I've run a small business for over 10 yeas. I use linux. I'm grateful to the community and I use FOSS where possible.
I have had some issues over the years, but have always been able to get around them (except CAD in 2013), but recently I've had issues with my government (UK). First they introduced 'making tax digital' and told me for years that I would have to buy windows only software (there was no legal option on linux until a few weeks before the deadline (https://www.comsci.co.uk/100PcVatFreeBridge saved the day). The UK Government didn't create a free solution or any route to that as they don't want the source to be open for making tax digital so accounting software companies have made a killing!
This week my internet banking stopped allowing payments, it no longer works in firefox (I'm guessing). On the telephone they asked me 'what search engine I was using'+ and advised to use google.
What is the best UK business bank to use if you use linux to run a small business? Do I have to use Chrom(e)ium? Does anyone else use linux for business admin? Is anyone (Freesoftware foundation, etc) thinking about the creeping legislative changes that make it literally illegal to use FOSS and linux?
I wanna be an ally, but its so tiring.
+ browser ≠ search engine. Yes, I'm pedantic, at least I didn't confuse them by saying 'quant' or 'duck duck go', OK!?
Well it surely is much much worse than my country by the looks of it.
In Sweden most government provided services are accessible through a web browser, but you need "BankID" which requires Android. Which is kind of Linux, though not fully FOSS.
Bad? It's a couple of decisions made by organisations or politicians who are ignorant of free software alternatives and open standards.
Certainly better than the US's tax system, where you have to pay to file your taxes or at the least, have to spend a lot of your time working out complex tax submissions each year.
In the UK, your income tax is automatically paid by your employer when you earn it. Unless you're self employed - or doing your own business accounts like OP, you don't have to submit any tax information, ever.
All these third world countries can’t compete with the powerhouse that is Brazil and its free, multiplataform tax system since the nineties.
Seriously though, it’s not a technological issue, it’s a political one.
Taxes are not the only things that matter, mister/miss. In the US you at least aren't legally forced to use Windows and I'm not even talking about the fact that the US supports genocide. But who am I talking to? Americans are fully dead inside and won't understand. There's no way to revive them.
I'm not in the US - and who was talking about genocide? We're talking about tax and it's software here.
I'm also based in the UK. I don't run a business but have occasionally encountered problems trying to use Librewolf on the web, especially with Noscript on.
I tried to use Qubes to separate my activities into VMs but I found it difficult. So I did my own, less extreme, approach using KVM.
I created a virtual machine which only has Chrome on it. This is what I use for accessing my bank, Paypal and doing online shopping.
I have a second machine I use for Whatsapp and email and finally a third with Librewolf for general web browsing.
Each uses the same VPN service but different servers.
I only use Freetube and Retroarch on my main machine.
This is on a very beefy Thinkpad I essentially use as a desktop in my office. I use a smaller machine downstairs with VNC on it as a remote when I'm sat on my sofa.
Can't speak to the specific sites that you use but I've personally found firefox user agent spoofing results in almost every site that didn't work on firefox suddenly magically working if they think you are on chrome.
I've found this to be the case a lot, too. I also spoof my OS because a lot of government sites will refuse to work unless it says Windows. It's stupid, but here we are.
yes it is. I have tried messing with user agent now. Chromium works on linux, not firefox. :(
Also, please feel free to answer if you aren't based in the UK, I assume this isn't a UK only problem, but I'm based here.
I think the key part here is that it’s a guess on your part whether using Firefox is the cause. Do you get any specific error when using the website? Or does something just “not work”, such as you click a button and it does nothing?
Also, I’ve run into stuff like this before, and my best bet has been to be flexible about using other browsers to work around issues. I would suggest testing the banking website with Chromium (or even Chrome). If it works, file a bug with Mozilla (https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/file-bug-report-or-feature-request-mozilla) and just use Chromium/Chrome for only that website until the bug is fixed.
This will allow you to still do business, while still participating in open source via a helpful bug report that could end up benefitting others as well.
It works on chromium, not firefox. I guess I should be more flexible. It is likely that the bug is in the bank's site, so I wasn't sure about putting in a bug report. The website pauses on the 'loading' animated icon, when you try to navigate away, it tells you 'Your session has expired'. It hasn't been fixed by changing the user-agent (assuming I got it right). I don't know if the bank would give them a dummy account for testing, but I'll file a report anyway.
If it works on chromium I’d consider that even if it is a quirk on the bank website, chromium is handling it cleanly and allowing you to use the site. That’s something we probably want incorporated in Firefox. I’d encourage submitting the bug report to Mozilla, and don’t assume too much about what they can/cannot do!
Maybe you can use some German bank. They allow one to interact with their API for free. I use GNU cash for it. Though I doubt that you can file your taxes via GNU cash and be aligned with current UK law. You would need to check it for your own.
Firefox Containers are for Cookies and Storage separation. Profile, on the other hand, is a COMPLETE separation in all aspects of Firefox's user data, setup , add-ons.
I am not in the UK, but wound up biting the bullet and using QubesOS for my business machine. It's kind of like a more straightforward to use everyday set of VMs. I have the windows qube there for running CAD/CAM and the sadly sometimes necessary Chrome install. I know this isn't an ideal solution, but it is the best that I personally have been able to come up with without going through the headache of dual booting, especially when dealing with either govt stuff, need Chrome for crappy websites my clients sometimes force me to use, or actually needing proprietary software that I have licensed for my business (MasterCam in my case).
Yes, treating crypto as a way to invest is a scam. The vast majority of crypto and crypto-adjacent “projects” are scams.
We live in a world where payment providers have the power to force Etsy to delist vendors that sell sex toys to customers of a legal age, payment apps like Venmo or PayPal will permaban your account for selling NSFW art or products, and physical cash is being largely abandoned for cards and digital wallets. Surely you can see the benefits of a completely anonymous payment method?
To be clear, I vastly prefer cash, but there’s an obvious issue with trying to anonymously use cash to pay for something on the internet or to send money to someone who isn’t within easy driving distance.
I've found HSBC to be ok using Firefox on Linux. I don't know if they have integrations with any accounting software, but the web access works well, and you can export your transactions for processing locally.
ETA: I've run small business accounting on Gnucash, I found the learning curve a bit steep, but once you 'get it' it's handy.
This is interesting, and meets my needs. I tried Gnucash, but the double entry bookkeeping was a bit to advanced for my small-business'/smooth-brain needs (amortising my stock of utility bills seemed a bit excessive! - though I am sure I was doing it wrong)
I think what you can do is just get a separate computer running Windows for all your business stuff and business stuff only. I'd also recommend ALWAYS using a VPN on it if legally possible.
I went a step further and am paying an accountant to handle this mess, using my favourite libre email client to contact her. I know, it's a privileged position.
Damn, you got a lot of replies and no one said to just use paper forms.
Idk if the uk allows it still, it’d be surprising if it didn’t though.
Surprise! :D The project was called 'making tax digital' it was expressly to remove paper forms for VAT.
Oh wow.
Are accounting firms subject to the same requirement as businesses that file themselves? It almost sounds like it’d be a good idea to have someone do all the filing for you so that when there’s a leak and you’re damaged by it you have legal recourse…
