About
ZAP Accounting Software has been percolating since the late 1990s.
Back then, a goal was set to create and distribute stand alone, data independent, cloud based, customizable bookkeeping modules to ensure freedom, flexibility and financial understanding for all wishing to engage in small business or the business of life in a fiscally healthy manner.
Since those first thoughts we've witnessed the evolution of monopolized software markets with forced upgrade systems and very greedy Software As A Service commercial models manifest with software bloat cycles far worse than many ever imagined. All problems in this realm have become worse as the ever shady Venture Capital world morphed and raced towards a Vulture Capital Universe.
Until 2016, no one dreamed simple software solutions would manifest via cloud based spreadsheets. How could we? They didn't exist when our dreams first started.
ZAP Accounting Software is a collaborative effort of 1000's upon 1000's who will never meet
- From the outside looking in, it might appear as if all aspects of concept, design, development, testing, website creation, marketing, and "sales" were provided by just a few folks. The illusions run deep.
- They got a LOT of silent support from groups of folks they've never met at Google, Weebly, Stack Overflow, Youtube, Internet Forums, and other-else-wheres too.
- They also got direct support from a small team of cats who are second to none.
- Many thanks to all who are contributing to this Educational Software Opportunity.
Contrary to what you may think, I don't love accounting nor bookkeeping
- I learned to love them like the greens I don't truly care for but must eat to stay healthy. Some times, working on this is as much like pinching my nose as anything else. Other times, it's a true Labor of Love.
- This software and many versions prior enabled me to do what was needed to have fun with COMMERCE, while eliminating negative feelings and emotions that accounting brings to those not initiated into the magical mathematical world that is Commerce on a Half Shell.
Take the little time it takes to use our resources to unwind any confusion you have accumulated. Take the little time it takes to master your own bookkeeping with our universal bookkeeping module. Use our other free utilities to help you free up more time. Learn to grow in your own accounting knowledge without so much stress.
Then, if appropriate, expand into some of our other Sales Systems or Advanced Accounting Modules. Seek out other simple and straight forward accounting education programs and accounting software solutions so you can do more in less time, leaving you more time to pursue that which your heart truly desires.
Best of luck to you and warm regards
The Little Blue Ball Resort Staff
A little more about the Lead Developer...
The primary developer of this solution used both Quicken and Quickbooks starting in the mid 1990s.
During this same period, the developer of this solution started building e-commerce websites, soup to nuts. He became a full-stack developer before that term was coined. But on a small scale.
In 2002, still frustrated with his accounting options, he developed his own, web based accounting solution.
- By the late 1990's he realized neither solution offered the proper tools needed for managing real estate projects and different rental properties. Those solutions simply weren't setup for more complex expense tracking that was property specific with all desired reporting.
- By the late 1990's he started engaging Bookkeepers and CPAs and he was floored to find out most setup a trash account to dump imbalances to obtain a reconciled Balance Sheet.
- By the late 1990's he became familiar with the forced upgrade systems which were involved when handing Quickbooks files off to someone with a more recent version for adjustments.
- By the late 1990's he was becoming a pretty good system designer, and he started struggling more and more with the navigation systems and the general work flow of the Intuit Software Solutions
During this same period, the developer of this solution started building e-commerce websites, soup to nuts. He became a full-stack developer before that term was coined. But on a small scale.
- He got involved with credit card processing and credit card gateways when 2400 baud modems were still required.
- He was one of the first individuals to pass a credit card transaction via TCP/IP to Bank of America's gateway when it came online and he was one of only people to get a non-compiled gateway solution certified with TSYS before PCI compliance existed (except for a tiny bit string piece!).
In 2002, still frustrated with his accounting options, he developed his own, web based accounting solution.
- A Classic ASP website, a Microsoft Access DB, a $4/mo shared hosting account, and a dsn-less connection is all that was needed.
- He used that for fourteen years with good success for himself.
- During that time he estimates he saved $2500-$6000 in software licensing fees and another $30,000 plus in bookkeeping fees by doing his bookkeeping personally
- In 2014, he started assisting Ric, an older Acupuncturist who had limited technology skills with his office management.
- Ric had been clobbered by a handful of different bookkeepers who had destroyed his systems one way or another while charging ridiculous fees.
- The developer didn't want to put Ric on his own accounting solution so he went in search of web based solutions.
- He was shocked to find out Quickbooks was still really the only game in town.
- After signing up and seeing the bloated and confusing interface and realizing some other aspects of the archaic technology with a cosmetic wrapper in play, he started to ponder his options.
- One night in late 2016 he began to futz with Google Sheets and within 30 minutes a proof of concept was built and tested.
- Getting it to work like a spreadsheet, with equations in cells that got dragged down for reporting and running totals was easy. Getting those items to work more like a database, was a bit harder.
- He worked part time on this solution for over two years to get it to a great state without a General Ledger and Balance sheet. But what's Bookkeeping without a built in Balance Sheet? That endeavor started in January 2020 and was completed by July 2020. At that point the development of the marketing tools and technical docs picked up and the rest is history.
- Global Financial Literacy is the Goal. With good winds, it should only take a year or two! ;-)
