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SmokoBooks
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Made in Queensland by AENETWORKS

About SmokoBooks

SmokoBooks is quoting, invoicing and bookkeeping software for Australian trade businesses, made and sold by AENETWORKS, an Australian sole-trader software and web business in Queensland.

AENETWORKS designs it, writes the code, sells it from this site and answers the support emails. There's no reseller in between. AENETWORKS also builds websites and custom software for other businesses; How we built SmokoBooks covers the technical side of this app.

Where it came from

SmokoBooks started as client work. An electrical contractor wanted their quotes, job paperwork and books in one place instead of a set of fillable PDF forms and a bookkeeping spreadsheet, and AENETWORKS built them a Windows app to do it.

SmokoBooks is the general version of that app, which AENETWORKS now sells and supports itself. A new install starts with empty books and a setup that asks for your own business name, ABN, logo and bank details, and every document is drawn from those. We don't name the client, and none of their data is in SmokoBooks.

The history still shows. The nine document types come from that contractor's own set of fillable forms, which is why a rental electrical safety check, made for electricians, sits in the list next to the quote, invoice, work order and SWMS. The Excel workbook SmokoBooks exports for your accountant grew out of their bookkeeping spreadsheet.

Why it's a Windows app that keeps your books on your PC

Your books are the record of what you're owed, what you've spent and what you'll owe the ATO. We don't think they should depend on someone else's cloud staying up, or on a login you don't control. So SmokoBooks installs like any Windows program, opens without a connection and keeps its own backups.

On your PC, or in your own folder

On Solo the books are one data file in SmokoBooks's folder on your PC (File › Open data folder shows you where). On Solo + office PC that folder sits in your own OneDrive, Google Drive or Dropbox so two computers can share it. Either way your books are never sent to us, and there's no SmokoBooks account to log into.

Works where the reception doesn't

SmokoBooks needs the internet to activate your key and for a quick licence check once a day. If it can't get through, it keeps working for 14 days before it asks you to reconnect. Writing quotes, invoices and entries doesn't need a connection; emailing them does.

A backup every day you use it

Each day you use it, SmokoBooks writes a dated copy of your books to its backups folder and keeps the last 30. Export backup saves a single file you can put on a USB stick or another drive; Import backup restores it on this computer or a new one.

Your records, in files you can open

Export Excel workbook writes the whole cash-book, with live formulas and your logo, ready for your accountant. Export documents CSV lists every quote and invoice. The PDFs you make are ordinary files in the documents folder.

What does leave your PC: activating a key and the daily licence check send your key, the business details you entered in setup, a computer identifier and the computer's Windows name, the app and Windows versions and record totals, never the records themselves. The full list is in the privacy policy. Cloud accounting has its place; for the trade-off side by side, see SmokoBooks vs Xero and SmokoBooks vs MYOB.

What SmokoBooks doesn't do

Better to know now than after you've paid.

  • Windows only. It needs Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit. There's no Mac or phone version. The browser demo on the Try it page runs on sample data, for looking around before you buy.
  • No payroll and no bank feeds. You record payments and expenses yourself (a photo of the receipt can go on each expense). If you pay wages, you'll need payroll software alongside it.
  • It doesn't lodge anything. The Tax & BAS screen works out your GST figures and an amount to put aside for tax as planning estimates. Lodging your BAS and tax return is still up to you or your tax agent.
  • No importer. There's no import from Xero, MYOB or a spreadsheet. Import backup only restores a SmokoBooks backup, so you start with empty books and your customers are saved as you type them onto quotes and jobs.
  • No stock control. The price list holds the items and rates you quote often, but there are no stock levels or inventory.
  • One person at a time. On Solo + office PC both computers see the same books, but only one has them open at once; the other waits until they're closed.
  • The installer isn't code-signed. Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC"; choose More info › Run anyway. It installs for your Windows user only, with no admin rights, and is about 120 MB.
  • When a plan ends, the app locks. If your subscription ends, the app locks. Your PDFs, data file and daily backups stay on your PC — export the Excel workbook before your plan ends.

How support works

Support is by email and is included in every plan. It goes to AENETWORKS, the same business that writes the code.

Email us

Write to admin@aenetworks.com.au, or use Help › Contact support in the app, which opens an email already addressed to us.

Send the support file

Settings › About › Export support file saves a text file with what we'd otherwise have to ask you for: the app and Windows versions, your business name and ABN, your licence status with the key masked, your settings with passwords left out, the app's recent log, and how many documents, jobs, expenses and customers you have (the totals, not the records). Attach it to your email.

Help inside the app

The round ? button at the bottom right (or Ctrl+/) opens a help panel on every screen. It explains the screen you're on, answers ten common questions, runs a guided tour, plays the video tour and lists the keyboard shortcuts. Help › Send feedback sends an idea or a problem straight to AENETWORKS; if it can't get through, it offers to send the same text by email.

Updates, new computers and billing

Updates download in the background and SmokoBooks offers a restart when one is ready; every update is included while your plan is active. Replacing a PC? Choose Settings › Licence › Deactivate on the old one, then enter your key on the new one; if the old one has died, email us and we release it. The Manage subscription page emails you your key and links to change your card, see invoices or cancel, and the Cancel plan button in the app opens Stripe's billing portal.

Try it on your own jobs

14 days free on the Solo plan.

Solo is $19 a month or $190 a year for one computer. Solo + office PC is $29 a month or $290 a year for two computers sharing one set of books; it has no trial, so start on Solo and upgrade from inside the app, and Stripe pro-rates the difference. Prices are in Australian dollars; AENETWORKS is not registered for GST, so no GST is charged. If it isn't right for you, email us within 14 days of your first payment for a full refund.

Rather look first? Click around the app in your browser with sample data, or see all plans.

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