This guide covers implementation, configuration, daily use and troubleshooting for Small Business Management – Accounting Free.
Small Business Accounting Free Implementation Guide
This is a deployment manual, not a feature list. It explains what to decide before installation, how to configure the company correctly, how the Free data model works, how to test the complete workflow and how to prepare the site for daily use.
1. What the Free edition is designed to do
Accounting Free is a self-hosted WordPress accounting workspace for one business. It manages the operational records that most small businesses need first: customers, products and services, quotes, invoices, manual payments, expenses, statements, payment follow-up, VAT Lite summaries and exports. It has no time limit and no licence key.
Free deliberately excludes recurring billing, automated gateway collection, bank-feed imports, full double-entry ledger functions, customer portal and multi-company management. Those functions belong to Pro or Enterprise. This boundary keeps the Free edition understandable and suitable for WordPress.org distribution.
2. Pre-installation decisions
Decide these before installation
- The legal or trading name that should appear on documents.
- The base currency and whether the business is tax registered.
- Financial-year start and reporting habits.
- Invoice numbering prefix and next number.
- Default payment terms and bank/payment instructions.
- Who may create documents, record payments and change settings.
- How WordPress email will be delivered and monitored.
- Where database and uploads backups will be stored.
3. Technical requirements and safe installation
| Requirement | Minimum / recommendation | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | 6.2 or later | The plugin uses WordPress identifier placeholders introduced in supported core versions. |
| PHP | 7.4 or later | Required by the Free release. |
| HTTPS | Strongly recommended | Protects customer document links and administrator sessions. |
| Email delivery | Working wp_mail() or configured Transactional Email plugin | Quotes, invoices and statements depend on reliable delivery. |
| Backups | Database plus uploads | Accounting tables are in the database; logos and receipt files may be in uploads. |
Install Accounting Free
- Create a fresh backup and confirm there is no active Pro or Enterprise edition.
- In WordPress, open Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.
- Upload nomad-small-business-accounting-v1.0.22-context-navigation-ui-polish.zip.
- Activate Nomad Small Business Accounting.
- Open Accounting → Setup Wizard.
- Complete setup, save, and then review each specialist settings screen before creating live documents.
The Accounting menu is visible and the dashboard, setup and related-page navigation load without errors.
If Pro or Enterprise is already active, do not activate Free over it. Free is the lower edition and does not replace paid-edition data structures or licensing.
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: Accounting Free → Setup Wizard, final review/summary step.
- Required state: Use a test company with all required setup sections completed and no validation warnings.
- Must include: Company identity, currency, tax status, numbering and email readiness indicators.
- Redact or avoid: Bank account numbers, API credentials and real personal contact details.
- Suggested caption: Review the Setup Wizard summary before entering the first live transaction.
Editor note: replace this complete placeholder with a responsive image and keep the suggested caption as the figure caption.
4. Understand the Free navigation
The WordPress sidebar still contains the Accounting menu, but each Accounting page now displays a contextual bar with a Back button, the current category and tabs for related pages. The Back button remembers the exact previous Accounting URL, including record IDs, filters and create/edit state.
| Category | Pages | Implementation use |
|---|---|---|
| Getting Started | Dashboard, Setup Wizard, Edition Overview | Initial setup and orientation. |
| Customer Hub | Customers, Customer Statements, Payment Follow-up | Receivables and customer account activity. |
| Products & Accounts | Products & Services, Product Categories, Income Accounts, Expense Accounts | Master data and classifications. |
| Invoice & Get Paid | Quotes, Invoices, Payments | Sales and collection workflow. |
| Expenses & Tax | Expenses, VAT Lite | Cost capture and tax summary. |
| Reporting & Data | Reports, Data & Export, Logs | Review, backup and troubleshooting. |
| Accounting Settings | Company, Invoice, Branding and Email Settings | Structural configuration. |
5. Company Settings: the authoritative business identity
Company Settings supplies the legal and contact identity used on documents and email. Configure it before sending the first quote or invoice. A later change updates future rendering but does not replace the business decision process around historical documents.
