[Gnucash-changes] r13805 - gnucash-docs/trunk - update with Bengt
Thuree's revsions
Chris Lyttle
wilddev at cvs.gnucash.org
Wed Apr 19 00:41:25 EDT 2006
Author: wilddev
Date: 2006-04-19 00:39:02 -0400 (Wed, 19 Apr 2006)
New Revision: 13805
Trac: http://svn.gnucash.org/trac/changeset/13805
Removed:
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_accounts.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_filesave.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_gcashdata.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_gcashdata2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_import.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_mainwin.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_multitxn.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_newuser.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_preference.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_registerwin.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_simple_paycheck.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_tipofday.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/basics_txn.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cbook_gcashdata2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cbook_register.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_puttoget1.png
Modified:
gnucash-docs/trunk/ChangeLog
gnucash-docs/trunk/configure.in
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_basics.xml
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cbook.xml
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cc.xml
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_oview.xml
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_txns.xml
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/accts_toplevel.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/accts_tree.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_accounts.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_final.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_interest.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_payment.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_purchases.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_reconcile.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_reconcile_init.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/cc_refund.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_reconcile_window1.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_reconcile_window2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_register_2account.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_register_2account2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_register_multiaccount.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_registersplit2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_registersplit3.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor1.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor3.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor4.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor5.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor6.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor7.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor8.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger1.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger2.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger3.png
gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger4.png
Log:
update with Bengt Thuree's revsions
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/ChangeLog
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/ChangeLog 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/ChangeLog 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,3 +1,112 @@
+2006-04-18 Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
+
+ * configure.in: Changed to 1.9.0
+
+ * Removed the following:
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_register.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_gcashdata.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_gcashdata2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_simple_paycheck.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_import.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_accounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_gcashdata2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_txn.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_preference.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_newuser.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_filesave.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_mainwin.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_tipofday.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_multitxn.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_puttoget1.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_registerwin.png'
+
+ * Updated the following (from Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>):
+ 'guide/C/ch_accts.xml'
+ 'guide/C/ch_basics.xml'
+ 'guide/C/ch_cbook.xml'
+ 'guide/C/ch_cc.xml'
+ 'guide/C/ch_oview.xml'
+ 'guide/C/ch_txns.xml'
+
+ * Added the following new screenshots (from Bengt Thuree
+ <bengt at thuree.com>):
+ 'guide/C/figures/oview_intro.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_AccountRelationships.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Accounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_CheckAccount.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_compact.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_expanded.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_salary.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_SalarySplit.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_EmptyAccounts2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_EmptyAccounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_Accounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_currency.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_Finish.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_Setup.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_AccountingPeriod.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_Accounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_Business.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_DateTime.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_General.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_OnlineBanking.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_RegisterDefaults.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_Register.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_Reports.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_ScheduledTransactions.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_Preferences_Windows.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_QIF_Import_welcome.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_SaveAs.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/basics_TipOfDay.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/accts_CreateAssetsAccount.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/accts_DefaultExpenseAccounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/accts_DefaultIncomeAccounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/accts_toplevel.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/accts_tree.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_puttoget_Charts1.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_puttoget_Charts2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_puttoget_Charts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_reconcile_window1.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_reconcile_window2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_reconcile_window3.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_register_2account2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_register_2account.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_register_multiaccount.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_registersplit2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_registersplit3.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor1.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor3.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor4.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor5.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor6.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor7.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_editor8.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger1.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger3.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_gcashdata4.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_bankstmt.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_chartaccts5.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_checkexamp.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_atm.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_reconciledCheckAct.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_reconexamp.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_servch.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cbook_transferin.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_accounts.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_final.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_interest.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_payment.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_purchases.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_reconcile.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_reconcile_init.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_refund.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_Reversing_Transaction_1.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/cc_Reversing_Transaction_2.png'
+ 'guide/C/figures/txns_sxn_ledger4.png'
+
2005-11-18 Christian Stimming <stimming at tuhh.de>
* autogen.sh: Simplify autogen script; remove the automatic call
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/configure.in
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/configure.in 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/configure.in 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@
dnl ====================================
AM_CONFIG_HEADER(config.h)
-AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(gnucash-docs,1.8.5)
+AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(gnucash-docs,1.9.0)
AM_PROG_LIBTOOL
dnl
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,375 +1,629 @@
<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
+ Version: 1.9.0
+ Last modified: April 16th 2006
Version: 1.8.4
Last modified: April 10th 2004
Maintainers:
Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br>
+ Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>
Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
<chapter id="chapter3">
-<title>Accounts</title>
-<para>
-This chapter will discuss some useful concepts for organizing your accounts. Since GnuCash does not impose any specific account tree layout, you are free to design your account structure in any manner you wish. However, there are a few basic accounting concepts which you will probably want to follow when designing your accounts to maximize their utility.
-</para>
+ <title>Accounts</title>
- <sect1 id="accts_concepts1">
- <title>Basic Accounting Concepts</title>
-<para>As we saw in the previous chapter, accounting is based on 5 basic account types: <guilabel>Assets</guilabel>, <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>, <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>, <guilabel>Income</guilabel> and <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>. We will now expand on our understanding of these account types, and show how they are represented in GnuCash. But first, let's divide them into 2 groups, the balance sheet accounts and the income and expense accounts.</para>
+ <para>This chapter will discuss some useful concepts for organizing your
+ accounts. Since GnuCash does not impose any specific account tree layout,
+ you are free to design your account structure in any manner you wish.
+ However, there are a few basic accounting concepts which you will probably
+ want to follow when designing your accounts to maximize their
+ utility.</para>
- <sect2 id="accts_bsa2">
-<title>Balance Sheet Accounts</title>
-<para>The three so-called <emphasis>Balance Sheet Accounts</emphasis> are <guilabel>Assets</guilabel>, <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>. Balance Sheet Accounts are used to track the changes in value of things you own or owe.
-</para>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Assets</guilabel> is the group of things that you own. Your assets could include a car, cash, a house, stocks, or anything else that has convertible value. Convertible value means that theoretically you could sell the item for cash.
-</para>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel> is the group of things on which you owe money. Your liabilities could include a car loan, a student loan, a mortgage, your investment margin account, or anything else which you must pay back at some time.
-</para>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Equity</guilabel> is the same as "net worth." It represents what is left over after you subtract your liabilities from your assets. It can be thought of as the portion of your assets that you own outright, without any debt.
-</para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="accts_ie2">
-<title>Income and Expense Accounts</title>
-<para>
-The two <guilabel>Income and Expense Accounts</guilabel> are used to increase or decrease the value of your accounts. Thus, while the balance sheet accounts simply <emphasis>track</emphasis> the value of the things you own or owe, income and expense accounts allow you to <emphasis>change</emphasis> the value of these accounts.
-</para>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Income</guilabel> is the payment you receive for your time, services you provide, or the use of your money. When you receive a paycheck, for example, that check is a payment for labor you provided to an employer. Other examples of income include commissions, tips, dividend income from stocks, and interest income from bank accounts. Income will always increase the value of your Assets and thus your Equity.
-</para>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Expenses</guilabel> refer to money you spend to purchase goods or services provided by someone else. Examples of expenses are a meal at a restaurant, rent, groceries, gas for your car, or tickets to see a play. Expenses will always decrease your Equity. If you pay for the expense immediately, you will decrease your Assets, whereas if you pay for the expense on credit you increase your Liabilities.
-</para>
- </sect2>
- </sect1>
+ <sect1 id="accts-concepts1">
+ <title>Basic Accounting Concepts</title>
- <sect1 id="accts_types1">
- <title>GnuCash Accounts</title>
+ <para>As we saw in the previous chapter, accounting is based on 5 basic
+ account types: <guilabel>Assets</guilabel>,
+ <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>, <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>,
+ <guilabel>Income</guilabel> and <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>. We will now
+ expand on our understanding of these account types, and show how they are
+ represented in GnuCash. But first, let's divide them into 2 groups, the
+ balance sheet accounts and the income and expense accounts.</para>
-<para>This section will show how the GnuCash definition of an account fits into the view of the 5 basic accounting types.</para>
-<para>
-But first, let's begin with a definition of an <guilabel>account</guilabel> in GnuCash. A GnuCash <guilabel>account</guilabel> is an entity which contains other sub-accounts, or that contains <guilabel>transactions</guilabel>. Since an account can contain other accounts, you often see <guilabel>account trees</guilabel> in GnuCash, in which logically associated accounts reside within a common parent account.
-</para>
-<para>
-A GnuCash account must have a unique name (that you assign) and one of the predefined GnuCash "account types". There are a total of 13 account types in GnuCash. These 13 account types are based on the 5 basic accounting types, the reason there are more GnuCash account types than basic accounting types is that this allows GnuCash to perform specialized tracking and handling of certain accounts. There are 7 asset accounts (<emphasis>Cash</emphasis>, <emphasis>Bank</emphasis>, <emphasis>Stock</emphasis>, <emphasis>Mutual Fund</emphasis>, <emphasis>Currency</emphasis>, <emphasis>Accounts Receivable</emphasis>, and <emphasis>Asset</emphasis> ), 3 liability accounts (<emphasis>Credit Card</emphasis>, <emphasis>Accounts Payable</emphasis>, and <emphasis>Liability</emphasis>, ), 1 equity account (<emphasis>Equity</emphasis>), 1 income account (<emphasis>Income</emphasis>), and 1 expense account (<emphasis>Expense</emphasis>).
-</para>
+ <para>Lets have a quick look at the Accounting Equation (<emphasis>Assets
+ - Liabilities = Equity + (Income - Expenses)</emphasis>) again as a
+ reminder, before we go deeper into each account type.</para>
-<para>
-These GnuCash account types are presented in more detail below.
-</para>
+ <screenshot id="basics-AccountRelationships">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_AccountRelationships.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Jon Lapham" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
- <sect2 id="accts_gc_bsa2">
- <title>Balance Sheet Accounts</title>
-<para>
-The first balance sheet account we will examine is <emphasis>Assets</emphasis>, which, as you remember from the previous section, refers to things you own.
-</para>
-<para>
-To help you organize your asset accounts and to simplify transaction entry, GnuCash supports several types of asset accounts:
-</para>
-<orderedlist>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Cash</guilabel> Use this account to track the money you have on hand, in your wallet, in your piggy bank, under your mattress, or wherever you choose to keep it handy. This is the most <emphasis>liquid</emphasis>, or easily traded, type of asset.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Bank</guilabel> This account is used to track your cash balance that you keep in institutions such as banks, credit unions, savings and loan, or brokerage firms - wherever someone else safeguards your money. This is the second most <emphasis>liquid</emphasis> type of account, because you can easily convert it to cash on hand.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Stock</guilabel> Track your individual stocks and bonds using this type of account. The stock account's register provides extra columns for entering number of shares and price of your investment. With these types of assets, you may not be able to easily convert them to cash unless you can find a buyer, and you are not guaranteed to get the same amount of cash you paid for them.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Mutual Fund</guilabel> This is similar to the stock account, except that it is used to track funds. Its account register provides the same extra columns for entering share and price information. Funds represent ownership shares of a variety of investments, and like stocks they do not offer any guaranteed cash value.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Currency</guilabel> If you trade other currencies as investments, you can use this type of account to keep track of them. The register is similar to the stock register, except that you enter exchange rates instead of prices.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Accounts Receivable</guilabel> (A/Receivable) This is typically a business use only account in which you place outstanding debts owed to you. It is considered an asset because you should be able to count in these funds arriving.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Asset</guilabel> For personal finances, use this type of account to track "big-ticket" item purchases that significantly impact your net worth. Generally, you can think of these as things you insure, such as a house, vehicles, jewelry, and other expensive belongings.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-</orderedlist>
-<tip>
-<para>
-For all GnuCash asset accounts, a <emphasis>debit</emphasis> (left-column value entry) increases the account balance and a <emphasis>credit</emphasis> (right-column value entry) decreases the balance. (See note later in this chapter.)
-</para>
-</tip>
-<para>
-The second balance sheet account is <emphasis>Liabilities</emphasis>, which as you recall, refers to what you owe, money you have borrowed and are obligated to pay back some day. These represent the rights of your lenders to obtain repayment from you. Tracking the liability balances lets you know how much debt you have at a given point in time.
-</para>
-<para>
-GnuCash offers three liability account types:
-</para>
-<orderedlist>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Credit Card</guilabel> Use this to track your credit card receipts and reconcile your credit card statements. Credit cards represent a short-term loan that you are obligated to repay to the credit card company. This type of account can also be used for other short-term loans such as a line of credit from your bank.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Accounts Payable</guilabel> (A/Payable) This is typically a business use only account in which you place bills you have yet to pay.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-<listitem>
-<para>
-<guilabel>Liability</guilabel> Use this type of account for all other loans, generally larger long-term loans such as a mortgage or vehicle loan. This account can help you keep track of how much you owe and how much you have already repaid.
-</para>
-</listitem>
-</orderedlist>
-<tip>
-<para>
-Liabilities in accounting act in an opposite manner from assets: <emphasis>credits</emphasis> (right-column value entries) increase liability account balances and <emphasis>debits</emphasis> (left-column value entries) decrease them. (See note later in this chapter)
-</para>
-</tip>
-<para>
-The final balance sheet account is <emphasis>Equity</emphasis>, which is synonymous with "net worth". It represents what is left over after you subtract your liabilities from your assets, so it is the portion of your assets that you own outright, without any debt. In GnuCash, use this type of account as the source of your opening bank balances, because these balances represent your beginning net worth.
-</para>
-<para>
-There is only a single GnuCash equity account, called naturally enough, <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>.
-</para>
-<tip>
-<para>
-In equity accounts, credits increase account balances and debits decrease them. (See note later in this chapter)
-</para>
-</tip>
-<note>
-<para>
-The accounting equation that links balance-sheet accounts is Assets = Liabilities + Equity or rearranged Assets - Liabilities = Equity. So, in common terms, the <emphasis>things you own</emphasis> minus the <emphasis>things you owe</emphasis> equals your <emphasis>net worth</emphasis>.
-</para>
-</note>
- </sect2>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The basic accounts relationships</phrase>
+ </textobject>
- <sect2 id="accts_gc_ie2">
- <title>Income and Expense Accounts</title>
-<para>
-<emphasis>Income</emphasis> is the payment you receive for your time, services you provide, or the use of your money. In GnuCash, use an <guilabel>Income</guilabel> type account to track these.
-</para>
-<tip>
-<para>
-Credits increase income account balances and debits decrease them. As described in Chapter 2, credits represent money transferred <emphasis>from</emphasis> an account. So in these special income accounts, when you transfer money <emphasis>from</emphasis> (credit) the income account to another account, the balance of the income account <emphasis>increases</emphasis>. For example, when you deposit a paycheck and record the transaction as a transfer from an income account to a bank account, the balances of both accounts increase.
-</para>
-</tip>
-<para>
-<emphasis>Expenses</emphasis> refer to money you spend to purchase goods or services provided by someone else. In GnuCash, use an <guilabel>Expense</guilabel> type account to track your expenses.
-</para>
-<tip>
-<para>
-Debits increase expense account balances and credits decrease them. (See note later in this chapter.)
-</para>
-</tip>
-<note>
-<para>
-When you subtract total expenses from total income for a time period, you get net income. This net income is then added to the balance sheet as retained earnings, which is a type of <guilabel>Equity</guilabel> account.
+ <caption>
+ <para>A graphical view of the relationship between the 5 basic
+ accounts. Net worth (equity) increases through income and decreases
+ through expenses. The arrows represent the movement of value.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
-(Insert a chart that shows common accounts and recommended account types for these)
-</para>
-</note>
+ <sect2 id="accts-bsa2">
+ <title>Balance Sheet Accounts</title>
-<sidebar><title>More on Debits and Credits</title>
-<para>
-Remember the terms debit and credit discussed in Chapter 2? Contrary to popular belief and even some dictionary definitions, accounting debits and credits do not mean decrease and increase. The only constant definition of debits and credits is that debits are left-column entries and credits are right-column entries. In fact, debits and credits each increase certain types of accounts and decrease others. In asset and expense type accounts, debits increase the balance and credits decrease the balance. In liability, equity and income type accounts, credits increase the balance and debits decrease the balance.
-</para>
-<para>
-For example, debits <emphasis>increase</emphasis> your bank account balance and credits <emphasis>decrease</emphasis> your bank account balance. Wait a minute, you might say, a <emphasis>debit</emphasis> card <emphasis>decreases</emphasis> the balance in my checking account, because I take money out of it. And when the bank gives me money back on something, they <emphasis>credit</emphasis> my account. So why is this reversed in accounting?
-</para>
-<para>
-Banks report transactions from <emphasis>their</emphasis> perspective, not yours. Their perspective is exactly opposite to yours. To you, your bank account represents an asset, something you own. To the bank, your bank account represents a loan, or liability, because they owe you that money. As explained in this chapter, asset and liability accounts are exact opposites in the way they behave. In a liability account, debits <emphasis>decrease</emphasis> the balance and credits <emphasis>increase</emphasis> the balance.
-</para>
-<para>
-When you take money out of your bank account, the balance in your account decreases. To you, this is a decrease in an asset, so you <emphasis>credit</emphasis> your bank account. To the bank, this is a decrease in a liability, so they <emphasis>debit</emphasis> your bank account.
-</para>
-</sidebar>
- </sect2>
+ <para>The three so-called <emphasis>Balance Sheet Accounts</emphasis>
+ are <guilabel>Assets</guilabel>, <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>, and
+ <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>. Balance Sheet Accounts are used to track
+ the changes in value of things you own or owe.</para>
+
+ <para><guilabel>Assets</guilabel> is the group of things that you own.
+ Your assets could include a car, cash, a house, stocks, or anything else
+ that has convertible value. Convertible value means that theoretically
+ you could sell the item for cash.</para>
+
+ <para><guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel> is the group of things on which
+ you owe money. Your liabilities could include a car loan, a student
+ loan, a mortgage, your investment margin account, or anything else which
+ you must pay back at some time.</para>
+
+ <para><guilabel>Equity</guilabel> is the same as "net worth." It
+ represents what is left over after you subtract your liabilities from
+ your assets. It can be thought of as the portion of your assets that you
+ own outright, without any debt.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="accts-ie2">
+ <title>Income and Expense Accounts</title>
+
+ <para>The two <guilabel>Income and Expense Accounts</guilabel> are used
+ to increase or decrease the value of your accounts. Thus, while the
+ balance sheet accounts simply <emphasis>track</emphasis> the value of
+ the things you own or owe, income and expense accounts allow you to
+ <emphasis>change</emphasis> the value of these accounts.</para>
+
+ <para><guilabel>Income</guilabel> is the payment you receive for your
+ time, services you provide, or the use of your money. When you receive a
+ paycheck, for example, that check is a payment for labor you provided to
+ an employer. Other examples of income include commissions, tips,
+ dividend income from stocks, and interest income from bank accounts.
+ Income will always increase the value of your Assets and thus your
+ Equity.</para>
+
+ <para><guilabel>Expenses</guilabel> refer to money you spend to purchase
+ goods or services provided by someone else. Examples of expenses are a
+ meal at a restaurant, rent, groceries, gas for your car, or tickets to
+ see a play. Expenses will always decrease your Equity. If you pay for
+ the expense immediately, you will decrease your Assets, whereas if you
+ pay for the expense on credit you increase your Liabilities.</para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="accts_examples1">
- <title>Putting It All Together</title>
- <para>
-Let's go through the process of building a common personal finance <emphasis>chart of accounts</emphasis> using the information we have learned from this chapter. A chart of accounts is simply a new GnuCash file in which you groups your accounts to track your finances. In building this chart of accounts, the first task is to divide the items you want to track into the basic account types of accounting. This is fairly simple, let's go through an example.
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="accts-types1">
+ <title>GnuCash Accounts</title>
- <sect2 id="accts_examples_situation2">
- <title>Simple Example</title>
- <para>
-Let us assume you have a checking and a savings account at a bank, and are employed and thus receive a paycheck. You have a credit card (Visa), and you pay monthly utilities in the form of rent, phone, and electricity. Naturally, you also need to buy groceries. For now, we will not worry about how much money you have in the bank, how much you owe on the credit card, etc. We want to simply build the framework for this chart of accounts.
- </para>
- <para>
-Your <guilabel>assets</guilabel> would be the bank savings and checking account. Your
-<guilabel>liabilities</guilabel> are the credit card. Your <guilabel>Equity</guilabel> would be the starting values of your bank accounts and credit card (we do not have those amounts yet, but we know they exist). You have <guilabel>income</guilabel> in the form of a salary, and <guilabel>expenses</guilabel> in the form of groceries, rent, electricity, phone, and taxes (Federal, Social Security, Medicare) on your salary. Simple, isn't it?
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>This section will show how the GnuCash definition of an account fits
+ into the view of the 5 basic accounting types.</para>
- <sect2 id="accts_examples_toplevel2">
- <title>The Basic Top Level Accounts</title>
- <para>
-Now, we must decide how you want to group these accounts. Most likely, you want your assets groups together, your liabilities grouped together, your Equity grouped together, your income grouped together, and your expenses grouped together. This is the most common way of building a GnuCash chart of accounts, and it is highly recommended that you always begin this way.
- </para>
- <para>
-Start with a clean GnuCash file (do not select any predefined accounts) and build this basic starting account structure (<guilabel>File</guilabel> -> <guilabel>New Account...</guilabel>).
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Assets</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Assets</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Equity</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Income</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Income</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level account</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- </para>
+ <para>But first, let's begin with a definition of an
+ <guilabel>account</guilabel> in GnuCash. A GnuCash
+ <guilabel>account</guilabel> is an entity which contains other
+ sub-accounts, or that contains <guilabel>transactions</guilabel>. Since an
+ account can contain other accounts, you often see <guilabel>account
+ trees</guilabel> in GnuCash, in which logically associated accounts reside
+ within a common parent account.</para>
- <screenshot id="accts_toplevel">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_toplevel.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Basic Top-level Accounts</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the basic top-level accounts.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <para>A GnuCash account must have a unique name (that you assign) and one
+ of the predefined GnuCash "account types". There are a total of 12 account
+ types in GnuCash. These 12 account types are based on the 5 basic
+ accounting types, the reason there are more GnuCash account types than
+ basic accounting types is that this allows GnuCash to perform specialized
+ tracking and handling of certain accounts. There are 6 asset accounts
+ (<emphasis>Cash</emphasis>, <emphasis>Bank</emphasis>,
+ <emphasis>Stock</emphasis>, <emphasis>Mutual Fund</emphasis>,
+ <emphasis>Accounts Receivable</emphasis>, and <emphasis>Asset</emphasis>
+ ), 3 liability accounts (<emphasis>Credit Card</emphasis>,
+ <emphasis>Accounts Payable</emphasis>, and <emphasis>Liability</emphasis>,
+ ), 1 equity account (<emphasis>Equity</emphasis>), 1 income account
+ (<emphasis>Income</emphasis>), and 1 expense account
+ (<emphasis>Expense</emphasis>).</para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>These GnuCash account types are presented in more detail
+ below.</para>
- <sect2 id="accts_examples_organization2">
- <title>Making Sub-Accounts</title>
- <para>
-We can now add to this basic top-level tree structure by inserting some real transaction-holding sub-accounts. Notice that the tax accounts are placed within a sub-account named "Taxes". You can make sub-accounts within sub-accounts. This is typically done with a group of related accounts (such as tax accounts in this example).
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Checking</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Bank</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Asset</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Savings</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Bank</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Asset</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Visa</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Credit Card</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Salary</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Income</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Income</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Phone</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Electricity</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Rent</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Groceries</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Taxes</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Federal</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Social Security</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Medicare</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Account name <guilabel>Starting Balances</guilabel> (account type <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- </para>
+ <sect2 id="accts-gc-bsa2">
+ <title>Balance Sheet Accounts</title>
- <screenshot id="accts_tree">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_tree.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>The first balance sheet account we will examine is
+ <emphasis>Assets</emphasis>, which, as you remember from the previous
+ section, refers to things you own.</para>
+
+ <para>To help you organize your asset accounts and to simplify
+ transaction entry, GnuCash supports several types of asset
+ accounts:</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Cash</guilabel> Use this account to track the money
+ you have on hand, in your wallet, in your piggy bank, under your
+ mattress, or wherever you choose to keep it handy. This is the most
+ <emphasis>liquid</emphasis>, or easily traded, type of asset.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Bank</guilabel> This account is used to track your
+ cash balance that you keep in institutions such as banks, credit
+ unions, savings and loan, or brokerage firms - wherever someone else
+ safeguards your money. This is the second most
+ <emphasis>liquid</emphasis> type of account, because you can easily
+ convert it to cash on hand.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Stock</guilabel> Track your individual stocks and
+ bonds using this type of account. The stock account's register
+ provides extra columns for entering number of shares and price of
+ your investment. With these types of assets, you may not be able to
+ easily convert them to cash unless you can find a buyer, and you are
+ not guaranteed to get the same amount of cash you paid for
+ them.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Mutual Fund</guilabel> This is similar to the stock
+ account, except that it is used to track funds. Its account register
+ provides the same extra columns for entering share and price
+ information. Funds represent ownership shares of a variety of
+ investments, and like stocks they do not offer any guaranteed cash
+ value.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Accounts Receivable</guilabel> (A/Receivable) This
+ is typically a business use only account in which you place
+ outstanding debts owed to you. It is considered an asset because you
+ should be able to count in these funds arriving.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Asset</guilabel> For personal finances, use this
+ type of account to track "big-ticket" item purchases that
+ significantly impact your net worth. Generally, you can think of
+ these as things you insure, such as a house, vehicles, jewelry, and
+ other expensive belongings.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <tip>
+ <para>For all GnuCash asset accounts, a <emphasis>debit</emphasis>
+ (left-column value entry) increases the account balance and a
+ <emphasis>credit</emphasis> (right-column value entry) decreases the
+ balance. (See note later in this chapter.)</para>
+ </tip>
+
+ <para>The second balance sheet account is
+ <emphasis>Liabilities</emphasis>, which as you recall, refers to what
+ you owe, money you have borrowed and are obligated to pay back some day.
+ These represent the rights of your lenders to obtain repayment from you.
