNext if you want the published GPL books. Akaunting if you want that PHP ledger and accept BSL — /compare/erpnext-vs-akaunting.
- Zoho Books or Wave?
- Same published books — /replace/zoho-books and /replace/wave-accounting.
- Is this QuickBooks?
- QuickBooks stays on /replace/quickbooks. This page is the small-business ledger with more logos.
- Are these free?
- ERPNext is GPL-3.0. InvoiceShelf and Firefly III are AGPL. Akaunting is BSL, not OSI. You pay hosting. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/invoice-ninja-books. Persist MySQL. Import one client and send a test invoice.
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