| Field or setting | What it controls | Practical guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Registered / trading name | The company identity displayed on documents and email. | Use the name customers recognise; record legal details consistently. |
| Registration and tax number | Official registration and tax identifiers. | Only enter a tax number when the business is correctly registered. |
| Address, email, phone and website | Customer-facing contact information. | Use monitored contact details, not an administrator’s private address. |
| Banking details | Payment instructions shown to customers. | Verify every digit and use a controlled change process. |
| Payment terms | Default wording and due-date expectation. | Choose terms the business actually enforces. |
| Financial-year start | The business reporting year. | Match the approved financial year used by the accountant. |
Configure the company profile
- Open Accounting → Company Settings.
- Enter the registered and trading names.
- Set tax registration and tax number only if applicable.
- Enter customer-facing contact and address details.
- Add verified banking details and default payment terms.
- Set the financial-year start and save.
- Create a draft invoice and preview it to verify the result.
The draft document displays the correct business identity, contact information and payment instructions.
6. Invoice Settings and numbering
Invoice numbers should be unique, sequential and controlled. Configure the prefix and next number before live use. Once real documents exist, change numbering only under a documented migration or accounting policy.
| Field or setting | What it controls | Practical guidance |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice prefix | Text placed before the sequence number. | Use a short stable prefix such as INV-. |
| Next invoice number | The next sequence value. | Confirm it will not duplicate an existing number. |
| Quote prefix / sequence | Equivalent control for quotes. | Keep quote and invoice prefixes distinct. |
| Default terms and notes | Reusable customer document content. | Keep wording concise and legally reviewed where necessary. |
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: Company Settings and Invoice Settings using either two side-by-side screenshots or one annotated composite.
- Required state: Show approved test-company identity and a configured quote/invoice prefix.
- Must include: Company name, tax status, default terms, invoice prefix, next number and due-date defaults.
- Redact or avoid: Bank account number, tax registration number if real, and private email credentials.
- Suggested caption: Company identity and numbering settings control how customer documents are issued.
Editor note: replace this complete placeholder with a responsive image and keep the suggested caption as the figure caption.
7. Branding and email delivery
Invoice Branding controls logo and document presentation. Email Settings controls sender name, reply-to details and templates. The email sender should represent the accounting company, and replies should go to a monitored mailbox.
Test document email before go-live
- Configure Invoice Branding and save the approved logo.
- Open Email Settings and enter sender and reply-to details.
- Create a test customer using an address you can inspect.
- Create a zero-risk draft quote or invoice.
- Preview the public document and check branding, totals and links.
- Send the test email.
- Check the inbox, spam folder, reply behaviour and email/log status.
The document opens over HTTPS, the sender identity is correct and replies reach the intended mailbox.
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: Invoice email send action followed by the corresponding Transactional Email or fallback log.
- Required state: Use a successful test email sent to a controlled address.
- Must include: Document number, recipient domain, sent/submitted status and timestamp.
- Redact or avoid: Full recipient address if it belongs to a real person and any SMTP/API credential.
- Suggested caption: Verify both the customer-facing email and the delivery log before go-live.
Editor note: replace this complete placeholder with a responsive image and keep the suggested caption as the figure caption.
8. Product categories, income accounts and expense accounts
These lookups create consistency. Product Categories group what the business sells. Income Accounts classify sales for reports. Expense Accounts classify costs. Decide the structure before importing or creating many records; excessive or inconsistent categories make reports difficult to interpret.
| Lookup | Good example | Poor example |
|---|---|---|
| Product category | Consulting, Hosting, Training | Miscellaneous 1, Other A, General |
| Income account | Service Revenue, Product Sales | Sales 1, Sales 2 with no explanation |
| Expense account | Software, Travel, Rent, Professional Fees | Random supplier names used as accounts |
9. Customers and products as master data
Master data is reused across transactions. Search before creating a customer to avoid duplicates. Use clear product codes and descriptions because they appear in selectors, documents and reports. In Free, products are once-off items; recurring billing is a Pro feature.
Create implementation test data
- Create a customer called Bright Path Consulting with a valid test email.
