ZAP ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
  • Home
  • Testimonials
    • Sales System Templates
    • Bookkeeping Template
  • The Challenge
  • Education
    • !! Start Here !!
    • ----------------------
    • Single Page Visuals (and more...)
    • Fun Seekers Corner >
      • FSC 101
    • Accounting Studio Magic >
      • ASM 101
      • ASM 103
    • ----------------------
    • Software in Greater Detail... >
      • Spreadsheets 101
      • Sales Systems 101
      • Bookkeeping 101
      • DIY Software Programming 101
    • Intro Videos
    • Books & Pamphlets
    • ------------------------
    • Empowerment
    • Reimagination
    • ----------------------
    • End User Benefits
    • FAQs
  • Software
    • !! Start Here !!
    • ----------------------
    • Via the 6 Box Model
    • ------ By Box -----
    • Box 1 >
      • Invoicing 101 - Petes Electric
      • Statements 101 - Martha's Counseling
      • Legal Billing (images only)
    • Box 2 >
      • Expense and Profit Analysis
      • Time and Attendance
      • Payroll System
    • Box 3 >
      • Bank Deposit Prep WB
      • Acc'ts Receivable - Digital Bar Tab
      • Acc'ts Receivable - Double Entry
    • Box 4 >
      • Check Journal Example
      • Check Journal w/ 3 up Printing
      • Acc'ts Payable - Simple Digital List
    • Box 5 >
      • Bookkeeping
      • Transaction Generator
      • Bank Statement Generator
      • Bilbo's Bank - Faux Bank Website
      • Manual Balance Sheets
    • Box 6 >
      • Tax Prep Summary Worksheet
      • Tax Return Journals
      • Taxable Income Tracking
      • Tax Simulation & Estimating (Fed, State, PremTaxCred)
      • Real Estate Transaction Journal
      • Sales Tax Remittance Tracking
    • ------------------------
    • Other >
      • Accounting Master File
      • DIY1 uBoundGScriptProject
  • FAQs
  • More...
    • Orientation >
      • ------ INFORMAL ------
      • Models & Data Flow for folks on the GO!
      • Problems, Solutions and Bigger Backstory
      • ------- FORMAL -------
      • Step 1 - Welcome
      • Step 2 - Custom For You... >
        • Accounting Alchemists
        • Categorizing Crackerjacks
        • Simmering Sages
        • Sorcerous Students
        • Magical Millennials
        • Enchanting Educators
        • Spreadsheet Gurus, Javascript Wizards, Database Devils, & Full Stack Devs too...
      • Step 3 - Reunited!
      • Step 4 - The Accounting System 6 Box Model
      • ----------------------
    • For CPAs >
      • Welcome & Orientation
      • Resources >
        • Bookkeeping Template Data Flow Details
        • Balance Sheet Re-imagined
        • Income Statement Re-imagined
        • Bookkeeping Re-Imagined
        • Demystification Documents
        • Empowerment For CPAs
      • Notifications >
        • 11/6/2021 - Sea Change Notice
        • 1/17/2022 - The Opportunity
        • 5/14/2022 - Seeking CPE Partners
    • Contribute
    • Admin > Login/Logout
    • Archive >
      • Home_out20210331
      • Commerce Snippets
    • About
    • Contact
  • Home
  • Testimonials
    • Sales System Templates
    • Bookkeeping Template
  • The Challenge
  • Education
    • !! Start Here !!
    • ----------------------
    • Single Page Visuals (and more...)
    • Fun Seekers Corner >
      • FSC 101
    • Accounting Studio Magic >
      • ASM 101
      • ASM 103
    • ----------------------
    • Software in Greater Detail... >
      • Spreadsheets 101
      • Sales Systems 101
      • Bookkeeping 101
      • DIY Software Programming 101
    • Intro Videos
    • Books & Pamphlets
    • ------------------------
    • Empowerment
    • Reimagination
    • ----------------------
    • End User Benefits
    • FAQs
  • Software
    • !! Start Here !!
    • ----------------------
    • Via the 6 Box Model
    • ------ By Box -----
    • Box 1 >
      • Invoicing 101 - Petes Electric
      • Statements 101 - Martha's Counseling
      • Legal Billing (images only)
    • Box 2 >
      • Expense and Profit Analysis
      • Time and Attendance
      • Payroll System
    • Box 3 >
      • Bank Deposit Prep WB
      • Acc'ts Receivable - Digital Bar Tab
      • Acc'ts Receivable - Double Entry
    • Box 4 >
      • Check Journal Example
      • Check Journal w/ 3 up Printing
      • Acc'ts Payable - Simple Digital List
    • Box 5 >
      • Bookkeeping
      • Transaction Generator
      • Bank Statement Generator
      • Bilbo's Bank - Faux Bank Website
      • Manual Balance Sheets
    • Box 6 >
      • Tax Prep Summary Worksheet
      • Tax Return Journals
      • Taxable Income Tracking
      • Tax Simulation & Estimating (Fed, State, PremTaxCred)
      • Real Estate Transaction Journal
      • Sales Tax Remittance Tracking
    • ------------------------
    • Other >
      • Accounting Master File
      • DIY1 uBoundGScriptProject
  • FAQs
  • More...
    • Orientation >
      • ------ INFORMAL ------
      • Models & Data Flow for folks on the GO!
      • Problems, Solutions and Bigger Backstory
      • ------- FORMAL -------
      • Step 1 - Welcome
      • Step 2 - Custom For You... >
        • Accounting Alchemists
        • Categorizing Crackerjacks
        • Simmering Sages
        • Sorcerous Students
        • Magical Millennials
        • Enchanting Educators
        • Spreadsheet Gurus, Javascript Wizards, Database Devils, & Full Stack Devs too...
      • Step 3 - Reunited!
      • Step 4 - The Accounting System 6 Box Model
      • ----------------------
    • For CPAs >
      • Welcome & Orientation
      • Resources >
        • Bookkeeping Template Data Flow Details
        • Balance Sheet Re-imagined
        • Income Statement Re-imagined
        • Bookkeeping Re-Imagined
        • Demystification Documents
        • Empowerment For CPAs
      • Notifications >
        • 11/6/2021 - Sea Change Notice
        • 1/17/2022 - The Opportunity
        • 5/14/2022 - Seeking CPE Partners
    • Contribute
    • Admin > Login/Logout
    • Archive >
      • Home_out20210331
      • Commerce Snippets
    • About
    • Contact

