LanternLedger

Free, simple bookkeeping for your small business — right on your Windows PC. No account, no subscription, no cloud.

Download · Website · Is it safe? · Install help · Terms of use

LanternLedger is made for new sole proprietors, single-member LLC owners, and small shops like coffee shops, food trucks, salons, and makers. It keeps your books tidy in plain language, and your books never leave your computer.

What it does

• Daily sales — type in your end-of-day register totals: sales, sales tax collected, tips, cash and card. Sales tax is kept separate so you know what you owe the state.
• Invoices — make clean, printable invoices with your logo, save them as PDF, and mark them paid.
• Expenses & receipts — log what you spend in tax-friendly categories and attach a photo of the receipt.
• Mileage — log business trips; the deduction uses the IRS rate for each trip’s date.
• Contractors & 1099s — record what you pay helpers and see who needs a 1099 at year end.
• Owner draws — track the money you take home, kept apart from business expenses.
• Profit & loss — money in, money out, and what’s left for any date range. Export it for your tax preparer.
• Estimated taxes — IRS quarterly due dates in plain English, how to pay, and a ballpark of what to set aside.
• Automatic backups — backup copies are made for you, and you can export or restore your books any time.

Screenshots

Shown with made-up books for “Porchlight Coffee.”

Dashboard	Daily sales
Invoices	Expenses
Profit & loss	Estimated taxes

Is it safe?

• No account, no login. There’s nothing to sign up for.

• Your data never leaves your PC. Your books are saved on your computer in %APPDATA%\LanternLedger. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, and uninstalling doesn’t delete your books.

• Automatic backups. LanternLedger makes backup copies while you work and keeps a daily copy for the last 30 days. You can also export a full copy to a USB drive or another folder.

• Check the download yourself. Every file has a unique fingerprint (a “SHA-256”). The fingerprint of LanternLedger.Setup.exe version 1.0.1 is:

  fc578f16d22adbe888a17a8a2d7776b48ddd25f1e4b47276b5d4be32e5a74120
  

  To compare: open your Downloads folder in File Explorer, click the address bar, type powershell and press Enter, then type Get-FileHash .\LanternLedger.Setup.exe and press Enter. The long number should match. For a second opinion, you can scan the file for free at VirusTotal.

“Windows protected your PC”

LanternLedger is made by one person and isn’t signed with a paid Microsoft certificate yet, so Windows shows a blue warning the first time you install it. That’s expected.

1. Download LanternLedger.Setup.exe. If your browser says the file “isn’t commonly downloaded,” choose Keep (in Edge: … → Keep → Show more → Keep anyway).
2. Double-click the file.
3. In the “Windows protected your PC” box, click More info.
4. Check that it says App: LanternLedger.Setup.exe, then click Run anyway.
5. Follow the installer. LanternLedger opens when it’s done and adds a desktop shortcut.

System requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit
• About 500 MB of free disk space
• No internet needed to use it (only to download it and check for updates)

To update later: in the app, open Settings → App updates → Check for updates. Your books stay where they are.

Questions

• Is it free? Yes — no trial, no subscription, no ads.
• Is there a Mac version? Not right now. Windows only.
• Will it do my taxes? No. The tax pages are guidance, not tax advice. Check important decisions with a CPA, enrolled agent, or the IRS.

Support

• ☕ If LanternLedger helps your business, you can buy me a coffee — totally optional.
• ✉️ Questions, problems or ideas: Mstidham345@gmail.com

Terms of use

By downloading, installing, or using LanternLedger, you agree to the Terms of use. LanternLedger is a bookkeeping tool only — not tax, legal, or accounting advice.