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Ask HN: Feedback please: open-source non-SaaS accounting app for solo operators

4 pointsby bengtanover 4 years ago
Hi,<p>I&#x27;m building an app and I&#x27;d like some review&#x2F;feedback&#x2F;constructive-criticism please.<p>It&#x27;s an accounting app targeted at solo operators (for example, freelancers, consultants, contractors, side gigs etc). Due to the niche target market, it only has a subset of the functionality found in other accounting apps, but this also means that&#x27;s no unnecessary clutter. In other words, it&#x27;s stripped down and simple, but (hopefully) fully functional for the target user.<p>Also, it&#x27;s non-cloud&#x2F;non-SaaS in the sense that ... the data file is stored on the user&#x27;s computer instead of being stored in the vendor&#x27;s cloud and it&#x27;s in an accessible open data format. In other words, the user has full control over their own data.<p>For various reasons, I (hopefully?) think there is a market opportunity for non-SaaS entry level accounting software.<p>If you&#x27;re interested, here are some links:<p>Web edition of the app: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gigobooks.com&#x2F;webapp Interim website (work-in-progress, needs more marketing and content): https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gigobooks.com The open source &#x2F; desktop edition of the app: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;gigobooks&#x2F;gigobooks<p>Some questions to spur discussion ...<p>* Do you think it has enough functionality for the target market&#x2F;user? What other additional features might be needed? * If you are a target user, would you use such an app? If not, why not?<p>Any comments, criticisms, questions etc. are welcome and appreciated.<p>Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for your comments and thoughts!

2 comments

tech_taxpayerover 4 years ago
I like this idea very much. Although given the incumbents and their aggressive pricing, it&#x27;s hard to eventually productize something and build a business, if that&#x27;s your goal.<p>The space is also complicated with regulations that are not easy to translate from one country &#x2F; state to another. So an open source approach may not work perfectly.<p>However, I&#x27;d love to see some Open Source options that can piggyback on existing services, e.g. QBO api, so we can avoid paying the advanced features that are expensive, a lock-in and leaves something to be desired for customizability.
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DoreenMicheleover 4 years ago
You should probably go to Show HN and read the rules there. If this qualifies for being submitted as a Show HN, you will likely get more feedback.