​On this website you will find Free, World Class Education which delves into the Bookkeeping and Accounting Systems you need to be successful in Small Business and the Business of Life


On this website you will find Free, "First-of-a-Kind", "Do It Yourself"
Software Templates you can use for your Commercial Endeavors forever

On this website you will NOT find
 any place to create a user name and password, 
because it's Free to all, anonymously

​Free Bookkeeping and Accounting Education

Free Bookkeeping and Accounting Software
Privacy, Anonymity, and Novelty Beyond Your Wildest Dreams
A Home which Opens Doors that are never Closed

Welcome to a New Commercial Age
​All GREAT businesses solve long standing, well known problems.
We are no different.
  1. Personal Bookkeeping Software and Education - Most aspire to heading a household some day and many are surprised to find out that no personal bookkeeping software allows for easy aggregated adjusting for mortgage payments at the end of the year. Oddly, none of the current solutions for personal bookkeeping include the General Journal required to make a single, simple aggregated adjustment to convey that split to the General Ledger with ease. The same could be said for car payment too, although there's another cool way to do that known to a few. We help with general education while providing free, stand-alone software templates most will find fulfilling for life. 
      
  2. Small Business Sales System Software and Education - It's impossible to find a Small Business Sales System that will fill all a users needs without supplemental spreadsheet support, contrary to marketing myth. Some industries are so complex, you'll never consider one of ours, but learning about bookkeeping and accounting with a simple one we provide for another instustry or your own is both a boon and must for broader introductory education for all future uses. We currently provide Sales System Templates for invoicing and monthly billing. We have systems prototyped for Point of Sale, Medical Billing, Work Comp Billing, Legal Billing and more and we've done all this to show you exactly how and why ALL Sales Systems should remain disconnected from ALL Bookkeeping Systems for the greatest ease of use.  