- Create a Product Category called Professional Services.
- Create an Income Account called Service Revenue.
- Create a service called Monthly Website Support with a realistic price and correct tax treatment.
- Create an Expense Account called Software Subscriptions.
The site has enough controlled master data to test the full quote-to-payment and expense workflow.
10. Data ownership, uploads and privacy
Accounting records remain in WordPress database tables when the plugin is deactivated or deleted, protecting the business from accidental loss. Expense supplier documents may be stored in the WordPress Media Library. The plugin does not include telemetry or advertising tracking. Email is sent only when an authorised workflow requests it.
Privacy controls
- Limit WordPress administrator access.
- Use individual user accounts and strong authentication.
- Store only business-relevant personal information.
- Protect database and uploads backups.
- Remove access promptly when staff leave.
- Follow local retention and privacy law.
11. Complete implementation test
Run the quote-to-cash test
- Create a quote for Bright Path Consulting using Monthly Website Support.
- Preview and send the quote.
- Open the public link in a private browser window and accept the quote.
- Convert the accepted quote into an invoice.
- Check issue date, due date, tax, discount and payment instructions.
- Send the invoice and open the public invoice link.
- Record a part payment, confirm the partial balance, then record the remainder.
- Open Customer Statements and confirm the invoice and both payments appear correctly.
The quote, invoice and payment statuses are correct and the closing customer balance is zero.
Run the expense and report test
- Create an expense against Software Subscriptions.
- Attach a small JPEG, PNG or PDF supplier document.
- Confirm the tax treatment and save.
- Open VAT Lite for the transaction period.
- Open Reports and verify the sales and expense are represented.
- Export the relevant CSV files and open them to confirm usable columns.
The expense, VAT summary, report totals and export are internally consistent.
12. Go-live controls
Go-live checklist
- Company identity, banking and tax settings verified by an authorised person.
- Quote and invoice numbering approved and unique.
- Logo, document text and email templates approved.
- Customer and product categories agreed.
- At least one complete quote-to-payment test passed.
- Expense attachment and reporting test passed.
- Backup and restore process tested.
- Daily users trained on duplicate prevention and status handling.
Add this image immediately after completing or explaining the preceding section.
- Screen to capture: Accounting Free Dashboard immediately after the implementation checklist has passed.
- Required state: Show a clean demo company with at least one customer, product, quote, invoice, payment and expense.
- Must include: Workflow shortcuts, recent activity, status summaries and contextual navigation.
- Redact or avoid: Real financial amounts or replace them with clearly labelled sample values.
- Suggested caption: A configured Accounting Free dashboard ready for day-to-day use.
Editor note: replace this complete placeholder with a responsive image and keep the suggested caption as the figure caption.
13. Upgrade and maintenance
Before every plugin update, create a database backup. After updating, open the Accounting dashboard, create no live transactions until the menu and settings load correctly, and test one low-risk workflow. If upgrading to Pro or Enterprise, use the current paid-edition package so the lower-edition conflict is resolved before shared bootstrap constants are read.
