Opportunities › Local-first business software with one-time licensing › Proposed app
Stillbooks
Local-first invoicing and bookkeeping for small firms. One price, no subscription.
- Score
- 51
- confidence 56
- Evidence
- 6
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 0
- named in sources
- First version
- 45 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 1992
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Small business owners review finances, manage ledgers, and track expenses during dedicated work sessions, not on the go. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Money in
Stored on this device$12,480
- Overdue
About this appAI proposal
Stillbooks is invoicing, expense tracking and a simple client ledger that keeps your data on your own device in a local database. It installs as a web app, works offline, and does not need an account with us to run.
It is for small service businesses and the person who looks after their IT, who want to stop paying monthly fees for software they use every week. You buy a licence once and keep it. New major versions are optional paid upgrades.
Your data stays in a file you can open, copy and back up. Optional encrypted sync and backup are included in the licence, not sold as an add-on. The aim is a lower cost over several years than a subscription.
- Tagline
- Books and invoices that live on your computer. Pay once.
- Voice
- PlainSteadyHonest
- Why this name
- Still suggests calm and staying put, with no bill that moves. Books names the job. Two plain words, easy to say and spell.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Data stays on your device
Records live in a local SQLite database in your browser storage. Nothing leaves the machine unless you turn on sync.
No member yet
Pay once, keep it
A perpetual licence per seat or company. Major upgrades are optional, and your current version keeps working.
No member yet
Open export, any time
Export everything as CSV or a single database file, so you are never locked in.
No member yet
Invoices with shareable links
Make a PDF or a link for each invoice and mark it paid when the money arrives.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#2F5D50Pine · primary#F4EFE6Paper · surface#1F2A24Ink · text#D9822BAmber · accent#5B7C99Slate Blue · data
Typography
Aa
Stillbooks
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Books and invoices that live on your computer. Pay once.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no competitor prices. These tiers are a starting point to test against what small firms now pay in subscriptions.
Solo
$149 once
- 1 seat, perpetual licence
- All v1 updates and fixes
- Encrypted backup included
Company
$349 once
- Up to 5 seats, perpetual licence
- All v1 updates and fixes
- Optional cloud sync included
Support plan
$79 a year
- Bug fixes and help for your version
- Guaranteed for 2 to 3 years
- Optional, add to any licence
Would you pay Support plan · $79 a year?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Each invoice goes to the client as a PDF or link with a small line saying it was made with Stillbooks. The client sees the product name each time they are billed.
- Do they become customers?
- Invoice recipients are mostly business clients, and some run their own small firms. Test whether the footer link gets clicks and whether any of those visitors buy a licence.
- First customers
- Solo and small service firms of 1 to 5 people, such as IT consultants and bookkeepers' clients, who pay for invoicing software monthly and want to cut fixed costs.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News and developer forums: Post a working demo and the licence terms in threads about local-first software and subscription fatigue.
- Freelancer and IT operator communities: Offer a free import from CSV so people can compare their current costs with a one-time price.
- First milestone
- Twenty paid Solo or Company licences from one vertical within 60 days of launch, with at least half still using it after a month.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedHacker News post received 10 points and 23 comments
- Public claimBusinesses are motivated to stop paying recurring SaaS subscriptions due to economic pressure and high fees.
- Public claimLocal-first software architecture using flat files and local databases can implement most business features without cloud dependency.
- AI inferenceThere is interest in rebuilding multiple SaaS categories under a local-first, one-time licensing model.
- Public claim
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Local databaseSQLite compiled to WebAssembly, in browser file storageKeeps the core data on the device and works offline, as the concept requires.
- This app · Licence keysSigned offline licence keysA key can be checked on the device with no server, so a perpetual licence never needs a subscription check.
RisksAI inference
- TechnicalBrowser storage can be cleared or lost. Without strong backup prompts and easy restore, users could lose their books, which would destroy trust.
- CommercialOne-time sales bring no recurring revenue. Funding upkeep depends on paid upgrades and support plans, and the Hacker News interest is a small signal (10 points).
- TechnicalMulti-seat use with local data needs conflict-free sync across devices. This is hard to get right and may limit the first version to one device per seat.
- RegulatoryBookkeeping and tax rules differ by country. Starting with invoicing and ledgers, not tax filing, limits the exposure but also the appeal.
- AIThe setup assistant could give wrong guidance on backups or restores. It should only run fixed, tested steps and never edit data on its own.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.