A source of technical support and maintenance.A common feature set supporting accounting system requirements.If you decide you are interested in acquiring an open source accounting application determine if the application has: Whether an open source solution is the right choice for you will require an assessment of your unique costs and benefits. Open source software is increasingly popular with commercial and non-profit organizations and use of open source alternatives is expected to grow in the future. Does your business have the resources to convert your existing data into the new accounting system?.Does your staff have the time and resources to learn the new application? and.Can your technical staff support an open source accounting application or are you willing to contract for technical support?.Some of the challenges to be considered before deciding if an open source accounting system is the best option for you are: Most open source developers offer collaborative opportunities through various on line networking opportunities and user groups.For the most part open source applications have proven to be secure and the developer and user communities work hard to keep it that way and.Automatic online backups and upgrades, accessibility from multiple locations.Open source software can be modified to meet unique business needs.These online accounting applications offer many advantages to businesses not available in traditional accounting software including:

There are many open source platforms supporting accounting programs.

While open source software is free, the installation, initial training and verification of proper implementation of an open source accounting software product can cost anywhere from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands dollars depending on the complexity of the required accounting application, the amount of customization you will need and the support your installation requires. The software documentation and code has to be made available to the public as part of the open source license. You and everyone else have the right to use open source software….open source software is the opposite of proprietary software. The organization has established the technical criteria for what software qualifies as open source however for most of us open source software and free software are relatively synonymous. The Open Source Initiative organization was founded in 1998 after Netscape Communications Corporation published the source code for Netscape Communicator. Best Open Source Accounting Programs DIY Tips & Tools

Open source accounting software for mac