- Home
- Crypto Accounting Software
- Orange Way Books
Orange Way Books
What it is
Orange Way Books is an open-source, double-entry bookkeeping web app for Bitcoin-native businesses and privacy-conscious small businesses. It is self-hosted, runs locally from the project instructions, and is described as being in early development. Working tools include a chart of accounts, journal entries, transactions, contacts, invoices, payment requests, attachments, and audit logs. The app computes profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, general ledger, cash-flow, and foreign-exchange revaluation reports in the browser. Sensitive business fields are encrypted before leaving the browser, leaving the server with ciphertext it cannot decrypt. Organizations can assign Owner, Admin, Accountant, Bookkeeper, Auditor, and time-limited Support roles. CSV and QuickBooks workbook imports are supported, with JSON data takeout. An optional Orange Rails integration supplies bank and exchange feeds. The Apache-2.0 project has important limits: transaction dates remain visible to the server, Bitcoin transactions remain public on-chain, payroll and tax-filing integrations are not included, and no hosted SaaS version is currently available. Losing both the vault password and recovery code makes data unrecoverable.
For and against
For
- Open-source Apache-2.0 license
- Browser-side encryption for sensitive data
- Double-entry reports and audit logs
- Role-based organization access
- CSV and QuickBooks imports
Against
- Early development project
- No hosted SaaS version
- Payroll workflows are absent
- Tax-filing integrations are out of scope
The verdict
Orange Way Books provides privacy-oriented bookkeeping with self-hosted deployment and core accounting reports. Prospective users should plan for its early status, recovery responsibilities, and missing payroll or tax integrations.
Who it suits
Orange Way Books fits Bitcoin businesses, accountants serving Bitcoin clients, privacy-conscious small businesses, engineers, and auditors comfortable with self-hosting. It suits users who need browser-side encryption and local control.
On the record
- Bookkeeping
- Its working features include accounts, journal entries, transactions, contacts, invoices, payment requests, attachments, and audit logs.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Bookkeeping features
- Working features include chart of accounts, journal entries, transactions, contacts, invoices, payment requests, attachments, and audit logs.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Development status
- The project describes itself as in early development, with working code that can be run locally.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Encryption
- The security document describes Argon2id key derivation and AES-256-GCM field encryption, and says the product is not FIPS-validated.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Imports and export
- The app supports CSV and QuickBooks workbook imports and JSON data takeout.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Imports and exports
- The app supports CSV and QuickBooks workbook imports and JSON data takeout.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Integration
- Orange Rails is an optional integration for bank and exchange feeds.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The maker lists Bitcoin businesses, accountants serving Bitcoin clients, privacy-conscious small businesses, engineers, and auditors as intended users.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- License
- The project is licensed under Apache-2.0.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Limits
- Payroll workflows and tax-filing integrations are not built; tax filing is out of scope and the maker says users can export to tax software.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Not included
- Payroll workflows are not shipped, tax-filing integrations are out of scope, and a hosted SaaS version is not available currently.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Sensitive business fields are encrypted in the browser before reaching the server, and the maker says it cannot decrypt the stored books.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Product
- Orange Way Books is an early-development, double-entry bookkeeping app aimed at Bitcoin-native businesses and privacy-conscious small businesses.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Recovery
- A 12-word recovery code is generated in the browser; the maker says data cannot be recovered if both the password and recovery code are lost.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Recovery limit
- If a user forgets the vault password without a printed recovery kit, the data is unrecoverable.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Reports
- It provides profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, general ledger, cash flow, and FX revaluation reports, computed in the browser.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Security caveat
- Transaction dates remain visible to the server, and on-chain Bitcoin transactions remain public on the blockchain.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Self-hosting
- The repository provides instructions to clone the project, install dependencies with Bun, configure Supabase, and run it locally.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
