Frappe Books

Overview

Frappe Books is small-business accounting software that brings bookkeeping together with invoicing, purchasing, and inventory management. It suits businesses willing to run it on their own Frappe site and keep company data on their own server. Its broad accounting and sales toolkit costs nothing, but the unsupported legacy desktop app and self-hosted setup make it a less straightforward choice than a ready-to-use hosted service.

Key features

Books handles quotes, invoices, payments, bills, supplier payments, and returns, so it can cover more of a business’s routine sales and purchasing workflow than a ledger-only tool. Inventory support extends to stock across locations, batches, expiry dates, serial numbers, and point-of-sale transactions—useful for businesses tracking goods closely, though those capabilities come with the responsibility of running the software on a Frappe site.

Its accounting is based on double-entry books, with a country-specific chart of accounts, journal entries, and financial reports. Businesses in India also get GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 reports for GST returns. Access can be divided among Books User, Books Manager, and System Manager roles, which helps separate routine record access from management and settings.

Company data remains in the Frappe site's database, and the product runs on the customer's own server. That gives the business control over where its data is kept, but also means a self-hosted deployment is central to choosing Books. It can be used in a phone browser and added to the home screen, but requires an internet connection. Frappe states that its quality and information security systems hold ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 27001:2022 certifications and SOC 2 Type II attestation. The product is listed under the AGPL-3.0 license.

Pricing

Frappe Books has one free plan: free, with no subscription. It is free and open source and is installed on the customer's own Frappe site. There is no free trial because the plan is free; the trade-off is that this is not a hosted option that removes the self-hosting requirement. No paid Books plan is offered.

Platforms

Frappe Books is listed for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, Windows, and self-hosted use. On phones, it runs in a browser and can be added to the home screen, with an internet connection required. The old desktop app is no longer supported, so desktop users should not choose Books on the assumption that the legacy standalone app remains a supported route.

Who it's for

Books is best suited to a small business that wants double-entry accounting alongside invoicing, purchasing, stock controls, and point-of-sale transactions, and is prepared to run the software on its own Frappe site. Its India GST reports are a particular fit for businesses that need GSTR-1 and GSTR-2. It is a poor fit for anyone who wants a supported old desktop app or does not want an internet-dependent, self-hosted setup.

Pros and cons

• Pros: The free, open-source plan includes bookkeeping, sales and purchasing workflows, inventory tools, and point-of-sale transactions, giving small businesses a substantial set of functions without a subscription.
• Pros: Company data stays in the Frappe site's database on the customer's server, a meaningful advantage for businesses that want to keep control of their data location.
• Pros: Role-based access and, for India, GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 reports address practical needs around team access and GST returns.
• Cons: The customer must run Books on its own Frappe site, which makes self-hosting a real requirement rather than an optional technical detail.
• Cons: The old desktop app is no longer supported, and phone-browser use requires an internet connection.

Alternatives

For another free bookkeeping option, Beancount is available across Linux, macOS, web, Windows, API, and self-hosted platforms; choose it if that platform mix better matches your needs. hledger is also free, with Linux, macOS, web, Windows, API, and self-hosted availability.

BUSY offers a free Express plan for billing and accounting, with multiple companies and financial years, and also has a free trial. GnuCash is free desktop accounting for personal and small-business use on Linux, macOS, and Windows; it is a fit for readers who prefer desktop software. GNUKhata is free and open source, runs on Linux, Windows, web, and self-hosted platforms, and its current v8.0 supports Docker installation. FrontAccounting is free accounting software for self-hosted and web use.

Infor Public Sector has custom pricing. Adagio Accounting is a paid option at $100 a month for its Adagio for Accountants plan, which includes Ledger & Financial Reporter, Payables & EFT, BankRec, Cloud Manager & Console, Datacare, and one admin and one general user license.

Explore more options in General Ledger Software and Bookkeeping Software.

Verdict

Choose Frappe Books if your small business wants a free, open-source accounting system that also handles invoices, purchasing, and inventory, and you are comfortable operating it on your own Frappe site. Its range of tools and customer-controlled data make it compelling for that setup. Look elsewhere if you need a supported legacy desktop app or want to avoid self-hosting and an internet-dependent phone experience.