Invoicing software for OS X

[mlcomputers]

Hello

I have been asked to source an invoicing package for one of my small business customers who uses Mac OSX

He is looking for a package that enables him to
Add customer contact / account details
Create estimates and invoices
stock items / inventory so that these can be easily added to estimates an invoices

Basically a package that allows a small business to manage customers and invoicing

The software needs to be English language but be able to bill in Euros as the business is based in France.

I have seen quite a few packages online however I would prefer a recommendation of something that is being used by a customer in the field

Many thanks

Jason

 

[Mike McCall]

You might take a look at GnuCash.

http://www.gnucash.org/features.phtml

It's got good features that include customer tracking, PO's, Invoices, double entry Accounting, etc. Worth a look.

 

[Markverhyden]

On this side of the pond Quickbooks is very popular. But I'm not sure that they have a Euro version. I have heard of Easybooks and seem to remember that does things like VAT.

 

[sapphirescales]

Express Invoice. They even have a free version. Very good software. We have many clients that use it and we've been impressed with it.

 

[theitsage]

One thing to keep in mind is once you get busy enough, you'll need help with book-keeping. QuickBooks unfortunately is the only game in town.

 

[Mike McCall]

One thing to keep in mind is once you get busy enough, you'll need help with book-keeping. QuickBooks unfortunately is the only game in town.

Intuit would like everyone to think that. However, that's just not the case.

 

[theitsage]

Intuit would like everyone to think that. However, that's just not the case.

I'd love to hear of good alternatives to QuickBooks because the Mac version is much worse than Windows.

 

[glennd]

You might take a look at GnuCash.

http://www.gnucash.org/features.phtml

It's got good features that include customer tracking, PO's, Invoices, double entry Accounting, etc. Worth a look.

no inventory apparently

 

[altrenda]

I'd love to hear of good alternatives to QuickBooks because the Mac version is much worse than Windows.

The Mac version is not good.

Most of my clients who run Quickbooks on a Mac use the Windows version via either Paralells or VMware Fusion. For several, it's the only reason they have Windows on their Macs.

 

[Mike McCall]

no inventory apparently

Everything but, it appears. Didn't see the inventory capabilities part.

That said, I did find something that may or may not be worth looking into:

http://acctvantage.com/

They seem to offer all the goodies, though I can find no hint of pricing (commonplace these days). It did look interesting and quite polished.

I did find another that's cross platform Win., Mac, Linux.

http://www.manager.io/

It too seems to have most of the goodies, though I didn't see a CRM module.

 

[altrenda]

Before I would recommend a "you bet your business" Accounting package to a customer, price wouldn't be the most important factor.
Reliability, security, support when things go wrong, and the viability of the company the supplys it would rank high on my list.

Problems getting invoices out and not getting paid, without some form of support above that of a forum, would be a quick road to failure.

A customer having problems with something I recommended but never tried is something I try to avoid.

 

[Mike McCall]

Before I would recommend a "you bet your business" Accounting package to a customer, price wouldn't be the most important factor.
Reliability, security, support when things go wrong, and the viability of the company the supplys it would rank high on my list.

Problems getting invoices out and not getting paid, without some form of support above that of a forum, would be a quick road to failure.

A customer having problems with something I recommended but never tried is something I try to avoid.

Good advice, and I'll apply it. I was trying to be helpful, perhaps too enthusiastically.

 

[Markverhyden]

Nothing wrong with using OSS. I use it in my business and have no problems. Of course I know how to support it. When it comes to paying customers I basically do not recommend OSS. Why? Think of the "hit by a bus" scenario. So I'm gone and they have a problem with ownCloud, Axigen, etc. You can't exactly find techs that know those things in local offerings. So I go with paid solutions from established companies that I know will be around in some form or fashion.

 

[altrenda]

Good advice, and I'll apply it. I was trying to be helpful, perhaps too enthusiastically.

Wasn't calling you out. It's always good to have options.

Something I see here on TN, including from myself, is that we think like Techs, where we can make almost anything work, instead of like users, who just want things to work without much heavy lifting.

 

[Mike McCall]

Wasn't calling you out. It's always good to have options.

Something I see here on TN, including from myself, is that we think like Techs, where we can make almost anything work, instead of like users, who just want things to work without much heavy lifting.

No worries, as they say. I was reaching a bit and needed the reminder.

I have and do use GnuCash. I missed the OP's need for inventory though. I've used OpenERP 6 & 7 (now Odoo) which will do more than he seems to need, and is much more expensive than I remember it being. OpenERP 6 & 7 are available to run on Synology products, but I didn't see an OS X release of Odoo, and the community version is rather crippled compared to the paid versions anyway so I didn't mention it.

I tried to find good Mac accounting software several years ago, but my needs were different then. I did find a couple that looked promising at the time, but being for Mac they were high priced. That's when I finally settled on GnuCash (free) which does everything I need it to, except inventory related features. I believe it's available in several languages too.

Today, I use Repairshopr for inventory, invoicing, estimates, customer tracking and such, and GnuCash for financials. That's not likely to be usable to his customer. Nevertheless, his original post did specifically ask for "a recommendation of something that is being used by a customer in the field." Instead of heeding that request I chose to go fishing, and I know better than that.

 

[4ycr]

I use Xero, while not mac specific it will do what they want. A lot of accountants and bookkeepers are recommending it here and they can access it remotely if the client needs any work done

 

[Markverhyden]

I use Xero, while not mac specific it will do what they want. A lot of accountants and bookkeepers are recommending it here and they can access it remotely if the client needs any work done

Thanks, that was one name I was trying to remember. One customer I consulted with, who is a seafood wholesaler, is using it and seemed to be happy with it's functionality.

 

[mlcomputers]

Hello Everyone

Many thanks for all of your responses I will take a look at all of the recommendations and try a few over the weekend to get a feel of what some are capable of.

 

[Jeremy Leik]

You might also consider looking at the Zoho Suite, unless they are dead set against using a cloud solution. They have been around for quite a while now, and seem to support everything you are asking for.