Basic accounting program?

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I wasnt too sure where to post this - sorry if it should be elsewhere..

I'm keen on finding a really basic program that can pretty much throw out reports and keep account of how much money is going into my studio, and how much Im spending.. Net profit/loss - monthly overviews, all that junk.
I have no idea about business or accounting or whatever - so from what I know, this may not even be an accounting program, hha..

Either way, I was hoping someone could point me in the direction of something that can look after this side of my studio business.. Preferably something freeware or cheap - but all options are considered. It doesnt need to be fancy at all - just something basic (I probably wouldnt understand 90% of functions on the advanced programs).

Also - does anyone else do this? Ive always been weird with keeping note of what Im spending and what Im earning - are any fellow Sneapsters like this also ? Or just me ?

Cheers in advance

 

[colonel kurtz]

any spreadsheet program will work for what you're needing

 

[nwright]

any spreadsheet program will work for what you're needing

+1

Or if you wanted to get a little fancier, check out Quickbooks.

 

[MT01]

If you've already got Micro$oft Office, then Excel will do the basics.

Otherwise try the free alternative OpenOffice Calc:

http://why.openoffice.org/why_great.html

 

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Cheers guys, yeah I have Excel and this is what I have been using in the past - Ive never known any of the coding or whatever so its all been manually added up and everything in the past.
I got the trial of Quickbooks so if I think its something that Ill find useful then Ill look into purchasing it, cheers!

 

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Haha, so....
Turns out Quickbooks is WAY too advanced for my needs.. Can anyone recommend a site where I can find some good free/cheap excel spreadsheet templates? I have not yet been able to find anything that suits me...

 

[-Gavin-]

Why not just learn to code what you want in excel using a web tutorial?

You'll learn a lot more and be a lot less reliant on what you can get from google.

 

[Kazrog]

If you're on Mac, there are interesting options besides the usual OpenOffice, Apple, and Microsoft offerings in the spreadsheet arena (which of course are more than powerful enough, but not necessarily inspiring enough to want to use consistently.)

One cool alternative approach is ChaChing:

http://www.midnightapps.com/chaching/

It's a great program and I recommend it to anyone who needs a basic finance app with a streamlined workflow.

 

[kev]

Excel

 

[Zack Uidl]

honestly, i would just make your own template if you can't find anything. that is what i did for my business needs and it didn't take long at all to make

i have mine set up so i have one spreadsheet per month

 

[Gomez]

You can download templates online and modify them.

These days I got an accountant... makes life a lot easier!

 

[James-Doolan]

Shouldn't take more than a hour to do in excel from scratch