+ Tracking the liability balances lets you know how much debt you have at
+ a given point in time.</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash offers three liability account types:</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Credit Card</guilabel> Use this to track your credit
+ card receipts and reconcile your credit card statements. Credit
+ cards represent a short-term loan that you are obligated to repay to
+ the credit card company. This type of account can also be used for
+ other short-term loans such as a line of credit from your
+ bank.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Accounts Payable</guilabel> (A/Payable) This is
+ typically a business use only account in which you place bills you
+ have yet to pay.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Liability</guilabel> Use this type of account for
+ all other loans, generally larger long-term loans such as a mortgage
+ or vehicle loan. This account can help you keep track of how much
+ you owe and how much you have already repaid.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <tip>
+ <para>Liabilities in accounting act in an opposite manner from assets:
+ <emphasis>credits</emphasis> (right-column value entries) increase
+ liability account balances and <emphasis>debits</emphasis>
+ (left-column value entries) decrease them. (See note later in this
+ chapter)</para>
+ </tip>
+
+ <para>The final balance sheet account is <emphasis>Equity</emphasis>,
+ which is synonymous with "net worth". It represents what is left over
+ after you subtract your liabilities from your assets, so it is the
+ portion of your assets that you own outright, without any debt. In
+ GnuCash, use this type of account as the source of your opening bank
+ balances, because these balances represent your beginning net
+ worth.</para>
+
+ <para>There is only a single GnuCash equity account, called naturally
+ enough, <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>.</para>
+
+ <tip>
+ <para>In equity accounts, credits increase account balances and debits
+ decrease them. (See note later in this chapter)</para>
+ </tip>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>The accounting equation that links balance-sheet accounts is
+ Assets = Liabilities + Equity or rearranged Assets - Liabilities =
+ Equity. So, in common terms, the <emphasis>things you own</emphasis>
+ minus the <emphasis>things you owe</emphasis> equals your
+ <emphasis>net worth</emphasis>.</para>
+ </note>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="accts-gc-ie2">
+ <title>Income and Expense Accounts</title>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Income</emphasis> is the payment you receive for your
+ time, services you provide, or the use of your money. In GnuCash, use an
+ <guilabel>Income</guilabel> type account to track these.</para>
+
+ <tip>
+ <para>Credits increase income account balances and debits decrease
+ them. As described in Chapter 2, credits represent money transferred
+ <emphasis>from</emphasis> an account. So in these special income
+ accounts, when you transfer money <emphasis>from</emphasis> (credit)
+ the income account to another account, the balance of the income
+ account <emphasis>increases</emphasis>. For example, when you deposit
+ a paycheck and record the transaction as a transfer from an income
+ account to a bank account, the balances of both accounts
+ increase.</para>
+ </tip>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Expenses</emphasis> refer to money you spend to purchase
+ goods or services provided by someone else. In GnuCash, use an
+ <guilabel>Expense</guilabel> type account to track your expenses.</para>
+
+ <tip>
+ <para>Debits increase expense account balances and credits decrease
+ them. (See note later in this chapter.)</para>
+ </tip>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>When you subtract total expenses from total income for a time
+ period, you get net income. This net income is then added to the
+ balance sheet as retained earnings, which is a type of
+ <guilabel>Equity</guilabel> account.</para>
+ </note>
+
+ <para>Below are the standard <guilabel>Income</guilabel> and
+ <guilabel>Expense</guilabel> accounts after selecting <guilabel>Common
+ Accounts</guilabel> in the Druid for creating a new Account Hierarchy
+ (<guimenu>File -> New -> New Account Hierarchy</guimenu>).</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="accts-DefaultIncomeAccounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_DefaultIncomeAccounts.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Basic Chart of Accounts</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows a simple chart of accounts.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Default income accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the standard<guilabel>income</guilabel>
+ accounts</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ <screenshot id="accts-DefaultExpenseAccounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_DefaultExpenseAccounts.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Some default expense accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows some standard<guilabel>expense</guilabel>
+ accounts</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
</screenshot>
- <para>
-Save this chart of accounts somewhere, as we will continue to use it in the later chapters.
- </para>
- <para>
-You have now created a chart of accounts to track a simple household budget. With this basic framework in place, we can now begin to populate the accounts with transactions. The next chapter will cover this subject in greater detail.
- </para>
+ <sidebar>
+ <title>More on Debits and Credits</title>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Remember the terms debit and credit discussed in Chapter 2?
+ Contrary to popular belief and even some dictionary definitions,
+ accounting debits and credits do not mean decrease and increase. The
+ only constant definition of debits and credits is that debits are
+ left-column entries and credits are right-column entries. In fact,
+ debits and credits each increase certain types of accounts and
+ decrease others. In asset and expense type accounts, debits increase
+ the balance and credits decrease the balance. In liability, equity and
+ income type accounts, credits increase the balance and debits decrease
+ the balance.</para>
+ <para>For example, debits <emphasis>increase</emphasis> your bank
+ account balance and credits <emphasis>decrease</emphasis> your bank
+ account balance. Wait a minute, you might say, a
+ <emphasis>debit</emphasis> card <emphasis>decreases</emphasis> the
+ balance in my checking account, because I take money out of it. And
+ when the bank gives me money back on something, they
+ <emphasis>credit</emphasis> my account. So why is this reversed in
+ accounting?</para>
+
+ <para>Banks report transactions from <emphasis>their</emphasis>
+ perspective, not yours. Their perspective is exactly opposite to
+ yours. To you, your bank account represents an asset, something you
+ own. To the bank, your bank account represents a loan, or liability,
+ because they owe you that money. As explained in this chapter, asset
+ and liability accounts are exact opposites in the way they behave. In
+ a liability account, debits <emphasis>decrease</emphasis> the balance
+ and credits <emphasis>increase</emphasis> the balance.</para>
+
+ <para>When you take money out of your bank account, the balance in
+ your account decreases. To you, this is a decrease in an asset, so you
+ <emphasis>credit</emphasis> your bank account. To the bank, this is a
+ decrease in a liability, so they <emphasis>debit</emphasis> your bank
+ account.</para>
+ </sidebar>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- </chapter>
+
+ <sect1 id="accts-examples1">
+ <title>Putting It All Together</title>
+
+ <para>Let's go through the process of building a common personal finance
+ <emphasis>chart of accounts</emphasis> using the information we have
+ learned from this chapter. A chart of accounts is simply a new GnuCash
+ file in which you groups your accounts to track your finances. In building
+ this chart of accounts, the first task is to divide the items you want to
+ track into the basic account types of accounting. This is fairly simple,
+ let's go through an example.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="accts-examples-situation2">
+ <title>Simple Example</title>
+
+ <para>Let us assume you have a checking and a savings account at a bank,
+ and are employed and thus receive a paycheck. You have a credit card
+ (Visa), and you pay monthly utilities in the form of rent, phone, and
+ electricity. Naturally, you also need to buy groceries. For now, we will
+ not worry about how much money you have in the bank, how much you owe on
+ the credit card, etc. We want to simply build the framework for this
+ chart of accounts.</para>
+
+ <para>Your <guilabel>assets</guilabel> would be the bank savings and
+ checking account. Your <guilabel>liabilities</guilabel> are the credit
+ card. Your <guilabel>Equity</guilabel> would be the starting values of
+ your bank accounts and credit card (we do not have those amounts yet,
+ but we know they exist). You have <guilabel>income</guilabel> in the
+ form of a salary, and <guilabel>expenses</guilabel> in the form of
+ groceries, rent, electricity, phone, and taxes (Federal, Social
+ Security, Medicare) on your salary. Simple, isn't it?</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="accts-examples-toplevel2">
+ <title>The Basic Top Level Accounts</title>
+
+ <para>Now, we must decide how you want to group these accounts. Most
+ likely, you want your assets groups together, your liabilities grouped
+ together, your Equity grouped together, your income grouped together,
+ and your expenses grouped together. This is the most common way of
+ building a GnuCash chart of accounts, and it is highly recommended that
+ you always begin this way.</para>
+
+ <para>Start with a clean GnuCash file (do not select any predefined
+ accounts) and build this basic starting account structure
+ (<guilabel>File</guilabel> -> <guilabel>New
+ Account...</guilabel>).</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Assets</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Assets</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level
+ account</guilabel>)</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="accts-CreateAssetsAccounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_CreateAssetsAccount.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Creating an Assets account</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the dialog to create an asset
+ <guilabel>account</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top
+ level account</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Equity</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level
+ account</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Income</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Income</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top level
+ account</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account <guilabel>New top
+ level account</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>When you have created the toplevel accounts, the main Account page
+ in GnuCash should look like below</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="accts-toplevel">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_toplevel.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Basic Top-level Accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the basic top-level accounts.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="accts-examples-organization2">
+ <title>Making Sub-Accounts</title>
+
+ <para>We can now add to this basic top-level tree structure by inserting
+ some real transaction-holding sub-accounts. Notice that the tax accounts
+ are placed within a sub-account named "Taxes". You can make sub-accounts
+ within sub-accounts. This is typically done with a group of related
+ accounts (such as tax accounts in this example). <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Checking</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Bank</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Asset</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Savings</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Bank</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Asset</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Visa</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Credit Card</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Liabilities</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Salary</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Income</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Income</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Phone</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Electricity</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Rent</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Groceries</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Taxes</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Federal</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Social Security</guilabel> (account
+ type <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Medicare</guilabel> (account type
+ <guilabel>Expenses</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Account name <guilabel>Opening Balance</guilabel> (account
+ type <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>, parent account
+ <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>)</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist></para>
+
+ <para>After you have created these additional sub-accounts, the end
+ result should look like below</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="accts-tree">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/accts_tree.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Basic Chart of Accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows a simple chart of accounts.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Save this chart of accounts with the name
+ <filename>gcashdata_3</filename>, as we will continue to use it in the
+ later chapters.</para>
+
+ <para>You have now created a chart of accounts to track a simple
+ household budget. With this basic framework in place, we can now begin
+ to populate the accounts with transactions. The next chapter will cover
+ this subject in greater detail.</para>
+ </sect2>
+ </sect1>
+</chapter>
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_basics.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_basics.xml 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_basics.xml 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,978 +1,2059 @@
<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
+ Version: 1.9.0
+ Last modified: April 16th 2006
Version: 1.8.4
Last modified: April 10th 2004
Maintainers:
Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br>
+ Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>
Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
-
- <chapter id="chapter2">
+<chapter id="chapter2">
<title>The Basics</title>
- <para>This chapter will introduce some of the basics of using GnuCash. It is recommended that you read through this chapter, before starting to do any real work with GnuCash. The chapters which follow this will begin to show you hands on examples.</para>
- <sect1 id="basics_accounting1">
- <title>Accounting Concepts</title>
+ <para>This chapter will introduce some of the basics of using GnuCash. It is
+ recommended that you read through this chapter, before starting to do any
+ real work with GnuCash. The chapters which follow this will begin to show
+ you hands on examples.</para>
-<para>GnuCash is easy enough to use that you do not have to have a complete understanding of accounting principals to find it useful. However, you will find that some basic accounting knowledge will prove to be invaluable as GnuCash was designed using these principals as a template. It is highly recommended that you understand this section of the guide before proceeding.</para>
+ <sect1 id="basics-accounting1">
+ <title>Accounting Concepts</title>
- <sect2 id="basics_accounting52">
- <title>The 5 Basic Accounts</title>
-<para>Basic accounting rules group all finance related things into 5 fundamental types of <quote>accounts</quote>. That is, everything that accounting deals with can be placed into one of these 5 accounts:</para>
+ <para>GnuCash is easy enough to use that you do not have to have a
+ complete understanding of accounting principals to find it useful.
+ However, you will find that some basic accounting knowledge will prove to
+ be invaluable as GnuCash was designed using these principals as a
+ template. It is highly recommended that you understand this section of the
+ guide before proceeding.</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Assets</emphasis> - things you own.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Liabilities</emphasis> - things you owe.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Equity</emphasis> - overall net worth.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Income</emphasis> - increases the value of your accounts.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Expenses</emphasis> - decreases the value of your accounts.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
+ <sect2 id="basics-accounting52">
+ <title>The 5 Basic Accounts</title>
-<para>It is clear that it is possible to categorize your financial world into these 5 groups. For example, the cash in your bank account is an asset, your mortgage is a liability, your paycheck is income, and the cost of dinner last night is an expense.</para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Basic accounting rules group all finance related things into 5
+ fundamental types of <quote>accounts</quote>. That is, everything that
+ accounting deals with can be placed into one of these 5 accounts:</para>
- <sect2 id="basics_accountingequation2">
- <title>The Accounting Equation</title>
-<para>With the 5 basic accounts defined, what is the relationship between them? How does one type of account affect the others? Firstly, equity is defined by assets and liability. That is, your net worth is calculated by subtracting your liabilities from your assets:</para>
-<para><emphasis>Assets - Liabilities = Equity</emphasis></para>
-<para>Furthermore, you can increase your equity through income, and decrease equity through expenses. This makes sense of course, when you receive a paycheck you become "richer" and when you pay for dinner you become "poorer". This is expressed mathematically in what is known as the Accounting Equation:</para>
-<para><emphasis>Assets - Liabilities = Equity + (Income - Expenses)</emphasis></para>
-<para>This equation must always be balanced, a condition that can only be satisfied if you enter values to multiple accounts. For example: if you receive money in the form of income you must see an equal increase in your assets. As another example, you could have an increase in assets if you have a parallel increase in liabilities.</para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Assets</emphasis> - things you own.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <screenshot id="basics_accounts">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_accounts.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Basic Accounts</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>A graphical view of the relationship between the 5 basic accounts. Net worth (equity) increases through income and decreases through expenses. The arrows represent the movement of value.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Liabilities</emphasis> - things you owe.</para>
+ </listitem>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_accountingdouble2">
- <title>Double Entry</title>
-<para>The accounting equation is the very heart of a double entry accounting system. For every change in value of one account in the Accounting Equation, there must be a balancing change in another. This concept is known as the <emphasis>Principle of Balance</emphasis>, and is of fundamental importance for understanding GnuCash and other double entry accounting systems. When you work with GnuCash, you will always be concerned with at least 2 accounts, to keep the Accounting Equation balanced.</para>
- <para>Double entry accounting serves two purposes. The first is to create an accounting trail, money always has to come from somewhere and go to somewhere. Additionally, double entry accounting historically served to double check the math of an accountant. Because the numbers are entered into multiple accounts simultaneously, there are multiple places to check to make sure the totals match. Of course, with the advent of computers, the chances of a mathematical problem are low, but it is good to know that the concept still exists!</para>
- <para>Double entry accounting has been around since the late 15th century, when it was described by an Italian friar, Luca Pacioli. Traditional double entry accounting involves recording each transaction in a book called a ledger, then copying each part of the transaction to separate books called journals. This method is still used in businesses today as a way to avoid entry errors and to track the source of those errors. GnuCash simplifies this traditional accounting by copying part of each transaction for you, so it may not catch some of the entry errors that would show up in traditional accounting. But it will flag transactions that are not balanced, and it will let you know when an account name is missing. </para>
- <note>
- <para>
-Calling this double-entry bookkeeping is a bit misleading; it would be somewhat more accurate to call it multiple- entry bookkeeping, since a transaction can affect more than two accounts. Unfortunately, there's 700 years of history of use of the term, which sufficiently discourages changing it.
- </para>
- </note>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Equity</emphasis> - overall net worth.</para>
+ </listitem>
- </sect2>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Income</emphasis> - increases the value of your
+ accounts.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Expenses</emphasis> - decreases the value of your
+ accounts.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>It is clear that it is possible to categorize your financial world
+ into these 5 groups. For example, the cash in your bank account is an
+ asset, your mortgage is a liability, your paycheck is income, and the
+ cost of dinner last night is an expense.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-accountingequation2">
+ <title>The Accounting Equation</title>
+
+ <para>With the 5 basic accounts defined, what is the relationship
+ between them? How does one type of account affect the others? Firstly,
+ equity is defined by assets and liability. That is, your net worth is
+ calculated by subtracting your liabilities from your assets:</para>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Assets - Liabilities = Equity</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>Furthermore, you can increase your equity through income, and
+ decrease equity through expenses. This makes sense of course, when you
+ receive a paycheck you become "richer" and when you pay for dinner you
+ become "poorer". This is expressed mathematically in what is known as
+ the Accounting Equation:</para>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Assets - Liabilities = Equity + (Income -
+ Expenses)</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>This equation must always be balanced, a condition that can only
+ be satisfied if you enter values to multiple accounts. For example: if
+ you receive money in the form of income you must see an equal increase
+ in your assets. As another example, you could have an increase in assets
+ if you have a parallel increase in liabilities.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-AccountRelationships">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_AccountRelationships.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Jon Lapham" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The basic accounts relationships</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>A graphical view of the relationship between the 5 basic
+ accounts. Net worth (equity) increases through income and
+ decreases through expenses. The arrows represent the movement of
+ value.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-accountingdouble2">
+ <title>Double Entry</title>
+
+ <para>The accounting equation is the very heart of a double entry
+ accounting system. For every change in value of one account in the
+ Accounting Equation, there must be a balancing change in another. This
+ concept is known as the <emphasis>Principle of Balance</emphasis>, and
+ is of fundamental importance for understanding GnuCash and other double
+ entry accounting systems. When you work with GnuCash, you will always be
+ concerned with at least 2 accounts, to keep the Accounting Equation
+ balanced.</para>
+
+ <para>Double entry accounting serves two purposes. The first is to
+ create an accounting trail, money always has to come from somewhere and
+ go to somewhere. Additionally, double entry accounting historically
+ served to double check the math of an accountant. Because the numbers
+ are entered into multiple accounts simultaneously, there are multiple
+ places to check to make sure the totals match. Of course, with the
+ advent of computers, the chances of a mathematical problem are low, but
+ it is good to know that the concept still exists!</para>
+
+ <para>Double entry accounting has been around since the late 15th
+ century, when it was described by an Italian friar, Luca Pacioli.
+ Traditional double entry accounting involves recording each transaction
+ in a book called a ledger, then copying each part of the transaction to
+ separate books called journals. This method is still used in businesses
+ today as a way to avoid entry errors and to track the source of those
+ errors. GnuCash simplifies this traditional accounting by copying part
+ of each transaction for you, so it may not catch some of the entry
+ errors that would show up in traditional accounting. But it will flag
+ transactions that are not balanced, and it will let you know when an
+ account name is missing.</para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>Calling this double-entry bookkeeping is a bit misleading; it
+ would be somewhat more accurate to call it multiple- entry
+ bookkeeping, since a transaction can affect more than two accounts.
+ Unfortunately, there's 700 years of history of use of the term, which
+ sufficiently discourages changing it.</para>
+ </note>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_entry1">
- <title>Data Entry Concepts</title>
+ <sect1 id="basics-entry1">
+ <title>Data Entry Concepts</title>
- <para>When entering data in GnuCash, you should be aware of the 3 levels of organization in which GnuCash divides your data: files, accounts and transactions. These levels are presented in their order of complexity, one file contains many accounts and one account contains many transactions. This division is fundamental to understanding how to use GnuCash.</para>
+ <para>When entering data in GnuCash, you should be aware of the 3 levels
+ of organization in which GnuCash divides your data: files, accounts and
+ transactions. These levels are presented in their order of complexity, one
+ file contains many accounts and one account contains many transactions.
+ This division is fundamental to understanding how to use GnuCash.</para>
- <sect2 id="basics_accounts2">
- <title>Files, Accounts and Transactions</title>
- <para>GnuCash uses <emphasis>files</emphasis> for storing information. GnuCash provides three types of files: data files, backup files, and log files. The main file that you will use to store your data is a data file. You will probably have only one data file that you use for your home data, but GnuCash will automatically save a backup copy for you each time you save that data file. GnuCash also provides log files which can be used to help reconstruct data. Backup and log files are described later in this chapter.</para>
- <para>
-An <emphasis>account</emphasis> is a place for keeping track of what you own, owe, spend or receive. Although you only have one main data file, that file will contain many accounts. You probably already think of money you own or owe as being in an account. For example, at some point you opened checking and savings accounts at a particular bank, and that bank sends you monthly statements showing how much money you <emphasis>own</emphasis> in these accounts. Credit card accounts also send you statements showing what you <emphasis>owe</emphasis> to a credit card company, and the mortgage company may send you periodic statements showing how much you still <emphasis>owe</emphasis> on your loan.
- </para>
- <para>
-In GnuCash, accounts are also used to categorize money you receive or spend, even though these are not physical accounts that receive statements. As we will cover more in Chapter 3, income type accounts are used to categorize money received (like a paycheck), and expense type accounts are used to categorize money spent (for pizza, to pay a bill, etc.) These accounts function much like categories in some other financial programs, with a few advantages discussed in Chapter 3.
- </para>
- <para>
-A <emphasis>transaction</emphasis> represents the movement of money from one account to another account. Whenever you spend or receive money, or transfer money between accounts, that is a transaction. In GnuCash, as we will see in the next section, transactions always involve at least two accounts. Examples of transactions are: paying a bill, transferring money from savings to checking, buying a pizza, withdrawing money, and depositing a paycheck. Chapter 4 goes more in depth on how to enter transactions in GnuCash.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_dbentry2">
- <title>Double Entry</title>
- <para>
-You've probably heard the saying, <quote>Money doesn't grow on trees</quote>. It means that money must come from somewhere - it doesn't just <quote>appear</quote>. <emphasis>Double entry accounting </emphasis> is a method of record-keeping that lets you track just where your money comes from and where it goes. Using double entry means that money is never gained nor lost - an equal amount is always transferred from one place to another. When you withdraw cash, you are transferring money from your bank account to your wallet. When you write a check to the grocery store, you are transferring money from your checking account to the grocery store. And when you deposit a paycheck, you are transferring money from your source of income to your bank account.
- </para>
- <para>
-In GnuCash, these transfers are known as transactions, and each transaction requires at least two accounts. To enter the cash withdrawal, for example, you would enter a transfer of money from a bank account to a cash account. You would record the grocery check as a transfer from a checking account to a groceries expense account. And the paycheck deposit is recorded as a transfer from an income account to a bank account.
- </para>
- <para>
-Unlike traditional accounting packages, GnuCash makes it very easy to enter your double entry transactions. Chapter 4 gives more detail on entering transactions, but for now let's take a general look at how they work. For a basic transaction like writing a check, you first create two accounts: a checking account and an account for the expense. For example, if you write a check to pay for groceries, then you need both a checking account and a groceries account. (See Chapter 3 for more detail on creating accounts.) To record the check, you simply enter a transaction to transfer money from the checking account to the groceries account. In this example, the GnuCash transactions look like this when viewed from the register windows of the checking account:
- <screenshot id="basics_txn">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_txn.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>A Basic Transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows entering the date, description and
- transfer account for a payment of <guilabel>$50</guilabel>
- to the <guilabel>Grocery Store</guilabel>.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-In this transaction, a check is written to <guilabel>Grocery Store</guilabel> for <guilabel>$50</guilabel>. Since this is a double entry transaction, at least two accounts are affected and must be part of the transaction. GnuCash automatically enters the current account name (<guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>) for you so you only enter the other account name affected (<guilabel>Expenses:Groceries</guilabel>).
- </para>
+ <sect2 id="basics-accounts2">
+ <title>Files, Accounts and Transactions</title>
- <note>
- <para>In this example for double entry accounting we used a checking account to pay for the groceries. But, notice that concept is the same no matter what method you use to pay for the groceries. If instead you used a credit card, the double entry accounting would simply involve your Credit Card account instead of the Checking account. </para>
- </note>
+ <para>GnuCash uses <emphasis>files</emphasis> for storing information.
+ GnuCash provides three types of files: data files, backup files, and log
+ files. The main file that you will use to store your data is a data
+ file. You will probably have only one data file that you use for your
+ home data, but GnuCash will automatically save a backup copy for you
+ each time you save that data file. GnuCash also provides log files which
+ can be used to help reconstruct data. Backup and log files are described
+ later in this chapter.</para>
- <para>
-What about your paycheck? You can see that money goes into a bank account, but where does it come from? In double-entry, the money has to come from somewhere. Technically, that money comes from your employer, but you don't care about tracking your employer's accounts. So how do you account for money coming in? In GnuCash, you create a special income type account to track your incoming paychecks. (See Chapter 3 for more information on creating income accounts.) To record the paychecks, you simply enter a transaction to transfer money from the income account to a bank account.
- </para>
- <para>
-Here's what a paycheck deposit looks like in GnuCash.
- <screenshot id="basics_simple_paycheck">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_simple_paycheck.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>A simple paycheck transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows entering the date, description and
- transfer account for a <guilabel>$600</guilabel> <guilabel>
- Salary</guilabel> payment from <guilabel>Employers R
- Us</guilabel>.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-In this example, <guilabel>$600</guilabel> is transferred from a <guilabel>Salary</guilabel> income account to the <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>. Because of the special nature of income accounts, discussed in Chapter 3, this transaction increases both the checking account balance and the income account balance by the amount transferred.
- </para>
+ <para>An <emphasis>account</emphasis> is a place for keeping track of
+ what you own, owe, spend or receive. Although you only have one main
+ data file, that file will contain many accounts. You probably already
+ think of money you own or owe as being in an account. For example, at
+ some point you opened checking and savings accounts at a particular
+ bank, and that bank sends you monthly statements showing how much money
+ you <emphasis>own</emphasis> in these accounts. Credit card accounts
+ also send you statements showing what you <emphasis>owe</emphasis> to a
+ credit card company, and the mortgage company may send you periodic
+ statements showing how much you still <emphasis>owe</emphasis> on your
+ loan.</para>
- <!--
- <para>
-So what if you want to record your gross pay and all the deductions that come out of your check as well? You enter a transaction with <emphasis>multiple splits</emphasis>, which we will cover in section 4.3. In this type of transaction, you are transferring a sum of money from one location to several locations. For any double entry transaction, the <emphasis>total</emphasis> amount of money transferred <emphasis>from</emphasis> accounts must equal the <emphasis>total</emphasis> amount transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis> other accounts.
- </para>
- <para>
-For example, your gross pay might be $1000, but only $655 of that gets deposited in your checking account. The remaining $345 is split between your deductions, such as federal taxes, FICA and state taxes. How do you account for this in GnuCash? First, you should have accounts set up for the gross income (salary), checking, and each of the deductions (See Chapter 3). Then you enter a transaction to transfer $1000 from the <guilabel>Salary</guilabel> account to the other accounts: <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>, <guilabel>Federal</guilabel>, <guilabel>Medicare</guilabel>, <guilabel>Social Security</guilabel> and <guilabel>State/Province</guilabel>. Because this is a double entry transaction, the total amount transferred to these five accounts must equal the original $1000 total coming from the income account. We cover this type of transaction in more detail in Chapter 4, but for now here's a peek at what it looks like:
+ <para>In GnuCash, accounts are also used to categorize money you receive
+ or spend, even though these are not physical accounts that receive
+ statements. As we will cover more in Chapter 3, income type accounts are
+ used to categorize money received (like a paycheck), and expense type
+ accounts are used to categorize money spent (for pizza, to pay a bill,
+ etc.) These accounts function much like categories in some other
+ financial programs, with a few advantages discussed in Chapter 3.</para>
- <screenshot id="basics_multitxn">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_multitxn.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>A Split Paycheck Transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows entering the date, description and
- transfer account for a <guilabel>$1000</guilabel> <guilabel>
- Salary</guilabel> payment from <guilabel>Employers R Us
- </guilabel>. This is then made into a split transaction to
- <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>, <guilabel>Federal
- </guilabel>, <guilabel>Medicare</guilabel>, <guilabel>Social
- Security</guilabel> and <guilabel>State/Province</guilabel>.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- -->
- <para>
-The main principle to remember is that there are at least two parts to every transaction, and the total amount transferred from a set of accounts must equal the total amount transferred to another set of accounts. When a transaction transfers an equal sum from accounts to other accounts, that transaction is said to be <emphasis>in balance</emphasis>. In GnuCash, as in double-entry accounting, you want to have all of your transactions in balance.
