Oh, this proved to be a nifty document years ago: "Making the Accounting Software Decision" http://www.snpo.org/samples/V190305.pdf
Other thoughts below. On Jun 9, 2010, at 6:33 PM, Rich Shepard wrote: > On Wed, 9 Jun 2010, Gregg Berkholtz wrote: > >> While I have a number of years in SQL-Ledger, the growing and varied code >> forks have left me with a bitter taste. > > Gregg, > > There is only one fork: LedgerSMB. Armaghan Saqib takes Dieter's SL > releases and modifies them with his enhancements and bug fixes. I've moved > from the plain SL to Armaghan's Ledger123 and found it much better. > As I watched the fallout and initial code forks which stemmed from security-related vulnerabilities, a seemingly very uneven landscape started to emerge. Combined with developer spats, code forks, and claims of a planned complete rewrite, it all just left me rattled and stalling further investments towards all things SQL-Ledger. Albeit this was years ago, the taste remained. Last time I really dug into researching where SQL-Ledger stood, I found references to Oratio, LX Office ERP, OpenLedger, LedgerSMB, Ledger123, LedgerDoctor, SQL-Ledger, and SLpos. The most promising option at the time (LedgerSMB) had a website that was around six months out of date, and when re-checking in December, the only new postings were 9 month-old screenshots for a "to be released" version and some compile instructions (I was mostly looking for documentation at the time). This was all despite regular SQL-Ledger releases throughout most of that time. I had started to wonder if the LedgerSQL fork had been abandoned. Maybe it was just poor visibility into the project's status, and general confusion around what was a fork, and what's really more an enhancement, but not necessarily a complete code fork or rewrite. The whole SQL-Ledger thing is a really unfortunate series of events - I love the idea of an OpenSource ERP toolkit, but this confusion really shatters my confidence in the long-term viability of a complex and critical business tool. Aside from a few days of research, is there a recent writeup/article or presentation out there which helps better sort some of this out? > One of the kewel tools added to L123 is LedgerDoctor, a perl script that > looks for orphaned transactions and records. It can be run from the command > line or from within the application. A huge benefit to cleaning up previous > messes. > Interesting. Although I'm confused, Ledger123 seems like a code fork, while LedgerDoctor sounds like a nifty maintenance add-on. It also looks like the Ledger123 folks have a release called LedgerCart, which is listed as _converting_ an existing SQL-Ledger install to a shopping cart app. Is it really converting my SQL-Ledger install, or is it more an add-on which only adds shopping cart hooks/functions/interfaces into an existing SQL-Ledger install? > The bug fixes are great, especially when it's something I've found and > it's quickly fixed. > That's worth something. My past experiences with SQL-Ledger didn't reflect this level of support. In-fact it seems further SQL-Ledger releases are no longer open-source licensed (see: http://www.ledger123.com/2010/02/clarification-regarding-sql-ledger-development/ ). How does that impact the various existing forks/alternatives/plugins/extensions? > I use it for my consulting business and now know how to handle working on > retainer, billing time-and-expenses, and on a flat fee for the project. The > time cards work flawlessly (you can enter seconds if you keep time that > tightly) and Armaghan's enhancements and explanations of how to do things > has been a tremendous help. > > Consider looking at it again ... the ledger123 version, that is. > I'm seriously not trying to be a PITA, but, this is confusing to someone who's tried to follow things over the years. I can just imagine a newbie taking one serious look at SQL-Ledger, then running away confused and dismayed. Sounds like I need to sit down for a few days, and dig into another round of research...where's my 26-hour clock? ;-) - Gregg _______________________________________________ PLUG mailing list [email protected] http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
