Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2012. It is a software roundup covering ContaSol, GnuCash, Cuentica, Hazteunafacturae and Mega Factura Free. Whether each program still exists, is still free and works as described may have changed; Cuentica’s 2012 plans of free, 15 euros and 40 euros a month in particular.
For self-employed workers (autónomos, in Spain) and small businesses who don’t want to depend on a third party and feel able to keep their own accounts and produce their own professional invoices for clients, here’s a selection of programs that we’ve found to be effective, professional, easy to use and, on top of that, free.
Accounting software
ContaSol
Professional accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses: it has practically all the features of paid programs, but with a very easy-to-use interface. You can create as many users and companies as you like.
GnuCash
Another easy-to-use program, both for personal accounting and for small businesses. It lets you manage customers, suppliers and employees; it supports transactions in different currencies and importing files in QIF and OFX format, and it includes a transaction scheduler and finder, invoice due-date reminders and many more features.
Cuentica
A complete management program for all kinds of things: invoices, income forecasts, investments, expenses and so on. As we can see, this program has three pricing plans: the first is completely free, the second costs 15 euros a month and the third, for large companies, costs 40 euros. Even so, for the self-employed and small businesses, the free version has nothing to envy in other paid programs, and if you want to expand your use over time, you can switch to another type of account.
Invoicing software
Hazteunafacturae
A “facturae” is an electronic version of a paper invoice that is legally valid in Spain. It contains all the information an invoice needs and is digitally signed to certify both its content and its issuer. All you need to do is enter the details of the client you’re invoicing, choose the digital certificate you want to sign with and send it to your client. You’ll need your digital signature to be able to generate the invoice.
Mega Factura Free
A simple program for creating invoices. It manages both customer and supplier invoices and includes all the reports and forms you might need, from delivery notes and receipts to recurring billing, and it also produces reports and statistics on your customers, sales staff, suppliers, items and more. The interface can be a little confusing at first, since the program isn’t very intuitive to use, but once you’ve studied its features, it’s nothing too complicated.
Featured image: Issac I Navarro, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