14. Troubleshooting implementation problems
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Plugin will not activate | Another edition is active, unsupported PHP/WordPress, or a damaged upload | Check the active Accounting edition, server requirements and WordPress debug log. Upload the original ZIP again. |
| Accounting menu missing | User lacks the Accounting capability | Test with an administrator and review role/capability assignment. |
| Email sends but never arrives | WordPress mail or DNS delivery issue | Use a transactional email provider, inspect logs and verify SPF/DKIM/DMARC. |
| Public document link fails | HTTPS, caching, token or copied URL issue | Open the latest generated link in a private browser and exclude public document endpoints from aggressive caching. |
| Invoice number duplicates | Next number was configured below existing records | Stop issuing documents and correct the sequence under an approved plan. |
| Reports do not match expectation | Date filters, tax treatment or missing payments/expenses | Trace the underlying transactions and selected period before changing totals. |
15. Screen-by-screen implementation reference
| Screen | What it configures or controls | Implementation decision |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard | Workflow shortcuts and activity summary. | Decide which users begin here and what daily KPIs they review. |
| Setup Wizard | Guided initial setup. | Use once for initial values, then verify specialist settings screens. |
| Edition Overview | Free/Pro/Enterprise boundary. | Document the organisation’s intended edition and upgrade trigger. |
| Customers | Customer master data. | Define duplicate prevention, required fields and account naming. |
| Customer Statements | Manual account summaries. | Define approved statement periods and sender responsibility. |
| Payment Follow-up | Manual collections queue. | Define when an invoice becomes overdue and who contacts customers. |
| Products & Services | Reusable sales items. | Define coding, tax, price, descriptions and physical-stock use. |
| Product Categories | Product grouping. | Keep the list short enough to report meaningfully. |
| Income Accounts | Operational sales classification. | Align categories with management reporting. |
| Expense Accounts | Operational cost classification. | Align to the accountant’s desired expense groups. |
| Quotes | Commercial proposals. | Define approval, validity, revision and conversion procedure. |
| Invoices | Amounts due. | Define authorisation, numbering, due dates and correction policy. |
| Payments | Manual receipts. | Require real reference, date, amount and invoice link. |
| Expenses | Business costs and attachments. | Define evidence requirements and tax review. |
| VAT Lite | Tax management summary. | Define reporting period and accountant review. |
| Reports | Operational totals. | Define standard weekly/monthly date ranges. |
| Data & Export | CSV exports. | Define backup/export ownership and secure storage. |
| Logs | Workflow and delivery evidence. | Define who investigates failures. |
| Company Settings | Business identity and reporting profile. | Approve legal, banking, tax and financial-year details. |
| Invoice Settings | Numbering and defaults. | Approve sequence and document wording before go-live. |
| Invoice Branding | Logo and document appearance. | Approve customer-facing presentation. |
| Email Settings | Sender, reply-to and templates. | Use a monitored mailbox and test delivery. |
16. User acceptance test scripts
Test A: Customer and master data
- Create Customer A, save, search and reopen it.
- Attempt to create a near-duplicate and confirm the user notices the existing record through search.
- Create one service and one physical item, each with category, price and tax treatment.
- Add both items to a draft quote and confirm descriptions and totals.
Test B: Public document security and usability
- Create a test quote and invoice.
- Open each public link while logged out.
- Confirm the links expose only the intended document and do not provide WordPress administration access.
- Confirm the logo, company details, payment instructions and line wrapping on desktop and mobile.
- Confirm a changed or copied invalid token does not reveal another document.
Test C: Error and duplicate handling
- Submit the payment form once and verify the payment.
- Refresh/retry the same submission in staging and inspect duplicate safeguards.
- Upload an unsupported expense attachment and confirm it is rejected.
- Use an invalid customer email in staging and confirm the delivery failure is visible in logs or mail diagnostics.
17. Backup and restore drill
A backup is only trustworthy if it can be restored. On staging, create a known customer, invoice and expense attachment; take a database/uploads backup; restore it into an isolated environment; and confirm the records and attachment open. Record the backup tool, location, encryption, retention period and person responsible.
18. Change-control policy for settings
| Setting change | Risk | Recommended control |
|---|---|---|
| Invoice/quote sequence | Duplicate or inconsistent document numbers | Authorised change with before/after sequence record. |
| Tax registration or rate behaviour | Incorrect customer and tax totals | Accountant review and effective date. |
| Bank details | Payment diversion and fraud risk | Two-person verification and customer communication. |
| Company name or legal details | Document identity changes | Approved corporate/legal change record. |
| Email sender/reply-to | Lost replies or impersonation | Test send and monitored mailbox confirmation. |
| Financial-year start | Misleading period reports | Accountant approval before live reporting. |
19. Decommissioning or moving the site
- Export key records and create full database/uploads backups.
- Document the current Accounting version and company settings.
- Put the old site into a controlled read-only or maintenance state during migration.
- Migrate the complete database and uploads, not only the plugin ZIP.
- Test public document URLs, email, users, reports and attachments on the new site.
- Update DNS/HTTPS and retain the old environment according to the rollback plan.