The shorestack Books application is a desktop bookkeeping app for Mac, built for freelancers, small businesses, and agencies. It handles bank imports, auto-categorization, double-entry accounting, invoicing, and tax reporting — all in a signed, notarized macOS app you buy once and own.
It's built for freelancers and consultants who need to track income and expenses, small businesses looking for an affordable bookkeeping tool, small agencies managing vendors and invoices, and rental property owners who keep books per property.
No. The app starts in Essential view, which shows only the features most people need: import transactions, review and categorize, view your P&L. The app handles double-entry accounting behind the scenes. Switch to Pro view anytime to access the Chart of Accounts, journal entries, and advanced reports — every feature is included with every license.
Yes — the app is fully offline-first. Your company file is a local SQLite database on your Mac, so you can use every feature (imports, categorization, reports, invoicing, exports) with no internet connection. Live bank feeds via SimpleFIN do require internet, but manual CSV/OFX imports always work offline.
The app runs on macOS 11 (Big Sur) and later on Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and newer). It's signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized, so it launches without Gatekeeper warnings. Compatibility patches ship promptly after any breaking macOS release.
The app is built for US-based small businesses. All amounts display in US dollars (there is no multi-currency support), and the tax features — 1099-NEC generation and the year-end Tax Handoff — follow IRS forms. The live bank feed also covers US institutions. The app will run anywhere, but if your business keeps books in another currency or files taxes outside the US, it isn't built for you yet.
The app uses SimpleFIN, an open protocol built specifically for read-only bank access. You connect your bank once at SimpleFIN Bridge (their secure service), get a setup token, and paste it into Settings → Bank Feeds. Your bank credentials never touch shorestack — the app receives only a read-only access key, which it stores in the macOS Keychain.
SimpleFIN Bridge connects to most major US banks and credit unions — if your bank offers online banking, it very likely works. And if a bank isn't covered, statement import (CSV, Excel, OFX, QFX) works with any bank, so you're never locked out of your own data.
Yes. SimpleFIN is read-only by design — the protocol has no way to move money or change anything in your account. Your bank login stays with SimpleFIN Bridge; shorestack never sees your username or password. The app's access key is stored in the macOS Keychain, and every fetch happens over encrypted TLS.
Only transaction and balance data: date, description, amount, and account balances. We do not receive your bank login credentials, routing numbers, or any other sensitive banking details.
Yes. Go to Settings → Bank Feeds and click Disconnect on any feed. This removes the feed and deletes its access key from the macOS Keychain. Transactions already imported will remain in your books, but no new transactions will sync.
No problem. You can import transactions manually using CSV, Excel, OFX, or QFX files downloaded from your bank's website. The app auto-detects column mapping for most banks, including Bank of America and generic CSV formats.
Once a day, automatically, when you open your company file — plus a Sync Now button in Settings → Bank Feeds whenever you want an immediate pull. New transactions land in the Review tab for you to categorize and approve before they hit your books.
Yes. SimpleFIN supports personal and business checking accounts, savings accounts, and credit cards — if your bank exposes the account through online banking, it can be connected.
Live bank feeds rely on SimpleFIN's ongoing service, so the supported integration may evolve over time as we update how it works. Manual CSV and OFX imports are a permanent part of the app — every major bank lets you download these files from online banking, and they work forever on any version of shorestack Books you've installed.
The app is a one-time purchase:
Solo — $79 · 1 user · install on up to 2 of your Macs (desktop and laptop).
One license includes every feature. There's no feature-gating — you pay once and get everything.
No. You pay once and own the version you bought. There are no monthly or annual fees, no forced renewals, and no features that disappear if you stop paying. The app keeps working on the version you installed, for as long as you want to use it.
No. Bug fixes, macOS compatibility patches, and minor improvements ship as free updates to the version you own. When a major new release comes along, we'll offer it as an optional paid upgrade — buy it if the new capabilities are useful to you, skip it if your current version still works. There's no cadence we force on you.
Yes. Your license is a key, not a machine lock — install the app on your new Mac and enter the same license key. If you ever hit an activation limit moving between machines, email contact@shorestack.io and we'll reset it, no fee.
Every purchase is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee. If shorestack Books isn't the right fit, reply to your receipt email or write to contact@shorestack.io within 30 days and we'll refund you — no questions asked, typically processed within three business days.