- </para>
- <para>
-Why is this important to you? If all of your transactions are in balance, then your money is all accounted for. GnuCash has a record of where that money came from and where it was used. By storing the names of all accounts involved in each transaction, you provide data that can be sorted and viewed in report form later. Reports allow you to see things like how much money you made for the year and where it all went, what your net worth is, and what your taxes might be for the year. The more information you provide when entering transactions, the more detailed your reports will be.
- </para>
- <sidebar><title>Accounting Terminology</title>
- <para>
-Accountants use the terms <emphasis>debit</emphasis> and <emphasis> credit</emphasis> to describe whether money is being transferred <emphasis> to</emphasis> or <emphasis> from</emphasis> an account. Money is recorded in the debit column, which is always the left column, when it is being transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis> an account. Money is recorded in the credit column, which is always the right column, when it is being transferred <emphasis>from</emphasis> an account. Money always flows from the right column of one account to the left column of another account.
- </para>
- <para>
-The main rule of accounting is this: <emphasis>For every transaction, total debits must equal total credits. </emphasis> This is just another way of repeating the double entry rule, that for each transaction, the amount of money transferred <emphasis>from</emphasis> accounts must equal the amount transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis> other accounts
- </para>
- <para>
-You don't have to use the terms debit and credit to use GnuCash, however. GnuCash account registers default to common column headings such as deposit and withdrawal - if you are more comfortable with those headings, use them. If you prefer the credit and debit headings, you can change the column headings to use accounting labels from the menu item <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> <guibutton>General</guibutton> (see section 2.5 for more detail on setting preferences).
- </para>
- </sidebar>
- </sect2>
+ <para>A <emphasis>transaction</emphasis> represents the movement of
+ money from one account to another account. Whenever you spend or receive
+ money, or transfer money between accounts, that is a transaction. In
+ GnuCash, as we will see in the next section, transactions always involve
+ at least two accounts. Examples of transactions are: paying a bill,
+ transferring money from savings to checking, buying a pizza, withdrawing
+ money, and depositing a paycheck. Chapter 4 goes more in depth on how to
+ enter transactions in GnuCash.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-dbentry2">
+ <title>Double Entry</title>
+
+ <para>You've probably heard the saying, <quote>Money doesn't grow on
+ trees</quote>. It means that money must come from somewhere - it doesn't
+ just <quote>appear</quote>. <emphasis>Double entry accounting
+ </emphasis> is a method of record-keeping that lets you track just where
+ your money comes from and where it goes. Using double entry means that
+ money is never gained nor lost - an equal amount is always transferred
+ from one place to another. When you withdraw cash, you are transferring
+ money from your bank account to your wallet. When you write a check to
+ the grocery store, you are transferring money from your checking account
+ to the grocery store. And when you deposit a paycheck, you are
+ transferring money from your source of income to your bank
+ account.</para>
+
+ <para>In GnuCash, these transfers are known as transactions, and each
+ transaction requires at least two accounts. To enter the cash
+ withdrawal, for example, you would enter a transfer of money from a bank
+ account to a cash account. You would record the grocery check as a
+ transfer from a checking account to a groceries expense account. And the
+ paycheck deposit is recorded as a transfer from an income account to a
+ bank account.</para>
+
+ <para>Unlike traditional accounting packages, GnuCash makes it very easy
+ to enter your double entry transactions. Chapter 4 gives more detail on
+ entering transactions, but for now let's take a general look at how they
+ work. For a basic transaction like writing a check, you first create two
+ accounts: a checking account and an account for the expense. For
+ example, if you write a check to pay for groceries, then you need both a
+ checking account and a groceries account. (See Chapter 3 for more detail
+ on creating accounts.) To record the check, you simply enter a
+ transaction to transfer money from the checking account to the groceries
+ account. In this example, the GnuCash transactions look like this when
+ viewed from the register windows of the checking account:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-DoubleEntryIntro-compact">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_compact.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>A Basic Transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows entering the date, description and transfer
+ account for a payment of <guilabel>$50</guilabel> to the
+ <guilabel>Grocery Store</guilabel>.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>In this transaction, a check is written to <guilabel>Grocery
+ Store</guilabel> for <guilabel>$50</guilabel>. Since this is a double
+ entry transaction, at least two accounts are affected and must be part
+ of the transaction. GnuCash automatically enters the current account
+ name (<guilabel>Assets:Checking Account</guilabel>) for you so you only
+ enter the other account name affected
+ (<guilabel>Expenses:Groceries</guilabel>).</para>
+
+ <para>To emphasize that GnuCash stores everything as double entry
+ transactions, we change the view to <guilabel>Transaction
+ Journal</guilabel> and see how it looks.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-DoubleEntryIntro-expanded">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_expanded.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Transaction Journal view of a Basic Transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Transaction
+ Journal</guilabel> of the <guilabel>Checking
+ Account</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Observe that we have one entry for depositing (debiting) the <guilabel>
+ Expense:Groceries</guilabel> account, and one entry for withrawing (crediting)
+ from <guilabel>Assets:Checking Account</guilabel>.</para>
+
+ <para>Lets have a quick look to see how this same transaction looks from the
+ <guilabel>Expense:Groceries</guilabel> account</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-DoubleEntryIntro-Groceries">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_groceries.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>View of a Basic Transaction in Expenses:Groceries</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Transaction
+ Journal</guilabel> of the <guilabel>Groceriesg</guilabel>
+ Account</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+
+ <note>
+ <para>In this example for double entry accounting we used a checking
+ account to pay for the groceries. But, notice that concept is the same
+ no matter what method you use to pay for the groceries. If instead you
+ used a credit card, the double entry accounting would simply involve
+ your Credit Card account instead of the Checking account.</para>
+ </note>
+
+ <para>What about your paycheck? You can see that money goes into a bank
+ account, but where does it come from? In double-entry, the money has to
+ come from somewhere. Technically, that money comes from your employer,
+ but you don't care about tracking your employer's accounts. So how do
+ you account for money coming in? In GnuCash, you create a special income
+ type account to track your incoming paychecks. (See Chapter 3 for more
+ information on creating income accounts.) To record the paychecks, you
+ simply enter a transaction to transfer money from the income account to
+ a bank account.</para>
+
+ <para>Here's what a paycheck deposit looks like in GnuCash.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-DoubleEntryIntro-salary">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_salary.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>A simple paycheck transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows entering the date, description and transfer
+ account for a <guilabel>$600</guilabel> <guilabel>
+ Salary</guilabel> payment from <guilabel>Employers R
+ Us</guilabel>.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>In this example, <guilabel>$600</guilabel> is transferred from a
+ <guilabel>Salary</guilabel> income account to the <guilabel>Checking
+ Account</guilabel>. Because of the special nature of income accounts,
+ discussed in Chapter 3, this transaction increases both the checking
+ account balance and the income account balance by the amount
+ transferred.</para>
+
+ <para>So what if you want to record your gross pay and all the
+ deductions that come out of your check as well? You enter a transaction
+ with <emphasis>multiple splits</emphasis>, which we will cover in
+ section 4.3. In this type of transaction, you are transferring a sum of
+ money from one location to several locations. For any double entry
+ transaction, the <emphasis>total</emphasis> amount of money transferred
+ <emphasis>from</emphasis> accounts must equal the
+ <emphasis>total</emphasis> amount transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis>
+ other accounts.</para>
+
+ <para>For example, your gross pay might be $1000, but only $655 of that
+ gets deposited in your checking account. The remaining $345 is split
+ between your deductions, such as federal taxes, FICA and state taxes.
+ How do you account for this in GnuCash? First, you should have accounts
+ set up for the gross income (salary), checking, and each of the
+ deductions (See Chapter 3). Then you enter a transaction to transfer
+ $1000 from the <guilabel>Salary</guilabel> account to the other
+ accounts: <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>,
+ <guilabel>Federal</guilabel>, <guilabel>Medicare</guilabel>,
+ <guilabel>Social Security</guilabel> and
+ <guilabel>State/Province</guilabel>. Because this is a double entry
+ transaction, the total amount transferred to these five accounts must
+ equal the original $1000 total coming from the income account. We cover
+ this type of transaction in more detail in Chapter 4, but for now here's
+ a peek at what it looks like:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-DoubleEntryIntro-SalarySplit">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_DoubleEntryIntro_SalarySplit.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>A Split Paycheck Transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows entering the date, description and transfer
+ account for a <guilabel>$1000</guilabel> <guilabel>
+ Salary</guilabel> payment from <guilabel>Employers R Us
+ </guilabel>. This is then made into a split transaction to
+ <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>, <guilabel>Federal
+ </guilabel>, <guilabel>Medicare</guilabel>, <guilabel>Social
+ Security</guilabel> and
+ <guilabel>State/Province</guilabel>.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>The main principle to remember is that there are at least two
+ parts to every transaction, and the total amount transferred from a set
+ of accounts must equal the total amount transferred to another set of
+ accounts. When a transaction transfers an equal sum from accounts to
+ other accounts, that transaction is said to be <emphasis>in
+ balance</emphasis>. In GnuCash, as in double-entry accounting, you want
+ to have all of your transactions in balance.</para>
+
+ <para>Why is this important to you? If all of your transactions are in
+ balance, then your money is all accounted for. GnuCash has a record of
+ where that money came from and where it was used. By storing the names
+ of all accounts involved in each transaction, you provide data that can
+ be sorted and viewed in report form later. Reports allow you to see
+ things like how much money you made for the year and where it all went,
+ what your net worth is, and what your taxes might be for the year. The
+ more information you provide when entering transactions, the more
+ detailed your reports will be.</para>
+
+ <sidebar>
+ <title>Accounting Terminology</title>
+
+ <para>Accountants use the terms <emphasis>debit</emphasis> and
+ <emphasis>credit</emphasis> to describe whether money is being
+ transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis> or <emphasis>from</emphasis> an
+ account. Money is recorded in the debit column, which is always the
+ left column, when it is being transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis> an
+ account. Money is recorded in the credit column, which is always the
+ right column, when it is being transferred <emphasis>from</emphasis>
+ an account. Money always flows from the right column of one account to
+ the left column of another account.</para>
+
+ <para>The main rule of accounting is this: <emphasis>For every
+ transaction, total debits must equal total credits.</emphasis> This is
+ just another way of repeating the double entry rule, that for each
+ transaction, the amount of money transferred <emphasis>from</emphasis>
+ accounts must equal the amount transferred <emphasis>to</emphasis>
+ other accounts</para>
+
+ <para>You don't have to use the terms debit and credit to use GnuCash,
+ however. GnuCash account registers default to common column headings
+ such as deposit and withdrawal - if you are more comfortable with
+ those headings, use them. If you prefer the credit and debit headings,
+ you can change the column headings to use accounting labels from the
+ menu item <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> <guibutton>General</guibutton>
+ (see section 2.5 for more detail on setting preferences).</para>
+ </sidebar>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_interface1">
- <title>The GnuCash Interface</title>
- <para>
-The very first time you open GnuCash, you will see the <guilabel>Welcome to GnuCash!</guilabel> dialog. From there, GnuCash provides other tools to help you easily find what you are looking for. Let's take a look at some of the common screens and dialog boxes you will see.
- </para>
- <sect2 id="basics_setup2">
- <title>Create a new set of accounts</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> druid allows you to create several accounts at once. When you open GnuCash the first time, you will get this dialog:
- <screenshot id="basics_newuser">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_newuser.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The New Account Hierarchy Setup Druid</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the first screen of the <guilabel>New
- Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> Druid.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> and follow the instructions provided in the dialog. The dialog provides a default set of accounts with predefined account types, and you simply select the accounts you want. For more information on account types, see section 3.2.
- </para>
- <para>
-If you intend to import your data from another program and you want to keep the same account names you used in that program, you may want to delay setting up default accounts at this time. You can simply import the data and the account names into GnuCash from the other program (Section 2.7 explains how to do this).
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_tip2">
- <title>Tip of the Day</title>
- <para>
-GnuCash provides a <guilabel>Tip of the Day</guilabel> dialog to give helpful hints for using the program:
+ <sect1 id="basics-interface1">
+ <title>The GnuCash Interface</title>
- <screenshot id="basics_tipofday">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_tipofday.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Tip of the Day</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Tip of the Day</guilabel>.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-These tips provide useful information for beginning users. To view more of the tips, click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue. If you do not wish to see this dialog box on startup, deselect the box next to <guilabel>Display this dialog next time</guilabel>. When you have finished viewing the helpful tips, click <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to close the Tip dialog.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_main2">
- <title>Account Tree Window</title>
- <para>
-You should now see the <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel> window, which appears as shown below. The exact layout of the account tree will depend on which default accounts you selected during the New Account Hierarchy Setup. In this example, the "Simple Checkbook" accounts are shown.
- <screenshot id="basics_mainwin">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_mainwin.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Account Tree Window</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel> window.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-The Account Tree window provides an overview of the data contained in the current file. It contains a list of account names and their current balances. From this window, you can open any of the accounts. The individual account windows are called account registers. GnuCash allows you to have as many account registers open as you wish.
- </para>
- <para>
-At the top of this window is the title bar, which displays the file name (once you have saved the file.) Below that is the menu bar. You can access the menu options by either clicking on these menu headings or by using shortcut key combinations, covered later in this chapter. Next is the tool bar, which contains buttons for the most common functions. Below that is the status bar, which tells you information about what you own (Net Assets) and how much money you have made (Profits).
- </para>
- <para>
-The account tree appears below the status bar. Once you have started creating accounts, the account names will appear in the account tree. You can customize which headings show up by using the <guiicon>Options</guiicon> button.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_register2">
- <title>Account Register Window</title>
- <para>
-The Account Register windows are used to enter and edit your account data. As the name suggests, they look similar to a checkbook register. When you double-click an account name in the <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel> window, the <guilabel>Register</guilabel> window for that account will open.
+ <para>The very first time you open GnuCash, you will see the
+ <guilabel>Welcome to GnuCash!</guilabel> dialog. From there, GnuCash
+ provides other tools to help you easily find what you are looking for.
+ Let's take a look at some of the common screens and dialog boxes you will
+ see.</para>
- <screenshot id="basics_registerwin">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_registerwin.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Checking Account - Register
- </guilabel> with several transactions.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
- Chapter 4 explains more about account register windows and how to enter data into them. For now, note that the parts of an account register window are similar to the parts of the account tree window described earlier. The title bar at the top contains the account name. Below that, the menu bar contains menu options related to the account register. Tool bar buttons simplify common data entry functions. The status bar appears below the tool bar, and it displays four types of account balances covered in Chapter 4. At the bottom of the account register window, information appears about the current location of the cursor.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_toolbar2">
- <title>Tool Bar Buttons</title>
- <para>
-Both the account tree window and the account register window contain tool bar buttons. These buttons provide quick access to common functions such as <guibutton>Save</guibutton> and <guibutton>Open</guibutton> in the account tree window and <guibutton>Record</guibutton> and <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> in the account register window. If you are not sure what a button does, move the mouse pointer over that button, and you should see a description of the function appear.
- </para>
- <para>
-Here is a summary of the account tree window buttons:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guibutton>Save</guibutton> - Use this function often to save the current file to disk.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guibutton>Close</guibutton> - Use this function to close the current notebook page.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guibutton>Open</guibutton>, <guibutton>Edit</guibutton>, <guibutton>New</guibutton> and <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> - These are functions related to accounts. They are discussed in Chapter 3.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guibutton>Options</guibutton> - This button edits the account view options.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guibutton>Exit</guibutton> - Closes your GnuCash session.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
-Register buttons are discussed in Chapter 4.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_options2">
- <title>Menu Items</title>
- <para>
-The account tree window and the account register window both contain menu headings in a menu bar. Clicking on a menu heading brings up the menu items for that heading.
- </para>
- <para>
-You can click on the account tree menu headings and then move the mouse pointer over the menu items to see what they do. As the pointer moves over a menu item, a description of the item appears in the lower left-hand corner of the window. To select a menu item, click on it.
- </para>
- <para>
-You can also access the most common menu items in a window by right-clicking the mouse anywhere in that window. In the account tree window, this will bring up a list of account items. In the account register window, this will bring up a list of transaction items.
- </para>
- <para>
-Other ways of accessing menu items are through keyboard shortcuts, described next.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_shortcut2">
- <title>Menu Shortcuts</title>
- <para>
-Most of the menu items have keyboard shortcuts, and these are marked by underlined characters in the menu names. Pressing the <keycap>Alt</keycap> key with the underlined character in the menu heading will bring up the menu items for that heading. Once the menu items are displayed, type the underlined character in the menu item to activate it. For example, typing <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>F</keycap></keycombo> in the main window brings up the <guimenu>File</guimenu> menu, then typing <keycap>S</keycap> will save the file. A few of the menu items use <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> key and function (for example <keycap>F3</keycap> to open a new file) key shortcuts as well, and these are listed next to the items.
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash, as a Gnome application, also allows you to define your own menu shortcuts. To define a shortcut, click on the menu header and move the mouse pointer over the menu item. While the menu item is highlighted, press a key or key combination to set the shortcut. You should now see your shortcut choice next to the item in the menu. To delete a shortcut, press the <keycap>Delete</keycap> key while the menu item is highlighted.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <sect2 id="basics-setup2">
+ <title>Create a new set of accounts</title>
+
+ <para>The <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> druid allows
+ you to create several accounts at once. When you open GnuCash the first
+ time, you will get this dialog:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-NewAccountHierarchySetup">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The New Account Hierarchy Setup Druid</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the first screen of the <guilabel>New
+ Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> Druid.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> and follow the instructions
+ provided in the dialog. The dialog provides a default set of accounts
+ with predefined account types, and you simply select the accounts you
+ want. For more information on account types, see section 3.2.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-NewAccountHierarchySetup-currency">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_currency.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The New Account Hierarchy Setup Druid - Currency</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the second screen of the <guilabel>New
+ Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> Druid where you select the
+ currency.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>The currency you select here, will be assigned to all the
+ <guilabel>accounts</guilabel> created in this druid.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-NewAccountHierarchySetup-Accounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_Accounts.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The New Account Hierarchy Setup Druid - Choose
+ accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the third screen of the <guilabel>New
+ Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> Druid where you choose the
+ various accounts.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Select one or more of the predefined account-groups here. For more
+ information on account types, see section 3.2.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-NewAccountHierarchySetup-Setup.png">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_Setup.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The New Account Hierarchy Setup Druid - Configure</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the forth screen of the <guilabel>New
+ Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> Druid where you can set
+ <guilabel>Opening Balance</guilabel>.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>In this dialog you will be able to set an <guilabel>Opening
+ Balance</guilabel> on each of the accounts, as well as indicate if it
+ the account should be a <guilabel>Placeholder</guilabel> (only
+ sub-accounts allowed, no transactions. Like Current Assets in above
+ image)</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-NewAccountHierarchySetup-Finish">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_NewAccountHierarchySetup_Finish.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The New Account Hierarchy Setup Druid - Finish</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Last screen of the <guilabel>New
+ Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> Druid.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Click <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> to create all the accounts and
+ leave the druid.</para>
+
+ <para>If you intend to import your data from another program and you
+ want to keep the same account names you used in that program, you may
+ want to delay setting up default accounts at this time. You can simply
+ import the data and the account names into GnuCash from the other
+ program (Section 2.7 explains how to do this).</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-tip2">
+ <title>Tip of the Day</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash provides a <guilabel>Tip of the Day</guilabel> dialog to
+ give helpful hints for using the program:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-TipOfDay">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_TipOfDay.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Tip of the Day</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Tip of the
+ Day</guilabel>.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>These tips provide useful information for beginning users. To view
+ more of the tips, click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue. If you
+ do not wish to see this dialog box on startup, deselect the box next to
+ <guilabel>Display this dialog next time</guilabel>. When you have
+ finished viewing the helpful tips, click <guibutton>Close</guibutton> to
+ close the Tip dialog.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-main2">
+ <title>Account Tree Window</title>
+
+ <para>You should now see the <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel> window, which
+ appears as shown below. The exact layout of the account tree will depend
+ on which default accounts you selected during the New Account Hierarchy
+ Setup. In this example, the "Common Accounts" are shown.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Accounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Accounts.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Account Tree Window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel>
+ window.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>The Account Tree window provides an overview of the data contained
+ in the current file. It contains a list of account names and their
+ current balances. From this window, you can open any of the accounts.
+ The individual account windows are called account registers. GnuCash
+ allows you to have as many account registers open as you wish.</para>
+
+ <para>At the top of this window is the title bar, which displays the
+ file name (once you have saved the file.) Below that is the menu bar.
+ You can access the menu options by either clicking on these menu
+ headings or by using shortcut key combinations, covered later in this
+ chapter. Next is the tool bar, which contains buttons for the most
+ common functions. Below that is the status bar, which tells you
+ information about what you own (Net Assets) and how much money you have
+ made (Profits).</para>
+
+ <para>The account tree appears below the status bar. Once you have
+ started creating accounts, the account names will appear in the account
+ tree. You can customize which headings show up by using the
+ <guiicon>Options</guiicon> button.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-register2">
+ <title>Account Register Window</title>
+
+ <para>The Account Register windows are used to enter and edit your
+ account data. As the name suggests, they look similar to a checkbook
+ register. When you double-click an account name in the
+ <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel> window, the <guilabel>Register</guilabel>
+ window for that account will open.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-CheckAccount">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_CheckAccount.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Checking Account - Register
+ </guilabel> with several transactions.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Chapter 4 explains more about account register windows and how to
+ enter data into them. For now, note that the parts of an account
+ register window are similar to the parts of the account tree window
+ described earlier. The title bar at the top contains the account name.
+ Below that, the menu bar contains menu options related to the account
+ register. Tool bar buttons simplify common data entry functions. The
+ status bar at the bottom of the window, displays some account balances
+ covered in Chapter 4. At the bottom of the account register window,
+ information appears about the current location of the cursor.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-toolbar2">
+ <title>Tool Bar Buttons</title>
+
+ <para>Both the account tree window and the account register window
+ contain tool bar buttons. These buttons provide quick access to common
+ functions such as <guibutton>Save</guibutton> and
+ <guibutton>Open</guibutton> in the account tree window and
+ <guibutton>Record</guibutton> and <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> in the
+ account register window. If you are not sure what a button does, move
+ the mouse pointer over that button, and you should see a description of
+ the function appear.</para>
+
+ <para>Here is a summary of the account tree window buttons:</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guibutton>Save</guibutton> - Use this function often to save
+ the current file to disk.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guibutton>Close</guibutton> - Use this function to close the
+ current notebook page.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guibutton>Open</guibutton>, <guibutton>Edit</guibutton>,
+ <guibutton>New</guibutton> and <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> - These
+ are functions related to accounts. They are discussed in Chapter
+ 3.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guibutton>Options</guibutton> - This button edits the account
+ view options.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guibutton>Exit</guibutton> - Closes your GnuCash
+ session.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>Register buttons are discussed in Chapter 4.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-options2">
+ <title>Menu Items</title>
+
+ <para>The account tree window and the account register window both
+ contain menu headings in a menu bar. Clicking on a menu heading brings
+ up the menu items for that heading.</para>
+
+ <para>You can click on the account tree menu headings and then move the
+ mouse pointer over the menu items to see what they do. As the pointer
+ moves over a menu item, a description of the item appears in the lower
+ left-hand corner of the window. To select a menu item, click on
+ it.</para>
+
+ <para>You can also access the most common menu items in a window by
+ right-clicking the mouse anywhere in that window. In the account tree
+ window, this will bring up a list of account items. In the account
+ register window, this will bring up a list of transaction items.</para>
+
+ <para>Other ways of accessing menu items are through keyboard shortcuts,
+ described next.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-shortcut2">
+ <title>Menu Shortcuts</title>
+
+ <para>Most of the menu items have keyboard shortcuts, and these are
+ marked by underlined characters in the menu names. Pressing the
+ <keycap>Alt</keycap> key with the underlined character in the menu
+ heading will bring up the menu items for that heading. Once the menu
+ items are displayed, type the underlined character in the menu item to
+ activate it. For example, typing <keycombo>
+ <keycap>Alt</keycap>
+
+ <keycap>F</keycap>
+ </keycombo> in the main window brings up the <guimenu>File</guimenu>
+ menu, then typing <keycap>S</keycap> will save the file. A few of the
+ menu items use <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> key and function (for example
+ <keycap>F3</keycap> to open a new file) key shortcuts as well, and these
+ are listed next to the items.</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash, as a Gnome application, also allows you to define your
+ own menu shortcuts. To define a shortcut, click on the menu header and
+ move the mouse pointer over the menu item. While the menu item is
+ highlighted, press a key or key combination to set the shortcut. You
+ should now see your shortcut choice next to the item in the menu. To
+ delete a shortcut, press the <keycap>Delete</keycap> key while the menu
+ item is highlighted.</para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_prefs1">
- <title>Setting Preferences</title>
- <para>
-GnuCash allows you to customize your session by setting several preference options. From the menu select <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem>, then make your desired changes using the list of items shown on the left. Once you have finished making your preference changes, select <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> or <guibutton>OK</guibutton> to apply the changes to your session. (Selecting <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> applies the changes while leaving the Preferences window still open. Selecting <guibutton>OK</guibutton> applies the changes and closes the Preferences window.) At any time, you can click on the <guibutton>Default</guibutton> button to return the options to the default preference setting.
- </para>
- <sect2 id="basics_acctprefs2">
- <title>Accounts</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel> item lets you set the following options:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Account Separator</guilabel> - The account separator is the character that separates a parent account from its sub-account, for example Utilities:Electric. The default is a <guibutton>:(Colon)</guibutton>, but you can also select <guibutton>/(Slash)</guibutton>, <guibutton>\(Backslash)</guibutton>, <guibutton>-(Dash)</guibutton> or <guibutton>.(Period)</guibutton>. Parent accounts and sub-accounts are discussed in section 3.4
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Reversed-balance accounts types</guilabel> - This option lets you determine whether account balances will display as positive or negative numbers:
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>None</guilabel> shows all credit balances as negative and all debit balances as positive. (See Accounting Terminology note in this chapter for more information on debits and credits.)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Credit Accounts</guilabel> (default) displays a positive balance for account types that would normally carry a credit balance (income, credit, liability, equity). See Chapter 3 for more information on these account types.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Income & Expense</guilabel> assigns a positive credit balance to income account balances and a negative debit balance to expense account balances. See Chapter 3 for more information on these account types.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Use accounting labels</guilabel> - Select this option if you want column headings to refer to debits and credits instead of the default informal headings. (See Accounting Terminology note in this chapter for more information on debits and credits.)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_business2">
- <title>Business</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>Business</guilabel> item lets you set the following options:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Number of Rows</guilabel> - Lets you select the default number of
-register rows to display in invoices, bills and expense vouchers.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Invoice (or Bill) Tax Included?</guilabel> - Determines whether taxes specified in the Tax Table are already included in the value of the item. Set this if you're in a locale (like Australia) where the taxes (e.g. GST) is included in the price of your goods. In the US, where the tax is added to the value, you do not want to set Tax Included.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Notify Bills Due?</guilabel> - Lets you set whether you want to be notified of when a bill is soon to be due. If selected, you can specify the number of days in advance to notify with the <guilabel>Bills Due Days:</guilabel> option.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_general2">
- <title>General</title>
- <para>
-In <guilabel>General</guilabel>, you will see the default settings shown here:
- <screenshot id="basics_preference">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_preference.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Preferences dialog</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the <guilabel>GnuCash Preferences
- </guilabel> dialog where the options of how GnuCash looks
- and acts are setup.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Show Advanced Settings</guilabel> - When this is selected, GnuCash displays the <guilabel>Advanced</guilabel> item in the <guilabel>GnuCash Preferences</guilabel> dialog. You must click on "Apply" before the advanced page will be displayed.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Tool Bar Buttons</guilabel> - Select whether to display icons, text, or both on the tool bar.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Display "Tip of the Day"</guilabel> - You can turn on or off the option to display the <quote>Tip of the Day</quote> dialog on startup.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Display negative amounts in red</guilabel> - If you turn off this option, GnuCash will display negative numbers in black.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Automatic Decimal Point</guilabel> - This option will automatically insert a decimal point into numbers you type in.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Auto Decimal Places</guilabel> - If you select the <guilabel>Automatic Decimal Point</guilabel> option, this option allows you to set the number of decimal places to be used.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>No account list setup on new file</guilabel> - This option turns off
-the display of the <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> druid when <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>New File</guimenuitem> is selected.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Days to retain log files</guilabel> - This option deletes log files (and backup files) after the number of days set here.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Use file compression</guilabel> - This option determines whether the GnuCash data file will be compressed or not.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <sect1 id="basics-prefs1">
+ <title>Setting Preferences</title>
- <sect2 id="basics_international2">
- <title>International</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>International</guilabel> preferences item allows you to control the country specific behavior of GnuCash.
