Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : WHMCS + which accounting software ?

[HostXNow]

So I use WHMCS to bill clients and use spreadsheet to work out cashflow, etc.

I suppose it would be easier if I used proper software for this. Which software do you use for the accounting side of things when running web hosting business?

I found KashFlow and Quickbooks so far. Are there any other good ones?

Cheers

[HSN-Saman]

We have Quickbooks with Ubersmith,
it's nice.

[HostXNow]

Originally Posted by S4m4N

We have Quickbooks with Ubersmith,
it's nice.

Online Simple Start, Online Essentials, Online Plus, QuickBooks SimpleStart, QuickBooks Pro or QuickBooks Premier?

[HSN-Saman]

it depands on your requirements,
compare them and choose the right for yourself.
I'd recommend Quickbooks Pro or Premier.

http://quickbooks.intuit.com/bookkee.../?qboSelect=op

Quickbooks Pro features :
http://quickbooks.intuit.com/pro/whats-new/

[SC-Daniel]

We use QB Pro + Ubersmith

[cpoalmighty]

We use quickbooks pro. Our accountant set it up and have everything configured from client accounts to bank payments. The only problem is that she is doing manually but it would be much harder if we never used it.

[HostXNow]

This looks good http://docs.whmcs.com/KashFlow_Accounting

[cd/home]

Originally Posted by HostXNow

This looks good http://docs.whmcs.com/KashFlow_Accounting

Argeed, Even works with WHMCS using hooks which is good

Once installed & configured, the sync process runs as part of the daily cron and creates clients, invoices & transactions in KashFlow to mirror the invoice and transaction records in your WHMCS system.

Sit back and relax and put 95% of your accounting on a cron job.

[HostXNow]

Originally Posted by cd/home

Argeed, Even works with WHMCS using hooks which is good



Sit back and relax and put 95% of your accounting on a cron job.

I tried the whmcs module but it doesn't work

18/10/2011 15:39 KashFlow: Error Inserting Transaction 36: Server was unable to read request. ---> There is an error in XML document (12, 32). ---> Input string was not in a correct format. System

18/10/2011 15:39 KashFlow: Starting Sync System

It did above error for every one.

When checking KashFlow Financial Overview it had

Current Account £0.00
Money owed to you <snipped>
Money you owe £0.00
= <snipped>

Overdue Invoices <snipped>

KashFlow was showing that all of the invoices were overdue even when they're not.

It obviously hasn't been tested properly so I won't be putting trust in that setup.

I will have to keep doing everything manually for now.

Edit: I repiled to KashFlow email "Need any help?" with link to this thread.

It would be great if it worked properly.

[HostXNow]

Actually it seems I missed this bit

5. This is where you need to choose the corresponding KashFlow payment method and bank account that transactions for each of the gateways in your WHMCS system should be assigned to when syncing (for more information on this refer to KashFlow's documentation)

from http://docs.whmcs.com/KashFlow_Accounting

I did that and now Financial Overview info is different in KashFlow system, but it still doesn't look right. I guess I am not setting up the payment gateway stuff properly?

[BoxIntense]

We are also looking for something like this, an accounting software that can directly communicate with WHMCS through API to automate the input process.

The KashFlow is a one of a good solution, however it is a SaaS and we prefer a self-hosted solution, anyone know any software for this?

[HostXNow]

Nope. KashFlow is giving way too much inaccurate information. For example, it is saying there are unpaid/overdue invoices, yet check in WHMCS and they are paid. So something isn't right there. Maybe recent changes to WHMCS have caused the KashFlow module to not work properly anymore.

I don't see why WHMCS don't just added section for Total operating expenses and taxes/interest (optional). Just operating expenses would be more than enough.

Then you could just add operating expenses to WHMCS and then, for example

£22000/year (Gross profit) / 52 weeks = £423 - operating expenses [automatically done by WHMCS] = £xxx per week (Net profit) ...

Edit: will probably be a race from WHMCS, HostBill and other systems to add that now.

[BoxIntense]

Originally Posted by HostXNow

Then you could just add operating expenses to WHMCS and then, for example

£22000/year (Gross profit) / 52 weeks = £423 - operating expenses [automatically done by WHMCS] = £xxx per week (Net profit) ...

Edit: will probably be a race from WHMCS, HostBill and other systems to add that now.

Do really hope that this is the case

Code-wise, this shouldn't be too hard to implement, and adding more software into the "already crowded stack" solely for this purpose is just...

[cd/home]

Originally Posted by HostXNow

Nope. KashFlow is giving way too much inaccurate information. For example, it is saying there are unpaid/overdue invoices, yet check in WHMCS and they are paid.

When was the payments in WHMCS made as WHMCS will only update KashFlow when the daily cronjob runs which is at midnight for most UK providers...

Remember that KashFlow is working Via a cronjob for your WHMCS so the updates to the information within KashFlow will not be "instant"

The Syncing Process

* The sync process will run as part of the daily cron whilever the Enable box is checked - to disable again simply untick the box
* Should any errors occur when sending data to KashFlow, they will be recorded in the Activity Log under the Utilities menu so you should review it periodically to check for any errors
* The first few runs will attempt to sync all existing customers & paid invoices and so may take longer than normal

[tacgrp]

If you are a smaller business use QuickBooks. Otherwise, id say go with Sage.