Essential view shows a simplified set of tabs: Dashboard, Banking, Import, Review, Transactions, Auto-Categorize, Reports, Invoicing, Customers, Vendors, and Settings. This covers everything most small business owners need.
Pro view exposes the full accounting surface: Chart of Accounts, Journal Entries, General Ledger, Trial Balance, Reconciliation, Recurring, Budget vs. Actual, Cash Flow, Audit Trail, and more. Every feature is included with every license, so switching views is just a UI density preference, never an upgrade.
The app uses a layered categorization engine. When a transaction comes in, it checks: (1) your custom rules (e.g., “Amazon = Supplies”), (2) learned patterns from your past approvals, and (3) smart matching based on vendor name similarity. Most transactions get categorized automatically after a few weeks of use.
Yes. The Invoicing tab lets you create professional invoices with line items, payment terms (Net 30, Net 15, etc.), and PDF export. You can track payment status, see aging reports, and record full or partial payments.
Yes. Every approved transaction automatically generates a balanced journal entry (debits = credits). This is GAAP-compliant and happens behind the scenes — you don't need to understand debits and credits unless you want to. All reports are generated from journal entries for accuracy.
Sandy is the built-in expert bookkeeping assistant. It provides 200+ plain-English answers to common bookkeeping questions, a glossary of accounting terms, contextual tips based on which tab you're on, and guided actions that can navigate you to the right place in the app. Sandy runs entirely offline with zero API costs — it's not an AI chatbot, it's a structured knowledge base.
Yes — this is the app's flagship feature. One company file can hold multiple businesses or projects (a second company, a spouse's business, a side project), each with its own transactions, accounts, and reports. Switch between them from the sidebar with one click, and the Consolidation tab combines whichever ones you pick into a single P&L and Balance Sheet — for example, for joint taxes. You can also keep entirely separate company files and switch between them with the Company Manager.
The same way QuickBooks Desktop users pass a portable company file. Your books live in one file, so you hand the whole file off: save a copy with File → Backup Company…, send it to your bookkeeper, and pause your own data entry while they work. They open it in shorestack Books on their own Mac, and when they send it back, File → Restore Backup… makes their copy your new master — the app saves a safety copy of your current file first.
One person edits at a time: two separately edited copies can't be merged, so whoever holds the file holds the books. The full step-by-step is on the Support page.
Your data lives in a local SQLite company file on your Mac — by default in the app's Application Support folder, though you can open a company file from any location. Nothing is uploaded, ever. You own the file outright and can copy, move, or back it up like any other document. For an off-Mac copy, point the built-in snapshot backups at a folder that syncs (Google Drive, iCloud Drive) — the live file stays safely local while dated snapshots land in the cloud.
No. There is no cloud account and no sync service — your books never leave your Mac. The only internet-using feature is the optional SimpleFIN bank feed, which pulls transactions down when you use it. Your backup snapshots go wherever you point them, including a cloud-synced folder if you choose one.
Yes. Opening a company file asks for Touch ID, your Apple Watch, or your Mac account password — whichever your Mac supports. It is on by default and can be turned off in Settings → Security. There is no separate Shorestack password to create or remember: the app asks macOS to confirm it is you.
Parts of it. Your bank-feed access key is stored in the macOS Keychain, all feed traffic uses encrypted TLS, and Settings offers password-protected exports encrypted with AES-256-GCM.
The company file itself is not yet encrypted — it is an ordinary database file on your Mac, and so are the backup copies you make of it. Opening it in the app requires Touch ID or your Mac password, but that locks the app, not the file. We recommend turning on FileVault in System Settings, which encrypts your entire disk and is the right protection if your Mac is lost or stolen. Encrypting the company file directly is on our roadmap.
No. We do not sell, share, or monetize your financial data in any way. Your data lives locally on your Mac — we never see it in the first place. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
Yes. In Settings → Backup, choose any folder and the app writes dated snapshots of your company file there — automatically when you open the company, or on demand with Back Up Now. It keeps a rolling set (10 copies by default, configurable). Since the file is a regular SQLite database, Time Machine and any other backup tool you already trust work too.