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Date Format</guilabel> - This item controls the appearance of the date. The available options are US, UK, Europe, ISO, and Locale. Choosing "Locale" will automatically determine the date format based on your operating system settings.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>New Account Default Currency</guilabel> - This item determines which currency will be selected by default when creating new accounts.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Default Report Currency</guilabel> - This item determines which currency will be used by default when creating reports.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Use 24-hour time format</guilabel> - This item toggles the use of 24 hour time format.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Enable Euro support</guilabel> - If selected, enables support for the European Union EURO currency.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <para>GnuCash allows you to customize your session by setting several
+ preference options. From the menu select <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem>, then make your desired changes
+ using the list of items shown on the left. The changes you made will be
+ applied directly. To close the preference window press the
+ <guibutton>Close</guibutton> button.</para>
- <sect2 id="basics_onlinebank2">
- <title>On-line Banking</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>On-line Banking & Importing</guilabel> item contains only one option, <guilabel>QIF Verbose Documentation</guilabel>. The first time you use the importer (discussed later in this chapter), you may notice that the importer has detailed instructions on how to import a file. Once you have become familiar with using the importer, you might want to turn off this option. Turning off the option gives you less detail in the importer dialogs.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <sect2 id="basics-acctprefs2">
+ <title>Accounts</title>
- <sect2 id="basics_reconcile2">
- <title>Reconcile</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>Reconcile</guilabel> preferences item affects the behavior of GnuCash when reconciling accounts. More information about reconciling accounts can be found in "Chapter 4: Entering Transactions" of this guide.
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Automatic interest transfer</guilabel> - If selected, prior to reconciling an account which charges or pays interest, prompt the user to enter a transaction for the interest charge or payment. Currently only enabled for Bank, Credit, Mutual, Asset, Receivable, Payable, and Liability accounts.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Automatic credit card payments</guilabel> - If selected, after reconciling a credit card statement, prompt the user to enter a credit card payment.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Check off cleared transactions</guilabel> - If selected, automatically check off cleared transactions when reconciling.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <para>In <guilabel>Accounts</guilabel>, you will see the default
+ settings shown here:</para>
- <sect2 id="basics_regprefs2">
- <title>Register</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>Register</guilabel> preferences item affects the behavior of the transaction register windows. More information about the transaction register can be found in "Chapter 4: Entering Transactions" of this guide.
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Default Register Style</guilabel> - you can choose from 3 different styles for register windows, <guilabel>Basic Ledger</guilabel> (default), <guilabel>Auto-Split Ledger</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Transaction Journal</guilabel>. The basic style is a standard one-line register where everything appears on a single line. The auto-split style is similar to the basic style except that the current transaction is split-expanded. The journal style has every transaction split-expanded.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Double Line Mode</guilabel> - If selected, show two lines of information for each transaction instead of one.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>'Enter' moves to blank transaction</guilabel> - If selected, move to the blank transaction after the user presses 'enter', otherwise move down on row.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Confirm before changing reconciled</guilabel> - If selected, use a dialog to confirm a change to a reconciled transaction.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Register font:</guilabel> - The font to use in the transaction register window.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Register hint font:</guilabel> - The font to use to show hints in the transaction register window.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-Accounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_Accounts.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
- <sect2 id="basics_registercolors2">
- <title>Register Colors</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>Register Colors</guilabel> preferences item changes the appearance of the register window. To change the color of one of the items listed, simply click on the color box and choose the new color. More information about the transaction register can be found in "Chapter 4: Entering Transactions" of this guide.
- </para>
- <para>
-If selected, the item <guilabel>Double mode colors alternate with transactions</guilabel> configures the register window to alternate between the primary and secondary colors with each transaction, instead of each row.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
- <sect2 id="basics_schedtrans2">
- <title>Scheduled Transactions</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>Scheduled Transactions</guilabel> preferences item affects the behavior of GnuCash for scheduling transactions. More information about scheduled transactions can be found in "Chapter 4: Entering Transactions" of this guide.
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Run on GnuCash start</guilabel> - If selected, the "Since-Last-Run" window will appear on GnuCash startup.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Auto-Create new Scheduled Transactions by default</guilabel> - If selected, new Scheduled Transactions will have the 'Auto Create' flag set by default.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Notify on new, auto-created Scheduled Transactions</guilabel> - If selected, new Scheduled Transactions will have the 'Auto Create' flag set to 'Notify' by default.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Default number of days in advance to create</guilabel> - The default number of days in advance to create new Scheduled Transactions.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Default number of days in advance to remind</guilabel> - The default number of days in advance to remind on new Scheduled Transactions.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<guilabel>Template Register Lines:</guilabel> - Number of lines in the template register to display.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ Accounts</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Separator Character</guilabel> - The account
+ separator is the character that separates a parent account from its
+ sub-account, for example Utilities:Electric. The default is a
+ <guibutton>:(Colon)</guibutton>, but you can also select
+ <guibutton>/(Slash)</guibutton>,
+ <guibutton>\(Backslash)</guibutton>, <guibutton>-(Dash)</guibutton>
+ or <guibutton>.(Period)</guibutton>, or any single non alphanumeric
+ unicode. Parent accounts and sub-accounts are discussed in section
+ 3.4</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Reverse Balanced accounts</guilabel> - This option
+ lets you determine whether account balances will display as positive
+ or negative numbers: <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>None</guilabel> shows all credit balances as
+ negative and all debit balances as positive. (See Accounting
+ Terminology note in this chapter for more information on
+ debits and credits.)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Credit Accounts</guilabel> (default) displays
+ a positive balance for account types that would normally carry
+ a credit balance (income, credit, liability, equity). See
+ Chapter 3 for more information on these account types.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Income & Expense</guilabel> assigns a
+ positive credit balance to income account balances and a
+ negative debit balance to expense account balances. See
+ Chapter 3 for more information on these account types.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Labels</guilabel> - Select this option if you want
+ column headings to refer to debits and credits instead of the
+ default informal headings. (See Accounting Terminology note in this
+ chapter for more information on debits and credits.)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Default Currency</guilabel> - This item determines
+ which currency will be selected by default when creating new
+ accounts.</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Locale</guilabel> will use whatever currency is
+ specified in your system.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Choose</guilabel> will let you specify a
+ specific currency to use, independent of your system
+ settings.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-business2">
+ <title>Business</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Business</guilabel>, you will see the default
+ settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-Business">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_Business.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Business</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ Business</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Open in a new window</guilabel> - If checked, each
+ invoice will be opened in its own top level window. If clear, the
+ invoice will be opened in the current window.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Accumulate splits on post</guilabel> - Whether
+ multiple entries in an invoice which transfer to the same account
+ should be accumulated into a single split by default.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Number of rows</guilabel> - Default number of
+ register rows to display in invoices.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Tax Included (Invoices)</guilabel> - Whether tax are
+ included by default in entries on invoices. This setting is
+ inherited by new customers and vendors.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Notify when due</guilabel> - Lets you set whether
+ you want to be notified of when a bill is soon to be due.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Days in advance</guilabel> - How many days in the
+ future to warn about bills coming due.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Tax Included (Bills)</guilabel> - Whether tax are
+ included by default in entries on bills. This setting is inherited
+ by new customers and vendors.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-datetime2">
+ <title>Date/Time</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Date/Time</guilabel>, you will see the default
+ settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-DateTime">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_DateTime.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Date/Time</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ Date/Time</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Time Format</guilabel> - lets you specify if you
+ want to use 24 or 12 hours time format. That is if 23:00 should be
+ represented as 11PM or 23.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Date Format</guilabel> - This item controls the
+ appearance of the date. The available options are US, UK, Europe,
+ ISO, and Locale. Choosing "Locale" will automatically determine the
+ date format based on your operating system settings.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-general2">
+ <title>General</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>General</guilabel>, you will see the default settings
+ shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-General">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_General.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - General</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ General</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Display "tip of the Day"</guilabel> - You can turn
+ on or off the option to display the <quote>Tip of the Day</quote>
+ dialog on startup.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Perform account list setup on new file</guilabel> -
+ This option turns off the display of the <guilabel>New Account
+ Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> druid when <guimenu>File</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenuitem>New File</guimenuitem> is selected.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Show close button on notebook tabs</guilabel> - Adds
+ a small close icon on each tab, to make it easier to close the
+ various tabs.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Enable Euro support</guilabel> - If selected,
+ enables support for the European Union EURO currency. Needed if you
+ have any accounts with EURO currency.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Display negative amounts in red</guilabel> - If you
+ turn off this option, GnuCash will display negative numbers in
+ black.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Automatic Decimal Point</guilabel> - This option
+ will automatically insert a decimal point into numbers you type
+ in.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Decimal Places</guilabel> - This option allows you
+ to set the number of decimal places to be used.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Compress files</guilabel> - This option determines
+ whether the GnuCash data file will be compressed or not.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Retain log files</guilabel> - This option deletes
+ log files (and backup files) after the number of days set
+ here.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>New search limit</guilabel> - Defaults to 'new
+ search' if fewer than this number of items is returned.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-onlinebank2">
+ <title>On-line Banking</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Online banking</guilabel>, you will see the default
+ settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-OnlineBanking">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_OnlineBanking.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Online banking</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences - Online
+ banking</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Show documentation</guilabel> - The first time you
+ use the QIF importer (discussed later in this chapter), you may
+ notice that the importer has detailed instructions on how to import
+ a file. Once you have become familiar with using the importer, you
+ might want to turn off this option. Turning off the option gives you
+ less detail in the importer dialogs.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Use bayesian matching</guilabel> - Use bayesian
+ algorithms to match new transactions with existing accounts.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Match display threshold</guilabel> - The minimal
+ score a potential match must have to be displayed in the match
+ list.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Auto-add threshold</guilabel> - A transaction whose
+ best match's score is in the red zone (above display threshold, but
+ below or equal to Auto-add threshold) will be added by
+ default.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Auto-clear threshold</guilabel> - A transaction
+ whose best match's score is in the green zone (above or equal to
+ Auto-clear threshold) will be cleared by default.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Commercial Cash Machine fees threshold </guilabel> -
+ If the ATM machine automatically adds a small transaction fee,
+ GnuCash will still be able to match it to the transaction as long as
+ the difference is below this threshold</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-regprefs2">
+ <title>Register</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Register</guilabel>, you will see the default
+ settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-Register">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_Register.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ Register</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>'Enter' moves to blank transaction</guilabel> - If
+ selected, move to the blank transaction after the user presses
+ 'enter', otherwise move down on row.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Auto-raise lists</guilabel> - If selected, all lists
+ will automatically be expanded when input focus is in the list
+ field.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Check cleared transactions</guilabel> - If selected,
+ automatically check off cleared transactions when
+ reconciling.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Automatic interest transfer</guilabel> - If
+ selected, prior to reconciling an account which charges or pays
+ interest, prompt the user to enter a transaction for the interest
+ charge or payment. Currently only enabled for Bank, Credit, Mutual,
+ Asset, Receivable, Payable, and Liability accounts.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Automatic credit card payments</guilabel> - If
+ selected, after reconciling a credit card statement, prompt the user
+ to enter a credit card payment.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Use system theme colours</guilabel> - If selected,
+ GnuCash will use the system theme colours instead of the default
+ colours.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Double mode colors alternate with
+ transactions</guilabel> - If selected, configures the register
+ window to alternate between the primary and secondary colors with
+ each transaction, instead of each row.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Draw horizontal lines between rows</guilabel> - If
+ selected, GnuCash will draw a horizontal line between each
+ row.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Draw vertical lines between cells</guilabel> - If
+ selected, GnuCash will draw a vertical line between the cells in
+ each row.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-regdefaults2">
+ <title>Register Defaults</title>
+
+ <para>The <guilabel>Register Defaults</guilabel> preferences item
+ affects the behavior of the transaction register windows. More
+ information about the transaction register can be found in "Chapter 4:
+ Entering Transactions" of this guide.</para>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Register</guilabel>, you will see the default
+ settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-RegisterDefaults">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_RegisterDefaults.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Register Defaults</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences - Register
+ Defaults</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Default Style</guilabel> - you can choose from 3
+ different styles for register windows, <guilabel>Basic
+ Ledger</guilabel> (default), <guilabel>Auto-Split Ledger</guilabel>,
+ and <guilabel>Transaction Journal</guilabel>. The basic style is a
+ standard one-line register where everything appears on a single
+ line. The auto-split style is similar to the basic style except that
+ the current transaction is split-expanded. The journal style has
+ every transaction split-expanded.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Register opens in a new window</guilabel> - If
+ selected, Register will be in a separate window instead of in a
+ tab.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Double Line Mode</guilabel> - If selected, show two
+ lines of information for each transaction instead of one.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Number of transactions</guilabel> - How many
+ transactions to show in a register</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Number of rows</guilabel> - How many rows to display
+ when the register is opened.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-reports2">
+ <title>Reports</title>
+
+ <para>The <guilabel>Reports</guilabel> preferences item affects the
+ behavior of the transaction register windows. More information about the
+ transaction register can be found in "Chapter 4: Entering Transactions"
+ of this guide.</para>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Reports</guilabel>, you will see the default settings
+ shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-Reports">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_Reports.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Reports</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ Reports</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Default Report Currency</guilabel> - This item
+ determines which currency will be used by default when creating
+ reports. You can choose between <guilabel>Locale</guilabel> which
+ uses system settings, or <guilabel>Choose</guilabel> which lets you
+ specify your own default report currency.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Location</guilabel> - if you select this option, the
+ reports will open up in a new window, instead of in a tab.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-accountingPeriod2">
+ <title>Accounting Period</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Accounting Period</guilabel>, you will see the
+ default settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-AccountingPeriod">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_AccountingPeriod.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Accounting Period</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences - Accounting
+ Period</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Include grand total</guilabel> - if this item is
+ selected, GnuCash will include a grand total on the report.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Include non-currency totals</guilabel> - if this
+ item is selected, GnuCash will include a total of non-currency items
+ (for instance number of shares) in the report.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Start Date</guilabel> - This item determines which
+ from which start date the report will report from. You can choose
+ between <guilabel>Relative</guilabel> which uses a dynamic start
+ date (like "start of this year", "start of this month" etc), or
+ <guilabel>Absolute</guilabel> which lets you specify a specific
+ start date (which will not change as time goes by).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>End Date</guilabel> - This item determines which to
+ which end date the report will report to. You can choose between
+ <guilabel>Relative</guilabel> which uses a dynamic end date (like
+ "end of this year", "end of this month" etc), or
+ <guilabel>Absolute</guilabel> which lets you specify a specific end
+ date (which will not change as time goes by).</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-schedtrans2">
+ <title>Scheduled Transactions</title>
+
+ <para>The <guilabel>Scheduled Transactions</guilabel> preferences item
+ affects the behavior of GnuCash for scheduling transactions. More
+ information about scheduled transactions can be found in "Chapter 4:
+ Entering Transactions" of this guide.</para>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Scheduled Transactions</guilabel>, you will see the
+ default settings shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-ScheduledTransactions">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_ScheduledTransactions.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Scheduled Transactions</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences - Scheduled
+ Transactions</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Run when data file opened</guilabel> - If selected,
+ the "Since-Last-Run" window will appear on GnuCash startup (or
+ rather when GnuCash opens the file).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Auto-Create new transactions</guilabel> - If
+ selected, new Scheduled Transactions will automatically be entered
+ into the register. Also, if selected <guilabel>Notify before
+ transactions are created</guilabel> can be set to allow the user to
+ confirm creating the transactions.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Create in advance, days</guilabel> - The default
+ number of days in advance to create new Scheduled
+ Transactions.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Remind in advance, days</guilabel> - The default
+ number of days in advance to remind on new Scheduled
+ Transactions.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-windows2">
+ <title>Windows</title>
+
+ <para>In <guilabel>Windows</guilabel>, you will see the default settings
+ shown here:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-Preferences-Windows">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_Preferences_Windows.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Preferences - Windows</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows The <guilabel>Preferences -
+ Windows</guilabel></para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Save window size and position</guilabel> - If
+ selected, next time GnuCash starts it will re-use the window size
+ and position of the last run.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><guilabel>Toolbar Style</guilabel> - you can choose from 5
+ different styles for the toolbar, <guilabel>Use system
+ default</guilabel> (default), <guilabel>Text below icons</guilabel>,
+ <guilabel>Text beside icons</guilabel>, <guilabel>Icons
+ only</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Text only</guilabel>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_help1">
- <title>Getting Help</title>
- <para>
-GnuCash offers help in many ways. We have already covered the <guilabel>Tip of the Day</guilabel> dialog that gives you helpful hints upon startup of your GnuCash session. GnuCash also offers an extensive help manual.
- </para>
- <sect2 id="basics_manual2">
- <title>Help Manual</title>
- <para>
-Once you have opened GnuCash, you will see the <guilabel>Account Tree</guilabel> window <guilabel>Help</guilabel> menu heading, which opens the on-line manual. The on-line manual is organized by topic, and you can expand each topic into its subtopics.
- </para>
- <para>
-Topics are listed on the left side. To select a topic or subtopic, click on it, and you should see the text for that topic appear on the right. Use the <guibutton>Back</guibutton> and <guibutton>Forward</guibutton> buttons to navigate through your topic choices, and print any text using the <guibutton>Print</guibutton> button.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_web2">
- <title>Web Access</title>
- <para>
-The <guilabel>GnuCash Help</guilabel> window also acts as a simple web browser, so you can pull up a web site for additional information. You can open any web site under this window by clicking the <guibutton>Open</guibutton> tool bar button and then typing in the URL. Use the <guibutton>Back</guibutton>, <guibutton>Forward</guibutton>, <guibutton>Reload</guibutton>, <guibutton>Stop</guibutton>, and <guibutton>Print</guibutton> buttons as you would in a standard browser.
- </para>
- <para>
-The <ulink url="http://www.gnucash.org"><citetitle>GnuCash</citetitle></ulink> web site contains helpful information about the program and about any updates to it. It also contains links to the GnuCash mailing lists for developers and users, and you can search the archives of these mailing lists for discussions on a particular topic. If you don't find the answers you are looking for, you can post your question to the user list, and someone on the list will attempt to answer you.
- </para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="basics_topic2">
- <title>Topic Search</title>
- <para>
-The online manual also provides a search function. To search for a particular topic, click the <guibutton>Search</guibutton> tab at the bottom of the help window and type in your topic in the field provided. Click the <guibutton>Search</guibutton> button to complete your search. A list of choices should appear in the box below, clicking a choice will bring up its text on the right.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <sect1 id="basics-help1">
+ <title>Getting Help</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash offers help in many ways. We have already covered the
+ <guilabel>Tip of the Day</guilabel> dialog that gives you helpful hints
+ upon startup of your GnuCash session. GnuCash also offers an extensive
+ help manual.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-manual2">
+ <title>Help Manual</title>
+
+ <para>Once you have opened GnuCash, you will see the <guilabel>Account
+ Tree</guilabel> window <guilabel>Help</guilabel> menu heading, which
+ opens the on-line manual. The on-line manual is organized by topic, and
+ you can expand each topic into its subtopics.</para>
+
+ <para>Topics are listed on the left side. To select a topic or subtopic,
+ click on it, and you should see the text for that topic appear on the
+ right. Use the <guibutton>Back</guibutton> and
+ <guibutton>Forward</guibutton> buttons to navigate through your topic
+ choices, and print any text using the <guibutton>Print</guibutton>
+ button.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-web2">
+ <title>Web Access</title>
+
+ <para>The <guilabel>GnuCash Help</guilabel> window also acts as a simple
+ web browser, so you can pull up a web site for additional information.
+ You can open any web site under this window by clicking the
+ <guibutton>Open</guibutton> tool bar button and then typing in the URL.
+ Use the <guibutton>Back</guibutton>, <guibutton>Forward</guibutton>,
+ <guibutton>Reload</guibutton>, <guibutton>Stop</guibutton>, and
+ <guibutton>Print</guibutton> buttons as you would in a standard
+ browser.</para>
+
+ <para>The <ulink
+ url="http://www.gnucash.org"><citetitle>GnuCash</citetitle></ulink> web
+ site contains helpful information about the program and about any
+ updates to it. It also contains links to the GnuCash mailing lists for
+ developers and users, and you can search the <ulink
+ url="https://lists.gnucash.org/cgi-bin/namazu.cgi"><citetitle>archives
+ of GnuCash mailing lists</citetitle></ulink> for discussions on a
+ particular topic. If you don't find the answers you are looking for, you
+ can post your question to the <ulink
+ url="https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user"><citetitle>GnuCash
+ user list</citetitle></ulink>, and someone on the list will attempt to
+ answer you.</para>
+
+ <para>The most updated <guilabel>GnuCash FAQ</guilabel> is also located
+ on the <ulink url="http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ"><citetitle>GnuCash
+ FAQ website</citetitle></ulink>, and contains answers to the popular
+ questions.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-topic2">
+ <title>Topic Search</title>
+
+ <para>The online manual also provides a search function. To search for a
+ particular topic, click the <guibutton>Search</guibutton> tab at the
+ bottom of the help window and type in your topic in the field provided.
+ Click the <guibutton>Search</guibutton> button to complete your search.
+ A list of choices should appear in the box below, clicking a choice will
+ bring up its text on the right.</para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_files1">
- <title>Creating and Saving Files</title>
- <para>
-If you are using GnuCash for the first time, it will automatically open a new file when you begin. Follow these steps to save the file under a new name:
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Choose <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Save As...</guimenuitem> from the menu bar or select the <guibutton>Save</guibutton> toolbar button. GnuCash will bring up this window:
+ <sect1 id="basics-files1">
+ <title>Creating and Saving Files</title>
- <screenshot id="basics_filesave">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_filesave.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>If you are using GnuCash for the first time, it will automatically
+ open a new file when you begin. Follow these steps to save the file under
+ a new name:</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Choose <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Save
+ As...</guimenuitem> from the menu bar or select the
+ <guibutton>Save</guibutton> toolbar button. GnuCash will bring up this
+ window:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-SaveAs">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_SaveAs.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Save dialog</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Save</guilabel> dialog.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Save dialog</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the <guilabel>Save</guilabel>
+ dialog.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-In the text box below <guilabel>Selection</guilabel> type your chosen file name (e.g. gcashdata).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Click the <guibutton>OK</guibutton> button to save the file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- <para>
-If you are keeping track of finances for a single household, you need only one file. But if you are also tracking business finances or want to keep data separate for some reason, then you will need more than one file. To create a new file:
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-From the main menu, choose <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>New
-File</guimenuitem>.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Follow the steps above for saving a file under a new name.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- <para>
-Before ending each GnuCash session, be sure to save your data changes using <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Save</guimenuitem> or the <guibutton>Save</guibutton> toolbar button. In fact, it is a good idea to save your data changes often, since GnuCash does not permanently record your changes until you save them. To open an existing file, select <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Open</guimenuitem> and choose your file from the list.
- </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>In the text box below <guilabel>Selection</guilabel> type your
+ chosen file name (e.g. gcashdata).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Click the <guibutton>OK</guibutton> button to save the
+ file.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>If you are keeping track of finances for a single household, you
+ need only one file. But if you are also tracking business finances or want
+ to keep data separate for some reason, then you will need more than one
+ file. To create a new file:</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>From the main menu, choose <guimenu>File</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenuitem>New File</guimenuitem>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Follow the steps above for saving a file under a new
+ name.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>Before ending each GnuCash session, be sure to save your data
+ changes using <guimenu>File</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenuitem>Save</guimenuitem> or the <guibutton>Save</guibutton> toolbar
+ button. In fact, it is a good idea to save your data changes often, since
+ GnuCash does not permanently record your changes until you save them. To
+ open an existing file, select <guimenu>File</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenuitem>Open</guimenuitem> and choose your file from the list.</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash is storing its data file without any extension. If you name
+ your GnuCash file to <filename>MyBudget</filename>, the actual file name
+ will be <filename>MyBudget.</filename><note>
+ <para>Ensure that you do not specify an extension when you specify
+ the file name. Per the above example, only specify
+ <filename>MyBudget</filename> as the filename.</para>
+ </note></para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_import1">
- <title>Importing QIF Files</title>
+ <sect1 id="basics-import1">
+ <title>Importing QIF Files</title>
+
<note>
- <para>
-This section tells you how to initially import data from other financial programs that use QIF (<trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange Format). Section 11.5 addresses importing QIF data from online bank statements.
- </para>
+ <para>This section tells you how to initially import data from other
+ financial programs that use QIF (<trademark
+ class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange Format). Section 11.5
+ addresses importing QIF data from online bank statements.</para>
</note>
- <para>
-To import data from <trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark>, MS Money, or other programs that use QIF(<trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange Format), you must first export your data to a QIF file. One way to do this is to export each account as a separate QIF file. An easier way, available in <trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark> 98 and beyond, is to export all accounts at once into a single QIF file. Check your program's manual to determine if this option is available.
- </para>
- <para>
-Once your data is in QIF form, follow the easy 3-step import process described below. Before you get started, though, please note that part of the import process involves checking for duplicate transactions, so it is very important that you load <emphasis>all</emphasis> of your QIF files before importing. Duplicate transactions result when more than one account is involved. For example, if one of your transactions transferred money from savings to checking, you would end up with this same transaction recorded twice - once in the savings account and once in the checking account.
- </para>
- <para>
-To import QIF files:
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Load all of the QIF files containing data you wish to import.
- </para>
- <para>
-To do this, select <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Import</guisubmenu> -> <guimenuitem>Import QIF...</guimenuitem> from the menu. When the <guilabel>QIF Import</guilabel> dialog box appears, click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> and follow the instructions to guide you through the process of loading your files.
