Questions and answers

What is FreedomBooks?

A free, open-source accounting program you install on your own computer. It handles the everyday work of invoices, bills, checks, deposits, bank reconciliation and sales tax, and it runs the standard reports.

Who is it for?

Small and medium-sized businesses that keep their own books, or have someone in the office who does it and an outside accountant who looks things over at year end. Think of a contractor with a few crews, a hardware store, an insurance office or a nonprofit with a part-time bookkeeper. It also works for a one-person business.

Will my accountant be able to work with it?

It runs the reports accountants usually ask for, including the profit and loss, balance sheet, general ledger and trial balance, on cash or accrual. Posted transactions are voided or reversed rather than deleted, so the history your accountant sees is complete.

Can I download it now?

Yes. Download the Windows installer or a Linux AppImage or .deb package from GitHub Releases. macOS and Flathub are coming soon.

It's new software. Keep a backup, and check it against your bank statement before you rely on it.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. There's no subscription. If you use a plugin, the outside service may charge you, for example SimpleFIN for bank feeds.

How does the ChatGPT part work?

You connect your own ChatGPT account through OpenAI's official Sign in with ChatGPT page. Only what a task needs leaves your books, and you check everything before saving. AI bank transaction matching and expense tracking for jobs are coming next, after the first release. There's a whole page on the connection and those plans.

Can the AI change my books?

Nothing posts on its own. You check what comes back, and saving or posting it is up to you.

Do I need an internet connection?

Not for bookkeeping. Only the optional plugins use the internet, and only once you turn them on.

Where are my books kept?

In an encrypted file on your own computer, one per company. There's no cloud account. See Privacy and your data.

Can I keep more than one company?

Yes. Each company has its own file, and you switch between them inside the app.

Does it handle nonprofit fund accounting?

Not today. A nonprofit can use it for bills, deposits, reconciliation and the standard reports, but it has no fund or grant tracking yet.

Can it bring in my bank transactions?

Yes, with the optional bank feeds plugin. It works through SimpleFIN, using your own SimpleFIN account. Today it uses rules you write, and you accept each bank line. AI matching and categorizing are coming next.

Can I put job receipts on a customer's invoice?

That's coming next, after the first release. The planned workflow turns receipts into expenses tagged to the customer job and marked billable. You check them, then use "Add billable expenses" to add them to that customer's invoice. Job profit will show what the job billed against what it cost.

Can I email invoices?

Yes, with the email plugin, through Gmail, Microsoft 365 or any SMTP mail server.

Is it really open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub.