How to self-host Analytical Ledger
Your accounting data is the record of everything your business did. Self-hosting means that record lives on infrastructure you control — not on a vendor's server you rent by the month.
- Analytical Ledger is built to run on your own infrastructure two ways: locally on embedded Postgres with no Docker and no admin install, or in your own cloud on Vercel and Neon, switched by a single
DATABASE_URL. The same free app runs both ways; only where the database lives changes. - Your books stay portable — export any statement to CSV and the general journal to QBO whenever you want, with no lock-in.
- Sign-in uses OAuth with an email allowlist, so you control who reaches the books without ever managing passwords.
- New to the app? The tour of the 17 modules shows what you'll be running before you decide where to run it.
Why self-host your accounting?
Most accounting tools keep your books on their servers, under their terms, behind their monthly bill. That's convenient right up until it isn't — a price change, an outage, an export that's harder than it should be, or a company you'd simply rather not hand your financial history to. The data that proves what your business earned and owed is the last thing you want to only rent.
Self-hosting flips that. The app and its database run where you put them, so the books are yours to keep, back up, and move. Analytical Ledger is free and USD-only, and it was built to run our own group of companies — so running it yourself isn't a stripped-down mode, it's the same app we depend on daily.
The two ways to run it
Analytical Ledger is one application that reads a single setting — DATABASE_URL — to decide where your data lives. That one variable is the whole difference between running on your laptop and running in your own cloud.
Locally, on embedded Postgres
For a single machine, Analytical Ledger runs on embedded Postgres: no Docker, no separate database server to install, no administrator setup. The database comes with the app, so you start it and the books are there. This is the fastest way to try the app on your own hardware or to keep a set of books entirely on one computer you control.
Because there's nothing to provision, "self-hosted" here doesn't mean a weekend of infrastructure work. It means your data sits in a file on your machine instead of on someone else's server.
In your own cloud, on Vercel and Neon
When you want the books reachable from anywhere — or shared with an accountant — run the app in your own cloud instead. Deploy the app on Vercel and point it at a hosted Postgres database like Neon by setting DATABASE_URL to your database's connection string. Nothing else about the app changes; the same screens, modules, and reports run against your cloud database.
This is the same shape of deployment the hosted version uses, so you're not on a lesser path. You're running the identical app on accounts you own, with the database under your control.
Your data stays yours
Owning where the app runs only matters if you also own the data inside it. Analytical Ledger keeps your books portable by design: every statement exports to CSV, and the general journal exports to QBO, the format most accounting tools import directly. You can hand your accountant a file they already know how to open, or move your history somewhere else entirely, without waiting on a vendor or clearing an export queue.
Money is stored as exact decimals and every entry is enforced to balance — in the app and again by database triggers — so the data you export is correct to the cent, not an approximation you have to re-check.
Signing in and controlling access
A self-hosted instance still needs to know who's allowed in. Analytical Ledger uses OAuth sign-in, so each person logs in with an existing Google or Microsoft account and you never create, store, or reset a password. Access is gated by an email allowlist: only addresses you add can reach the books, and removing someone is as simple as deleting their email from the list.
From there, roles decide what each person can do — viewer, accountant, or owner — and pair with approvals so no single person both posts and blesses a large entry. Self-hosting changes where the app runs, not how carefully it guards the books.
Is it available to self-host today?
Here's the honest state of things. Analytical Ledger is free to use, and self-hosting is built into how it's designed — the single-DATABASE_URL model exists precisely so you can run it yourself. The source is being prepared for open-source release, and we won't call it open source before it actually is. Until that release lands, the way to get a self-hosted instance is to tell us what you're setting up and we'll help you stand it up on your own infrastructure.
We'll say so right here in the Updates when the source is public — no earlier.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I self-host Analytical Ledger today?
Self-hosting is built into the app's design, and Analytical Ledger is free to use. The source is being prepared for open-source release — we won't call it open source before it actually is. Until that lands, request access through the contact page and we'll help you get an instance running on your own infrastructure.
Do I need Docker or a database administrator to self-host?
No. You can run Analytical Ledger locally on embedded Postgres — no Docker, no separate database install, no admin setup. To run it in your own cloud instead, point it at a hosted Postgres like Neon by setting a single DATABASE_URL. The same app runs both ways; only that one variable changes.
Is my data really mine when I self-host?
Yes. Self-hosting means the app and its database run on your infrastructure, not ours, so your books live where you control them. You can export any statement to CSV and the general journal to QBO at any time, so there's no lock-in — it's your data on your hardware, portable whenever you want it.
How do people sign in to a self-hosted instance?
Through OAuth with an existing Google or Microsoft account — you never create, store, or reset passwords. Access is controlled by an email allowlist: only addresses you add can reach the books, and removing someone is as simple as taking their email off the list. Roles then decide what each person can do.
Running your own books shouldn't mean renting the record of your business. Start with the tour of the modules to see what you'd be running, or tell us about your setup and we'll help you self-host it.
About Analytical Solutions. We build Analytical Ledger, a free, multi-entity double-entry accounting web app that runs on your own infrastructure — locally or in your cloud — so your books stay correct to the cent and yours to keep. We run our own group of companies on it, daily, in production. Learn more about us.