Overview

Frappe Books is small-business accounting software that combines bookkeeping with sales, purchasing and inventory workflows. It is best suited to businesses comfortable running a Frappe site on their own server. Its broad feature set and open-source license make a compelling no-subscription option, but self-hosting and the unsupported desktop app narrow its appeal.

Key features

Books handles quotes, invoices, payments, bills, supplier payments and returns, covering routine sales and purchasing in one system. Businesses selling physical goods can track stock across locations, batches, expiry dates and serial numbers, and record point-of-sale transactions. That breadth is useful for inventory-heavy small businesses, but comes with the operational responsibility of running the product on a customer-managed server.

Double-entry books, a country-specific chart of accounts, journal entries and financial reports give the accounting side more substance than a basic invoicing tool. Indian businesses also get GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 reports for GST returns. Books User, Books Manager and System Manager roles distinguish access to records, reports and settings, helping divide responsibilities as a team grows.

Company data stays in the Frappe site's database. This keeps data on the customer's server, but means the business must operate its own Frappe site rather than signing up for a ready-to-use hosted service. Phone access is through a browser, with an option to add the site to the home screen; it requires an internet connection. The old desktop app is no longer supported, so buyers should not choose Books expecting a maintained standalone desktop product.

Pricing

Books has one plan: Free at no cost, with no subscription. The plan is open source and intended for installation on the customer's own Frappe site; the AGPL-3.0 license is a meaningful advantage for businesses that want open-source software and can manage deployment themselves. There is no free trial because the software is free. No paid tier is provided, so there is no subscription upgrade to trade a price for hosted operation or additional features.

Platforms

Books is listed for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows and self-hosted use. In practice, phone use is via a browser and requires an internet connection. The unsupported old desktop app is an important distinction for Linux, macOS and Windows users: desktop platforms should not be taken as a promise of a supported standalone app.

Who it's for

Choose Frappe Books if you run a small business that needs accounting, sales documents and inventory together, values open-source software, and is prepared to maintain a Frappe site. Its stock controls and India-specific GST reports can be especially relevant to businesses with tracked goods or Indian filing needs. Look elsewhere if you want a supported desktop app or do not want to host and operate the software yourself.

Pros and cons

Pros: Double-entry accounting, sales and purchase documents, inventory tracking and POS transactions sit in one free, open-source product, avoiding a subscription while covering several everyday business workflows.
Pros: Customer-hosted data and defined user, manager and system roles give businesses control over their deployment and access boundaries.
Cons: Running the product on a Frappe site on the customer's server puts deployment and operation on the business rather than a hosted provider.
Cons: The old desktop app is unsupported, and phone-browser use depends on an internet connection.

Alternatives

BUSY is worth considering for businesses seeking a free billing and accounting plan with multiple companies, multiple financial years and a free trial; its Express plan is free, and it runs on the web.

Beancount is a free, open-source bookkeeping option for buyers who want bookkeeping software rather than Frappe Books' combined sales, purchasing and inventory scope. hledger is another free software option with no purchase price or monthly fees. Ledger may suit readers who specifically want BSD-licensed command-line accounting software.

GnuCash is a free desktop alternative for personal and small-business accounting. GNUKhata is a free, open-source alternative whose current v8.0 supports Docker installation. FrontAccounting is another free option, released under the GNU General Public License and available for self-hosted web use.

Infor ERP is an alternative for businesses considering industry-specific ERP software; its CloudSuite ERP pricing is custom.

For more options, browse General Ledger Software or Bookkeeping Software.

Verdict

Frappe Books is a strong fit for small businesses that want a free, open-source package for accounting, sales and inventory and are willing to host it themselves. Its main reason to choose is the breadth of its business workflows at no subscription cost; its main reason to look elsewhere is the responsibility of self-hosting, compounded by the unsupported desktop app.

	Frappe Books	Xero Bank Reconciliation
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	No	Yes
Paid from	Free	$25/mo
Platforms	Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, Web, Windows	Android, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Invoice creation	Yes
Inventory tracking	Yes
Paid from		$25/mo

Frappe Books vs Xero Bank Reconciliation

Frappe Books

Xero Bank Reconciliation