Why Lighthouse?

I think the best way to explain how Lighthouse can help you, is to explain my journey.

The short version is probably similar to yours? I underestimated how hard it was to start a business, and how expensive it was to do the basics. I'm was, am a courier, and tbh, I was simply sick and tired of paying subscription prices. I was using one of the big two online accountancy services, and the £360 a year was too much for a small business like mine.

Having retired from full time work, I needed something to do, and I love driving so I started a courier company, not with the goal to a fortune, but just enough to keep my finances ticking over. I was a software developer, and I still dabbled in it, and have been writing code since 1998, I got quite good at it, so I just thought, "why not just create the software to manage my finances."

Six months later, Lighthouse was born.

Lighthouse Aims?

Small Business

In it's present form, Lighthouse is aimed at Micro business entities, although the government classification for that is less than £500K, I mean micro in the sense of my business, a small start-up, making less than £30K a year, not VAT registered (though this is included), needing a full stack finance tool, with extra features that help growth, hence the CRM features included with Lighthouse.

Privacy / Security

Business finances are private right? Using Lighthouse means your financial info is exactly that, the software can be hosted on your company computers, and on your live web server.

Lighthouse uses secure technology, PHP version 8.3.29, with stricter typing, improved randomization, better error handling, and the deprecation of insecure functions- meaning you can safely host Lighthouse online.

Lean Code

Lighthouse is completely hand coded, there's zero bloat, or unnecassary libraries, this makes the software great to use, there's no waiting for screens to load and pages that hang while uploading large .csv file, everything happens instantly, and I'm sure you'll notice this when using the demo and once you start using Lighthouse.

Ease of Use

Everything is within easy reach using the sidebar, there's just one menu, nothing is hidden. I've done my upmost to make Lighthouse easy to use, and work how you expect it to work. There's not much to learn par se, and I think once you get used to using the software you'll find it a refreshing change from using one of the online services.

Community Focused

Software built for the small business community, get involved and make Lighthouse better. I committed to building a world class financial management system, and to do that I'll need help.

Lighthouse Features

This is a brief introduction to Lighthouse, for more detailed info visit the documentation site. But from the top of the menu, we have;

Login / Logout
The entire system works on permissions, so unless you're registered, all you'll see is the login page. Includes forgotten password functionality, no registration, you create users in the "user management" section.
Dashboard
Visit this page often, it contains everything you need to know about your business, and a diary of events for the week ahead.
User Management
Add staff, bookkeeper & accountant.
Business Settings
A page where you add your business info, bank details, and SMTP credentials for sending invoices and quotes.
Chart of Accounts
Lists and manages transaction accounts, here you can add, edit or delete accounts.
Transactions
The heart of Lighthouse, displays every transaction, this is where you upload the .csv file, and reconsile.
Customers
Add new and manage existing customers, the info contained here and in business settings is displayed on invoices.
Invoices
Create and send invoices from this page, displays total paid and overdue.
Reports
Director loan account, profit & loss, and balance sheet. I will be focusing on reports for the first major update.
Journal Entries
Lighthouse includes a mini CMS, with a text editor, to add important info, i.e. explanations for certain actions etc.
Diary
Never panic or worry again, the Lighthouse diary feature is easy to use, and the dashboard displays the week ahead.
Snapshot
Better known as the "Trial Balance," used by the accountant when verifying your books.
MTD
Make Tax Digital - The regilatory requirement for all businesses to auto submit tax info quarterly.

How you Save?

I created Lighthouse to replace the subscription service, plus the need to use a bookkeeper, so as long as you're up to date, and everything is reconsiled on the transaction page, use the "Accountant Login" option, provide the details, and you'll be good to go.

I saved £760 this year using Lighthouse.

Lighthouse will save you a minimum £670 - this assumes the £360 for the previous subscription cost, plus £500 for Bookkeeper fees - though my books were messy before Lighthouse.

What you Get?

Unlike the subscription services, Lighthouse is fully supported, you get access to modern support section of the website.

Access to support, the video guides, and software updates is included in the £90 cost of Lighthouse, and thereafter it's £50 / year.

Pricing

£90 initial purchase, £50 / year thereafter

What to do Next?

Switching from a suscription service to Lighthouse is the biggest hurdle for many people, they worry there'll be a loss of data. My advice, as always, is to run them side by side for a couple of months, discover that Lighthouse is better for your small business, ensure your data is up to date and then cancel your membership.

While I think Lighthouse is amazing (why wouldn't I), I'd like you to be sure that switching is right for you. I've created a fully fuctional demo version, that you can visit to test the functionality. There's also a documentation section that contains videos on how to install and use Lighthouse, plus you can ask questions at the support community.