Two entrepreneurs have invented a brighter way to keep your books in order

The internet has changed the way that would-be entrepreneurs approach start-ups. Where previously working out how to generate revenue was the top objective, now it is all about building a community of users first. Figuring out how to get money from them comes later. It's worked for social networking sites and now two entrepreneurs hope it will be successful for their online accountancy package.

Brightbook is aimed squarely at small traders, one-man creative bands or those just launching a business and in need of a simple way to keep track of cashflow. It allows users to generate invoices, keep a track of suppliers and creditors and allocate payments to outstanding invoices. It can also generate all the financial reports that someone running a small firm needs. Best of all, signing up to the site is free.

Brightbook founders James Henderson and Warwick Leicester had been running businesses together for a while and always found bookkeeping the least enjoyable part. As Henderson says: "Bookkeeping stresses me out. We wanted an alternative to the confusing solutions we'd tried, something less complicated."

The service has a "dashboard" that allows users to monitor cashflow at a glance in a diary format. But while the pair distance themselves from traditional accountancy with cartoons, animations and an approachable design, they have been smart enough to make sure Brightbook is compatible with all the leading packages accountants use.

www.brightbook.co.uk