Local-first bookkeeping for client work

From raw transactions to books that tie.

LedgerTB is a desktop double-entry system built around the trial balance: import the activity, make the adjustments, review the work, and close in one encrypted file you own.

MIT licensed · macOS and Windows · built by a practicing CPA

LedgerTB dashboard showing assets, liabilities, net income, pending imports, recent activity, and quick actions for the fictional Northline Studio sample book
Actual app · fictional sample data
One local book fileNo hosted database or mandatory account
Real double-entryUnbalanced entries never post
Workpaper-readyTrial balance through close package
Free and open sourceNo subscription and no telemetry
Inside the app

The working screens, not a sales mockup.

LedgerTB keeps the accountant's workflow visible: what changed, what still needs judgment, and whether the books actually tie. These are screenshots from the released desktop application.

The trial balance stays at the center.

Beginning balances, period activity, unadjusted balances, AJEs, and adjusted balances live in one working paper. The close checklist calls out pending imports and integrity issues before the year is locked.

LedgerTB trial balance worksheet showing a balanced year-close checklist and debit and credit columns for a fictional sample client
LedgerTB Assistant Review page showing one proposed draft, four staged imports, and AI-attributed audit activity
AI work has its own review surface.

Drafts and staged imports wait for a professional decision. Every assistant action is marked “(AI)” and remains visible until you sign off with an append-only checkpoint.

Screens shown with a fictional Northline Studio sample book; no real client data is pictured.

The workflow

One path from source activity to a finished close.

01 / SET UP

Start with the chart

Use an entity-aware template or import the full client chart. Rows that cannot map are reported instead of disappearing silently.

02 / IMPORT

Bring in the activity

Save bank formats, check row continuity, catch duplicates, and review category suggestions before anything reaches the ledger.

03 / ADJUST

Make the judgments

Post balanced journal entries and AJEs against the same trial balance worksheet used to evaluate the accounts.

04 / CLOSE

Review, lock, and export

Run deterministic book checks, reconcile, lock the fiscal year, and produce branded PDF and Excel close packages.

Built for client work

The whole bookkeeping loop, without the hosted platform.

Per-client books

Keep separate charts, entries, reports, policies, and history for every client inside the encrypted book file.

Verified imports

Saved bank formats, duplicate detection, source-row identity, and continuity checks protect against incomplete or repeated imports.

Workpaper reports

Trial balance, income statement, balance sheet, general ledger, reconciliation, and firm-branded close packages in Excel and PDF.

Book Review

A deterministic sweep for broken links, date problems, open items, unbalanced records, and unusual account activity before close.

Audit history

Every change carries the operating-system account that made it. Automated work is attributed separately and never presented as yours.

Firm mode

Keep books on a shared drive while the app stays installed locally. An in-use lock prevents two writers from opening the same book.

AI assistant

Useful access, with a hard ceiling.

Connect Claude or another MCP client to the book you have open. You choose the access level for that book, and the database engine enforces the boundary.

read

Query trial balances, statements, ledgers, entries, and book-review findings. The ledger remains untouched.

propose

Set up clients and charts, stage statement rows, and file draft entries into inboxes that wait for human review.

post

Append balanced entries directly after an explicit warning. Assistant access can never update or delete ledger history.

The access level lives outside the assistant's reach in the operating system's credential vault. Each book is authorized separately, and every assistant action is audit-attributed “(AI).”

Security

Local first, with the controls visible.

SQLCIPHER

Encrypted at rest

The book file is protected by a launch passphrase only you hold. Backups use the same encryption and are verified before they count.

127.0.0.1

Bound to this computer

The app listens only on loopback. No cloud account is required, no telemetry is collected, and categorization is opt-in.

MIT

Open to inspection

The full application and build workflows are public. macOS builds are signed and notarized; Windows installers are produced by CI.

AI drafts.
The professional decides.

LedgerTB enforces the mechanics—balanced entries, append-only assistant posting, attribution, and an audit trail—but it does not outsource the judgment. Every accounting conclusion remains yours, whether you entered it directly or accepted a suggestion.

Download

Free, open source, yours.

Both downloads are built from the tagged source. Your books live under your user profile, never inside the app, so upgrading preserves the data and uninstalling does not delete it.

macOS

Apple Silicon. Signed and notarized by Apple. Unzip the download and drag LedgerTB to Applications.

Download for Mac

Windows

Installs for your account only, with no administrator password required—suitable for a locked-down firm laptop.

Download for Windows

Windows may show a SmartScreen warning because the publisher identity is not yet verified. Choose More info → Run anyway. The source and CI build workflow are public; a publisher-signed Windows build is planned.