The top 3 widely used open source accounting applications

There many excellent options for open source accounting software which cover basically anything from ledger bookkeeping to report and forecasting. However, you must know that having an accounting software does not turn you into an accountant and you still need a basic grounding of the fundamentals of accounting and bookkeeping. However, these accounting software applications are a decent mix of old school accounting merged with ERP that helps you to understand where your business is going and what needs to be improved or fixed. Hit the jump for the top three picks for open source accounting software

1. GnuCash (gnucash.org)
GnuCash has gained a lot of popularity and is very user-friendly. It is perfect for both small business and personal financial applications that use the standard double-entry accounting which helps to detect and track the errors from the source. GnuCash can be tailored or customized to your requirements and it supports various function too. It does not contain a payroll module, however, you could manage a payroll for a smaller headcount by manually entering the variables. GnuCash is free and supports many different languages.

2. SQL Ledger (sql-ledger.com)
The SQL Ledger is ERP systems that is web-based and is adequate for shops that process a lot of packing lists, vouchers, check printing, purchase orders and so on, apart from the regular ledger accounting. It is a cross platform application that required both an SQL server and a Web server. This open source accounting system works better with Linux. This software is available in two versions – enterprise and free of cost. The former has advanced features like a better payroll module, barcode and label printing, an integrated Help system, invoice consolidation and an advanced phone and email support system.

3. XTuple PostBooks (http://sourceforge.net/projects/postbooks/)
XTuple PostBooks is the main highlight of the fabulous XTuple ERP Suite. It has seven modules comprising of Sales, Accounting, Manufacture, CRM, Purchase, Products and Inventory. PostBooks is free and has various advanced features that includes a task manager, trouble tickets, multi-location and multi-user, shipping/receiving, quotes, assemble-to-order configurator and bill of materials. The annual license for the various editions range from $400-1500 a year. You also have other options like cloud license and perpetual license as well. The more costly the system, the more functionality you get such as multi-warehouse management, drop-ship purchasing, asset management and depreciation and capacity planning. xTuple is an ideal open source accounting software for a growing small-scale enterprise.