Running a small home-office business is fairly simple on the financial side, at first. But then you come to the book-keeping part, and realize that using spread-sheets only take you so far. Beyond a point, these spreadsheets become a drag on time, and time is money. Using an accounting software (such' as Tally, Quicken, etc.) to keep track of everything can become inevitable.

Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2009 is a good option if you want to start out down that path without having to spend on a software license. It's free and comes with the familiar look and feel of MS Office. MS Word XP or later is required to create customized invoices, sales orders, quotes, customer statements, and purchase orders, etc. The key is entered in automatically and requires activation over the Internet.