  3. Small Business Bookkeeping Software and Education  - QuickBooks and FreshBooks, the worlds most popular Small Business Bookkeeping Software at this time, do not provide Users with a true "Audit Ready" solution in a cost effective and efficient manner, with or without professional support, contrary to current beliefs. Those who have never used them assume they do because they are the market leaders. Those who have used them know they don't from experience. Some with experience will share their major flaws openly, while others who love to speak positive struggle to constructively criticize things appropriately, especially when they have nothing else better to recommend. Our solutions change all of this and you can prove it to yourself via a very short educational and experiential commitment.  
    ​
  4. Global Education with the Balloon Benefit  - The Global Population, as an aggregate, is Financially Illiterate. The reason for that is related to omissions in the Western Educational System and a "Capitalist" marketing approach that is anything but competitive. Unfortunately, that toxic mix of potion that once burdened only the US the most has been more recently raced around the world in an unhealthy way. It's easier and easier to see with every waking day.  We see beyond the fog to a future that is better. It's one filled with healthy Commerce and a sky full of Balloons and Benefits.   
Solving small problems is easy.  We chose to shoot for the Moon.
​​
We created software, processes, and education that changes all this for Life. 
We fix many other problems too.
Here's a few more great morsels for your stew!
​Problem #9 - Too many Options, too little Foundational Education
There are 1000's of Sales Systems and 100's of Bookkeeping Systems for personal. small business and large business bookkeeping and accounting. All subscription based Sales Systems and Bookkeeping Systems are offered by vendors who are typically more interested in a slice of your credit card processing fees and recurring revenues than providing complete business systems. Without foundational data management understanding outside of someone else's idea of a good software, it's very difficult to figure out what needs are filled and what are omitted by any solution. No vendors openly tell you where the gaps are in their solutions nor where spreadsheets will be required to fill in the holes. Without first hand experience with Sales Systems and Bookkeeping Systems built in spreadsheets with a relational database schema that focus on data requirements and data flow first, the commercial software marketplace represents a swamp that is impossible to navigate.
  We fixed these problems. The path to recovery starts with our novel Educational Program referred to as "Accounting Studio Magic 101".  In a very condensed manner, we provide the framework you need to understand the confusion in the market place. For hands on learning, we've introduced a "novel", third type of database software that enables you to experience proper data management with negligible time invested.  With our offerings, it becomes far easier to assess needs, discern differences and select the solutions that are truly best for you. Our teachings and software are based on "Business Best Practices" that until now, have been squirreled away in secrecy by the Pros. For many, our free software should suffice for lifetimes of simulation as well as real time operations until you can clearly identify other software that might be a better fit, if that time should ever arrive. 
Problem #13 - Major End User Dysfunction with Bookkeeping Systems
CPA's, Professional Accountants and Bookkeepers have indicated that over 90% of clients who present with Quickbooks files for tax preparation, consulting, attestation, or audit have nullified double entry accounting benefits via improper setup or misuse. Balance Sheet errors are the easiest to spot. The Balance Sheet isn't a snap shot in time. Only part of it is. The entire report is an invaluable cross check mechanism that indicates the double entry system is in proper working condition. End Users with errors could never be deemed "audit ready" even though they've had CPAs and other professionals file taxes for them. We introduce a very clear path for correction with "Accounting Studio Magic 101". We provide a novel, fully functional, double entry software template for hands on experiene that provides a level of digital clarity and transparency that is currenlty second to none.  Learn on it and then use it until such time you can find a truly better option, if ever. 
Problem #19 - Major Professional & Educational Malfeasance with Bookkeeping Systems and "Confusion for Profit" Schemes
Many Quickbooks users who switched to Bookkeepers and CPA's for Support after having been told their files weren't credible have indicated the presence of "suspended expense accounts" in their files. These accounts are used to adjust for trial imbalances created by user error or software malfunctions the "professionals" either can't find or won't chase down for one reason or another. To the surprise of the clients, suspended expense accounts also disqualify the clients' data from being "audit ready", because they are the exact type of dysfunction they paid to rectify with professional support.  

The difficulty with trial balance problems manifested with the very first release of Quickbooks in 1999. It has never actually worked "properly" or easily.  What most thought would get better with time grew into an accounting nightmare as Intuit's Monoply grew along with the fees CPAs, Bookkeepers and Educational Institutions could charge to "help out" with the dysfunction.  Both oddly and unfortunately, since 1999, there's not been a single software offering created by 1) Accounting Professionals 2) the International Industry Groups they support or 3) Global University Academics that provided a better alternative for the dysfunction.  Why haven't the Professionals, Professional Groups, or Esteemed Faculty who were in the best position to create accounting solutions to meet all small business and individual accounting needs created a better solution?