- <screenshot id="basics_import">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_import.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>To import data from <trademark
+ class="registered">Quicken</trademark>, MS Money, or other programs that
+ use QIF(<trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange
+ Format), you must first export your data to a QIF file. One way to do this
+ is to export each account as a separate QIF file. An easier way, available
+ in <trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark> 98 and beyond, is to
+ export all accounts at once into a single QIF file. Check your program's
+ manual to determine if this option is available.</para>
+
+ <para>Once your data is in QIF form, follow the easy 3-step import process
+ described below. Before you get started, though, please note that part of
+ the import process involves checking for duplicate transactions, so it is
+ very important that you load <emphasis>all</emphasis> of your QIF files
+ before importing. Duplicate transactions result when more than one account
+ is involved. For example, if one of your transactions transferred money
+ from savings to checking, you would end up with this same transaction
+ recorded twice - once in the savings account and once in the checking
+ account.</para>
+
+ <para>To import QIF files:</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Load all of the QIF files containing data you wish to
+ import.</para>
+
+ <para>To do this, select <guimenu>File</guimenu> ->
+ <guisubmenu>Import</guisubmenu> -> <guimenuitem>Import
+ QIF...</guimenuitem> from the menu. When the <guilabel>QIF
+ Import</guilabel> dialog box appears, click
+ <guibutton>Next</guibutton> and follow the instructions to guide you
+ through the process of loading your files.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-QIF-Import-welcome">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_QIF_Import_welcome.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The QIF Import Druid</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the start of the <guilabel>QIF Import</guilabel> Druid.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The QIF Import Druid</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the start of the <guilabel>QIF
+ Import</guilabel> Druid.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
-You will be prompted for a filename to load. Use the <guibutton>Select</guibutton> button to select your QIF file and click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to load it. Once the file is loaded, select <guibutton>Load another file</guibutton> if you have more files to load. When you have loaded all your QIF files, click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue with the import process.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Review the GnuCash accounts to be created.
- </para>
- <para>
-The importer then matches up your QIF accounts and categories with GnuCash accounts and gives you a brief description of the matching process. Clicking <guibutton>Next</guibutton> will bring you to a view comparing your QIF accounts with the corresponding GnuCash accounts created. To change an account name, select the row containing that account name and edit the name in the dialog box provided. Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> when you have finished making changes, and proceed through a similar category matching process. QIF income and expense categories import as GnuCash income and expense accounts (see section 3.1 for more on this). Make changes to these account names if necessary, and click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue.
- </para>
- <note>
- <para>
- If you are not sure what changes are needed, it is safe to accept the GnuCash account names. It is easy to edit the accounts later if you find you need to make a change.
- </para>
- </note>
- <para>
-From the drop-down list, select a standard currency to be used for imported accounts and click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue. If you have stocks, mutual funds, or other securities, you will be prompted for additional information. The importer dialog will ask for the exchange or listing (i.e. NASDAQ), the security's full name, and the ticker symbol. If you do not have this information handy, you can edit the account information later, once the import is complete. Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Tell GnuCash to import the data.
- </para>
- <para>
-The last step is the import. Once you have verified your account names and investment information, click <guibutton>Finish</guibutton> in the <guilabel>Update your GnuCash accounts</guilabel> page to complete the import process. Depending upon the size of your file, the import might take a few minutes to complete, so a progress bar displays the percentage finished. When the import process is complete, GnuCash will return you to the main window, which should now display the names of the accounts you imported.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>You will be prompted for a filename to load. Use the
+ <guibutton>Select</guibutton> button to select your QIF file and click
+ <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to load it. Once the file is loaded,
+ select <guibutton>Load another file</guibutton> if you have more files
+ to load. When you have loaded all your QIF files, click
+ <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue with the import
+ process.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Review the GnuCash accounts to be created.</para>
+
+ <para>The importer then matches up your QIF accounts and categories
+ with GnuCash accounts and gives you a brief description of the
+ matching process. Clicking <guibutton>Next</guibutton> will bring you
+ to a view comparing your QIF accounts with the corresponding GnuCash
+ accounts created. To change an account name, select the row containing
+ that account name and edit the name in the dialog box provided. Click
+ <guibutton>Next</guibutton> when you have finished making changes, and
+ proceed through a similar category matching process. QIF income and
+ expense categories import as GnuCash income and expense accounts (see
+ section 3.1 for more on this). Make changes to these account names if
+ necessary, and click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue.</para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>If you are not sure what changes are needed, it is safe to
+ accept the GnuCash account names. It is easy to edit the accounts
+ later if you find you need to make a change.</para>
+ </note>
+
+ <para>From the drop-down list, select a standard currency to be used
+ for imported accounts and click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to
+ continue. If you have stocks, mutual funds, or other securities, you
+ will be prompted for additional information. The importer dialog will
+ ask for the exchange or listing (i.e. NASDAQ), the security's full
+ name, and the ticker symbol. If you do not have this information
+ handy, you can edit the account information later, once the import is
+ complete. Click <guibutton>Next</guibutton> to continue.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Tell GnuCash to import the data.</para>
+
+ <para>The last step is the import. Once you have verified your account
+ names and investment information, click <guibutton>Finish</guibutton>
+ in the <guilabel>Update your GnuCash accounts</guilabel> page to
+ complete the import process. Depending upon the size of your file, the
+ import might take a few minutes to complete, so a progress bar
+ displays the percentage finished. When the import process is complete,
+ GnuCash will return you to the main window, which should now display
+ the names of the accounts you imported.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_backup1">
- <title>Backing Up and Recovering Data</title>
- <para>GnuCash creates several types of files to help ensure that your data is not lost. You may see files with the following file extensions: xac, log, LCK, LNK in the same directory as your principal data file. What each of these files does is presented below.</para>
+ <sect1 id="basics-backup1">
+ <title>Backing Up and Recovering Data</title>
- <sect2 id="basics_backupxac2">
- <title>Backup file (.xac)</title>
-<para>Each time you save your data file, a backup copy will also be saved with the extension xac. This backup file is a complete copy of your previous data file, and the filename format refers to the data file, year, month, day and time of the backup. For example, the filename <filename>gcashdata.20010404185747.xac</filename> indicates this is a backup copy of the file gcashdata saved in the year 2001, April 4, at 6:57:47 p.m.</para>
- <para>To restore an old backup file, simply open the .xac file with the date to which you wish to return. Be sure and save this file with a different file name, do not use a .xac extension for you regular file name.</para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>GnuCash creates several types of files to help ensure that your data
+ is not lost. You may see files with the following file extensions: xac,
+ log, LCK, LNK in the same directory as your principal data file. What each
+ of these files does is presented below.</para>
+
+ <programlisting>
+ $ ls
+ gcashdata
+ gcashdata.20060414185747.xac
+ gcashdata.20060414223248.log
+ gcashdata.20060415114340.xac
+ gcashdata.20060415154508.log
+ gcashdata.20060415173322.xac
+ gcashdata.20060415194251.log
+ gcashdata.7f0982.12093.LNK
+ gcashdata.LCK
+ </programlisting>
- <sect2 id="basics_backuplog2">
- <title>Log file (.log)</title>
- <para>Each time you open a file in GnuCash, a .log is created and saved with the same name format as the .xac backup files. As you make changes to the open data file, the log file saves only those changes. Log files are not a full backup of your data file - they simply record changes you have made to the data file in the current GnuCash session.</para>
- <para>In case you exit GnuCash inadvertently, possibly due to a power outage
-or a system wide crash, it is possible to recover most of your work since the last time you saved your GnuCash file using this log file. This is the procedure:</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>Open the last saved GnuCash file.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Go to "File" -> "Import" -> "Replay GnuCash .log file" and select the one .log file with the same date as the saved file you just opened. Make sure
-that you picked the right .log file, or you will possibly wreck havoc in
-your accounts.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
-<para>Log replaying will recover any transaction affecting the balance entered since the last save, including those created from scheduled transactions and business features (invoices, bills, etc.). </para>
- <note>
-<para>Warning: Changes to the scheduled transactions, invoices of bills themselves are NOT recovered, and their transactions that were recovered may not be properly associated with them, and should thus be double-checked. Especially
-for business transactions, you may have to delete and re-create some of them. If you do not, although the balance will be correct, some reports may not.</para>
- </note>
- </sect2>
+ <sect2 id="basics-backupxac2">
+ <title>Backup file (.xac)</title>
- <sect2 id="basics_backuplock2">
- <title>Lock files (.LNK and .LCK)</title>
- <para>
-You may occasionally see .LNK and .LCK files appear. These do not store any data, but they are created to prevent more than one user from opening the same file at the same time. These files are automatically created when you open the file, to lock it so no one else can access it. When you close your GnuCash session or open another file, GnuCash unlocks the first data file by deleting the LCK and LNK files.
- </para>
- <para>
-If GnuCash crashes while you have a data file open, the LCK and LNK files are not deleted. The next time you try to open GnuCash, you will get a warning message that the file is locked. The warning message appears because the LNK and LCK files are still in your directory. It is safe to choose Yes to open the file, but you should delete the .LNK and .LCK files (using a terminal window or your file manager.) Once those files are deleted, you will not get the warning message again unless GnuCash crashes.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Each time you save your data file, a backup copy will also be
+ saved with the extension xac. This backup file is a complete copy of
+ your previous data file, and the filename format refers to the data
+ file, year, month, day and time of the backup. For example, the filename
+ <filename>gcashdata.20060414185747.xac</filename> indicates this is a
+ backup copy of the file gcashdata saved in the year 2006, April 14, at
+ 6:57:47 p.m.</para>
- <sect2 id="basics_backupmanage2">
- <title>File Management</title>
- <para>
-So which files should you keep around? Keep your main data file, of course - data files do not have an automatic file extension. It's a good idea to keep some of the more recent .xac files, but you can safely delete the .log files since they are not complete copies of your data. You should also delete any .LCK and .LNK files that you see after closing GnuCash. If you decide to manually back up your data file to another disk, you only need to back up the main data file - not the .xac files.
- </para>
- <note>
- <para>
-GnuCash will automatically delete any .xac, .log files that are older than 30 days. You can change this behavior in the GnuCash preferences.
- </para>
- </note>
- </sect2>
+ <para>To restore an old backup file, simply open the .xac file with the
+ date to which you wish to return. Be sure and save this file with a
+ different file name, do not use a .xac extension for you regular file
+ name.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-backuplog2">
+ <title>Log file (.log)</title>
+
+ <para>Each time you open a file in GnuCash, a .log is created and saved
+ with the same name format as the .xac backup files. As you make changes
+ to the open data file, the log file saves only those changes. Log files
+ are not a full backup of your data file - they simply record changes you
+ have made to the data file in the current GnuCash session.</para>
+
+ <para>In case you exit GnuCash inadvertently, possibly due to a power
+ outage or a system wide crash, it is possible to recover most of your
+ work since the last time you saved your GnuCash file using this log
+ file. This is the procedure:</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open the last saved GnuCash file.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Go to "File" -> "Import" -> "Replay GnuCash .log file"
+ and select the one .log file with the same date as the saved file
+ you just opened. Make sure that you picked the right .log file, or
+ you will possibly wreck havoc in your accounts.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>Log replaying will recover any transaction affecting the balance
+ entered since the last save, including those created from scheduled
+ transactions and business features (invoices, bills, etc.).</para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>Warning: Changes to the scheduled transactions, invoices of
+ bills themselves are NOT recovered, and their transactions that were
+ recovered may not be properly associated with them, and should thus be
+ double-checked. Especially for business transactions, you may have to
+ delete and re-create some of them. If you do not, although the balance
+ will be correct, some reports may not.</para>
+ </note>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-backuplock2">
+ <title>Lock files (.LNK and .LCK)</title>
+
+ <para>You may occasionally see .LNK and .LCK files appear. These do not
+ store any data, but they are created to prevent more than one user from
+ opening the same file at the same time. These files are automatically
+ created when you open the file, to lock it so no one else can access it.
+ When you close your GnuCash session or open another file, GnuCash
+ unlocks the first data file by deleting the LCK and LNK files.</para>
+
+ <para>If GnuCash crashes while you have a data file open, the LCK and
+ LNK files are not deleted. The next time you try to open GnuCash, you
+ will get a warning message that the file is locked. The warning message
+ appears because the LNK and LCK files are still in your directory. It is
+ safe to choose Yes to open the file, but you should delete the .LNK and
+ .LCK files (using a terminal window or your file manager.) Once those
+ files are deleted, you will not get the warning message again unless
+ GnuCash crashes.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="basics-backupmanage2">
+ <title>File Management</title>
+
+ <para>So which files should you keep around? Keep your main data file,
+ of course - data files do not have an automatic file extension. It's a
+ good idea to keep some of the more recent .xac files, but you can safely
+ delete the .log files since they are not complete copies of your data.
+ You should also delete any .LCK and .LNK files that you see after
+ closing GnuCash. If you decide to manually back up your data file to
+ another disk, you only need to back up the main data file - not the .xac
+ files.</para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>GnuCash will automatically delete any .xac, .log files that are
+ older than 30 days. You can change this behavior in the GnuCash
+ preferences.</para>
+ </note>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="basics_together1">
- <title>Putting It All Together</title>
+
+ <sect1 id="basics-together1">
+ <title>Putting It All Together</title>
+
<note>
- <para>
-This section begins a tutorial that will continue throughout this book. At the end of each chapter, you will see a <guilabel>Putting It All Together</guilabel> section that walks you through examples to illustrate concepts discussed in that section. Each <guilabel>Putting It All Together</guilabel> section builds on the previous one, so be sure to save your file for easy access.
- </para>
+ <para>This section begins a tutorial that will continue throughout this
+ book. At the end of each chapter, you will see a <guilabel>Putting It
+ All Together</guilabel> section that walks you through examples to
+ illustrate concepts discussed in that section. Each <guilabel>Putting It
+ All Together</guilabel> section builds on the previous one, so be sure
+ to save your file for easy access.</para>
</note>
- <para>
-Let's get started!
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-First, let's create a file to store your real data. Open GnuCash and go through the <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> dialog. You will create a file and accounts to be used for your home finances, so choose the accounts that pertain to you. If you are not sure what accounts you will need, click the <guibutton>Select All</guibutton> option to create all of the accounts provided. When you have completed the setup, save this file with a filename you want to use for your home data.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Next, create a file to store test data. This is the file that will be used in the tutorials throughout this manual. Click <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem> to create a new file, and name it <filename>gcashdata</filename>. Your main window should now look something like this:
- <screenshot id="basics_gcashdata">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_gcashdata.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+
+ <para>Let's get started!</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>First, let's create a file to store your real data. Open GnuCash
+ and go through the <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel>
+ dialog. You will create a file and accounts to be used for your home
+ finances, so choose the accounts that pertain to you. If you are not
+ sure what accounts you will need, click the <guibutton>Select
+ All</guibutton> option to create all of the accounts provided. When
+ you have completed the setup, save this file with a filename you want
+ to use for your home data.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Next, create a file to store test data. This is the file that
+ will be used in the tutorials throughout this manual. Click
+ <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>New</guimenuitem> to create
+ a new file, and name it <filename>gcashdata_1</filename>. Your main
+ window should now look something like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-EmptyAccounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_EmptyAccounts.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Main windows showing the test file</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Account Tree window with a set of
- accounts loaded from the druid.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Main windows showing the test file</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Account Tree window with a set of
+ accounts loaded from the druid.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Now, adjust some preferences in the account tree window. Select <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem> -> <guimenuitem>General</guimenuitem> and change the tool bar buttons so that they display only text, not icons. Click <guibutton>Apply</guibutton> and look at the tool bar buttons in the main window. Return to the <guilabel>Preferences</guilabel> dialog and change the tool bar buttons back to the default setting by clicking <guibutton>Default</guibutton>.
-From the tool bar, select <guibutton>Options</guibutton> and select the <quote>Type</quote> item in the <guilabel>Account Fields to display</guilabel> option. The main window should now look like this:
- <screenshot id="basics_gcashdata2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_gcashdata2.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Now, adjust some preferences in the account tree window. Select
+ <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> -> <guimenuitem>Preferences</guimenuitem>
+ -> <guimenuitem>Windows</guimenuitem> and change the toolbar Style
+ so that they display only text, not icons. The change will take place
+ directly, so look at the tool bar buttons in the main window. Return
+ to the <guilabel>Preferences</guilabel> dialog and change the tool bar
+ buttons back to the default setting by clicking <guibutton>Use system
+ default</guibutton>. From the column header row, select
+ <guibutton>Arrow down</guibutton> and select <quote>Type</quote>
+ (which means view column "Type"). The main window should now look like
+ this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-EmptyAccounts2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_EmptyAccounts2.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The effect of changing the display options</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the effect of changing the display options.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The effect of changing the display options</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the effect of changing the display
+ options.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ <para>Save your file.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>If you plan to import QIF data from another program, let's try a
+ practice file first. (If not, skip to the next chapter on account
+ setup.)</para>
-Save your file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-If you plan to import QIF data from another program, let's try a practice file first. (If not, skip to the next chapter on account setup.) First, create a new file called <filename>gcashimport</filename>. From the main menu, select <guimenu>File</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Import</guisubmenu> -> <guimenuitem>Import QIF...</guimenuitem> to start the import. When you are prompted for a filename, select (???GnuCash should have a sample QIF file available for this tutorial - can that be done easily?) Load the file and look at the results of the account match. Complete the import and take a look at the results. The main window should now look like this:
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>First, create a new file called
+ <filename>gcashimport</filename>. It is up to you if you would
+ like to specify accounts (like Common Accounts) directly or not.
+ If QIF importer do not find an account, it will create it
+ automatically (or allow you to create it manually)</para>
+ </listitem>
-(?Insert a screen shot here that corresponds to an imported test file)
+ <listitem>
+ <para>From the main menu, select <guimenu>File</guimenu> ->
+ <guisubmenu>Import</guisubmenu> -> <guimenuitem>Import
+ QIF...</guimenuitem> to start the import.</para>
+ </listitem>
-Save your file.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Select the appropriate currency</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Select <filename>gnc_Sample_QIF.qif</filename> as QIF file
+ to load.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>In the following dialogs, ensure that each transaction has a
+ valid account, if in doubt, just use the default ones.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Complete the import.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>The main window should now look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="basics-AccountsSampleQIF">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/basics_AccountsSampleQIF.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>After importing the provided sample QIF file</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Main window after importing the
+ provided QIF sample file.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Save your file.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
</sect1>
- </chapter>
+</chapter>
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cbook.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cbook.xml 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cbook.xml 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,317 +1,467 @@
<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
+ Version: 1.9.0
+ Last modified: April 16th 2006
Version: 1.8.4
Last modified: April 10th 2004
Maintainers:
Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br>
- Originally written by Carol Champagne.
+ Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>
+ Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
- <chapter id="chapter5">
+<chapter id="chapter5">
<title>Checkbook</title>
- <para>
- This chapter will give you all the specific information you need to manage your checkbook with GnuCash. Managing your checkbook register is the first step of tracking your finances, and GnuCash makes it much easier to manage than the traditional paper register does.
- </para>
- <para>
- For one thing, as discussed in Chapter 4, data entry of common transactions is practically done for you in GnuCash, because of its auto-completion feature. GnuCash keeps a running balance of each account, and it makes reconciling these accounts easy. And the double-entry method helps you account for your spending by requiring a transfer account for withdrawals, so you can easily find out how much money you spend in different areas.
- </para>
- <para>
- Once you are comfortable with using GnuCash for your checking and other bank accounts, you may wish to continue on with tracking other financial accounts. Chapters 6 through 9 examine methods to manage your other accounts.
- </para>
- <sect1 id="cbook_accounts1">
- <title>Setting up Accounts</title>
- <para>
- The first step in managing your checkbook is to set up the necessary accounts. You can either use the default GnuCash accounts or set up your own. For more detail on how to set up a new account, refer to Section 3.3. For instructions on importing your accounts from another program, refer to Section 2.4.
- </para>
- <para>
- Let's start with the bank accounts you'll need. You need one GnuCash bank type account for each physical bank account you wish to track. If you are setting up your own accounts or using the default GnuCash accounts, make sure that you have an opening balance transaction for each bank account you own. The easiest way to get this number is to use the balance from your last bank statement as your opening balance. You can enter this in the account information window automatically as part of the <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> druid, or you can enter a manual transaction directly in the account. To enter the transaction manually, enter a transfer from an <guilabel>Opening Balances</guilabel> account (type equity) to the bank account.
- </para>
- <para>
- The typical bank accounts you might track include:
- </para>
+
+ <para>This chapter will give you all the specific information you need to
+ manage your checkbook with GnuCash. Managing your checkbook register is the
+ first step of tracking your finances, and GnuCash makes it much easier to
+ manage than the traditional paper register does.</para>
+
+ <para>For one thing, as discussed in Chapter 4, data entry of common
+ transactions is practically done for you in GnuCash, because of its
+ auto-completion feature. GnuCash keeps a running balance of each account,
+ and it makes reconciling these accounts easy. And the double-entry method
+ helps you account for your spending by requiring a transfer account for
+ withdrawals, so you can easily find out how much money you spend in
+ different areas.</para>
+
+ <para>Once you are comfortable with using GnuCash for your checking and
+ other bank accounts, you may wish to continue on with tracking other
+ financial accounts. Chapters 6 through 9 examine methods to manage your
+ other accounts.</para>
+
+ <sect1 id="cbook-accounts1">
+ <title>Setting up Accounts</title>
+
+ <para>The first step in managing your checkbook is to set up the necessary
+ accounts. You can either use the default GnuCash accounts or set up your
+ own. For more detail on how to set up a new account, refer to Section 3.3.
+ For instructions on importing your accounts from another program, refer to
+ Section 2.4.</para>
+
+ <para>Let's start with the bank accounts you'll need. You need one GnuCash
+ bank type account for each physical bank account you wish to track. If you
+ are setting up your own accounts or using the default GnuCash accounts,
+ make sure that you have an opening balance transaction for each bank
+ account you own. The easiest way to get this number is to use the balance
+ from your last bank statement as your opening balance. You can enter this
+ in the account information window automatically as part of the
+ <guilabel>New Account Hierarchy Setup</guilabel> druid, or you can enter a
+ manual transaction directly in the account. To enter the transaction
+ manually, enter a transfer from an <guilabel>Opening Balances</guilabel>
+ account (type equity) to the bank account.</para>
+
+ <para>The typical bank accounts you might track include:</para>
+
<itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Checking - any institutional account that provides check-writing privileges.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Savings - an interest-bearing institutional account usually used to hold money for a longer term than checking accounts.
- </para>
- </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Checking - any institutional account that provides check-writing
+ privileges.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Savings - an interest-bearing institutional account usually used
+ to hold money for a longer term than checking accounts.</para>
+ </listitem>
</itemizedlist>
- <para>
- Common transactions that affect these bank accounts are payments and deposits. <emphasis>Payments</emphasis> are transfers of money out of the bank account, usually to an expense account. <emphasis>Deposits</emphasis> are transfers of money into the bank account, usually from an income account. You will need to set up income and expense accounts to track where that money comes from and where it goes. Remember that a balanced transaction requires a transfer of an equal sum of money from at least one account to at least one other account. So if you deposit money in your checking account, you must also enter the account that money comes from. If you pay a bill from your checking account, you must also enter the account where that money goes.
- </para>
+
+ <para>Common transactions that affect these bank accounts are payments and
+ deposits. <emphasis>Payments</emphasis> are transfers of money out of the
+ bank account, usually to an expense account. <emphasis>Deposits</emphasis>
+ are transfers of money into the bank account, usually from an income
+ account. You will need to set up income and expense accounts to track
+ where that money comes from and where it goes. Remember that a balanced
+ transaction requires a transfer of an equal sum of money from at least one
+ account to at least one other account. So if you deposit money in your
+ checking account, you must also enter the account that money comes from.
+ If you pay a bill from your checking account, you must also enter the
+ account where that money goes.</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="cbook_deposits1">
- <title>Entering Deposits</title>
- <para>
- Most deposit transactions are entered as a transfer from an income account to a bank account. Income may come from many sources, and it's a good idea to set up a separate income type account for each different source. For example, your income may come mainly from your paychecks, but you may also receive interest on your savings. In this case, you should have one income account for salary and another income account for interest income.
- </para>
- <tip>
- <para>
- Be sure to check the Tax-Related box in the Account Information Dialog when you set up taxable income accounts. Some types of income, such as gift income, may not be considered taxable, so check the appropriate tax rules to determine what is taxable. For ways to track capital gains income, refer to Chapter 7.
- </para>
- </tip>
- <para>
- Before you start entering paycheck deposits, decide how much detail you want to track. The basic level of detail is to enter your net pay, just like you would in your paper register. This is easiest, but you can get even more information out of GnuCash if you enter your gross pay with deductions. It takes a bit more effort to enter the deductions, but entering your tax withholding information throughout the year allows you to run useful tax status reports in GnuCash at any time. These reports can help you determine whether you are withholding enough tax, and they can help you estimate your tax bill ahead of time. If you are unsure about the level of detail, start by entering net pay. You can always go back and edit your transactions later if you decide you want more detail.
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="cbook-deposits1">
+ <title>Entering Deposits</title>
+
+ <para>Most deposit transactions are entered as a transfer from an income
+ account to a bank account. Income may come from many sources, and it's a
+ good idea to set up a separate income type account for each different
+ source. For example, your income may come mainly from your paychecks, but
+ you may also receive interest on your savings. In this case, you should
+ have one income account for salary and another income account for interest
+ income.</para>
+
+ <tip>
+ <para>Be sure to check the Tax-Related box in the Account Information
+ Dialog when you set up taxable income accounts. Some types of income,
+ such as gift income, may not be considered taxable, so check the
+ appropriate tax rules to determine what is taxable. For ways to track
+ capital gains income, refer to Chapter 7.</para>
+ </tip>
+
+ <para>Before you start entering paycheck deposits, decide how much detail
+ you want to track. The basic level of detail is to enter your net pay,
+ just like you would in your paper register. This is easiest, but you can
+ get even more information out of GnuCash if you enter your gross pay with
+ deductions. It takes a bit more effort to enter the deductions, but
+ entering your tax withholding information throughout the year allows you
+ to run useful tax status reports in GnuCash at any time. These reports can
+ help you determine whether you are withholding enough tax, and they can
+ help you estimate your tax bill ahead of time. If you are unsure about the
+ level of detail, start by entering net pay. You can always go back and
+ edit your transactions later if you decide you want more detail.</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="cbook_withdrawals1">
- <title>Entering Withdrawals</title>
- <para>
- When you withdraw money from your bank account, for whatever reason, you are transferring money from your bank account to some other location. In GnuCash, this other location is tracked as an account. The more detailed accounts you create and use for your spending, the more information you will get about where your money goes.
- </para>
- <para>
- Withdrawals take many forms. ATM withdrawals are one of the most common transactions. Writing checks is one way to withdraw money to pay bills, to buy purchases, or to give to charity. Depending on your bank, you might also have service charges, where the bank withdraws the money from your account. Transfers of money out to another account are also withdrawals. We will take a look at each of these types of withdrawals and how to record them in GnuCash.
- </para>
- <sect2 id="cbook_atm2">
- <title>ATM/Cash Withdrawals</title>
- <para>
- Cash withdrawals are handled as a transfer from a bank account to a cash account. GnuCash provides special cash type accounts for tracking your cash purchases, so you should set up a cash account to record your ATM and other cash withdrawals.
