Freedom251 › Bookkeeping Software
LedgerSMB
by LedgerSMB

What LedgerSMB is
LedgerSMB is free, open source ERP and accounting software for small and mid-size businesses, intended to run on the user's own infrastructure. Its accounting and sales tools include a double-entry general ledger, quotations, sales and purchase orders, invoices, receivables, payables, and cash management. It also supports inventory management, light manufacturing, and fixed asset depreciation and disposal. Users can record transactions in multiple currencies and track project or department budgets with variance reports. The application produces PDF, HTML, CSV, and Office documents, can email documents from within the application, and includes 45 languages. A web services API supports programmatic interaction, but attaching an online store requires custom integration. The maker provides Linux installers and production Docker images. Official release tarballs are GPG signed. Free volunteer community support is available through a users mailing list and Matrix; paid professional support is also available. The project began in 2006 as a fork of SQL-Ledger. Its active community-supported releases are 1.13 and 1.12.
Who it suits
LedgerSMB may suit small and mid-size businesses seeking accounting and operational tools they can install on their own infrastructure. It also fits teams that need multiple currencies, project or department budgets, or an API.
What it does well
- Includes double-entry accounting and invoicing.
- Supports inventory and light manufacturing.
- Tracks budgets by project or department.
- Free and open source.
What to know first
- Requires installation on the user's own infrastructure.
- Online-store attachment requires custom integration.
- Community support is provided by volunteers.
Limits
The software is self-hosted, and online store attachment requires custom integration. Free community support is volunteer provided; paid professional support is also available.
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| LedgerSMB | open source software · self-hosted installation | Free |
| Free open-source software | self-hosted deployment · commercial hosting/support optional | Free |
As ledgersmb.org lists them, read 9 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Getting started
- Open the LedgerSMB website
- Choose a Linux installer or production Docker image
- Install LedgerSMB on your own infrastructure
- Use the maker's production installation guidance, which recommends a reverse proxy
- Join the users mailing list or Matrix for volunteer community support
Verdict
LedgerSMB brings accounting, sales, inventory, and related operations together in a self-hosted application. Businesses should account for its infrastructure requirements and the custom work needed to connect an online store.
Questions
How much does LedgerSMB cost?
The listed plan is free for open source software with a self-hosted installation.
Is LedgerSMB open source?
Yes. LedgerSMB is free open source software.
Which platforms does LedgerSMB support?
It is listed for API, Linux, self-hosted, and web use.
Can LedgerSMB connect to an online store?
Online store attachment is not available out of the box and requires custom integration. A web services API supports programmatic interaction.
What support is available?
Volunteer community support is available through a users mailing list and Matrix. Paid professional support is also available.
Which releases are community supported?
The maker identifies versions 1.13 and 1.12 as active community-supported releases, with planned end-of-life dates of October 4, 2027 and December 14, 2026, respectively.
Facts from LedgerSMB's own pages
- Accounting and sales
- Built-in functions include double-entry general ledger, quotations, sales and purchase orders, invoices, receivables, payables, and cash management. · ledgersmb.org, 9 Oct 2026
- API
- LedgerSMB exposes a language-independent web-services API documented with versioned OpenAPI files. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- API example
- The integration documentation demonstrates authenticated JSON POST requests to endpoints such as /erp/api/v0/invoices/. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Bank feeds
- Yes · ledgersmb.org, 21 Sept 2026
- Bank statement import
- Built-in reconciliation importers support CAMT.053, OFX and CSV bank statements. · book.ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Cash management
- Cash management supports checks, receipts and reconciliation with bank statements. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Company history
- LedgerSMB began in 2006 as a fork of SQL-Ledger, motivated partly by disagreements over security-bug handling. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Contact management
- Contact management stores customer and vendor relationships and orders. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Currencies and budgeting
- Users can enter transactions in multiple currencies and track budgets by project or department with variance reports. · ledgersmb.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Current release policy
- The project maintains stable 1.13 and old-stable 1.12 branches and targets at least 24 months of community support per 1.x series. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- LedgerSMB is a web application intended to be installed and operated on the user's own infrastructure; the maker provides Linux installers and production Docker images. · ledgersmb.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Documentation
- Documentation includes installation and upgrade instructions, a free manual, videos and a work-in-progress business book. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Document output
- Documents can be produced in PDF, HTML, CSV and Office formats and emailed from the application. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Documents and languages
- The application can produce PDF, HTML, CSV, and Office documents, email documents from within the application, and includes 45 languages. · ledgersmb.org, 9 Oct 2026
- Extensibility
- The project describes an open architecture, add-ons and custom integrations, including a custom product-configuration plugin. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Fixed assets
- Fixed-asset accounting covers depreciation and disposal. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Founded
- 2006 · ledgersmb.org, 28 Sept 2026
- General ledger
- Double-entry general-ledger and journal-entry functions manage accounts and transfers. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Hardware guidance
- The system-requirements page says up to ten users can run on a 32-bit server with 1 GB RAM or a 64-bit server with 2 GB RAM. · ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Independent architecture description
- Wikipedia describes LedgerSMB as libre double-entry accounting and ERP software using PostgreSQL with a browser interface. · en.wikipedia.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Independent feature coverage
- Softpedia describes support for multiple addresses, contacts, bank accounts, taxes, currencies, audits, warehouses, manufacturing and receipts. · softpedia.com, 15 Oct 2026
- Independent historical criticism
- Wikipedia records that the early 1.2.0 release was withdrawn after serious integration problems and was criticized for attempting too much without adequate review. · en.wikipedia.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Installation scope
- The official installer supports Debian-family and Fedora-family package managers and falls back to CPAN for Perl dependencies. · get.ledgersmb.org, 15 Oct 2026
- Integration
- LedgerSMB provides a web services API for programmatic interaction, while attaching an online store is not available out of the box and requires custom integration. · ledgersmb.org, 9 Oct 2026
Where LedgerSMB stands on Freedom251
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