Running a business using free software: Difference between revisions
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Line 7: | Line 7: | ||
* Control over core business tools | * Control over core business tools | ||
* Have seen proprietary business tools disappear suddenly | |||
* Rapid development | * Rapid development | ||
* Ability to fix bugs directly in some cases | * Ability to fix bugs directly in some cases | ||
Revision as of 13:16, 22 May 2023
Introduction
- What my business does
- Some of these tools are for personal use as well, e.g. calendar sync
Why?
- Control over core business tools
- Have seen proprietary business tools disappear suddenly
- Rapid development
- Ability to fix bugs directly in some cases
- Self hosting
- Data protection, security and backups
Limitations
- Only discussing software used in my business, not clients
- Can't control what others use
Requirements
Most businesses need:
- Core operating system - Xubuntu
- Invoicing and credit control
- Customer and supplier database (CRM)
- Website - WordPress
- Word processing - LibreOffice
- Spreadsheets - LibreOffice
- Calendar/diary - Nextcloud + DAVx
- Email - Thunderbird or Mutt, Dovecot and Postfix/Exim, SpamAssassin for self-hosting or use Mythic Beasts
Outstanding issues
- Still need Microsoft Office to open some documents - usually Word documents that have been perfectly laid out to fit on X pages, or spreadsheets with macros
- Scanner - Linux driver but not open source
- Label printer - Linux driver but not open source