- </para>
- <para>
- Cash accounts can be used for different levels of detail. On a basic level of detail, you simply transfer money to it from your checking account. That tells you how much money you took out of checking on a given day, but it doesn't tell you where that cash was spent. With a little more effort, you can use the cash account to record your cash purchases as well, so that you can see where that cash went. You record these purchases as a transfer from the cash account to expense accounts.
- </para>
- <para>
- Some people record every cash purchase, but this takes a lot of work. An easier way is to record the purchases for which you have receipts, but then adjust the balance of the account to match what is in your wallet.
- </para>
- <para>
- It's a good idea to at least set up a cash account for your withdrawals. Then if you decide to track where your cash goes, you can enter transactions for the money you spend. You determine what level of detail you want to use.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <sect1 id="cbook-withdrawals1">
+ <title>Entering Withdrawals</title>
+
+ <para>When you withdraw money from your bank account, for whatever reason,
+ you are transferring money from your bank account to some other location.
+ In GnuCash, this other location is tracked as an account. The more
+ detailed accounts you create and use for your spending, the more
+ information you will get about where your money goes.</para>
+
+ <para>Withdrawals take many forms. ATM withdrawals are one of the most
+ common transactions. Writing checks is one way to withdraw money to pay
+ bills, to buy purchases, or to give to charity. Depending on your bank,
+ you might also have service charges, where the bank withdraws the money
+ from your account. Transfers of money out to another account are also
+ withdrawals. We will take a look at each of these types of withdrawals and
+ how to record them in GnuCash.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="cbook-atm2">
+ <title>ATM/Cash Withdrawals</title>
+
+ <para>Cash withdrawals are handled as a transfer from a bank account to
+ a cash account. GnuCash provides special <emphasis>Cash</emphasis> type
+ accounts for tracking your cash purchases, so you should set up a cash
+ account to record your ATM and other cash withdrawals.</para>
+
+ <para>Cash accounts can be used for different levels of detail. On a
+ basic level of detail, you simply transfer money to it from your
+ checking account. That tells you how much money you took out of checking
+ on a given day, but it doesn't tell you where that cash was spent. With
+ a little more effort, you can use the cash account to record your cash
+ purchases as well, so that you can see where that cash went. You record
+ these purchases as a transfer from the cash account to expense
+ accounts.</para>
+
+ <para>Some people record every cash purchase, but this takes a lot of
+ work. An easier way is to record the purchases for which you have
+ receipts, but then adjust the balance of the account to match what is in
+ your wallet.</para>
+
+ <para>It's a good idea to at least set up a cash account for your
+ withdrawals. Then if you decide to track where your cash goes, you can
+ enter transactions for the money you spend. You determine what level of
+ detail you want to use.</para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="cbook_reconacct1">
- <title>Reconciling Your Accounts</title>
- <para>
- GnuCash makes reconciliation of your bank account with your monthly bank statement much easier. Section 4.6 gives instructions on how to reconcile your transactions with the monthly bank statement. This is the main reconciliation task that should be done every month.
- </para>
- <para>
- But what about all those other accounts you created? Should those be reconciled too? If you receive a statement for the account, then you should consider reconciling that account. Examples include the checking account statement, the savings account statement, and the credit card statement. Credit card statements and credit card transactions are covered in the next chapter, so if you are interested in tracking your credit cards in GnuCash, take a look at the instructions provided there.
- </para>
- <para>
- Income and expense accounts are usually not reconciled, because there is no statement to check them against. You also don't need to reconcile cash accounts, for the same reason. With a cash account, though, you might want to adjust the balance every once in a while, so that your actual cash on hand matches the balance in your cash account. Adjusting balances is covered in the next section.
- </para>
+
+ <sect1 id="cbook-reconacct1">
+ <title>Reconciling Your Accounts</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash makes reconciliation of your bank account with your monthly
+ bank statement much easier. Section 4.5 gives instructions on how to
+ reconcile your transactions with the monthly bank statement. This is the
+ main reconciliation task that should be done every month.</para>
+
+ <para>But what about all those other accounts you created? Should those be
+ reconciled too? If you receive a statement for the account, then you
+ should consider reconciling that account. Examples include the checking
+ account statement, the savings account statement, and the credit card
+ statement. Credit card statements and credit card transactions are covered
+ in the next chapter, so if you are interested in tracking your credit
+ cards in GnuCash, take a look at the instructions provided there.</para>
+
+ <para>Income and expense accounts are usually not reconciled, because
+ there is no statement to check them against. You also don't need to
+ reconcile cash accounts, for the same reason. With a cash account, though,
+ you might want to adjust the balance every once in a while, so that your
+ actual cash on hand matches the balance in your cash account. Adjusting
+ balances is covered in the next section.</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="cbook_together1">
- <title>Putting It All Together</title>
- <para>
- In Chapter 4, you entered some transactions in your checking account. In this chapter, we will add more transactions and then reconcile them. So, let's get started by opening the gcashdata file you saved in the last chapter. Your chart of accounts should look like this:
-FIXME:insert chartaccts2.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_gcashdata2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_gcashdata2.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <sect1 id="cbook-together1">
+ <title>Putting It All Together</title>
+
+ <para>In Chapter 4, you entered some transactions in your checking
+ account. In this chapter, we will add more transactions and then reconcile
+ them. So, let's get started by opening the gcashdata file you saved in the
+ last chapter (<filename>gcashdata_4</filename>). Your chart of accounts
+ should look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-gcashdata4">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_gcashdata4.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Chart of Accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Chart of Accounts.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Now open the Checking account from the main window. In the last
+ chapter, you entered some paycheck transactions as deposits into
+ Checking. Now we will enter another kind of deposit - a transfer of
+ money from Savings into Checking. On a blank line, enter a transaction
+ to transfer $500 from Savings to Checking (In this case, the last
+ transaction date was March 28, but this transfer transaction took
+ place on the March 24). Your Transfer account will be Savings, since
+ you are in the Checking account. Your Checking account should now look
+ like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-transferin">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_transferin.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Open the Savings account and enter an opening balance transaction for $1000. To do this, you will enter the transfer account as Opening Balances and the $1000 in the Deposit column:
-FIXME:insert savings.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_savings">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Now let's write some checks on this account. First, write a
+ check to HomeTown Grocery for $75 (5 of March). Your transfer account
+ is Groceries, since all of this money is going to buy groceries. Next,
+ write a check to ABC Hardware for $100 (6 of March), and split this
+ amount between two expenses: Household $50 and Tools $50. You will
+ need to create an expense type account for each of these, then enter
+ splits for them. Your checking account should now look like
+ this;</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-checkexamp">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_checkexamp.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register after
+ registering some more checks.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Now open the Checking account from the main window. In the last chapter, you entered some paycheck transactions as deposits into Checking. Now we will enter another kind of deposit - a transfer of money from Savings into Checking. On a blank line, enter a transaction to transfer $500 from Savings to Checking. Your Transfer account will be Savings, since you are in the Checking account. Your Checking account should now look like this:
-FIXME:insert transferin.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_transferin">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Suppose you now need to withdraw some money. You don't have a
+ cash account set up in your chart of accounts, so you will need to
+ create one. Create the account as <guilabel>Cash</guilabel> as a
+ top-level account of type <guilabel>Asset</guilabel>. From your
+ Checking account register, enter an ATM type withdrawal to transfer
+ $100 from Checking to Cash on the 25 of March.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-atm">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_atm.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register with an ATM
+ withdrawal.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Now let's write some checks on this account. First, write a check to HomeTown Grocery for $75. Your transfer account is Groceries, since all of this money is going to buy groceries. Next, write a check to ABC Hardware for $100, and split this amount between two expenses: Household $50 and Tools $50. You will need to create an expense type account for each of these, then enter splits for them. Your checking account should now look like this;
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Now we are ready to reconcile this Checking account, using this
+ sample bank statement:</para>
-FIXME:insert checkexamp.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_checkexamp">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <screenshot id="cbook-bankstmt">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_bankstmt.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>A sample Bank Statement</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows a sample Bank Statement.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Suppose you now need to withdraw some money. You don't have a cash account set up in your chart of accounts, so you will need to create one. Create the account as Cash as a top-level account of type cash. From your Checking account register, enter an ATM type withdrawal to transfer $100 from Checking to Cash.
-FIXME:insert ATM.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_atm">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>Select <guimenu>Actions</guimenu><guimenu> ->
+ </guimenu><guimenuitem>Reconcile</guimenuitem> from the menu, and fill
+ in the Closing balance as $1451.79. Click OK to begin reconciling the
+ account. Check off the entries as they appear on the sample statement.
+ When you have checked off all your entries, the reconcile window
+ should look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-reconexamp">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_reconexamp.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The reconcile window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the reconcile window with a $5
+ difference.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Now we are ready to reconcile this Checking account, using this sample bank statement:
-FIXME:insert a picture of a sample bank statement here
-<screenshot id="cbook_bankstmt">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>Notice that your reconciled balance differs from your ending
+ balance by $5.00. If you look at the sample bank statement, you will
+ see there is a $5.00 service charge that has not been added to your
+ Checking account.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>So click on the Checking register and add the $5.00 service
+ charge to your Checking account. On a blank line of the Checking
+ register, enter a transaction to transfer $5.00 from Checking to a
+ Service Charges account. (You will need to create the Service Charges
+ account as type expense.) Use the transaction date printed on the
+ sample statement as the date you enter for this transaction. Your
+ Checking account should now look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-servch">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_servch.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register with
+ service charge added.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
- </para>
- <para>
- Select Account|Reconcile... from the menu, and fill in the Closing balance as $2620. Click OK to begin reconciling the account. Check off the entries as they appear on the sample statement. When you have checked off all your entries, the reconcile window should look like this:
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Click back on the Reconcile window, and you should see the
+ service charge now under Funds Out. Click on it to mark it as
+ reconciled, and note that the difference amount below now becomes
+ 0.00. Click the Finish button on the tool bar to complete the
+ reconciliation. The Reconcile R column in your Checking register
+ should now show <guilabel>y</guilabel> for each transaction you just
+ reconciled. Also observe the bottom status row that now indicates
+ "Reconciled: USD 1451.79"</para>
-FIXME:insert reconexamp.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_reconexamp">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <screenshot id="cbook-reconciledCheckAct">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_reconciledCheckAct.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the reconciled Checking Account
+ Register.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
- </para>
- <para>
- Notice that your reconciled balance differs from your ending balance by $5.00. If you look at the sample bank statement, you will see there is a $5.00 service charge that has not been added to your Checking account.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- So click on the Checking register and add the $5.00 service charge to your Checking account. On a blank line of the Checking register, enter a transaction to transfer $5.00 from Checking to a Service Charges account. ( You will need to create the Service Charges account as type expense.) Use the transaction date printed on the sample statement as the date you enter for this transaction. Your Checking account should now look like this:
-FIXME:insert servch.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_servch">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>To emphasize again about GnuCash's double entry method of book
+ keeping, lets check how the <guilabel>Expenses:Groceries</guilabel>
+ looks like after we have reconciled.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cbook-reconciledGrocery">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_reconciledGrocery.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Grocery Account Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Grocery Account Register after
+ reconcilidation.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Go back to the main window and save your file with the new
+ <filename>gcashdata_5</filename> name. Your chart of accounts is
+ steadily growing, and it should now look like this:</para>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Click back on the Reconcile window, and you should see the service charge now under Funds Out. Click on it to mark it as reconciled, and note that the difference amount below now becomes 0.00. Click the Finish button on the tool bar to complete the reconciliation. The Reconcile R column in your Checking register should now show y for each transaction you just reconciled.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Go back to the main window and save your file. Your chart of accounts is steadily growing, and it should now look like this:
+ <screenshot id="cbook-chartaccts5">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_chartaccts5.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
-FIXME:insert chartaccts3.png
-<screenshot id="cbook_chartaccts3">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cbook_register.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the Checking Account Register.
- </para>
- </caption>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Chart of Accounts</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the Chart of Accounts.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
+ </listitem>
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- <para>
- Notice that you have not yet used one of the accounts listed in your chart, the Credit Card account. Now that you know how to keep track of your bank and cash accounts in GnuCash, you may want to start tracking your credit cards as well. GnuCash provides a special type of account for credit cards, and this is discussed in the next chapter.
- </para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Last, save the GnuCash data file (<filename>gcashdata_5</filename>).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>Notice that you have not yet used one of the accounts listed in your
+ chart, the <guilabel>Credit Card</guilabel> account. Now that you know how
+ to keep track of your bank and cash accounts in GnuCash, you may want to
+ start tracking your credit cards as well. GnuCash provides a special type
+ of account for credit cards, and this is discussed in the next
+ chapter.</para>
</sect1>
- </chapter>
+</chapter>
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cc.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cc.xml 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_cc.xml 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,36 +1,80 @@
<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
+ Version: 1.9.0
+ Last modified: April 16th 2006
Version: 1.8.4
Last modified: April 10th 2004
Maintainers:
Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br>
+ Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>
Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
- <chapter id="chapter6">
- <title>Credit Cards</title>
- <para>This chapter will show you how to manage your credit cards using GnuCash.</para>
+<chapter id="chapter6">
+ <title>Credit Cards</title>
- <sect1 id="cc_concepts1">
- <title>Concepts</title>
- <para>
-Since you probably write a check or make an electronic payment to the credit card company each month, you may think of your credit card bill as an expense - but it really is not an expense. Why? A credit card account is a short-term loan - you buy things on that loan account, and then you eventually have to pay back the money, often with interest (your finance charge). The purchases you make with that credit card are your expenses.
- </para>
- <para>You have a couple of options when entering credit card transactions, so choose the one that fits your desired level of detail. The simplest method is to simply track monthly payments to the credit card company. From your bank account, you enter a transfer of money each month to the credit card expense account. This will show you the amount of money you are paying each month to the credit card company, but it won't show you any information about your credit card balance or credit card purchases.</para>
- <para>A more complete way to track your credit card in GnuCash is to enter each purchase and payment as a separate transaction. Using the credit card account register, you enter your receipts throughout the month. When your credit card statement arrives, you reconcile the credit card account to the statement, and you enter your payment as a transfer of money from your checking account to your credit card account. This method gives you more information about your balance during the month and points out any discrepancies during reconciliation, but you will have to do more data entry.</para>
- </sect1>
-
- <sect1 id="cc_accounts1">
- <title>Setting Up Accounts</title>
- <para>To begin managing your credit cards in GnuCash, you should set up a "Liability" top level account and under this parent account create credit card type accounts for each credit card you use. If you are tracking only the payments you make to the credit card company, then all you need is a bank account and a credit card account to enter your transactions.</para>
- <para>The charges you make on your credit card are expenses, so you will have to setup these accounts under the top-level account called "Expenses". If you decide to keep a more detailed records of your purchases, you will need to create expense accounts for each kind of purchase you make. Since you will also be reconciling the balance to your credit card statements, you should also enter an opening balance in each credit card account. The easiest way to do this is to use your last statement balance as the opening balance.</para>
- <sect2 id="cc_accounts_simple2">
- <title>Simple Setup</title>
- <para>If you do not want to track each expense made on the credit card, you can setup a simple account hierarchy like this:</para>
- <literallayout>
+ <para>This chapter will show you how to manage your credit cards using
+ GnuCash.</para>
+
+ <sect1 id="cc-concepts1">
+ <title>Concepts</title>
+
+ <para>Since you probably write a check or make an electronic payment to
+ the credit card company each month, you may think of your credit card bill
+ as an expense - but it really is not an expense. Why? A credit card
+ account is a short-term loan - you buy things on that loan account, and
+ then you eventually have to pay back the money, often with interest (your
+ finance charge). The purchases you make with that credit card are your
+ expenses.</para>
+
+ <para>You have a couple of options when entering credit card transactions,
+ so choose the one that fits your desired level of detail. The simplest
+ method is to simply track monthly payments to the credit card company.
+ From your bank account, you enter a transfer of money each month to the
+ credit card expense account. This will show you the amount of money you
+ are paying each month to the credit card company, but it won't show you
+ any information about your credit card balance or credit card
+ purchases.</para>
+
+ <para>A more complete way to track your credit card in GnuCash is to enter
+ each purchase and payment as a separate transaction. Using the credit card
+ account register, you enter your receipts throughout the month. When your
+ credit card statement arrives, you reconcile the credit card account to
+ the statement, and you enter your payment as a transfer of money from your
+ checking account to your credit card account. This method gives you more
+ information about your balance during the month and points out any
+ discrepancies during reconciliation, but you will have to do more data
+ entry.</para>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="cc-accounts1">
+ <title>Setting Up Accounts</title>
+
+ <para>To begin managing your credit cards in GnuCash, you should set up a
+ "Liability" top level account and under this parent account create credit
+ card type accounts for each credit card you use. If you are tracking only
+ the payments you make to the credit card company, then all you need is a
+ bank account and a credit card account to enter your transactions.</para>
+
+ <para>The charges you make on your credit card are expenses, so you will
+ have to setup these accounts under the top-level account called
+ "Expenses". If you decide to keep a more detailed records of your
+ purchases, you will need to create expense accounts for each kind of
+ purchase you make. Since you will also be reconciling the balance to your
+ credit card statements, you should also enter an opening balance in each
+ credit card account. The easiest way to do this is to use your last
+ statement balance as the opening balance.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-accounts-simple2">
+ <title>Simple Setup</title>
+
+ <para>If you do not want to track each expense made on the credit card,
+ you can setup a simple account hierarchy like this:</para>
+
+ <literallayout>
-Assets
-Bank
-Liabilities
@@ -38,14 +82,30 @@
-Expenses
-Credit Card
</literallayout>
- <para>In this example, if you enter your total amount charged per month as a transaction between <quote>Liabilities:Credit Card</quote> and <quote>Expenses:Credit Card</quote>. When you make a payment, you would enter a transaction between <quote>Assets:Bank</quote> and <quote>Liabilities:Credit Card</quote>.</para>
- <para>The obvious limitation of this simple credit card setup is that you cannot see where your money is going. All your credit card expenses are being entered in the Credit Card expense account. This is, however, very simple to setup and maintain.</para>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="cc_accounts_complete2">
- <title>Complete Setup</title>
- <para>If you want to track your expenses more completely, you should setup multiple expense accounts named for the various kinds of expenses you have. Each charge on your credit card is then entered as a separate transaction between your Credit Card liability account and a specific expense account. Below is an example of an account hierarchy for this:</para>
- <literallayout>
+ <para>In this example, if you enter your total amount charged per month
+ as a transaction between <quote>Liabilities:Credit Card</quote> and
+ <quote>Expenses:Credit Card</quote>. When you make a payment, you would
+ enter a transaction between <quote>Assets:Bank</quote> and
+ <quote>Liabilities:Credit Card</quote>.</para>
+
+ <para>The obvious limitation of this simple credit card setup is that
+ you cannot see where your money is going. All your credit card expenses
+ are being entered in the Credit Card expense account. This is, however,
+ very simple to setup and maintain.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-accounts-complete2">
+ <title>Complete Setup</title>
+
+ <para>If you want to track your expenses more completely, you should
+ setup multiple expense accounts named for the various kinds of expenses
+ you have. Each charge on your credit card is then entered as a separate
+ transaction between your Credit Card liability account and a specific
+ expense account. Below is an example of an account hierarchy for
+ this:</para>
+
+ <literallayout>
-Assets
-Bank
-Liabilities
@@ -58,187 +118,420 @@
-Interest
-Service
</literallayout>
- <para>Clearly, you should enter specific expense accounts which fit your spending habits. The only difference with this setup as compared to the simple setup is that the expenses have been subdivided by groups. Also notice that there is an "Interest" expense, this is used for when your credit card charges interest on your monthly unpaid balance. The "Service" expense account is used to track service expenses associated with the credit card, such as the yearly usage fee if it exists. With this setup, you will be able to see where your money goes every month, grouped according to the expense accounts.</para>
- <para>The rest of this chapter will assume you are using the complete setup.</para>
- </sect2>
- </sect1>
- <sect1 id="cc_entercharge1">
- <title>Entering Charges</title>
- <para>Entering your charges provides you with a more complete picture of your spending habits. Charges on a credit card are tracked as a transaction between the credit card liability account and the appropriate expense account.</para>
- <para>When you swipe that credit card through the machine at a store, you are transferring money from your credit card company to that merchant. This transaction increases the amount of money you owe the credit card company. If you keep track of these types of transactions, you can reconcile your credit card account with your monthly statement, and you should quickly spot any transactions that look suspicious. So how should you account for charges to your credit card?</para>
- <para>One way is to manually enter all your receipts, either throughout the month or all at once. This can be time-consuming, but it is probably the best way to make sure that all of your charges are authorized. If you consistently enter all your receipts, you can quickly catch any errors or unauthorized transactions during your monthly reconciliation.</para>
- <para>Another way is to import a credit card statement directly into your account. If your credit card company supports a QIF file format for its statements, you have the option of directly importing the statement. This type of import is covered in the chapter The Basics, and it is a convenient way to track your purchases without having to manually enter all your receipts.</para>
- </sect1>
+ <para>Clearly, you should enter specific expense accounts which fit your
+ spending habits. The only difference with this setup as compared to the
+ simple setup is that the expenses have been subdivided by groups. Also
+ notice that there is an "Interest" expense, this is used for when your
+ credit card charges interest on your monthly unpaid balance. The
+ "Service" expense account is used to track service expenses associated
+ with the credit card, such as the yearly usage fee if it exists. With
+ this setup, you will be able to see where your money goes every month,
+ grouped according to the expense accounts.</para>
- <sect1 id="cc_enterpay1">
- <title>Entering Payments</title>
- <para>Most payments to your credit card bill are entered as transfers from a bank account (asset) to the credit card account (liability). When you pay the monthly bill, you are withdrawing money from a bank account to pay down the credit card balance. This transaction decreases both your bank account balance and the amount of credit card debt you owe.</para>
- <para>When you return a purchase, you receive a refund on your credit card. This is another type of payment in that it decreases the amount of credit card debt you owe. If you recorded the original purchase transaction as a transfer from the credit card account to the expense, you now simply reverse that transaction: transfer the money back from the expense to the credit card account. This transaction decreases both the expense account balance and the credit card account balance. For example, if you originally recorded a credit card purchase of clothing, the transaction is a transfer from the credit card account to the clothing expense account. If you then return that clothing for a refund, you simply transfer the money back from the clothing expense account to the credit card account.</para>
- <note>
- <para>A common mistake is to enter a refund as income. It is not income, but rather a "negative expense". That is why you must transfer money from the expense account to your credit card when you receive a refund.</para>
- </note>
- </sect1>
+ <para>The rest of this chapter will assume you are using the complete
+ setup.</para>
+ </sect2>
+ </sect1>
- <sect1 id="cc_together1">
- <title>Putting It All Together</title>
+ <sect1 id="cc-entercharge1">
+ <title>Entering Charges</title>
- <para>Now that we have covered the basic ideas behind the various transactions you must make to successfully track your credit card in GnuCash, let's go through an example. In this example, we will make credit card purchases, make a partial payment to the credit card, get charged interest on the unpaid balance, and finally make a complete payoff of the credit card.</para>
- <para>Start with an account layout similar to that described earlier in this chapter, shown here as it would appear in GnuCash. Notice that we are starting with $10000 in the bank and a balance of $1000 on the credit card.</para>
+ <para>Entering your charges provides you with a more complete picture of
+ your spending habits. Charges on a credit card are tracked as a
+ transaction between the credit card liability account and the appropriate
+ expense account.</para>
-<screenshot id="cc_accounts">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_accounts.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Starting account structure</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Starting account structure for tracking a credit card in the putting it all together example.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <para>When you swipe that credit card through the machine at a store, you
+ are transferring money from your credit card company to that merchant.
