1. Overview of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite or GRP is the only public financial management (PFM) solution designed exclusively for government. It is a flexible, modular financial management system that starts off simple but can scale to reflect the evolving needs of government and public-sector organizations.

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is a web-based Java-powered platform designed for government financial management. Its applications support centralized environment, but are also flexible enough to accommodate decentralized & hybrid models. This capability allows Government officials, NGO’s and citizens to gain access through authorized users in a secure and stable web base environment.

2. Client-Side System Requirements

There are certain standard client-side requirements that must be met in order for authorized users to access and take advantage of all the benefits of using the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. The following sections detail each of those requirements. Third party software configurations not mentioned within these sections, which are deemed as necessary by clients or FreeBalance implementation specialists, are to be subject of individual risk and impact analysis by FreeBalance Technical and Implementation specialists.

Overview of Client Side

The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is accessed through a secure and stable layer architecture.

The initial point of access is gained through a Web Browser, through an internet or intranet connection. A decoupling point exists between the Client Side and the Server Side, this allows requirements from the Client Side to be independent from those on the Server Side. Providing flexible, yet stable and secure, software configuration combinations.

The Client Side consists of the systems platform that hold the software tools used by end-users to access the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. These systems are conformed at a minimum by a Web Browser and office suite applications used to manage information extracted from the FreeBalance Accountability Suite.

The specific requirements for the Client Side are as follows:

Systems Platform Requirements

This section refers to requirements regarding essential software used at the client end System Platform (personal computer, notebook or laptop). Personal computer and laptops configurations vary depending on the manufacturer, model and year of make of the computer, the following list depicts the minimal recommended configuration that is to be used with the FreeBalance Accountability Suite.

Compatible Operating Systems

• Microsoft Windows versions 7 Pro and 10 Pro
• CentOS Linux 7,8
• Canonical Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, 18.04 LTS

Web Browser Requirements

This section refers to requirements regarding the web browsers compatible with the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. Because of the large number of different web browsers on the market, and their different versions, the list of recommended browsers centers itself around those that are certified and recommended for use with the FreeBalance Accountability Suite.

Recommended Web Browsers

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and 11
• Microsoft Edge
• Mozilla Firefox 68.0
• Google Chrome 75.0.x
• Safari 12.1.2

Report Software

This section refers to requirements regarding the custom report generation software compatible with the FreeBalance Accountability Suite.

Compatible software

• Cristal Reports 12.2
• Jaspersoft Reports 6.0.1

Other Software Product Requirements

Other client side applications that are optional are listed below. These applications enable users to exploit the full potential of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite reporting capabilities, allowing them to execute information analysis for quick and effective decision making.

The following versions of office utility suites (word processors, spreadsheet programs, pdf readers) are recommended:

• Microsoft Excel 1997, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016
• Microsoft Word 1997, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016
• Libre Office 4.x, and 5.x
• Open Office 3.x
• Adobe Reader 6.x

3. Server-Side System Requirements

The web application is deployed as a series of layers that offer both stability and security when accessing the information managed through the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. The following sections detail the requirements necessary for providing users with all the benefits of using the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. Third party software configurations not mentioned within these sections, which are deemed as necessary by clients or FreeBalance implementation specialists, are to be subject of individual risk and impact analysis by FreeBalance Technical and Implementation specialists.

Overview of Sever Side

The Server Side consists of the systems platform that hold the software tools used to deploy FreeBalance Accountability Suite’s services to end users. This platform is conformed by a Web Server, Application Server and a Database Server.

Within the Server Side, a decoupling point exists separating the Web, Application and Database Server. Through the use of Hibernate ORM, the FreeBalance Accountability Suite can be seamlessly implemented with different Databases.

The specific requirements for the Server Side are as follows:

Web Server Requirements

This section refers to requirements regarding supported software versions for the Web Server to host the FreeBalance Accountability Suite. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite main services are delivered to the end user through the web page published on this server.

• Apache Web Server 2.4

Application Server Requirements

This section refers to requirements regarding supported software versions for the Application Server to provide the FreeBalance Accountability Suite services. The Application server is compatible with the following software versions:

• Java JVM 6 (1.6.0.45)
• Java JVM 7 (1.7.80)
• Java JVM 8 (1.8.201)
• Apache-tomcat- Version 6.0.45, 7.0.94

Database Requirements

This section refers to requirements regarding supported software versions for the Database Server to host information managed through the FreeBalance Accountability Suite.

Supported DBMS Platforms:

• Oracle MySQL 5.7
• Oracle 9i, 10g, 11g, 12c, 18c
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008, 2012, 2016, 2017

Cluster Deployment Software Requirements

This section refers to requirements regarding supported software versions for deploying a server cluster used by the FreeBalance Accountability Suite.

• Apache Active MQ 5.10.2

4. Compatibility Matrix

The following table summarizes the current compatibility matrix for FreeBalance Accountability Suite implementations.