Coding an accounting database from scratch? My new medical practice is picking up fast and my homemade Libreoffice Calc spreadsheet is quickly becoming cumbersome to track patient visits, accounts receivable, overhead reconciliation, etc.  Most practices use some sort of practice management software to handle accounting as well as scheduling, paying bills, submitting insurance claims, etc. but my budget can't afford to pay for overpriced software.  Besides, I like to do things my own way, as well as support open source software.  (I've already determined that I don't need this function to come from my electronic charts)

Google searching didn't yield any templates and all of the accounting programs found were built for traditional businesses with purchasing, warehousing, human resource management, etc. that aren't adaptable for my needs and are unusable.  You wouldn't think that I would be the first physician to attempt something like this, but the only thing that I could find is a design plan here: http://www.databaseanswers.org/data_models/

So now, I'm considering importing my spreadsheet into Libreoffice Base and slowly developing a custom accounting program for myself.  However, I have no experience with databases and I don't want to spend a large amount of time on this if the amount or complexity of coding is beyond what I am willing to sacrifice from my study time.  After browsing through textbooks at the local B&amp;N, the first 1/3 of most books on MySQL, Filemaker Pro, and Access seem applicable for what is needed (complex mathematical modeling and data analysis is overkill), but I'm still hesitant about heading into this endeavor if the work load is larger than I care to handle.

So, is it doable for someone with remote programming experience (qbasic, visual basic) and basic spreadsheet knowledge to code a simple custom accounting database?  If so, is LibreOffice Base sufficient? What program or textbook would you recommend?

Thank you!
I have used almost all accounting software, currently use and modify Sql-Ledger - and so turning my database client's workflow system into a full, double-entry accounting system was so easy it was almost a relief; client had been using my system to bill their own (news-copy) clients because their internal itemisation of services spoke their own language whereas no accounting package would. Their accounts section then had to go and reproduce it all again externally for book keeping.

Finally the client's accountant and I sat down and exchanged notes. I modified the application within a week. It has never broken, produced a bug, or failed. It does all their accounts and no none else's. It tracks assets, cash flow, everything except payroll - which they didn't need.

Every business of any size knows, you just can't get anything off the shelf that works. 

My advice is don't listen to the doom-and-gloom advice of anybody who doesn't understand both database schema and accounting. This combination seems to be just unusual enough to have software vendors rubbing their hands with glee, issuing warnings of dire consequences to would-be developers, spending most of their time organising vendor-lockin components to their software, or arrangements with large accounting franchises. And, like successful snake-oil vendors, they laugh all the way to the bank.