Free Accounting Software

[Mike Simmonds]

Palladium Software, South Africa’s most Technologically advanced accounting software vendor is pleased to offer its single-user, 2-company, Individual software version to companies absolutely free of charge.

This version offers clients the ability to invoice customers, remit statements, process and pay suppliers, pay their taxes and print compliant financial statements.

In addition the data is retained for life so users need not access old backup or copy companies to access their data History.

What’s more Palladium will add a release every year so that the application stays current with new enhanced features.

http://www.palladiumsoftware.co.za/i...122&Itemid=193

[Perform Computers]

Hope this is better than Quickbooks. Thank you Mike.

[Mike Simmonds]

Andrew, to even start comparing this to Quickbooks would be injustice of note and of course this is free. I am really quite surprised that Quickbooks is even allowed to be sold in SA!

[Dave A]

Quite a slow download

Price looks OK at first glance (given that I got a quote of over R250k for SAP with 7 users), but if I go this route it seems there are some other costs to factor in.
I see I'll need to buy SQL server 2008 and Crystal Reports, not to mention set up a new server (current one is running Kubuntu Server)...

I am really quite surprised that Quickbooks is even allowed to be sold in SA!

Why shouldn't Quickbooks be allowed to be sold in SA?

[Mike Simmonds]

Quite a slow download

Price looks OK at first glance (given that I got a quote of over R250k for SAP with 7 users), but if I go this route it seems there are some other costs to factor in.
I see I'll need to buy SQL server 2008 and Crystal Reports, not to mention set up a new server (current one is running Kubuntu Server)...

Dave, there is no need to purchase SQL Server and unless you want to constantly update every single form and report that runs, then no need for Crystal Reports. Normally one can use the trial version when needed to do modifications to the reports. No new server is required, SQL Server Express (Free) will run on almost any half decent PC, with absolutely no issues.

Why shouldn't Quickbooks be allowed to be sold in SA?

This is of course my opinion: I have a new client who uses Quickbooks, and on doing my checks and balances regarding the Accounting Officer's report I noticed that there were numerous invoice numbers missing from the run of numbers for the financial year. I enquired as to what had happened to these invoices, and was informed that they were incorrect and deleted from the system. So I thought this was strange and that my client (IT guru) was just mis-informed, and double checked with the bookkeeper who confirmed the issue. She also informed me that in speaking to a CA friend of hers, that the CA had warned her about this.

SARS obviously has a major issue with this! But any business owner should too, because what is stopping any employee from issuing an invoice, receiving payment and deleting the invoice, after pocketing the cash.

[Dave A]

I enquired as to what had happened to these invoices, and was informed that they were incorrect and deleted from the system. So I thought this was strange and that my client (IT guru) was just mis-informed, and double checked with the bookkeeper who confirmed the issue. She also informed me that in speaking to a CA friend of hers, that the CA had warned her about this.

SARS obviously has a major issue with this! But any business owner should too, because what is stopping any employee from issuing an invoice, receiving payment and deleting the invoice, after pocketing the cash.

That's why there's an audit trail

Effectively Palladium does the same thing in allowing editable transactions. The difference is the way Palladium does it, it's recorded in the GL with automatic credit note and invoice generation. In Quickbooks you need to use the audit trail functionality to find edited and deleted transactions, which in my view actually makes mischief easier to find.

[Mike Simmonds]

That's why there's an audit trail

In Quickbooks you need to use the audit trail functionality to find edited and deleted transactions, which in my view actually makes mischief easier to find.

Thanks, I will ask him to activate this functionality.

Yes, catching the offenders probably is! Preventing it in the first place, because they know it is not hidden, would be my preferred approach

[Perform Computers]

Mike, could you attach an image of how the invoices and statements look like? If possible.

I like Quickbooks because their invoices & statements convert automatically to .pdf, and just looks nice.

[Mike Simmonds]

IN-000000005.pdf Construction Concrete Corp.pdf

You can email Invoices and Statements directly as PDF files and naturally preview and print them too.

[Dave A]

POR only?

Couldn't find one on their website.