That becomes a tougher question when you realize better options for basic and intermediate needs have been doable since the mid 1980s in spreadsheets, which is supposedly their very own bread and butter. It becomes tougher still when you find out many do have their own spreadsheet templates. They've simply not shared those for one reason or another, although none likely match the breadth of those we are publishing now. We are addressing these problems with a myriad of outreach programs to Professional and Educational communities. Our message is very clear. Clean up your systems and processes, use our systems for education, and start forgetting about the financial premiums confusion has provided. We've been doing professional out reach quietly from 2017 through 2021. As of 2/20/2022, we are now doing outreach to your end users, students, and all the children too. 
Problem #22 - A Societal Tolerance for Financial and Commercial Illiteracy
As a society, we've decided "it's okay" to graduate young adults from high school, trade schools, two year colleges, and four year colleges without any requirement for financial or commercial literacy. Our national "banking system" fabricates money for the world as the reserve currency, yet few have any clue how it works and no one knows who earns interest on the money in circulation. With such a blind system, those who earn interest on fabricated money would always want a deficit each year.  Approximately 70% of all US Tax revenues are allocated to US Military Budgets for destroying a target of the month overseas. Sometimes just for practice. Many of the 20 to 30 somethings currently engaged in college programs in the US have never heard of Marianne Williamson or Andrew Yang. These are the names of the two most commercially interesting candidates for President in 2020, and they're still unknown to those who need them the most?  We spent 5 years building and prototyping educational material and software for the benefit of our Global Community. We made it free to all anonymously for a reason. Please put it to use. 
Solution Summary
As accounting literate software engineers and aspiring solutionaries, we've been tracking the lack of solutions provided by Accounting Professionals, their Global Trade Organizations, and Accounting Scholars around the Globe since this digital mess first manifested.  What we discovered was "software alone" would not fix the issues. There was a baseline of bad education coming from the main stream educational system that was severely complicating things. We also realized the inappropriate complexity from Quickbooks, Intuit, Colleges and Congress had resulted in a significant rise in revenue-per-hour for those best suited to solve the problems, and that seemed to be in direct conflict with solving the problem.

What was required was a "new type of software" that was far more transparent and credible than traditional relational databases are for math, and one which could BE the centerpiece for a totally new main stream educational approach simultaneously.  


In 2016 changes transpired in the Google Sheets platform that allowed us to take spreadsheet solutions and prototype them on "cloud spreadsheet platforms". The goal was to eliminate these "Quickbooks problems" permanently.  From 2017 through 2021 we beta tested and modifed dozens of software templates. In 2022 we sought a far larger audience.
Welcome to the Beginning of the End for Accounting Dysfunction as you know it.  ​

​If Accounting is the Language of Business, which it is,
Learning Bookkeeping First provides the Key to the Alphabet,
and that's where we Start!
​​

