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Getting Started

Installation

  1. Go to the Releases page
  2. Download barebill-win-Setup.exe from the latest release
  3. Run the installer — it will install barebill and create a Start Menu shortcut
  4. Launch barebill from the Start Menu

No .NET prerequisite — everything is bundled inside the installer.

Windows SmartScreen / Defender warning

Because the installer is not yet code-signed, Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt or flag the file as suspicious. This is a false positive caused by the installer having no code-signing reputation.

Before running, verify the download using the SHA256SUMS.txt file attached to the release (see Verifying your download below). Then click More info → Run anyway in the SmartScreen dialog.

Verifying your download

Each release includes a SHA256SUMS.txt file on the Releases page. Use it to confirm your download hasn't been tampered with.

Open PowerShell in the folder where you saved the installer and run:

(Get-FileHash .\barebill-win-Setup.exe -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()

Compare the output against the hash listed for barebill-win-Setup.exe in SHA256SUMS.txt. They must match exactly.

First launch

On first launch, barebill creates its database at:

%APPDATA%\barebill\barebill.db

No setup is required -- the schema is initialised automatically.

Creating your first client

  1. Click + Add in the left panel
  2. Enter the client's name and company
  3. Fill in billing details in the Settings tab:
    • Hourly rate
    • Invoice cap (optional)
    • Invoice frequency (optional)
  4. Click Save changes

-> More about client settings

Logging work

  1. Select a client in the left panel
  2. Go to the Timesheet tab
  3. Click + Add entry (or press Insert)
  4. Fill in the date, hours, description, and category
  5. Click Save

-> More about the timesheet

Preparing an invoice

  1. In the Timesheet tab, select the uninvoiced entries you want to include
  2. Click Prepare Invoice
  3. Review the invoice lines and confirm
  4. The entries are marked as invoiced and appear in the Invoices tab

-> More about invoices

Building from source

If you prefer to build from source:

git clone https://github.com/codebureau/barebill
cd barebill
dotnet build src/WorkTracking.slnx
dotnet run --project src/WorkTracking.UI

-> Developer setup guide