Frappe Books is free, open-source accounting software that small businesses and freelancers install on their own server and use in a web browser. The current edition runs as an app on the Frappe Framework and succeeds the earlier Electron desktop edition, whose repository was archived in October 2026. It covers sales and purchases, inventory, counter point of sale, double-entry books, and India GST reports.[1][2][3]
Quick verdict
Frappe Books is a free, open-source accounting app a small business hosts on its own server, covering invoicing, double-entry books, stock, counter POS, and India GST. Its strength is breadth without a subscription; its price is a Bench-based install that needs someone comfortable with servers. Anyone wanting hosted accounting with no setup should look elsewhere, while a team with basic server skills gets a complete bookkeeping system. Choose it when self-hosted control matters more than one-click signup.[1][2][3]
What Frappe Books does
Quotes become invoices Record sales quotes and turn them into sales invoices, then record payments against them and handle sales and purchase returns.[1][2]
Invoices print with logo and terms Print invoices carrying the company logo and terms, so billing paperwork reflects the business without a separate template tool.[1]
Double-entry books, country chart of accounts Post journal entries against a country-specific chart of accounts set up by the first-run wizard, with draft, submitted, and cancelled states on invoices and payments.[1][2]
Four core financial reports Read Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, General Ledger, and Trial Balance reports drawn from the double-entry ledger.[1]
Stock with batches, serials, FIFO Track stock across locations with batches and serial numbers under FIFO valuation.[1]
Counter POS with shifts and barcode Run counter sales through a point of sale with shifts, barcode scanning, and printed receipts.[1][2]
Price lists, coupons, loyalty Apply price lists, discounts, coupons, and loyalty points to sales.[1]
India GSTR-1 and GSTR-2, 15+ languages Prepare India GST filings with ready GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 reports, in an interface shipped in more than 15 languages.[1][2]
Who will love it
Small-business bookkeeping A small business that wants its books, invoices, stock, and tax reports in one free system it hosts itself. This is an editorial inference from the documented audience and feature areas.[1][2]
Freelancer invoicing A freelancer who bills clients and needs quotes, invoices, payments, and printed paperwork without a subscription. This is an editorial inference from the documented audience and billing workflow.[1][2]
Counter sales A shop counter that needs barcode checkout, shifts, and receipts tied into the same books as everything else. This is an editorial inference from the documented POS and bookkeeping areas.[1][2]
Who should avoid it
Advanced self-install Installation requires Bench with the Frappe Framework develop branch, Python 3.14, Redis, a database choice of MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite, and multi-step bench CLI commands, which is advanced for a non-technical small-business operator.[1]
No managed tier documented No official hosted or managed tier for Books is documented on the product page, in the repository, or in the installation guide, which only describes self-installation on a Frappe site.[1][2]
Desktop edition retired The earlier Electron desktop edition with its local database file and offline use was archived in October 2026 and is no longer supported; anyone following old desktop guides must move to this Framework edition.[1]
No offline claim for this edition The current Framework edition is used in a browser against a Frappe site and makes no offline claim; offline operation belonged to the retired desktop edition and does not carry over.[1][2][3]
Setup and compatibility
Three team roles Assign Books User for daily sales, purchases, payments, and stock; Books Manager for accounts, financial and GST reports, and settings; and System Manager for administration, with per-area create, submit, cancel, and delete rights.[1]
Guided company setup A setup wizard records company, country, currency, chart of accounts, and fiscal year, and the app runs on a Frappe site at the /books path with sign-in gated by a Books role.[1]
Framework API and site database The Frappe Framework gives Books its database layer, user authentication, permissions, and a REST API, and company data stays in the site database on the operator's server.[1][2]
Questions worth asking
What is a good non-technical alternative to Frappe Books?
A non-technical operator who wants accounting without running a server should look at Akaunting rather than Frappe Books. Both are free and open-source and cover the same invoicing and bookkeeping workflow, but Akaunting is positioned as online accounting you can sign up for, while Frappe Books must be installed on the operator's own Frappe site. This is an editorial competitor inference from the two documented workflows, not a vendor endorsement.[1][2]
Can I use Frappe Books without writing code?
Day-to-day use needs no code: invoicing, payments, stock, and reports all happen in the browser on a computer or phone. The boundary is installation and hosting, which require Bench commands, a Frappe Framework site, Python, Redis, and a database. A non-technical owner will need someone comfortable with server setup to install and maintain it.[1][2]
How much does Frappe Books cost per month?
The software itself costs nothing per month: the official site states it is free and open source with no subscription, and the repository carries the AGPL-3.0 licence. The remaining cost is self-hosting, meaning the operator's own server and database, plus whoever maintains them. No official managed tier with a monthly price was documented as of October 2026.[1][2][3]
Can I self-host Frappe Books on my own server?
Yes. Self-hosting is the only documented deployment: install with Bench using bench get-app, bench new-site, and bench install-app on a Frappe Framework site, with MariaDB, PostgreSQL, or SQLite holding company data. There is no database file to keep, unlike the retired desktop edition, and no official hosted option was documented.[1]
Sources and editorial review
Source research. Reviewed on October 9, 2026. Written by Sanjib Sah. AI assisted; reviewed by a human editor.
We have not run or tested this product.
- Frappe Books listing on OpenAlternative
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Legacy catalogue listing naming Frappe Books as desktop accounting software with invoices, expenses, and bookkeeping, showing repository frappe/books under AGPL-3.0, and listing similar projects. Used only for identity continuity, not current facts.
- Open Source Accounting Software | Frappe Books
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Official product page presenting Frappe Books as free and open-source accounting on the Frappe Framework, installed on the operator's own server and used in a browser on computer or phone. Used for positioning, billing/invoicing, inventory, POS, reports, pricing, and platform facts.
- frappe/frappe-books repository
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Successor repository on develop branch, AGPL-3.0 licensed, linking website and docs. README used for audience, double-entry ledger, sales, inventory with FIFO, POS, phone layout, GST GSTR-1/GSTR-2, languages, REST API, and stack facts.
- frappe/books archived repository
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Predecessor repository archived read-only on 2026-10-02 with end-of-life notice for the Electron/Vue desktop variant. Used only for the retirement and supersession facts.
- Getting Started with Frappe Books
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Getting-started guide used for /books path, Books role sign-in, setup wizard fields, and draft/submitted/cancelled document states.
- Installation - Frappe Books docs
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Installation guide used for the Bench install method, stack prerequisites, database choices, and site-database storage facts.
- Roles and Permissions - Frappe Books docs
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Roles and permissions guide used for the three Books roles and per-area rights facts.
- frappe-books license.txt
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Full licence text of the successor repository: GNU Affero General Public License version 3, matching the AGPL-3.0 badge. Used only for the licence and cost facts.
- Free Accounting Software for Small Businesses - Akaunting
official · Observed October 5, 2026
Akaunting official site presenting free, open-source, online accounting for small businesses and freelancers. Used only to support the competitor inference in the alternatives FAQ.
Compared with these products
No explicit proprietary baseline is recorded.