Every license includes the full report suite: P&L, Balance Sheet, General Ledger, Trial Balance, Cash Flow Statement, Budget vs. Actual, Consolidated Reports, and the year-end Tax Handoff. Every report can be printed or exported as a PDF for your accountant.
No — those are forms your CPA prepares from your books, with the deductions and elections a bookkeeping app can't see. shorestack Books gives them what they need: the Tax Handoff tab packages your P&L, transaction detail, and 1099 vendor totals for the tax year in one download, and every report exports to PDF.
Yes. The Tax Handoff tab generates IRS-formatted 1099-NEC PDFs (Copy A, B, and C) and the FIRE e-file format for electronic filing. You can track filing status and batch-generate for all qualifying vendors.
No — the app doesn't estimate your tax bill. Your year-to-date P&L is always one click away, and your CPA can turn it into a quarterly payment with the deductions and annualization a bookkeeping app can't see.
Print any report or export it as a PDF and send it however you like. For year-end, the Tax Handoff tab packages everything your accountant needs — P&L, transaction detail, and 1099 vendor totals — in one organized download.
Buy a license from shorestack.io/books, receive your license key and download link by email within minutes, then install the signed & notarized .dmg on your Mac. On first launch, enter your license key and the two-step setup walks you through creating your first company file and naming your business.
Go to the Import tab and upload a file from your bank. The app supports CSV, Excel (.xlsx), OFX, and QFX formats. The import wizard auto-detects your bank format and maps columns automatically. After import, transactions appear in the Review tab for categorization.
Create a SimpleFIN Bridge account at their site, connect your bank there, and copy the setup token it gives you. In shorestack Books, go to Settings → Bank Feeds, paste the token, and map the feed to your accounts. From then on, transactions sync automatically once a day and on demand with Sync Now. Live bank feeds are included with every license — no additional fee from us.
Yes. The in-app Migration Wizard accepts the standard CSV exports from QuickBooks — Chart of Accounts, Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, and Profit & Loss — and builds out your opening books so you can pick up where you left off. You can also bring in transaction history via generic CSV import and let the categorization engine learn your patterns as you review.
Yes. For businesses with workflows that aren't covered by the stock app, we offer custom builds as a separate professional services engagement — industry-specific modules, tailored expense categories and reports, custom workflows, and dedicated onboarding. A bar's pour-cost tracking is very different from a candle shop's production costing, and we can build for either.
Examples include: bar/restaurant pour-cost tracking and daily register reconciliation, e-commerce marketplace fee breakdowns and per-SKU COGS, agencies project-based P&L and retainer billing, retail raw material costing and batch production tracking, property management tenant ledgers and maintenance costing, and trades job costing and estimate-to-actual comparisons. If you can describe the workflow, we can likely build it.
Custom pricing depends on scope. After a discovery call we deliver a fixed-price proposal so you know the full cost up front — typically a one-time build fee plus an optional ongoing retainer for maintenance, depending on the complexity of what we're building.
Most custom builds ship within 2–4 weeks from approval. Larger projects with multiple custom modules may take 4–8 weeks. We'll provide a timeline estimate in our proposal.
Visit the Customization page and fill out the consultation request form. Tell us about your business, your industry, and what you need. We'll respond within 1–2 business days to schedule a discovery call.
Bank connections can occasionally require re-authentication, especially after password changes or if your bank updates their security. Go to Settings → Bank Feeds and try Sync Now — the feed's status will show any error. If the connection has gone stale, sign in at SimpleFIN Bridge to repair it, or Disconnect the feed and reconnect it with a fresh setup token.
The app has built-in duplicate detection that catches most duplicates during import. If some slip through, go to the Maintenance tab and run the data integrity scanner — it will flag potential duplicates for your review. You can void duplicates (which preserves the audit trail) rather than deleting them.
The app uses a void-instead-of-delete approach. When you void a transaction, it creates a reversal journal entry and marks the original as voided — nothing is ever permanently deleted. This gives you a complete audit trail. Year-end closings can also be reversed if needed.
First, fully quit the app (⌘Q) and relaunch. If the issue persists, make sure you're on a supported macOS version (11 Big Sur or later, Apple Silicon) and that the app is up to date — Help → Check for Updates in the menu bar. Your data is safe either way: your company file is a regular SQLite file on disk, independent of the app binary. If you're still having trouble, email contact@shorestack.io with a screenshot and we'll jump in.