We Keep It Simple

Every Person seeking to do Personal Accounting needs to understand "Bookkeeping" with a capital "B" first. Surprisingly, it's easier to learn "Bookkeeping" with a capital "B" via Small Business Scenarios first, so that's how we teach it to everyone. In Life, every person is the Star of their Own Commercial Play,
another great reason to learn it this way.  
​
Everyone in Small Business Starts out with similar basic needs. 
  • ​A simple "Customer Database" (be that "customer", "client", "patient", etc.)
  • A simple "Quoting" or "Price Presentation" System
  • A simple "Sales System" made up of one or more of the following:
    • A "Before the Fact" Sales System  -  A way for a client / customer / patient to reserve time, space, products or membership  in advance of receipt of the product or service.   These are commonly referred to as Booking Systems, Reservation Systems,  Shopping Cart, and Subscription systems for example. Invoicing systems and Point of Sale systems slightly repurposed for Advanced Payments may also crossover  these days.
    • An "In the Moment" Sales System  - These are used in real time as the exchange of products or services are happening.  These are referred to as "Point of Sale" Systems in the industry.  The carbon copy receipt book and Cash Registers are the old school systems everyone is familiar with. Invoicing Systems and even shopping carts may also cross over for this use these days.   
    • An "After-the-Fact" Sales System - A way to declare amounts owed, payment terms and payment options after an exchange of goods or services has transpired.  Invoicing systems for a single transaction and Statements for multiple transactions are the most common. 
  • ​​A simple "Bookkeeping System" 
    • A "Bookkeeping System" handles the recordation, categorization and reporting of all income, expenses, and equity transactions.
    • A proper Bookkeeping System produces an Income Statement that declares Net Profit or Net Loss for a selected time period.  It also can produce a Balance Sheet, which is a critical transaction categorization cross check system for a "selected time period" too, although that is not well understood by most at this time.
    • A proper bookkeeping system should NOT be directly tied to the Customer Database or Sales Systems above, believe it or not.  
    • Formal "Bookkeeping work" with a capital "B" is done in a standard, pre-defined manner for all no matter their business or trade. A formal Bookkeeping Software solution is the best technology choice for Personal Accounting too, for one of several good reasons. Until now, all true Bookkeeping Systems have required the use of Debits and Credits. Ours does not. We use signed values and allow the software to do that other work, and oh what a relief that is. With our systems, you can turn on and off Debits and Credits on the backend for educational purposes. That makes our solutions beyond unique.
  • A simple "Website"
    • The small business person must have a website they can edit and control by themselves with or without professional support for price presentation, operational support and business personification, in addition to any marketing benefits one may or may not provide. 
    • While outside of the scope of this website, it must be mentioned with this group of criteria, as it always plays a key, indirect role in the overall Accounting and Financial Process.
Simple is the obvious theme.
​Yet for those who have tried to buy these products and services from others,
the fit never seems quite right for one reason or another.
 

In our Orientation Processes we provide reasons for the Complexity and Confusion. We provide an expanded backstory and a lot of other historical information too. For those who want to understand more "before" or "after" you've experienced what it's like to Practice Accounting in a far Simpler Way, our Orientation Menu is a place to dig in when the feeling strikes. 
 

The World is Our Oyster

As Engineers, Data Scientists and aspiring Solutionarys, we approached software development and education as if commercially engaged 8 year olds in a third world country with a Raspberry Pi and a wireless connection just needed to understand "the practice of bookkeeping and accounting" in order to impress the micro-bankers seeking to support them. 

To keep upfront and ongoing costs at zero for our most cherished global audience, we created open source, database driven solutions on a spreadsheet platform as fully independant software templates. This ensures as much digital privacy as we could muster and it ensures our solutions will be within reach of all into perpetuity.

But make no mistake about it. Our solutions are as useful for CPA's, Auditors and other esteemed Accounting Professionals around the Globe as they are for Seasoned Entreprenuers and the budding micro-prenuers we sought to please the most. 
To see them glowing in front of her somosa stand and her in front of his flower cart is our greatest gift. 

The Children are Our Future

In a world of 8 Billion, it's rare a Publisher of Education and Software can claim to be truly "unique". 
That makes us the exception. 

We are a publisher of Educational Material and Software.  We are not a "traditional software company".  We offer no Tech Support, and we are not trying to start our own "training programs" or "corporate controlled communities".​  We are supporting the creation of the world's largest decentralized commercial education program and software satsang on the planet. 

​Our software templates represent a totally "new type of paperclip". They are unlike anything you've seen published commercially before. Many websites offer free education. Some repackaged old dogma with a technology whistle while others created "short cut" systems which can lead one astray.  None created their own software to Practice First and Learn Second.
​If you ever explore the Pracitce of Hatha Yoga, you will find there is very little spoken introduction in the classes.  After a brief welcome, the leading Yogi or Yogini just starts moving and practioners of all levels just start "practicing" together.  Sometimes names of poses are whispered. Those familiar move first while the rest follow along until the vocabualry has meaning. That's the best way to approach this if you are not fluent in accounting vocabulary already.
​
Our suggestion is to find an Accounting Yogi or Yogini in your area or online that you resonate with, and allow them to lead you through the initial paces. If you want to learn from our website directly, you will need to do more reading than you would otherwise.  The "accounting studio" with a seasoned Yogi or Yogini to step into practice with right away is always best, if you can find one.  

One way or another, learn how to do what you need to do. Practice First. Theory Second.  If you read or hear words that are new to you, pass on the urge to stop-the-presses.  Focus on the rhythm of the work, and the vocabulary will soon follow.
  