+ This transaction increases the amount of money you owe the credit card
+ company. If you keep track of these types of transactions, you can
+ reconcile your credit card account with your monthly statement, and you
+ should quickly spot any transactions that look suspicious. So how should
+ you account for charges to your credit card?</para>
- <sect2 id="cc_together_purchases2">
- <title>Purchases</title>
- <para>Let's make some purchases. Start by buying $25 worth of food from the Greasy Spoon Cafe, $100 worth of clothing from Faux Pas Fashions, $25 worth of gasoline from Premium Gasoline, $125 worth of groceries and household items from Groceries R Us (split between $85 in groceries and $40 in household items) and finally, $60 worth of household items from CheapMart. The register window for the credit card liability should look like this:</para>
+ <para>One way is to manually enter all your receipts, either throughout
+ the month or all at once. This can be time-consuming, but it is probably
+ the best way to make sure that all of your charges are authorized. If you
+ consistently enter all your receipts, you can quickly catch any errors or
+ unauthorized transactions during your monthly reconciliation.</para>
-<screenshot id="cc_purchases">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_purchases.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Initial credit card purchases</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Initial credit card purchases.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Another way is to import a credit card statement directly into your
+ account. If your credit card company supports a QIF file format for its
+ statements, you have the option of directly importing the statement. This
+ type of import is covered in the chapter The Basics, and it is a
+ convenient way to track your purchases without having to manually enter
+ all your receipts.</para>
+ </sect1>
- <sect2 id="cc_together_refund2">
- <title>Refund</title>
- <para>Now suppose that on February 27th you return the clothes you bought on February 3rd from Faux Pas Fashions and they give you credit back on your credit card. Enter a transaction for the credit card refund for the full $100 amount. Remember to use the same transfer account you used for the original purchase, and enter the amount under the Payment column. GnuCash will automatically complete the name and transfer account for you, but it will also automatically enter the $100 in the Charge column. You will need to reenter the amount in the Payment column. The transaction looks like this:</para>
+ <sect1 id="cc-enterpay1">
+ <title>Entering Payments</title>
-<screenshot id="cc_refund">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_refund.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Item return transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Returning clothes to Faux Pas Fashions, refund to credit card.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <para>Most payments to your credit card bill are entered as transfers from
+ a bank account (asset) to the credit card account (liability). When you
+ pay the monthly bill, you are withdrawing money from a bank account to pay
+ down the credit card balance. This transaction decreases both your bank
+ account balance and the amount of credit card debt you owe.</para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>When you return a purchase, you receive a refund on your credit
+ card. This is another type of payment in that it decreases the amount of
+ credit card debt you owe. If you recorded the original purchase
+ transaction as a transfer from the credit card account to the expense, you
+ now simply reverse that transaction: transfer the money back from the
+ expense to the credit card account. This transaction decreases both the
+ expense account balance and the credit card account balance. For example,
+ if you originally recorded a credit card purchase of clothing, the
+ transaction is a transfer from the credit card account to the clothing
+ expense account. If you then return that clothing for a refund, you simply
+ transfer the money back from the clothing expense account to the credit
+ card account.</para>
- <sect2 id="cc_together_interest2">
- <title>Interest Charge</title>
- <para>After the month of spending, unfortunately, the credit card bill arrives in the mail or you access it on-line through the internet. You have been charged $20 in interest on the last day of February because of the balance you carried from the previous month. This gets entered into the credit card account as an expense.</para>
+ <note>
+ <para>A common mistake is to enter a refund as income. It is not income,
+ but rather a "negative expense". That is why you must transfer money
+ from the expense account to your credit card when you receive a
+ refund.</para>
+ </note>
-<screenshot id="cc_interest">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_interest.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Interest charge</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Interest charge.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <para>To clairfy this, lets run through an example. You bought some Jeans
+ for $74.99 on your VISA card, but realized 1 day later that they are to
+ big and want to return them. The shop gracefully agrees, and refunds your
+ credit card.</para>
- </sect2>
-
- <sect2 id="cc_together_reconcile2">
- <title>Reconciliation</title>
- <para>When your credit card bill arrives you should reconcile your credit card account to this document. This is done using GnuCash's built-in reconciliation application. Highlight the credit card account and click on <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> -> <guimenu>Reconcile...</guimenu>. This reconciliation procedure is described in detail in the "Transactions" chapter, but we will step through the process here as well. For this example, let's assume that the credit card statement is dated February 1st, with a final balance of $955. Enter these values in to the initial Reconcile window as shown here.</para>
-
-<screenshot id="cc_reconcile_init">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_reconcile_init.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Initial reconcile window</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Initial account reconciliation window.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Start with opening the previous datafile we stored
+ (<filename>gcashdata_5</filename>), and store it as
+ <filename>gcashdata_6</filename>.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <para>During the reconciliation process, you check off each transaction in the account as you confirm that the transaction appears in both your GnuCash account and the credit card statement. For this example, as shown in the figure below, there is a $300 difference between your GnuCash accounts and the credit card statement.</para>
-
-<screenshot id="cc_reconcile">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_reconcile.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Main reconcile window</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Main account reconciliation window, demonstrating a discrepancy of $300.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open the <guilabel>Liabilities:Visa</guilabel> account register
+ and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $74.99 jeans
+ purchase. The <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Clothes</guilabel> and you
+ <guilabel>Charge</guilabel> your Visa account with the $74.99.</para>
- <para>Some investigation uncovers that you forgot to record a payment you made to the credit card company for $300 received on February 5th, you must enter this payment transaction from your bank account to the credit card. Now the credit card statement and your GnuCash account are reconciled, with a balance of $955.</para>
- </sect2>
+ <note>
+ <para>Since we had not created the Expense:Clothes account
+ previously, GnuCash will prompt us to create it. Just remember to
+ create it as an Expense account</para>
+ </note>
+ </listitem>
- <sect2 id="cc_together_payment2">
- <title>Payment</title>
- <para>Assuming you have completed reconciliation of your credit card account, you need to make a payment to the credit card company. In this example, we owe $955 but will make a partial payment of $300 again this month. To do so, enter a transaction from your bank account to the credit card account for $300, which should reduce your credit card balance to $655. Your credit card account register should now appear like this:</para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Enter the refund in one of the following way.</para>
-<screenshot id="cc_payment">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_payment.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Reconciliation and payment</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Account register after account reconciliation and payment.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Enter the same transaction as the purchase transaction, but
+ instead of a "Charge" amount, use a "Payment" amount in the Credit
+ Card account register.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <para>Your main GnuCash main window should now appear like this:</para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Select the purchase transaction you want to refund (that is
+ the Jeans transaction in our case), and selecting
+ <guimenu>Transaction</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Add Reversing
+ Transaction</guisubmenu>. Modify the date as needed.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
-<screenshot id="cc_final">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_final.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>GnuCash main window</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>GnuCash main window after account reconciliation and payment.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <para>After reversing the transaction, your credit card account should
+ look something like this </para>
+ <screenshot id="cc-Reversing-Transaction-1">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_Reversing_Transaction_1.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
- </sect2>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Refunded a credit card purchase</phrase>
+ </textobject>
- </sect1>
- </chapter>
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows <guilabel>Liability:Credit Card -
+ Register</guilabel> after reversing a purchase
+ transaction.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>and the <guilabel>Expenses:Clothes</guilabel> register should
+ look something like this </para>
+ <screenshot id="cc-Reversing-Transaction-2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_Reversing_Transaction_2.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Refunded a credit card purchase</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows <guilabel>Expenses:Clothes</guilabel>
+ register after reversing a purchase transaction.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Save the GnuCash data file.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+ </sect1>
+
+ <sect1 id="cc-together1">
+ <title>Putting It All Together</title>
+
+ <para>Now that we have covered the basic ideas behind the various
+ transactions you must make to successfully track your credit card in
+ GnuCash, let's go through an example. In this example, we will make credit
+ card purchases, refund two of the purchases, get charged interest on
+ the unpaid balance, reconcile the credit card account, and finally make a
+ partial payoff of the credit card.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-puttoget-openfile">
+ <title>Open GnuCash file</title>
+
+ <para>Start with opening the previous datafile we stored,
+ <filename>gcashdata_5</filename>, and store it as
+ <filename>gcashdata_6</filename> directly. The main window should look
+ something like this: </para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-accounts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_accounts.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Starting account structure</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Starting account structure for tracking a credit card in the
+ putting it all together example.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-together-purchases2">
+ <title>Purchases</title>
+
+ <para>Let's make some purchases on our visa card. Start by buying $25
+ worth of food from the Greasy Spoon Cafe, $100 worth of clothing from
+ Faux Pas Fashions, $25 worth of gasoline from Premium Gasoline, $125
+ worth of groceries and household items from Groceries R Us (split
+ between $85 in groceries and $40 in household items) and finally, $60
+ worth of household items from CheapMart.</para>
+
+ <para>We also redo the excercise in previous chapter, with purchasing
+ a pair of Jeans for $74.99 on April 3, and refund them two days later.</para>
+
+ <para>The register window for the credit card liability should look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-purchases">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_purchases.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Initial credit card purchases</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Initial credit card purchases.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-together-refund2">
+ <title>Refund</title>
+
+ <para>Now suppose that on April 15th you return the clothes you bought
+ on April 11th from Faux Pas Fashions and they give you credit back on
+ your credit card. Enter a transaction for the credit card refund for the
+ full $100 amount. Remember to use the same transfer account you used for
+ the original purchase, and enter the amount under the Payment column.
+ GnuCash will automatically complete the name and transfer account for
+ you, but it will also automatically enter the $100 in the Charge column.
+ You will need to reenter the amount in the Payment column. The
+ transaction looks like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-refund">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_refund.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Item return transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Returning clothes to Faux Pas Fashions, refund to credit
+ card.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-together-interest2">
+ <title>Interest Charge</title>
+
+ <para>After the month of spending, unfortunately, the credit card bill
+ arrives in the mail or you access it on-line through the internet. You
+ have been charged $20 in interest on the last day of April because of
+ the balance you carried from the previous month. This gets entered into
+ the credit card account as an expense.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-interest">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_interest.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Interest charge</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Interest charge.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-together-reconcile2">
+ <title>Reconciliation</title>
+
+ <para>When your credit card bill arrives you should reconcile your
+ credit card account to this document. This is done using GnuCash's
+ built-in reconciliation application. Highlight the credit card account
+ and click on <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenu>Reconcile...</guimenu>. This reconciliation procedure is
+ described in detail in the "Transactions" chapter, but we will step
+ through the process here as well. For this example, let's assume that
+ the credit card statement is dated May 1st, with a final balance of
+ $455. Enter these values in to the initial Reconcile window as shown
+ here.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-reconcile-init">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_reconcile_init.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Initial reconcile window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Initial account reconciliation window.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>During the reconciliation process, you check off each transaction
+ in the account as you confirm that the transaction appears in both your
+ GnuCash account and the credit card statement. For this example, as
+ shown in the figure below, there is a $300 difference between your
+ GnuCash accounts and the credit card statement.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-reconcile">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_reconcile.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Main reconcile window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Main account reconciliation window, demonstrating a
+ discrepancy of $300.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Some investigation uncovers that you forgot to record a payment
+ you made on March 5th to the credit card company for $300, you
+ must enter this payment transaction from your bank account to the credit
+ card. Now the credit card statement and your GnuCash account can be
+ reconciled, with a balance of $455.</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-together-payment2">
+ <title>Payment</title>
+
+ <para>Assuming you have completed reconciliation of your credit card
+ account, you need to make a payment to the credit card company. In this
+ example, we owe $455 but will make a partial payment of $300 again this
+ month. To do so, enter a transaction from your bank account to the
+ credit card account for $300, which should reduce your credit card
+ balance to $155. Your credit card account register should now appear
+ like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-payment">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_payment.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Reconciliation and payment</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Account register after account reconciliation and
+ payment.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Go back to the main window and save your file
+ (<filename>gcashdata_6</filename>). Your chart of accounts is steadily
+ growing, and it should now look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="cc-final">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/cc_final.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" ></imagedata>
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash main window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>GnuCash Chart of Accounts after account reconciliation and
+ payment.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="cc-puttoget-save">
+ <title>Save file</title>
+ <para>Last, save the GnuCash data file (<filename>gcashdata_6</filename>).</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ </sect1>
+</chapter>
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_oview.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_oview.xml 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_oview.xml 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,396 +1,607 @@
- <!--
+<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
+ Version: 1.9.0
+ Last modified: April 16th 2006
Version: 1.8.4
Last modified: April 10th 2004
Maintainers:
Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br>
+ Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>
Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
-
- <chapter id="chapter1">
+<chapter id="chapter1">
<title>Overview</title>
- <sect1 id="oview_intro1">
- <title>Introduction</title>
- <para>GnuCash is the personal finance software package made for you. It is versatile enough to keep track of all your financial information, from the simple to the very complex. It is one of the few financial software packages that supports global currencies, and it is the only open-source program of its kind. Best of all, GnuCash is easy to learn and use!</para>
- <para>So, what can GnuCash do for you? It can keep track of your personal finances in as much detail as you prefer. If you are just starting out, use GnuCash to keep track of your checkbook. You may then decide to track cash as well as credit card purchases to better determine where your money is being spent. When you start investing, you can use GnuCash to help monitor your portfolio. Buying a vehicle or a home? GnuCash will help you plan the investment and track loan payments. If your financial records span the globe, GnuCash provides all the multiple-currency support you need.</para>
- <para>While GnuCash is well suited for personal finances, it is also powerful enough for business use. There are many business features, from integrated accounts receivable and payable systems, to tax table construction. You will find these and the many other business features surprisingly powerful and easy to use.</para>
+ <sect1 id="oview-intro1">
+ <title>Introduction</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash is the personal finance software package made for you. It is
+ versatile enough to keep track of all your financial information, from the
+ simple to the very complex. It is one of the few financial software
+ packages that supports global currencies, and it is the only open-source
+ program of its kind. Best of all, GnuCash is easy to learn and use!</para>
+
+ <para>So, what can GnuCash do for you? It can keep track of your personal
+ finances in as much detail as you prefer. If you are just starting out,
+ use GnuCash to keep track of your checkbook. You may then decide to track
+ cash as well as credit card purchases to better determine where your money
+ is being spent. When you start investing, you can use GnuCash to help
+ monitor your portfolio. Buying a vehicle or a home? GnuCash will help you
+ plan the investment and track loan payments. If your financial records
+ span the globe, GnuCash provides all the multiple-currency support you
+ need.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="oview-intro">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/oview_intro.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>GnuCash Chart of Accounts - Teaser</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows a Chart of Accounts with multiple currencies and investments.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>While GnuCash is well suited for personal finances, it is also
+ powerful enough for business use. There are many business features, from
+ integrated accounts receivable and payable systems, to tax table
+ construction. You will find these and the many other business features
+ surprisingly powerful and easy to use.</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="oview_features1">
- <title>Features</title>
+ <sect1 id="oview-features1">
+ <title>Features</title>
- <sect2 id="oview_featureseasy2">
- <title>Easy to Use</title>
- <para>GnuCash has been designed from the ground up to be easy to use. Within a matter of minutes you will be able to enter your personal finance information and generate color graphs that represent your financial status. If you can use the register in the back of your checkbook - you can use GnuCash! Type directly into the register, tab between fields, and use quick-fill to automatically complete transactions. The interface is customizable from within the application itself.</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Easy to Use Menus</emphasis>: GnuCash menus conform with the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines. This means that they are simple and similar in appearance to many other GNOME applications.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Documentation</emphasis>: GnuCash has built in Help and extensive User Guide documentation.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Import Methods</emphasis>: GnuCash supports many ways to input transactions besides manual entry. If you can access your bank accounts on-line, this is especially useful, as one of the following export methods is supported by most banks. You will spend less time entering data and more time analyzing results.</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Quicken Import File (QIF)</emphasis>: Import Quicken QIF style files, a popular file format with many commercial personal finance software packages.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Open Financial Exchange (OFX)</emphasis>: GnuCash is the first free software application to support the Open Financial Exchange protocol. Many financial institutions are moving towards this format.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Home Banking Computer Interface (HBCI)</emphasis>: GnuCash is the first free software application to support the German Home Banking Computer Interface protocol. This protocol includes statement download, initiates bank transfers, and makes direct debits possible.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Reports</emphasis>: GnuCash comes with over 30 prebuilt reports, including Account Summary, Income, Expenses, Transaction Report, Balance Sheet, Profit&Loss, Portfolio Valuation, and many others. Reports support graphical views of the data, including pie charts, bar charts, and scatter plots. The reports can be exported to HTML files, and are easily customized.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Scheduled Transactions</emphasis>: GnuCash can automatically create and enter, or remind you of scheduled or recurring transactions. When you are reminded of scheduled transactions, you can enter or postpone them. Recurring transactions can be configured to stop after a certain period.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Mortgage and Loan Repayment Druid</emphasis>: Used to set up a variable payment loan scheduled transaction.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Easy Account Reconciliation</emphasis>: Integrated reconciliation makes reconciling your GnuCash accounts with statements simple and effective.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Multi-platform Compatibility</emphasis>: GnuCash is supported on a variety of platforms and operating systems. The list of fully supported operating systems (and platforms) for GnuCash v1.8.x is: GNU/Linux (x86, Sparc, PPC), FreeBSD (x86), OpenBSD (x86), Solaris (Sparc), and MacOS X (PPC). Previous versions of GnuCash have been known to work with, SGI IRIX (MIPS), IBM AIX 4.1.5 (RS/6000), Unixware 7 (Intel), and SCO OpenServer 5.0.4 (Intel), but their current status is unknown.</para>
- </listitem>
+ <sect2 id="oview-featureseasy2">
+ <title>Easy to Use</title>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Within a matter of minutes you will be able to enter your personal
+ finance information and generate color graphs that represent your
+ financial status. If you can use the register in the back of your
+ checkbook - you can use GnuCash! Type directly into the register, tab
+ between fields, and use quick-fill to automatically complete
+ transactions. The interface is customizable from within the application
+ itself.</para>
- <sect2 id="oview_featuresinvest2">
- <title>Tracks Your Investments</title>
- <para>GnuCash has a number of investment features. From simple certificates of deposit, to publicly traded stocks, GnuCash will track all your investments.</para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Easy to Use Menus</emphasis>: GnuCash menus conform
+ with the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines. This means that they are
+ simple and similar in appearance to many other GNOME
+ applications.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Stock/Mutual Fund Portfolios</emphasis>: Track stocks individually (one per account) or in a portfolio of accounts (a group of accounts that can be displayed together). </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>On-line Stock and Mutual Fund Quotes</emphasis>: With GnuCash, you no longer need look up your stock values one at a time. The process can be automated, to always present you with the lastest value of your stocks.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Documentation</emphasis>: GnuCash has built in Help
+ and extensive User Guide documentation.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Import Methods</emphasis>: GnuCash supports many
+ ways to input transactions besides manual entry. If you can access
+ your bank accounts on-line, this is especially useful, as most banks
+ and credit card companies support one of the following import
+ methods. You will spend less time entering data and more time
+ analyzing results.</para>
- <sect2 id="oview_featuresintl2">
- <title>International Support</title>
- <para>GnuCash is truly an application that works with and understands users from all around the world. There are many built-in features to facilitate interaction with the international world we live in today.</para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Quicken Import File (QIF)</emphasis>: Import
+ Quicken QIF style files, a popular file format with many
+ commercial personal finance software packages.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Native Languages</emphasis>: GnuCash has been fully translated into 12 languages: Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish and Swedish. More than 13 other languages are partially supported.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Multiple Currencies and Currency Trading</emphasis>: Multiple currencies are supported and can be bought and sold (traded). Currency movements between accounts are fully balanced when double-entry is enabled.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>New Multi-Currency Transaction Handling</emphasis>: GnuCash no longer requires separate currency exchange accounts to handle multiple currency transfers.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>International Date Handling</emphasis>: GnuCash understands that different countries display the date differently. You are able to work with the date format you are accustomed to.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Open Financial Exchange (OFX)</emphasis>:
+ GnuCash is the first free software application to support the
+ Open Financial Exchange protocol. Many financial institutions
+ are moving towards this format.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <sect2 id="oview_featuresbus2">
- <title>Business Support</title>
- <para>GnuCash has many features to support the needs of the business accounting community. </para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Home Banking Computer Interface
+ (HBCI)</emphasis>: GnuCash is the first free software
+ application to support the German Home Banking Computer
+ Interface protocol. This protocol includes statement download,
+ initiates bank transfers, and makes direct debits
+ possible.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </listitem>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Accounts Receivable/Payable</emphasis>: GnuCash has an integrated Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable system. You can track Customers, Vendors, Invoicing and Bill Payment, and use different Tax and Billing Terms in a small business.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Payroll</emphasis>: GnuCash can track company payroll.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Depreciation</emphasis>: GnuCash can track depreciation of capital assets.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Reports</emphasis>: GnuCash offers a wide variety of ready-to-use business reports.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Reports</emphasis>: GnuCash comes with over 30
+ prebuilt reports, including Account Summary, Income, Expenses,
+ Transaction Report, Balance Sheet, Profit&Loss, Portfolio
+ Valuation, and many others. Reports support graphical views of the
+ data, including pie charts, bar charts, and scatter plots. The
+ reports can be exported to HTML files, and are easily
+ customized.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <sect2 id="oview_featuresaccounting2">
- <title>Accounting Features</title>
- <para>For those knowledgeable in accounting, here is a list of GnuCash's accounting features.</para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Scheduled Transactions</emphasis>: GnuCash now has
+ the ability to automatically create and enter transactions, or
+ remind you when these transactions are due, giving you the choice of
+ entering, postponing or removing the automated transaction.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Double Entry</emphasis>: When enabled, every transaction must debit one account and credit others by an equal amount. This ensures the "books balance" - that the difference between income and expense exactly equals the sum of all bank, cash, stock and other assets.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Split Transactions</emphasis>: A single transaction can be split into several pieces to record taxes, fees, and other compound entries.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Chart of Accounts</emphasis>: A master account can have a hierarchy of detail accounts underneath it. This allows similar account types such as Cash, Bank, or Stock to be grouped into a master account such as <quote>Assets</quote>.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>General Ledger</emphasis>: One register window can display multiple accounts at the same time. This eases the trouble of tracking down typing/entry errors. It also provides a convenient way of viewing a portfolio of many stocks, by showing all transactions in that portfolio.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Income/Expense Account Types (Categories)</emphasis>:
- These categorize your cash flow and, when used properly with the double-entry feature, will provide an accurate Profit&Loss statement.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </sect2>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Mortgage and Loan Repayment Druid</emphasis>: Used
+ to set up a variable payment loan scheduled transaction.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <sect2 id="oview_featuresnew2">
- <title>What's New in v1.8</title>
- <para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Scheduled Transactions</emphasis></para>
-<para>GnuCash now has the ability to automatically create and enter transactions, remind you when these transactions are due, giving you the choice of entering, postponing or removing the automated transaction.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Mortgage and Loan Repayment Druid</emphasis></para>
-<para>Used to setup a variable payment loan scheduled transaction.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Small Business Accounting Features</emphasis></para>
-<para>GnuCash can now track Customers and Vendors, Invoicing and Bill Payment, and can use different Tax and Billing Terms in a small business.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Open Financial Exchange (OFX)</emphasis>: GnuCash is the first free software application to support the Open Financial Exchange protocol. Many financial institutions are beginning to support this format.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
-<para><emphasis>Home Banking Computer Interface (HBCI)</emphasis>: GnuCash is the first free software application to support the German Home Banking Computer Interface protocol. The protocol includes statement download, initiates bank transfers, and makes direct debits possible.</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Easy Account Reconciliation</emphasis>: Integrated
+ reconciliation makes reconciling your GnuCash accounts with
+ statements simple and effective.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Multi-platform Compatibility</emphasis>: GnuCash is
+ supported on a variety of platforms and operating systems. The list
+ of fully supported operating systems (and platforms) for GnuCash
+ v2.0.x is: GNU/Linux (x86, Sparc, PPC), FreeBSD (x86), OpenBSD
+ (x86), Solaris (Sparc), and MacOS X (PPC). Previous versions of
+ GnuCash have been known to work with, SGI IRIX (MIPS), IBM AIX 4.1.5
+ (RS/6000), Unixware 7 (Intel), and SCO OpenServer 5.0.4 (Intel), but
+ their current status is unknown.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="oview-featuresinvest2">
+ <title>Tracks Your Investments</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash has a number of investment features. From simple
+ certificates of deposit, to publicly traded stocks, GnuCash will track
+ all your investments.</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Stock/Mutual Fund Portfolios</emphasis>: Track
+ stocks individually (one per account) or in a portfolio of accounts
+ (a group of accounts that can be displayed together).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>On-line Stock and Mutual Fund Quotes</emphasis>:
+ With GnuCash, you no longer need look up your stock values one at a
+ time. The process can be automated, to always present you with the
+ lastest value of your stocks.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="oview-featuresintl2">
+ <title>International Support</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash is truly an application that works with and understands
+ users from all around the world. There are many built-in features to
+ facilitate interaction with the international world we live in
+ today.</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Native Languages</emphasis>: GnuCash has been fully
+ translated into 12 languages: Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English,
+ French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish and
+ Swedish. More than 13 other languages are partially
+ supported.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Multiple Currencies and Currency Trading</emphasis>:
+ Multiple currencies are supported and can be bought and sold
+ (traded). Currency movements between accounts are fully balanced
+ when double-entry is enabled.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>International Date Handling</emphasis>: GnuCash
+ understands that different countries display the date differently.
+ You are able to work with the date format you are accustomed
+ to.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>On-line exchange rates</emphasis>:
+ With GnuCash, you no longer need look up your exchange rates one at a
+ time. The process can be automated, to always present you with the
+ account values converted to your prefered currency using the latest
+ exchange rates.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="oview-featuresbus2">
+ <title>Business Support</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash has many features to support the needs of the business
+ accounting community.</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Accounts Receivable/Payable</emphasis>: GnuCash has
+ an integrated Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable system. You
+ can track Customers, Vendors, Invoicing and Bill Payment, and use
+ different Tax and Billing Terms in a small business.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Depreciation</emphasis>: GnuCash can track
+ depreciation of capital assets.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Reports</emphasis>: GnuCash offers a wide variety of
+ ready-to-use business reports.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="oview-featuresaccounting2">
+ <title>Accounting Features</title>
+
+ <para>For those knowledgeable in accounting, here is a list of GnuCash's
+ accounting features.</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Double Entry</emphasis>: Every transaction must
+ debit one account and credit others by an equal amount. This ensures
+ the "books balance" - that the difference between income and expense
+ exactly equals the sum of all bank, cash, stock and other
+ assets.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Split Transactions</emphasis>: A single transaction
+ can be split into several pieces to record taxes, fees, and other
+ compound entries.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Chart of Accounts</emphasis>: A master account can
+ have a hierarchy of detail accounts underneath it. This allows
+ similar account types such as Cash, Bank, or Stock to be grouped
+ into a master account such as <quote>Assets</quote>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>General Ledger</emphasis>: One register window can
+ display multiple accounts at the same time. This eases the trouble
+ of tracking down typing/entry errors. It also provides a convenient
+ way of viewing a portfolio of many stocks, by showing all
+ transactions in that portfolio.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Income/Expense Account Types
+ (Categories)</emphasis>: These categorize your cash flow and, when
+ used properly with the double-entry feature, will provide an
+ accurate Profit&Loss statement.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="oview-featuresnew2">
+ <title>What's New in v2.0</title>
+
+ <para><itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Gnome 2.0 (Gtk2)</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash is now using the latest toolkits from gtk, and
+ follows the normal Gnome2 HIG standards.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>UTF-8 support</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash now stores and reads each country's special
+ character sets by using UTF-8.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Budget</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash now comes with a budget feature that can help you
+ keep your expenses under control.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Import of MT940 files</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>Data files with transactions in MT940 format (as can be
+ downloaded from some banks) can now be imported into
+ GnuCash.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Bug fixes</emphasis></para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash is now more stable and secure than ever before due
+ to the long testing phase before we reached 2.0, as well as using
+ more stable and mature libraries (gtk2 for instance). Numerous
+ corrections has been made in every part of GnuCash, and too many
+ for us to highlight any special area.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="oview_about1">
- <title>About this Book</title>
- <para>
-This manual's goal is to save you time. It will get you started using GnuCash as quickly as possible.
- </para>
- <para>
-Each chapter follows a simple format. A chapter begins with a <quote>Concepts</quote> discussion which introduces general themes and terminology, addressed and used within that chapter. <quote>How-To</quote> sections, which address specific procedures follow. Finally, a <quote>Putting It All Together</quote> section ends the chapter by giving detailed, concrete examples.
- </para>
- <para>
-Beginning users will find the <quote>Concepts</quote> sections very helpful. They provide a reference for good ways to track your finances, and serve as an general introduction to financial background and terminology. Experienced users can flip to the <quote>How-To</quote> sections to quickly scan procedures. These sections provide to-the-point steps for accomplishing specific tasks. The <quote>Putting It All Together</quote> sections present real-world examples in the form of a tutorial. Beginning with creation of a file in Chapter 2, each successive chapter builds on the previous chapter's tutorial.
