Setting Up Frappe Books
Before recording invoices and transactions, you need to create a company in Frappe Books. The setup wizard guides you through creating a new company file and configuring the basic business information required to get started.
If you haven’t installed Frappe Books yet, download the latest version from the GitHub Releases page before proceeding.
Getting Started
When you launch Frappe Books for the first time, choose New File to create a new company database. If you already have an existing company, select Existing File instead.
Create a New Company
Follow these steps to create your first company in Frappe Books:
- Open Frappe Books.
- Select New File.
- Choose the folder where you want to store your company database.
- Enter a name for the database file.
- Click Save to continue.
Complete the Setup Wizard
After creating the database file, provide your business details in the setup wizard.
Enter the following information:
- Business Name
- Business Email
- Country
Your selected country determines the default Chart of Accounts that Frappe Books creates for your company.
Chart of Accounts
If a country-specific Chart of Accounts is not available, select the Standard Chart of Accounts. You can customize it later to suit your business requirements.
Database Location
Frappe Books stores all company information, accounting records, and transactions in a local .db database file on your computer.
You can choose where this file is stored when creating your company. If you later need to reopen it, launch Frappe Books and select Existing File, then browse to the saved database.
Setup Complete
Once the setup wizard is finished, your company is ready to use.
You can now begin configuring your business by creating opening balances, customers, suppliers, items, and other initial records before recording day-to-day transactions.
Next Steps
- Create opening balances.
- Review your Chart of Accounts.
- Add customers and suppliers.
- Create items and services.
- Start recording invoices and transactions.
Best Practices
- Store your database file in a location that is regularly backed up.
- Select the correct country to automatically generate an appropriate Chart of Accounts.
- Use the Standard Chart of Accounts if your country-specific template is unavailable.
- Keep a backup copy of your
.dbfile before making significant changes. - Complete your initial setup before entering accounting transactions.