Review: Outright Free Online Bookkeeping Tool

This is a review of Outright, a free bookkeeping service geared to solo entrepreneurs.  Sparkplugging has not been paid to write this review and will not profit should you decide to use their service.

Our interns, Leigh Anne Wilkes and Sherra Humphreys took Outright for a spin and this is what they have to share with you:

Bookkeeping can be the obstacle that keeps people from jumping in and starting their own business. It’s overwhelming. It’s tedious. It’s not fun.  If a service like Outright.com had been available when we started our homebased businesses, accounting and bookkeeping would not have been such a dreaded task.

This site has everything a new or existing sole proprietor or single-member LLC needs to keep track of income and expenses.  Plus it helps you with your quarterly estimated taxes. Right now, it’s only available for the U.S. tax system.

We both set up an account and in minutes we were entering transactions and looking at reports. Clicking tabs and entering data was very simple. Bookkeeping avoidance mode is something we are pros at – this site actually made it a little fun!

Some of the things that we like about Outright:

• Navigation is simple and straightforward.
• You see your profit at a glance when you log in.
• You can customize your income and expense categories to match your business needs.
• Reports are detailed, concise and easy-to-read.
• It interfaces with other popular existing sites like Freshbooks, Shoeboxed and oDesk.
• It’s Mac compatible.

Some things we’re not so sure of:

• Customer service – they say they’ll get back to you in 24 hours but we did ask a question and almost 48 hours later, still no response.
• Like all cloud based tools,  if the site goes away, so does all your data. Outright states that their site is safe, secure and backed up hourly.  Still, a smart business owner will keep their own regular backups.
• The fine print – at any time they reserve the right to start charging for this free service and they also state that they may “modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Service (or any part thereof) with or without notice.”

Should you give Outright a try?

Well, it’s free so there’s nothing standing in your way.  Our interns liked the service – but they’re not bookkeeping pros by any means.  They’re real life entrepreneurs like you.  We recommend that you consult with your accounting professional to see if this service can meet your business bookkeeping needs.