Installation

Solid Accounting is a desktop app. It runs on your computer, not in a browser tab, and doesn't need a constant internet connection. It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux.

System requirements

Install and activate

1. Download the installer from your account's Downloads page. On Windows it's signed by Solid Accounting LLC.
2. Run it and follow the prompts. On a Mac, see On a Mac below; on Linux, see On Linux.
3. Launch the app. The first screen offers a 30-day free trial with every feature, or activation with your license. To activate, choose the Account tab, approve the computer in your browser, and pick the license for this computer — or paste your key on the License Key tab. See License keys.

Activation needs the internet. After that the app checks your license about once a week and needs a successful check within about five weeks.

On a Mac

The Mac download is a .dmg that runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. The app isn't signed by Apple yet, so macOS stops it the first time you open it. You do this once for each version you download from the website:

1. Open the .dmg and drag Solid Accounting Desktop into Applications.
2. Open the app. When macOS says it can't be opened, click Done.
3. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to Solid Accounting Desktop.
4. Enter your Mac password, then click Open Anyway once more.

On macOS 14 or earlier you can instead Control-click the app, choose Open, then Open.

Updates. From 26.9.3 on, the Mac app installs updates from inside the app, like Windows: use Help → Check for Updates... or the update banner. If you're on 9.25.1 or 26.9.2, those builds can't update themselves: download the current version once from your account's Downloads page or the download page and drag it into Applications, replacing the old one. Your settings, license, recent files and demo companies carry over.

On Linux

There are two Linux downloads. Both are 64-bit (x86_64) and contain the same app.

AppImage — most distributions. One file, nothing to install. Make it executable and run it:

chmod +x "Solid Accounting Desktop_26.9.6_amd64.AppImage"
./"Solid Accounting Desktop_26.9.6_amd64.AppImage"

Use the name of the file you downloaded; the version number changes with each release. You can also right-click the file, open Properties → Permissions, tick Allow executing file as program, and double-click it.

If it doesn't start and the message mentions FUSE, install FUSE 2: sudo apt install libfuse2 on Ubuntu 22.04, or sudo apt install libfuse2t64 on Ubuntu 24.04 and later.

.deb — Ubuntu, Debian and their derivatives. Install it with apt, which also pulls in anything it depends on:

sudo apt install "./Solid Accounting Desktop_26.9.6_amd64.deb"

Keep the ./ — without it apt looks for a package by that name online. The app then appears in your applications menu.

Updates. The AppImage updates from inside the app. If you installed the .deb, download the new .deb and install it the same way; apt replaces the old version.

Checking the download. Each download has a GPG signature and a SHA-256 checksum. See Linux: checking a download.

Your company file

Your books live in a company file: a .solid folder that holds the ledger database and its attachments. New company files go in Documents\Solid Accounting unless you choose another place. You can keep it on any local drive and open it with File → Open Company....

Company files open with your login: when you create a company you set an Admin username and password. You can add an optional recovery phrase (Settings → Recovery Phrase) in case the Admin password is forgotten. Encryption is under Settings → At-Rest Encryption. The key that opens the file is saved in your system's keychain (Windows Credential Manager or the macOS Keychain). On a Mac it's read once per session; if you deny the keychain prompt, the app stops asking for that session.

Don't let a sync tool (Dropbox, OneDrive) copy the company file while it's open. Close the company first, or use encrypted cloud backup.

Next steps

• Your first company — the Welcome screen's guided starts
• Migrate from QuickBooks® Desktop
• Backing up your books