Our Offerings

Our Education and Software is designed for any individual aged 8 to 88 who wants to "Practice Bookkeeping and Accounting". 

Education Menu
  • Accounting Studio Magic - The Accounting Studio Magic Curriculum currently includes ASM 101 and ASM 102. These are our introductory courses offered via digital Slide Decks.  Anyone can  read through these solo, they can be used in a community or formal education model, or they can be used by any Accounting Yogi or Yogini to lead a new class through the paces. Everyone should start with ASM 101. We realize everyone won't but we'll make the suggestion a dozen times while standing on one foot with our nose pinched twice to try to up the Magic calling!
                                                                           

  • Software Systems - This includes Spreadsheets 101, Sales Systems 101, Bookkeeping Systems 101 and DIY Software 101. Pursue after completing ASM 101. These "courses" are currently just the next level of introductions for our technology which all comes with sample data. 

  • Other  - See the full menu for many other valuable reasources
    ​
​Software Menu
  • "Software" Intro - Read this page. It sets expectations for our Software that are not as clearly defined anywhere else. 
  • ​Via the 6 Box Model - We have dozens of software templates. We use the "6 Box Model" to organize them by functionality. ​
  • The "Other" Menu Item - See the other menu item for Universal Resources related to the software & accounting system organization

Orientation Menu ( More > Orientation )
  • Informal - The visual models we cover in Part 4 of the ASM 101 course can be found here as can a more in depth conversation about the problems that lead to these solutions. 
  • Formal - We offer a 4 Step Welcome Process. This was one of many original home pages in the late 2010's and early 2020s. Step 2 is fun with a custom message for everyone.  Our goal with the Orientation Process was to offer an initiation that had been improperly omitted. Give it a whirl. See how it feels. ​

If you feel like reading more on your own,
​here are our Simple Instructions for you.


Testimonials
Read them. They convey a world available to you which is only a dream for most. Or you can skim them or even skip them for now, but do circle back. 

Education 

Go through Accounting Studio Magic 101.  It's short.  It is the full baseline you need for everything else.  Or you can skim them or even skip them for now, but do circle back. 

The Software Shortcut​
For those who just want to "short cut it all" and get to the Software, with little to no clue what you are in for, you are only 3 minutes away from having copies of various software templates within your control for life. Without proper instruction you'll mess them up, but have fun with them. Mess them up. When they get too bad, just download a fresh copy and start anew. Do that until you decide our suggestions for learning might be fun too. You will benefit from a circle back of fun to get the frameworks right, but take a peak first and play with them. That is fun too, and here's how that shortcut goes...
​
  • Go to  "Software > 'Software' Intro " page
    • Read it.
    • It sets expectations for our Software that are not as clearly defined anywhere else. 
    • Do NOT skip the "Software > Intro" page !! 
    • Read It!!
      ​
  • Go to  "Software  >  Via the 6 Box Model" page. 
    • Review the 6 Box Model at the top of the page
    • Scroll below the model and select a link for a template (they are organized by Box). For most you will want to start with either Box 1 for the Sales Systems or Box 5 for our "first of a kind" Bookkeeping Template. 
    • On the Software Template's Landing Page, click on the link at the top of the page to see it open up immediately in "view only" mode in your web browser.
    • If you want your own copy, Select "File > Make a Copy" if you want it in a google Sheets format on google Drive OR  "File > Download As" for the same in one of the other spreadsheet formats offerred. 
    • Start futzing until your Heart's Content
We offer the experience you are seeking.
It's totally unlike that found with Quickbooks or anything else in the Software or Eductional Marketplace today. We created a third type of software solution that is second to none for the problems we sought to solve. 

Our Initial Goal is to provide you with Sales Systems as an accompaniment to our Bookkeeping Template to convey a feeling of "self-empowerment" and "audit readiness" not found anywhere else. 
Free Software and Free Education for Life, but no Tech Support.
Find a community or create your own. 
Donate from Time to Time. We're worth every Dime. 
We are the Publishers of Last Resort, and Our Time has Come.
What's a HELOC in 1st?  Link coming soon...
ZAP Accounting Software - a 
220Club Initiative - copywrite 2017 and beyond...
Proudly powered by Weebly