It Lives(?): TopStyle Could Be Resurrected
An official post on the NewsGator forum suggests that TopStyle isn’t dead yet.
First, starting immediately, we will be building an upgrade that will include some bug fixes, including support for Windows Vista. Work on this will start immediately, and I’d expect this release will be ready in the next few weeks. As you know, we’ve also been looking for a Delphi developer to help work on TopStyle. This search has yielded many candidates, but none who were a good fit for what we are looking for. We’re now expanding this search to the entire continental U.S. effective immediately, and we will consider a remote relationship for the right candidate. If you know someone, definitely refer them! Somewhat (but not entirely) dependent on that search, we will be building TopStyle 4.0, with a great new set of features that you, our customers, have been asking for.
Could be good news for TopStyle fans, if NewsGator is true to their word.
(Via SitePoint)
Invoicing Tools
Currently, I use QuickBooks for Windows to manage my business bookkeeping and to send out and track invoices. It’s an okay solution, especially since it’s all integrated, but I hate the built-in invoice template editor for QuickBooks and how inflexible it seems for designing invoices.
I’ve seen mention of hosted online invoicing services, such as FreshBooks, Blinksale, and BillingOrchard, as well as the open source BambooInvoice, which you can install on your own server. And I’ve recently seen three Mac desktop apps — Billings, Billable, and iBiz.
My main concern with having separate apps is having to enter invoices twice. As I asked on Jesse Bennett-Chamberlain’s article about moving from Blinksale to BillingOrchard:
Jesse, how do you tie these invoices back into your bookkeeping—or do you have a bookkeeper and make them do it? ;) I’m just curious because I’ve thought about an online solution for invoicing, but just felt that I’d end up doubling my work since I’d also have to create the invoices in QuickBooks.
To which he replied (confirming the double invoices):
Hey Eric, Good point on the book-keeping integration. I find it easiest to just enter the invoice and payment at the same time (in one step) in MYOB once I receive the cheque in the mail.
So, what I’d like to know from readers is: What software do you use to send and track invoices? Do you use an accounting app and an invoicing app, and if so, what’s your workflow? Is there anything out there for Windows that’s similar to the Mac apps listed?
UPDATE: In addition to the comments below (thanks!), I’ve also received feedback on the ExpressionEngine forum. Some of the suggestions there include products/services not listed here, such as invoice2go.com and MS Outlook with the Bill Power plug-in.