[PLUG] Linux accounting software

[Kris]

On 05/25/2010 02:04 PM, Chaz Sliger wrote:
> Rich,
> I'll buy.  I would love to have a discussion with you on SQL-Ledger.
> Just say when and where.
> Regards,

I ran a company on sql-ledger for 5 years before we finally broke down and
migrated to Quickbooks last Fall.  Mainly we were fighting accountants who
wouldn't learn the system, extended training for bookkeepers, weird bugs, and
lack of help for those who aren't accountants (me!).

For all its faults, Quickbooks allowed me to get sane reports out of the system,
and I could generally ask the help a question about how to best-practice (GAP) a
scenario and it would have a solution.  Sql-ledger always required odd
workarounds for some things.  The accounting firms also rejoiced our decision,
and we no longer had to pay twice the time for them to muck around sql-ledger.

As for payroll and invoicing AR, forget Quickbooks.  We used PayCycle (which
after two years of happy service, they sold out to Intuit), and for billing used
Harvest, a SaaS[1] (getharvest.com).

We fought hard for sql-ledger, as our business model depended heavily on FOSS; I
myself have been using Debian since you had to write your own X modelines!  In
the end we admitted defeat.  It was hurting our ability to manage the business,
and manage cash flow.

It was a bittersweet day when I had to build an XP VM that wasn't IE-testing
related.  Our first for back-end functions. :\


[1] or ASP, or "the Cloud", whatever term de-jour is for a 3rd parting providing
a web app.