This is going to sound completely out of place at first but the main reason I'm making a thread of it here is that I think the information could also be highly relevant to any musos who want to act as a business, or who are already doing so and looking for a better way to handle the legal compliance side of things. OK, down to the point...
Does anyone have experience with free (preferrably open-source) alternatives to software like MYOB and Quicken for managing the accounting side of a small business?
I've been putting together a guide to operating as a sole trader / small business in Australia which basically amalgamates the information available through all the various government bodies and puts it into lamens terms with basic step-by-step walkthroughs and checklists. I've hit a wall when it comes to the accounting side of things though.
Software like GNUCash and TurboCash might well be able to do the job but I don't know enough about accounting to make any kind of valued judgement on them. It doesn't help my confidence at all when the Australian mirror for GNUCash appears to be dead for over a year while the main site is still being regularly updated. There were also a few places where supposed heads of an Australian branch of TurboCash were highly vocal in their intentions to develop a complete solution for Australian small business but simply died off without so much as a single release. Volutive 1 also sparked my interest with its extended feature set (eg- payroll, timesheets) but it's closed source and, again, doesn't seem particuarly geared for the Australian small business.
Any information that can be provided (eg- suitable software packages, experience using the above packages, what the minimum accounting requirements are for a small business or sole trader, topics of specific relevance to bands or session musicians) would be greatly appreciated, however if you know even less about accounting than me and have no experience or first-hand knowledge as a sole trader or operating a small business, please- keep your guess-work contributions to a minimum.
If all else fails I would even consider developing my own software product targeted specifically at the Australian market - similar to how MYOB started out, only they've had 16 years to develop a product heavily bound by restrictive licensing (especially for developers) who's 16bit-rooted interface is still absolute shit and they're still charging a hefty premium for. That would still take a lot of time though, and I am hoping to get this guide completed and published by the end of the year... but if it interests anyone, keep it in mind.
Does anyone have experience with free (preferrably open-source) alternatives to software like MYOB and Quicken for managing the accounting side of a small business?
I've been putting together a guide to operating as a sole trader / small business in Australia which basically amalgamates the information available through all the various government bodies and puts it into lamens terms with basic step-by-step walkthroughs and checklists. I've hit a wall when it comes to the accounting side of things though.
Software like GNUCash and TurboCash might well be able to do the job but I don't know enough about accounting to make any kind of valued judgement on them. It doesn't help my confidence at all when the Australian mirror for GNUCash appears to be dead for over a year while the main site is still being regularly updated. There were also a few places where supposed heads of an Australian branch of TurboCash were highly vocal in their intentions to develop a complete solution for Australian small business but simply died off without so much as a single release. Volutive 1 also sparked my interest with its extended feature set (eg- payroll, timesheets) but it's closed source and, again, doesn't seem particuarly geared for the Australian small business.
Any information that can be provided (eg- suitable software packages, experience using the above packages, what the minimum accounting requirements are for a small business or sole trader, topics of specific relevance to bands or session musicians) would be greatly appreciated, however if you know even less about accounting than me and have no experience or first-hand knowledge as a sole trader or operating a small business, please- keep your guess-work contributions to a minimum.
If all else fails I would even consider developing my own software product targeted specifically at the Australian market - similar to how MYOB started out, only they've had 16 years to develop a product heavily bound by restrictive licensing (especially for developers) who's 16bit-rooted interface is still absolute shit and they're still charging a hefty premium for. That would still take a lot of time though, and I am hoping to get this guide completed and published by the end of the year... but if it interests anyone, keep it in mind.
