<div>I'm Chris from San Antonio, Texas. I'm founder of an upcoming hackerspace here.<br></div><div><br></div><div>We're attempting a membership plus an online store that sells arduinos and possibly some of the open-source hardware we develop at the hackerspace. I'm not sure how feasible this is or if it could be a huge source of contention.</div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jul 12, 2010 at 11:30 PM, Ben Brown <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ben@kwartzlab.ca" target="_blank">ben@kwartzlab.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Haven't seen anything on here yet despite the two-dozen people<br>
subscribed, so perhaps introductions are in order?<br>
<br>
I'm Ben, hailing from the Kwartzlab hackerspace in Kitchener, Ontario.<br>
I've been the treasurer there since it's founding last July (So far so<br>
good though!)<br>
<br>
My big tip (from talking with frustrated treasurers) is to use a REAL<br>
accounting package -- with good reporting! Google Docs/OO Calc/Excel<br>
just doesn't cut it. We use a donated copy of Quickbooks. Yes, it's a<br>
proprietary, Windows-only hellspawn (Don't even get me started on the<br>
company behind it) but it generates any report you could ever want,<br>
takes care of most of the mundane tasks (that a spreadsheet can't solve)<br>
and should you ever need to see a book-keeper or accountant, you'd be<br>
hard-pressed to find one that isn't at all familiar with it (at least in<br>
North America). I've also heard some good things about LedgerSMB if<br>
you're on the open source-only kick, but don't expect to find local<br>
support for it.<br>
<br>
Other than that, If anyone has questions or comments about the<br>
intricacies (idiocy) of Canadian finances, collecting ridiculously high<br>
federal taxes etc, let me know!<br>
<br>
Cheers!<br>
<br>
Ben Brown<br>
Treasurer, Kwartzlab Society Inc.<br>
<a href="http://www.kwartzlab.ca" target="_blank">http://www.kwartzlab.ca</a><br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br>