Crater

Crater is an open-source, self-hosted web app and server for financial management. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for tracking business expenses, managing payments, and generating professional invoices and estimates. The software is deployed as a web application on a private server and is complemented by dedicated mobile applications for on the go financial management.

Users install the system on their own infrastructure to maintain full control over sensitive financial data. It serves as a financial management tool for freelancers, contractors, and small businesses that require a private billing service. The application is available as a Docker image to simplify the installation and deployment process across different server environments.

Key features

• Creation of professional invoices and estimates
• Tracking of business expenses and payments
• Integration with Stripe to accept digital payments
• Support for recurring invoices to automate billing
• Dedicated customer portal for client access and interaction
• White labeling for invoices, emails, and consumer portals
• Management of multiple companies within a single instance
• Custom fields for invoices and estimates to track specific data
• Installation wizard to guide the initial server setup

The web application is built using the Laravel framework and VueJS, while the mobile applications utilize React Native. This technical stack ensures that the accounting data remains synchronized across desktop and mobile devices. The system includes an email configuration module that allows users to customize and edit the content of emails before they are sent to clients, ensuring a professional communication flow.

Beyond basic invoicing, the software includes a customer view page and the ability to set default notes and address customizations. The project is released under the GNU Affero General Public License Version 3, allowing users to modify the source code to fit specific business requirements or regional accounting standards.

Crater is a flexible, self-hosted option for accounting and invoicing.