How to Setup Akaunting CMS with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

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

When deciding on a 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.

For more about Akaunting, please visit its homepage.

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

Install Nginx

Akaunting requires a web server, and the second most popular web server 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 enable the Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.

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

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 stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to 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 the 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

Install PHP 7.2-FPM and Related Modules

PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available on Ubuntu default repositories… 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 installing PHP, run the commands below to open the Nginx PHP default file.

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

Then change to 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

Create Akaunting Database

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

Run the commands below to log on 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 a 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;

Download Akaunting Latest Release

Next, visit the Akaunting site and download the latest version.

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

sudo apt install curl
cd /tmp && curl -O -J -L https://akaunting.com/download.php?version=latest
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/

Configure Nginx

Finally, configure the 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 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.

Enable the Akaunting Site

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

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

Restart Nginx by running the commands below to load all the settings above.

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

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