The main advantage of open source billing software is that it can help your business succeed. Open source billing software has the ability to adapt to your business. Basically, you, as the administrator of the site can control how/when everything is done. Open source gives your company the ability to change the overall look and feel of the site. You also have the opportunity to change how your business runs. Businesses change over time, sometimes they blossom, sometimes they falter, although no one wants the latter it is a smart idea to have software that is agreeable to your financial needs.
After you have selected the right vendor for your business needs, keep in mind that our economy isn’t in the best shape right now. In the worst case scenario, your vendor might not be able to support your business any longer. If this happens, nothing will happen to you and you are not affected in any way, shape, or form. This is because you aren’t tied to the software provider. That’s why choosing the very best open source billing software can protect your business needs. This type of software is geared to protecting your company’s clientele. It is a security measure that you simply can’t afford to be without. Now, you don’t have to risk losing important company/consumer data if things don’t pan out the way you need them to. Life is unpredictable, but protecting your business needs shouldn’t have to be.
With commercial open source billing software you will receive more support than that of GPL providers. You have the right to make sure your software is your own, only you have the ability to modify and customize it to your needs. No one else will be able to hone in on your ideas. As the site administrator, you can copyright your own material. GPL providers do the exact opposite. They allow you to copy, distribute, and modify the material, but at a personal cost. None of the work goes to you or your company. Your name and your company’s name are unprotected after you submit the software online.
Although GPL providers may seem like a good idea, with further research you will see they are not. You need to take control of your own business, copyright your material, and make sure no one infringes on any of your online property. This is why open source billing software is the best idea. It is the best solution for your business and with careful consideration aside, it will make everything easier for you and your clients alike.
3 comments
Your article is well-written but you are confusing a lot of terms. First let us tackle open source. Open source means that one has access to the source code of a program. GNU’s GPL license versions 2 and 3 are simply licenses under which open source software is released. GPL is no better or worse than any other open source license, you just have to look at what YOU WANT TO Do on your particular site. If you choose the GPL license, you must release any changes that you make to your billing software under the same GPL license. I like to share back with the community that provided me with great software so I ALWAYS use GPL licenses software and I always release my changes back to the community so that I comply with the license. In my opinion, as long as you feel comfortable releasing your improvements so that everyone else can benefit from them, the GPL is a great license to choose. If you do not want to release your improvements, you can choose I license that allows you to take open source software closed source in your particular use of it. Two that particularly come to mind are the Apache license and the BSD license. Personally, I find this to be someone selfish and greedy because one who does this benefits from other people’s hard work without giving back. If you choose to do this, I recommend that you at least make a financial contribution to the community that developed the software. Apple took open source BSD-based code and took it closed source in the form of Apple OSX, however, Apple did make significant financial contributions to the BSD community to compensate them for their hard work. Whether you choose GPL, Apache, BSD, or some other license, you data remains copyrighted so you never have to release the data that you store within your open source code such as client names, addresses, account numbers etc. Another term to become familiar with is free software. Richard Stallman, the man who wrote the GPL license prefers the term “free software” to “open source”. If you really want to gain expertise on GNU/Linux, Linux, open source, and free software, I recommend that you research and understand the distiction (there are several Youtube videos where Stallman explains the difference). Lastly, never tell anyone not to do anything (such as never use GPL). Instead, just give them the information and then make a recommendation. Ultimately, the site owner must make the choice on their own. When I first started out, poeple always told me don’t do this and don’t that. You have to do the homework yourself and do what makes you comfortable. When someone makes a recommendation, research it first and then do it only if it feels right once you have the information.
Great information. Lucky me I found your site by accident (stumbleupon).
I have saved as a favorite for later!
Open source billing software is a nice choice. For this you are free to edit and rearrange the details in a way that it can easily to use.