Work your complete accounting file from whatever device is to hand — iPhone, iPad, Android or Chromebook — using nothing more than a standard browser. Bring your accountant in as well. Nothing extra to download, no charge per device, and the ledger itself stays on your own machine.
There is one dominant reason businesses move to hosted accounting: they want the books available wherever they happen to be standing. You can have precisely that without surrendering your financial records to a supplier. Kantivo runs on a computer of your choosing and publishes its screens across the network, so a phone at a client meeting, a tablet on the sofa and a second workstation at home all reach the same live file through a browser — while the database itself never moves off your hardware. Nothing is billed per device, and no second subscription sits underneath.
Kantivo runs on your primary Windows or Mac workstation. Additional devices connect through any modern web browser - there is nothing extra to install.
Safari or Chrome
Safari or Chrome
Chrome browser
Chrome browser
Set up Kantivo on your primary Windows or Mac computer
On any other device, open Safari, Chrome, or your preferred browser
Type your server address once and bookmark it for future visits
Complete access to your books from wherever you happen to be
When your phone or tablet shares the same WiFi network as your Kantivo machine, simply enter the local IP address. Connection is immediate with zero configuration.
Install the free Tailscale utility on your devices and reach Kantivo from any location - a coffee shop, a client's office, or while traveling. Connections are fully encrypted.
Nominate one person by email address and expose only the machine holding your books. They need a free Tailscale account of their own but never join your network, and the arrangement can be withdrawn in a single click.
Enrol staff onto your private network so several colleagues can work inside Kantivo at once, each authenticating separately under the permissions you set.
This is the argument that tips most small firms towards a hosted package: "my accountant has to be able to get in." The requirement is entirely reasonable. Meeting it does not oblige you to give away custody of your data.
Working from the Tailscale administration screen, you expose the single computer your accounts sit on to one named individual by email. Tailscale issues the invitation itself; as soon as it is accepted an encrypted tunnel links their machine to yours and they open Kantivo in a browser like anybody else. They are not admitted to your wider network, your other devices stay invisible to them, and revoking the arrangement later takes moments.
Within the software they remain bound by whichever role you granted — accountant, bookkeeper or view-only — so handing over a connection is not the same as handing over the keys. Read the complete walkthrough →
Confirm from the van whether an invoice has been settled before you knock on the next door.
Run the reconciliation on a tablet in the evening without driving back to the premises, against the very same live file.
Your accountant signs in from their own office, posts the adjustments, and you review an identical trial balance together on a call.
Colleagues elsewhere work the same books throughout the day. See multi-office arrangements →
Pin Kantivo to your device's home screen for an experience that looks and feels like a native application. It launches in its own window and behaves like a dedicated app.
In Safari, tap Share and then "Add to Home Screen." A Kantivo icon appears alongside your other apps.
In Chrome, open the menu and select "Add to Home screen." Kantivo launches full-screen without the browser toolbar.
| Feature | Kantivo Mobile | Typical Alternatives |
|---|---|---|
| Additional mobile fee | ✓ Included with subscription | ✗ Often an extra charge |
| Multi-device support | ✓ Any browser, any device | ✗ Platform-specific apps |
| Concurrent users | ✓ Multiple simultaneous sessions | ✗ Often limited by plan |
| Predictable pricing | ✓ 12-year price lock | ✗ Subject to annual increases |
| App store dependency | ✓ None - runs in the browser | ✗ May require dedicated app |
| Price of one more user | ✓ Covered by your licence | ✗ Pushes the monthly figure up |
| Letting your accountant in | ✓ Share one machine, revoke at will | ✗ One more chargeable seat |
| Should payment lapse | ✓ Database remains on your drive | ✗ Entry ceases |
No. Open any web browser on your device and navigate to your Kantivo address. The only optional download is Tailscale (free) for accessing Kantivo when you are away from your local network.
Yes. Connections through Tailscale are encrypted end-to-end. On your local network, traffic stays within your own infrastructure.
Yes. Your primary machine must be powered on and running Kantivo for other devices to connect. Leaving it active during business hours ensures uninterrupted access.
Yes. Multiple team members can work in Kantivo simultaneously from different devices. Each person authenticates with their own credentials.
From the Tailscale administration screen, expose the computer holding your books to their email address. Once they accept, they sign into Kantivo through their browser under whichever role you granted them. Your wider network stays closed to them, your other devices remain invisible, and you may withdraw the arrangement whenever you wish. The setup walkthrough covers each step.
None. Remote and mobile working are part of the product rather than an optional extra. Kantivo carries a single annual licence, with nothing charged per device and no separate mobile plan.
The convenience lines up; the custody does not. A hosted supplier keeps your database and your entry depends on the subscription staying current. Here the database rests on your own machine and the browser merely points at it. We set the two approaches against each other on our hosted versus self-hosted page.
You can — the live demo runs the entire application in your browser against a sample business. It is the same browser-served interface your own installation would present.
Begin your free 30-day trial. Mobile access comes standard with every plan.