Getting started
The first time you open Doric, it asks how you'd like to begin. You can explore a set of sample books, or start fresh with your own company — this takes about a minute.
Sample books or start fresh?
On the Welcome to Doric screen you have two choices:
- Load Sample Books — opens a ready-made company with realistic accounts and transactions. Nothing here is yours, so click around freely: run reports, filter the register, try the theme editor. It's the fastest way to see what Doric does before you commit any of your own data.
- Start Fresh — creates a brand-new, empty company under your name. Choose this when you're ready to keep your own books.
Naming your company
After you click Start Fresh, Doric asks what your company is called. Type a name — your business name, your household, or just your own name for personal finances — and click Next. This is only a label; it's what shows up at the top of the window and on your reports, and you can change it later.
Choosing default categories
Next, Doric offers to start you off with a set of categories so you're not staring at a blank slate. Pick whichever fits best — a preview of the categories updates as you select:
- None — just the built-ins. Start with a clean slate and add your own categories as you go.
- Freelance — consulting and self-employed categories like Client Income, Software & Subscriptions, and Professional Services.
- Small Business — general business categories such as Sales Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold, Payroll & Contractors, and Marketing.
- Personal — household categories like Salary, Rent / Mortgage, Groceries, Utilities, and Transportation.
None of this locks you in. Whatever you pick, you can rename, add, or remove categories afterward in the Accounts view — so choose the closest fit and adjust later.
Click Get Started and Doric sets up your company.
What you'll see next
Doric opens to the Register — your list of transactions, empty for now. The icons down the left edge are how you move around Doric; hover any of them to see its name.
Where to go from here
A fresh company has your categories but no bank or credit-card accounts yet. Two things get you up and running:
- Add your accounts. Open the Accounts view and add the checking, savings, and credit-card accounts you want to track. If you're coming from other software and already have a list, you don't have to re-type it — the Import view has an Accounts tab that reads a whole chart of accounts from a CSV file.
- Get your transactions in. Use the Import view to bring in a CSV or bank file (OFX/QFX) downloaded from your bank, then categorize them in the register.
Once you have some transactions, head to Reports to see your profit & loss, balance sheet, and spending breakdowns.