NolaPro 4 review

NolaPro 4 is a bookkeeping program for businesses, and it's free.

Before you get excited, a word of caution: the software itself is free, but the manual, which you'll probably need if you're going to figure it all out successfully, costs $30 (£16). There's a fairly comprehensive set of video tutorials at nolapro.com, but these appear to be for a previous version. Not much has changed, but enough to cause the odd bit of head-scratching. And we couldn't recommend that you entrust your company's finances to program for which you don't have an up-to-date manual. So we'd have to say NolaPro is a free program that will cost you 16 quid. To be fair, that's still enticingly cheap.

The program is web-based: you install the back end on your PC and access the software via your web browser. It works on much the same basis as most other business finance packages. You enter quotes and orders, and when these are fulfilled you turn them into invoices to clients. Using the Payables function, you track cash out in the same way. As you do this, the program automatically fills out a chart of accounts for you. At any point you can use the Report function to check the state of your finances. The software can create a wide range of reports, from the general financial status of your company to activity on specific customer accounts. The program even generates invoices for you in PDF format, ready to email to customers.

If you're prepared to master NolaPro, it could help with your accounts in a similar way to better known programs such as Intuit QuickBooks, the winner of our last finance software group test (click Labs at www.computerbuyer.co.uk and scroll down to 'Accounts software'). Though it's a US product, VAT is catered for. However, NolaPro feels dauntingly complex at first. QuickBooks, and to a slightly lesser extent MYOB and Microsoft Accounting Express, are easier to set up and offer a more straightforward process.

Even with the cost of the manual, NolaPro is great value. It will best suit those who already have an understanding of bookkeeping.

Author: Karl Wright