Setup Akaunting Platform on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.2-FPM

Akaunting platform works great with Apache2 web server. However, for those wanting to run it with Nginx HTTP server, the steps below should be a great place to start. Our previous tutorial showed how to install with Apache2. this one shows you how to use Nginx instead.

When deciding on free open source platform to manage your invoices, quotes and finances, you may want to look up Akaunting. This accounting platform has all the tools you need to manage your money online, for free.

Akaunting is an open source, self-hosted application for managing quotes, invoices, payments and accounting. It’s based on the LAMP / LEMP stack. It is designed from the ground up for ease of use and allows you to see your financials online anytime, anywhere on your computer, tablet or phone.

When looking for an enterprise accounting platform for your business, Akaunting is a good place to start. Everything you need to manage your finances and track of all of your payments, invoices, expenses, etc. in one place on your own servers.

For more about Akaunting, please visit its homepage.

This brief tutorial is going to show students and new users how to install Akaunting on Ubuntu 16.04 and 18.04 LTS with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.2-FPM support.

To get started with installing Akaunting, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install Nginx

Akaunting requires a webserver and the second most popular webserver in use today is Nginx. So, go and install Nginx on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enableNginx service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

Step 2: Install MariaDB

Akaunting also requires a database server. and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.

Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run these on Ubuntu 17.10 and 18.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server by creating a root password and disallowing remote root access.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

  • Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
  • Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
  • New password: Enter password
  • Re-enter new password: Repeat password
  • Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
  • Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
  • Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
  • Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mysql.service

Step 3: Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules

PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available on Ubuntu default repositories… in order to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2-FPM

sudo apt update

Run the commands below to install PHP 7.2-FPM and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.2-fpm php7.2-common php7.2-imap php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-soap php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-intl php7.2-mysql php7.2-cli php7.2-ldap php7.2-zip php7.2-curl

After install PHP, run the commands below to open Nginx PHP default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/php.ini

Then make the change the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 20M
post_max_size = 20M
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
max_execution_time = 30
zend.assertions = 0
display_errors = Off
max_input_vars = 1500
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Step 4: Create Akaunting Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create Akaunting database.

Run the commands below to logon to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called akaunting

CREATE DATABASE akaunting;

Create a database user called akauntinguser with new password

CREATE USER 'akauntinguser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON akaunting.* TO 'akauntinguser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download Akaunting Latest Release

Next, visit Akaunting site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into Nginx root directory.

sudo apt install curl
cd /tmp && curl -O -J -L 
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/akaunting
sudo unzip Akaunting_1.2.12-Stable.zip -d /var/www/html/akaunting/

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for Concrete5 to function.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/akaunting/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/akaunting/

Step 6: Configure Nginx

Finally, configure Apahce2 site configuration file for Akaunting. This file will control how users access Akaunting content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called akaunting

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/akaunting

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/akaunting;
    index index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 100M;

    location / {
          try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php$is_args$args;
    }
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass       unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param      SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
     }

}

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the Akaunting Site

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/akaunting /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Step 8 : Restart Nginx

To load all the settings above, restart Nginx by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see Akaunting setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

Then follow the on-screen instructions until you’ve successfully installed Akaunting. First select your language and continue

Akaunting Ubuntu install

From here, you should confirm all required packages are installed. setup the database connection info and click Next.

Akaunting ubuntu setup

Next, type in the business name and admin account.

Akaunting ubuntu install

If everyting is configured correctly, you should have a Akaunting successfully installed..

Akaunting

Enjoy!

You may also like the post below: