Web-based accounting and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems come in various forms. One such system, FrontAccounting (FA), is open-source and well-suited for small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, it is compatible with many reputable hosting companies.
As a Hostinger user, I was curious to see how well FA performed with this service. I had a positive experience, and I believe others could benefit from learning more about it.
What is FrontAccounting (FA)?
FrontAccounting (FA) is a free and open-source, web-based accounting and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system designed for small to medium-sized businesses. It provides a comprehensive suite of features.
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At its core, FA handles all essential accounting functions, including a General Ledger for managing accounts, recording journal entries, and generating budgets, with support for multi-currency transactions and multiple companies. It also effectively manages Accounts Payable by tracking vendor bills, processing purchase orders, and handling payments.
Accounts Receivable for managing customer accounts, issuing quotes, creating sales orders, and generating invoices. Cash and bank management is streamlined through the ability to handle multiple bank and petty cash accounts, record transactions, and perform bank reconciliations, all while supporting various currencies and historical rates.
Beyond core accounting, FrontAccounting excels in Inventory and Stock Management. It allows users to record items, define categories and locations, manage transfers, and set re-order levels. It also calculates average material costs and supports foreign codes for barcode scanning.
The system facilitates both Sales and Purchases processes, enabling the creation of sales orders, customer invoices, credit notes, purchase orders, goods received notes, and supplier invoices. For businesses involved in production, FA offers Manufacturing capabilities, including bills of materials and work order entries. It also includes a Fixed Assets module for tracking purchases, transfers, disposals, and depreciations.
To provide deeper insights, FA supports up to two levels of Dimensions, such as projects or cost centers, for detailed tracking and reporting. Users benefit from a wide array of pre-configured financial reports like income statements and balance sheets, with the added flexibility of custom reports that can be printed, emailed, converted to PDF, or exported to Excel. Its multi-currency and multi-language support makes it a practical choice for businesses operating globally.
While it doesn't feature a traditional plugin system, FA's built-in options and customizable report and document layouts offer significant flexibility.
The primary advantages of FA lie in its cost-effectiveness, as it eliminates licensing fees, and its flexibility and scalability, owing to its open-source nature. Its web-based accessibility allows users to manage their finances from any location with an internet connection. Overall, FA presents a powerful, free, and customizable accounting and ERP solution for small to medium-sized businesses, particularly those with the technical capacity to manage a web-based application.
What is Hostinger?
Hostinger is a prominent web hosting company that helps companies and individuals establish an online presence. Its offerings include everything from WordPress to VPS.
Founded in 2004, Hostinger offers competitive pricing, reliable performance with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and various tools designed to simplify website management. The company's user-friendly hPanel control panel provides an intuitive interface for managing hosting accounts, websites, and associated services.
One of Hostinger's key offerings for ease of use is its Auto Installer tool. This tool simplifies the process of setting up popular web apps. Users can install a wide variety of Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and PrestaShop, as well as e-commerce platforms, CRM software, billing applications, and more, with just a few clicks.
Instead of requiring manual database creation and file uploads, the Auto Installer automates these technical steps, making it much easier for beginners and those who prefer a quicker setup. Users select the desired application from a list and provide.
Installing FrontAccounting to Hostinger
Installing FA on Hostinger typically involves two main approaches: using Hostinger's Auto Installer or a manual installation process, which is the more common and reliable method given FrontAccounting's open-source nature. For my use, I installed FrontAccounting using the Auto Installer feature.
To do so:
- Log in to your Hostinger account on the company website.
- Next, in the directory on the left, choose Websites.
- Choose Dashboard next to the name of your account.
- Once again in the directory on the left, choose Websites followed by Auto Install.
- Under Other, choose Select.
- In the pulldown menu, choose FrontAccount.
- Choose Select.
The next steps involve setting up a database for FA. I suggest installing FrontAccounting on a subdirectory of your website. As such:
- On the popup menu, add a Website title, administrator email, administrator username, and administrator password.
- Select Advanced.
- Type in a name for your subdirectory in the Enter Subdirectory box.
- Be sure to create a new database and assign it a password.
Once the database is installed, you can set up FA by going to the main page of the FA installation. This is location at http://(yourdomain)/(the subdirectory you created.)
On that menu, you'll need to add the username and password you choose above.
Final steps
After the initial installation of FrontAccounting, a thorough setup is crucial to align the system with your business operations. This involves configuring core Company Setup details like your business name, address, fiscal year, primary currency, and uploading your company logo.
The General Ledger (GL) Setup is fundamental. It requires you to define your Chart of Accounts by setting up account classes and specific GL accounts, managing fiscal years, and inputting opening balances if migrating from another system. For businesses dealing with multiple currencies, currency rates must also be established.
Beyond financial accounts, you'll need to configure settings for Sales and Accounts Receivable, including sales types, customer categories, and payment terms, as well as Purchases and Accounts Payable with supplier categories and purchase terms. Inventory and Stock Setup involves defining item categories, units of measure, and storage locations.
Finally, Tax Setup is crucial to define various tax types, groups, and authorities for compliance. Additional Bank Accounts beyond the primary one should be added and linked to their respective GL accounts. Dimensions can be optionally set up for detailed analytical reporting to track data by projects or departments. Finally, managing Users and Roles is vital for security, allowing you to create user accounts and assign specific permissions. Regularly backing up your data through the Maintenance and Utilities section is a key ongoing task to ensure data integrity.