3542afbe28
Phase 1 of task management consolidation (per Gemini consultation). Added standardized frontmatter with: - status: open | blocked | complete - priority: P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 - owner: Michael | Meg | Holly - created: YYYY-MM-DD Final counts: - 39 open tasks - 17 complete tasks - 1 blocked task Metadata extracted from existing inline markdown and audit results. Ready for Phase 2: 11ty mobile index generation. Chronicler #69
status, priority, owner, created
| status | priority | owner | created |
|---|---|---|---|
| open | P2 | Michael | 2026-03-18 |
Task: Self-Hosted Accounting Software
Status: PLANNING
Priority: Tier 2 — Major Infrastructure
Created: March 18, 2026
Created By: Chronicler #32
Target Server: Billing VPS (38.68.14.188)
Background
Firefrost Gaming is now a three-partner operation (Michael, Meg, Holly). Financial tracking needs a proper solution that all three partners can access, covering server hosting costs, domain renewals, and community finances.
Cloud options (Wave, Zoho, ZipBooks) were evaluated and rejected due to multi-user paywalls. Self-hosted PHP-based solutions are preferred to leverage existing infrastructure.
Infrastructure Decision
Deploy on: Billing VPS (38.68.14.188)
Reasoning:
- Follows "Money on Billing" infrastructure philosophy
- Already runs Paymenter (billing) and Mailcow (communications)
- PHP/MySQL stack already present
- Financial data belongs on the financial server
- Does NOT belong on game server nodes (TX1/NC1)
- Does NOT belong on Command Center (backend/automation)
Software Options
Option A: Akaunting ✅ RECOMMENDED
- Stack: PHP (Laravel), MySQL/MariaDB
- Multi-user: Yes, built-in — all three partners get accounts
- Best for: Full business accounting, P&L, expense tracking
- Cost: Core free, some advanced modules paid
- Verdict: Best fit for a real business with three partners
Option B: Invoice Ninja
- Stack: PHP (Laravel)
- Best for: Client invoicing and cash flow tracking
- Limitation: Backend accounting reports not as deep as Akaunting
- Verdict: Good if primary need is invoicing sponsors/clients
Option C: Firefly III
- Stack: PHP
- Best for: Strict internal budget tracking (VPS costs, hosting)
- Limitation: No client-facing invoice generation
- Verdict: Better as a personal finance tool than business accounting
Recommendation
Akaunting — gives all three partners real access, handles actual business accounting, and is built on the same Laravel/MySQL stack as Paymenter. Most future-proof for a growing operation.
Next Steps
- Verify Billing VPS has capacity (currently running Mailcow + Paymenter)
- Provision MySQL database for Akaunting
- Deploy Akaunting via Docker or direct PHP install
- Create accounts for Michael, Meg, and Holly
- Import existing hosting costs as historical data
Fire + Frost + Foundation = Where Love Builds Legacy 💙🔥❄️