- </para>
- <para>
-This manual is organized into 3 main parts:
+ <sect1 id="oview-about1">
+ <title>About this Book</title>
+
+ <para>This manual's goal is to save you time. It will get you started
+ using GnuCash as quickly as possible.</para>
+
+ <para>Each chapter follows a simple format. A chapter begins with a
+ <quote>Concepts</quote> discussion which introduces general themes and
+ terminology, addressed and used within that chapter. <quote>How-To</quote>
+ sections, which address specific procedures follow. Finally, a
+ <quote>Putting It All Together</quote> section ends the chapter by giving
+ detailed, concrete examples.</para>
+
+ <para>Beginning users will find the <quote>Concepts</quote> sections very
+ helpful. They provide a reference for good ways to track your finances,
+ and serve as an general introduction to financial background and
+ terminology. Experienced users can flip to the <quote>How-To</quote>
+ sections to quickly scan procedures. These sections provide to-the-point
+ steps for accomplishing specific tasks. The <quote>Putting It All
+ Together</quote> sections present real-world examples in the form of a
+ tutorial. Beginning with creation of a file in Chapter 2, each successive
+ chapter builds on the previous chapter's tutorial.</para>
+
+ <para>This manual is organized into 3 main parts: <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Getting Started</emphasis></para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Managing Your Personal Finances</emphasis></para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Managing Your Business Finances</emphasis>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Getting Started</emphasis> provides you with the most
+ basic information needed to begin using GnuCash. Use this part as a
+ quick-start guide. Its chapters will get you up and running: <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 1: Overview</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 2: The Basics</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 3: Accounts</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 4: Transactions</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Managing Your Personal Finances</emphasis> addresses
+ common applications and features of GnuCash in greater detail. You will
+ see more specific cases, based on frequently asked questions about
+ applying GnuCash to everyday situations. Here are the applications and
+ features covered in this part: <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 5: Checkbook</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 6: Credit Cards</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 7: Loans</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 8: Investments</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 9: Capital Gains</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 10: Multiple Currencies</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+
+ <para><emphasis>Managing Your Business Finances</emphasis> discusses the
+ use of GnuCash in business accounting: <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 11: Depreciation</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 12: Accounts Receivable</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 13: Accounts Payable</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Chapter 14: Payroll</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+
+ <para>This manual also has an appendix, which contains extra information
+ you might want to know:</para>
+
<itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Getting Started</emphasis></para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Managing Your Personal Finances</emphasis></para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Managing Your Business Finances</emphasis>.</para>
- </listitem>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Appendix A: Migration Guide - Guide for former <trademark
+ class="registered">Quicken</trademark>, MS Money or other QIF
+ users</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Appendix C: Contributed Account Trees</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Appendix D: GNU Free Documentation License</para>
+ </listitem>
</itemizedlist>
- </para>
- <para>
-<emphasis>Getting Started</emphasis> provides you with the most basic information needed to begin using GnuCash. Use this part as a quick-start guide. Its chapters will get you up and running:
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 1: Overview</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 2: The Basics</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 3: Accounts</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 4: Transactions</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
+ <para>Last, but not least, a glossary and index help you quickly locate
+ topics.</para>
+ </sect1>
- <para>
-<emphasis>Managing Your Personal Finances</emphasis> addresses common applications and features of GnuCash in greater detail. You will see more specific cases, based on frequently asked questions about applying GnuCash to everyday situations. Here are the applications and features covered in this part:
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 5: Checkbook</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 6: Credit Cards</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 7: Loans</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 8: Investments</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 9: Capital Gains</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 10: Multiple Currencies</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="oview-reasons1">
+ <title>Top Ten Reasons to Use GnuCash</title>
- <para>
-<emphasis>Managing Your Business Finances</emphasis> discusses the use of GnuCash in business accounting:
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 11: Depreciation</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 12: Accounts Receivable</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 13: Accounts Payable</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>Chapter 14: Payroll</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
+ <para>We've already discussed some of the general advantages of using
+ GnuCash. Here are some specific features offered by GnuCash that may not
+ exist in other programs.</para>
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Simple user interface</para>
- <para>
-This manual also has an appendix, which contains extra information you might want to know:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Appendix A: Migration Guide -
- Guide for former <trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark>, MS Money or other QIF users
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Appendix B: Frequently Asked Questions
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Appendix C: Contributed Account Trees
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Appendix D: GNU Free Documentation License
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
-Last, but not least, a glossary and index help you quickly locate topics.
- </para>
- </sect1>
+ <para>GnuCash is as easy to use as a checkbook register. It's simpler
+ than a paper register, because auto-completion and other entry
+ shortcuts, not only do work for you, but reduce data entry
+ errors.</para>
+ </listitem>
- <sect1 id="oview_reasons1">
- <title>Top Ten Reasons to Use GnuCash</title>
- <para>
-We've already discussed some of the general advantages of using GnuCash. Here are some specific features offered by GnuCash that may not exist in other programs.
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Simple user interface
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash is as easy to use as a checkbook register. It's simpler than a paper register, because auto-completion and other entry shortcuts, not only do work for you, but reduce data entry errors.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Easy import
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash allows you to import data from on-line bank statements and software packages using QIF (<trademark class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange Format), OFX and HBCI files. An easy-to-use <quote>druid</quote> walks you through reviewing resulting changes and actually importing them into GnuCash.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Statement reconciliation
- </para>
- <para>
-Reconcile monthly statements quickly by entering the statement ending balance and checking off transactions. GnuCash helps you catch any discrepancies between your data and statements you receive.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Investment tracking
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash offers a host of ways to track your investment portfolio. Special investment accounts simplify data entry, and on-line tools allow you to update prices of your holdings as the markets change. Reports complete the picture, allowing you to analyze your investment decisions.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Multiple currency support
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash allows you to track multiple currencies. If you have bank accounts, investments or other financial data in different currencies, use GnuCash to monitor them.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Customized reports and graphs
- </para>
- <para>
-Reports and graphs give you valuable information for filing taxes, budgeting, or simply figuring out where your money goes. GnuCash offers a variety of easy-to-use reports and graphs to help analyze your financial position. It gives you the freedom to customize your own reports to suit your unique needs.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Double entry
- </para>
- <para>
-To provide complete records, GnuCash uses the double entry method of bookkeeping. Double entry simply means that money doesn't just appear or disappear - an equal amount must come from one location and go to another location. By tracking the transaction in both locations, GnuCash will give you detailed reports from the perspective of either account.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Sources of help
- </para>
- <para>
-A Tip of the Day dialog gives helpful tips to new users about GnuCash features. Within the program, a searchable Help menu guides you to information or connects to the GnuCash web page for further assistance. GnuCash also has strong, helpful developer and user communities who provide help through mailing lists.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Shortcuts
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash offers many shortcuts to help you enter data. Type the first few characters of a common entry and GnuCash will automatically fill in the rest! You can also use copy, paste and duplicate functions to save typing time. Keyboard shortcuts let you quickly choose a menu option or to enter numerical data. Many numeric entry fields can act as a calculator: enter "92.18+33.26" and watch GnuCash input the corresponding sum for you!
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Open source
- </para>
- <para>
-GnuCash doesn't hide its methods. If you wonder how GnuCash computed a number, you can easily find it out. In addition, you can set preferences that tell GnuCash how much information to display to you. There is no <quote>secret code</quote> used in GnuCash - it continues to be an open-source program.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- <para>
-These are only a few of the advantages you'll discover when you start using GnuCash to track your financial information. Now get ready to enjoy the benefits of GnuCash for yourself!
- </para>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Easy import</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash allows you to import data from on-line bank statements
+ and software packages using QIF (<trademark
+ class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange Format), OFX and
+ HBCI files. An easy-to-use <quote>druid</quote> walks you through
+ reviewing resulting changes and actually importing them into
+ GnuCash.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Statement reconciliation</para>
+
+ <para>Reconcile monthly statements quickly by entering the statement
+ ending balance and checking off transactions. GnuCash helps you catch
+ any discrepancies between your data and statements you receive.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Investment tracking</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash offers a host of ways to track your investment
+ portfolio. Special investment accounts simplify data entry, and
+ on-line tools allow you to update prices of your holdings as the
+ markets change. Reports complete the picture, allowing you to analyze
+ your investment decisions.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Multiple currency support</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash allows you to track multiple currencies. If you have
+ bank accounts, investments or other financial data in different
+ currencies, use GnuCash to monitor them.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Customized reports and graphs</para>
+
+ <para>Reports and graphs give you valuable information for filing
+ taxes, budgeting, or simply figuring out where your money goes.
+ GnuCash offers a variety of easy-to-use reports and graphs to help
+ analyze your financial position. It gives you the freedom to customize
+ your own reports to suit your unique needs.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Double entry</para>
+
+ <para>To provide complete records, GnuCash uses the double entry
+ method of bookkeeping. Double entry simply means that money doesn't
+ just appear or disappear - an equal amount must come from one location
+ and go to another location. By tracking the transaction in both
+ locations, GnuCash will give you detailed reports from the perspective
+ of either account.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Sources of help</para>
+
+ <para>A Tip of the Day dialog gives helpful tips to new users about
+ GnuCash features. Within the program, a searchable Help menu guides
+ you to information or connects to the GnuCash web page for further
+ assistance. GnuCash also has strong, helpful developer and user
+ communities who provide help through mailing lists as well as through
+ the IRC channel.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Shortcuts</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash offers many shortcuts to help you enter data. Type the
+ first few characters of a common entry and GnuCash will automatically
+ fill in the rest! You can also use copy, paste and duplicate functions
+ to save typing time. Keyboard shortcuts let you quickly choose a menu
+ option or to enter numerical data. Many numeric entry fields can act
+ as a calculator: enter "92.18+33.26" and watch GnuCash input the
+ corresponding sum for you!</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open source</para>
+
+ <para>GnuCash doesn't hide its methods. If you wonder how GnuCash
+ computed a number, you can find it out. In addition, you can set
+ preferences that tell GnuCash how much information to display to you.
+ There is no <quote>secret code</quote> used in GnuCash - it continues
+ to be an open-source program.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>These are only a few of the advantages you'll discover when you
+ start using GnuCash to track your financial information. Now get ready to
+ enjoy the benefits of GnuCash for yourself!</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="oview_install1">
- <title>Installation</title>
- <para>
-Installation of GnuCash can be simple, as most modern linux distributions come with GnuCash precompiled and ready to go. In fact, most likely, GnuCash is already installed. If you do not have GnuCash installed, the simplest method for installing it is to insert the installation CD that came with your distribution and follow the instructions.
- </para>
- <para>
-The <ulink url="http://www.gnucash.org/"><citetitle>GnuCash home page</citetitle></ulink> contains detailed instructions on how to install GnuCash in the event your current distribution does not include it or you want to install a different version. You can also read the README file in the source code.
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="oview-install1">
+ <title>Installation</title>
+ <para>Installation of GnuCash can be simple, as most modern linux
+ distributions come with GnuCash precompiled and ready to go. In fact, most
+ likely, GnuCash is already installed. If you do not have GnuCash
+ installed, the simplest method for installing it is to insert the
+ installation CD that came with your distribution and follow the
+ instructions.</para>
+
+ <para>The <ulink url="http://www.gnucash.org/"><citetitle>GnuCash home
+ page</citetitle></ulink> contains detailed instructions on how to install
+ GnuCash in the event your current distribution does not include it or you
+ want to install a different version. You can also read the README file in
+ the source code.</para>
</sect1>
- </chapter>
+</chapter>
Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_txns.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_txns.xml 2006-04-19 02:57:52 UTC (rev 13804)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_txns.xml 2006-04-19 04:39:02 UTC (rev 13805)
@@ -1,769 +1,1249 @@
<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
+ Version: 1.9.0
+ Last modified: April 16th 2006
Version: 1.8.4
Last modified: April 10th 2004
Maintainers:
Chris Lyttle <chris at wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham at extracta.com.br>
+ Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt at thuree.com>
Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
+<chapter id="chapter4">
+ <title>Transactions</title>
- <chapter id="chapter4">
- <title>Transactions</title>
- <para>
-This chapter will give you the basic information you need to understand and use transactions in GnuCash. Whereas accounts are the framework and structure of a chart of accounts, transactions are the data which fills each account.
- </para>
- <sect1 id="txns_concepts1">
- <title>Basic Concepts</title>
- <para>
-A <emphasis>transaction</emphasis> in a double entry accounting system such as GnuCash is an exchange between at least 2 accounts. Thus, a single transaction must always consist of at least two parts, a "from" and a "to" account. The "from" account is passing value to the "to" account. Accountants call these parts of a transaction <emphasis>Ledger Entries</emphasis>. In GnuCash, they are called <emphasis>Splits</emphasis>.
- </para>
- <para>
-For example, you receive a paycheck and deposit it into your savings account at the bank. The <emphasis>transaction</emphasis> that occurs is that your bank savings account (an asset) received money from your income account. Two accounts are affected, and in this case there is a net increase in your equity.
- </para>
- <para>
-Working with transactions in GnuCash is performed using what is known as the <emphasis>account register</emphasis>. Every account you create has an account register. It will appear familiar to you as it looks very similar to the log used to track checkbooks.
- </para>
+ <para>This chapter will give you the basic information you need to
+ understand and use transactions in GnuCash. Whereas accounts are the
+ framework and structure of a chart of accounts, transactions are the data
+ which fills each account.</para>
+
+ <sect1 id="txns-concepts1">
+ <title>Basic Concepts</title>
+
+ <para>A <emphasis>transaction</emphasis> in a double entry accounting
+ system such as GnuCash is an exchange between at least 2 accounts. Thus, a
+ single transaction must always consist of at least two parts, a "from" and
+ a "to" account. The "from" account is passing value to the "to" account.
+ Accountants call these parts of a transaction <emphasis>Ledger
+ Entries</emphasis>. In GnuCash, they are called
+ <emphasis>Splits</emphasis>.</para>
+
+ <para>For example, you receive a paycheck and deposit it into your savings
+ account at the bank. The <emphasis>transaction</emphasis> that occurs is
+ that your bank savings account (an asset) received money from your income
+ account. Two accounts are affected, and in this case there is a net
+ increase in your equity.</para>
+
+ <para>Working with transactions in GnuCash is performed using what is
+ known as the <emphasis>account register</emphasis>. Every account you
+ create has an account register. It will appear familiar to you as it looks
+ very similar to the log used to track checkbooks.</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="txns_registers1">
- <title>The Account Register</title>
- <para>
-The <emphasis>account register</emphasis> is the GnuCash window which allows you to view or edit preexisting transactions, or add new transactions for a particular account. To enter the account register, simply highlight the account name in the account tree window and double-click to open it. You can also click the <guibutton>Open</guibutton> button in the tool bar or use the right mouse button menu to open the account. GnuCash will display the account register window.
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="txns-registers1">
+ <title>The Account Register</title>
- <sect2 id="txns_registers_twoaccount2">
+ <para>The <emphasis>account register</emphasis> is the GnuCash window
+ which allows you to view or edit preexisting transactions, or add new
+ transactions for a particular account. To enter the account register,
+ simply highlight the account name in the account tree window and
+ double-click to open it. You can also click the
+ <guibutton>Open</guibutton> button in the tool bar or use the right mouse
+ button menu to open the account. GnuCash will display the account register
+ window.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-registers-twoaccount2">
<title>Simple Transaction</title>
- <para>
-For example, starting with the chart of accounts we created in the previous chapter, double click on the <guilabel>checking</guilabel> asset account. Let's add a simple transaction to the checking account. When you first create your accounts in GnuCash, it is common to start them off with an initial balance.
- </para>
- <para>
-In the first transaction row, enter a date (eg: June 1, 2003), a description (eg: "Opening Balance"), click on the Transfer pop-up menu and select <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel>, add a deposit value of $1000, and press the Enter key. The account register should now appear similar to this figure:
- </para>
- <screenshot id="txns_register_2account">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_register_2account.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account - Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows <guilabel>Asset:Checking -
- Register</guilabel> after inserting a starting value transaction.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- <para>
-Setting the starting balances of an account is an example of a simple two account transaction. In this case, affecting the <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> and the <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel> accounts.
- </para>
- <para>
-As another example of a simple 2 account transaction, add another transaction to describe the purchase of $45.21 worth of groceries. From within the Asset:Checking account, you would set <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> to <guilabel>Expenses:Groceries</guilabel>. The account register should now appear:
- </para>
- <screenshot id="txns_register_2account2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_register_2account2.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>The Checking Account - Register</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows <guilabel>Asset:Checking -
- Register</guilabel> after adding a transaction for groceries.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="txns_registers_multiaccount2">
+ <para>For example, starting with the chart of accounts we created in the
+ previous chapter <filename>gcashdata_3</filename>, double click on the
+ <guilabel>checking</guilabel> asset account. Let's add a simple
+ transaction to the checking account. When you first create your accounts
+ in GnuCash, it is common to start them off with an initial
+ balance.</para>
+
+ <para>In the first transaction row, enter a date (eg: March, 1, 2006), a
+ description (eg: "Opening Balance"), click on the Transfer pop-up menu
+ and select <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel>, add a deposit
+ value of $1000, and press the Enter key. The account register should now
+ appear similar to this figure:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-register-2account">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_register_2account.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account - Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows <guilabel>Asset:Checking -
+ Register</guilabel> after inserting a starting value
+ transaction.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>Setting the starting balances of an account is an example of a
+ simple two account transaction. In this case, affecting the
+ <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> and the <guilabel>Equity:Starting
+ Balances</guilabel> accounts.</para>
+
+ <para>As another example of a simple 2 account transaction, add another
+ transaction to describe the purchase of $45.21 worth of groceries. From
+ within the Asset:Checking account, you would set
+ <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> to
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Groceries</guilabel>. The account register should now
+ appear:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-register-2account2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_register_2account2.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>The Checking Account - Register</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows <guilabel>Asset:Checking -
+ Register</guilabel> after adding a transaction for
+ groceries.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-registers-multiaccount2">
<title>Split Transaction</title>
- <para>
-The need for 3 or more account transactions occurs when you need to split either the "from" or the "to" account in a transaction into multiple accounts. The classic example of this is when you receive a paycheck. Your take home pay from a paycheck will typically be less than your net pay, with the difference being due to taxes, retirement account payments, and/or other items. Thus, the single transaction of you receiving a paycheck involves other accounts besides simply <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> and <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel>.
- </para>
- <para>
-To add a paycheck transaction from the <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> account register window, click on a new transaction line, and click on <guilabel>Split</guilabel>. First enter the description of this transaction on the first line (eg: "Employers R Us"). In the "split" line below this, the the gross total of your paycheck (eg: $1000) as a withdrawal transfer from <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel>. Now, individually insert deposits to <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> (eg: $670), <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Federal</guilabel> (eg: $180), <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Medicare</guilabel> (eg: $90), and <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Social Security</guilabel> (eg: $60). The final split should look like this:
- </para>
- <screenshot id="txns_register_multiaccount">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_register_multiaccount.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Account Register - Split Transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows <guilabel>Asset:Checking -
- Register</guilabel> after adding a split transaction for salary.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </sect2>
- <sect2 id="txns_registers_features2">
+ <para>The need for 3 or more account transactions occurs when you need
+ to split either the "from" or the "to" account in a transaction into
+ multiple accounts. The classic example of this is when you receive a
+ paycheck. Your take home pay from a paycheck will typically be less than
+ your net pay, with the difference being due to taxes, retirement account
+ payments, and/or other items. Thus, the single transaction of you
+ receiving a paycheck involves other accounts besides simply
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> and
+ <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel>.</para>
+
+ <para>To add a paycheck transaction from the
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> account register window, click on a
+ new transaction line, and click on <guilabel>Split</guilabel>. First
+ enter the description of this transaction on the first line (eg:
+ "Employers R Us"). In the "split" line below this, enter the deposit
+ into <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> (eg:$670) (This is due to a
+ current bug, that demands the first line in a split is the actual
+ account). Follow this with the various tax deposits
+ (<guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> (eg: $670),
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Federal</guilabel> (eg: $180),
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Medicare</guilabel> (eg: $90), and
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Social Security</guilabel> (eg: $60)) and
+ lastly the gross total of your paycheck (eg: $1000) as a withdrawal
+ transfer from <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel>. The final split should
+ look like this:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-register-multiaccount">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_register_multiaccount.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Account Register - Split Transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows <guilabel>Asset:Checking -
+ Register</guilabel> after adding a split transaction for
+ salary.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-registers-features2">
<title>Features of the Account Register</title>
- <para>
-The title bar of the account register displays the account name, which in this case is <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel>. Below the title bar, the menu bar displays the menu items available within the account register, and the tool bar contains handy buttons that help you work with the account register.
- </para>
- <para>
-Although each transaction has at least two splits, all you see in the basic register is a summary of the splits affecting the current account. In the Transfer column, you can see the other account from which money is <emphasis>transferred</emphasis> into or out of this account. If the transaction affects more than two accounts, GnuCash displays <guilabel>-- Split Transaction --</guilabel> to show it is a multiple-split transaction. You can see the individual splits of each transaction by clicking the <guilabel>Split</guilabel> button in the tool bar while selecting the appropriate transaction.
- </para>
- <para>
-For split transactions, the first line of the transaction is the <emphasis>transaction line</emphasis>. It contains a <guilabel>Date</guilabel>, optional <guilabel>Num</guilabel> (such as a check number), transaction <guilabel>Description</guilabel>, total amount affecting the current account (<guilabel>Tot Deposit</guilabel> here), and updated account <guilabel>Balance</guilabel> after the current transaction. Note that in the expanded view, the <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> column heading disappears, and there is no account name listed in that field. This line shows you only a summary of the transaction's effect on the current account. For more detailed information, you need to look at the individual splits that make up the transaction.
- </para>
- <para>
-The partial lines below the transaction line are the <emphasis>split lines</emphasis>, and they are separated by gray lines. As you highlight one of the split lines, the column headings change to show the split-related fields:
-<screenshot id="txns_registersplit2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_registersplit2.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>The title bar of the account register displays the account name,
+ which in this case is <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel>. Below the
+ title bar, the menu bar displays the menu items available within the
+ account register, and the tool bar contains handy buttons that help you
+ work with the account register.</para>
+
+ <para>Although each transaction has at least two splits, all you see in
+ the basic register is a summary of the splits affecting the current
+ account. In the Transfer column, you can see the other account from
+ which money is <emphasis>transferred</emphasis> into or out of this
+ account. If the transaction affects more than two accounts, GnuCash
+ displays <guilabel>-- Split Transaction --</guilabel> to show it is a
+ multiple-split transaction. You can see the individual splits of each
+ transaction by clicking the <guilabel>Split</guilabel> button in the
+ tool bar while selecting the appropriate transaction.</para>
+
+ <para>For split transactions, the first line of the transaction is the
+ <emphasis>transaction line</emphasis>. It contains a
+ <guilabel>Date</guilabel>, optional <guilabel>Num</guilabel> (such as a
+ check number), transaction <guilabel>Description</guilabel>, total
+ amount affecting the current account (<guilabel>Tot Deposit</guilabel>
+ here), and updated account <guilabel>Balance</guilabel> after the
+ current transaction. Note that in the expanded view, the
+ <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> column heading disappears, and there is no
+ account name listed in that field. This line shows you only a summary of
+ the transaction's effect on the current account. For more detailed
+ information, you need to look at the individual splits that make up the
+ transaction.</para>
+
+ <para>The partial lines below the transaction line are the
+ <emphasis>split lines</emphasis>, and they are separated by gray lines.
+ As you highlight one of the split lines, the column headings change to
+ show the split-related fields: <screenshot id="txns-registersplit2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_registersplit2.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>How split headings change</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows how split headings change.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>How split headings change</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows how split headings change.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ </screenshot></para>
- </para>
- <para>
-Each split contains an optional <guilabel>Action</guilabel>, or type of split, which you can either type in or choose from a pull-down list. The split also contains an optional <guilabel>Memo</guilabel> which describes the split. Each split affects an <guilabel>Account</guilabel>, which can be selected from a pull-down list of your accounts. The <guilabel>R</guilabel> field indicates whether the split has been reconciled. The last two columns show the amount of the split and whether money is coming into or going out of the account.
- </para>
- <para>
-As we discussed in section 2.1, total debits (left-column entries) must equal total credits (right-column entries) for each transaction. In the example shown above, the total debits equal the total credits, so this transaction is balanced. If you notice, the transaction line contains the same debit amount as the <guilabel>Checking</guilabel> split line. Why is this shown twice? Because the transaction line is merely a <emphasis>summary</emphasis> of the transaction's effect on the current account. The same transaction in a different account will have a different transaction line, one that shows the effect on that particular account. You can see this by highlighting another split line and clicking the <guilabel>Jump</guilabel> button on the tool bar.
- </para>
- <para>
-In this example, if you jump to the <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account, GnuCash brings up the same transaction in the <guilabel>Income:Salary - Register</guilabel>:
+ <para>Each split contains an optional <guilabel>Action</guilabel>, or
+ type of split, which you can either type in or choose from a pull-down
+ list. The split also contains an optional <guilabel>Memo</guilabel>
+ which describes the split. Each split affects an
+ <guilabel>Account</guilabel>, which can be selected from a pull-down
+ list of your accounts. The <guilabel>R</guilabel> field indicates
+ whether the split has been reconciled. The last two columns show the
+ amount of the split and whether money is coming into or going out of the
+ account.</para>
-<screenshot id="txns_registersplit3">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_registersplit3.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>As we discussed in section 2.1, total debits (left-column entries)
+ must equal total credits (right-column entries) for each transaction. In
+ the example shown above, the total debits equal the total credits, so
+ this transaction is balanced. If you notice, the transaction line
+ contains the same debit amount as the <guilabel>Checking</guilabel>
+ split line. Why is this shown twice? Because the transaction line is
+ merely a <emphasis>summary</emphasis> of the transaction's effect on the
+ current account. The same transaction in a different account will have a
+ different transaction line, one that shows the effect on that particular
+ account. You can see this by highlighting another split line and
+ clicking the <guilabel>Jump</guilabel> button on the tool bar.</para>
+
+ <para>In this example, if you jump to the
+ <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account, GnuCash brings up the same
+ transaction in the <guilabel>Income:Salary - Register</guilabel>:
+ <screenshot id="txns-registersplit3">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_registersplit3.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>A jump to the Income:Salary account</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows a jump to the <guilabel>Income:Salary
- </guilabel> account.
- </para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>A jump to the Income:Salary account</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows a jump to the <guilabel>Income:Salary
+ </guilabel> account.</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ </screenshot></para>
- </para>
- <para>
-Note that the transaction line total now summarizes the effect on the <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account instead of the <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>, because you are looking at the <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account register. The splits are exactly the same, but the transaction line now reflects the credit to the <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account.
- </para>
- <para>
-At the bottom left of the register window, GnuCash displays helpful messages as you move about the register. To the right, you can see the current account balance and the total of cleared splits.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>Note that the transaction line total now summarizes the effect on
+ the <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account instead of the
+ <guilabel>Checking Account</guilabel>, because you are looking at the
+ <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account register. The splits are
+ exactly the same, but the transaction line now reflects the credit to
+ the <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel> account.</para>
+ <para>At the bottom left of the register window, GnuCash displays
+ helpful messages as you move about the register. To the right, you can
+ see the current account balance and the total of cleared splits.</para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="txns_regstyle1">
- <title>Choosing a Register Style</title>
- <para>
-GnuCash offers several options for viewing your registers. The default style is <guilabel>Basic Ledger</guilabel> mode, which displays only the summary of splits affecting the current account. This is the style that most closely resembles other popular personal financial packages.
- </para>
- <para>
-You can choose a different register style by selecting <guimenu>View</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Style</guisubmenu> from the menu. The <guimenuitem>Auto-Split Ledger</guimenuitem> style expands the current transaction automatically. As you highlight a new transaction in the register, the transaction automatically expands to show all splits. The <guimenuitem>Transaction Journal</guimenuitem> style is more like an accounting journal, in which all splits are shown for all transactions.
- </para>
- <para>
-All styles permit you to view your data in either single-line or double-line format. In the <guimenu>View</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Style</guisubmenu> menu item, check the box next to <guimenuitem>Double Line</guimenuitem>, and you will see your transaction line expand to two register lines.
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="txns-regstyle1">
+ <title>Choosing a Register Style</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash offers several options for viewing your registers. The
+ default style is <guilabel>Basic Ledger</guilabel> mode, which displays
+ only the summary of splits affecting the current account. This is the
+ style that most closely resembles other popular personal financial
+ packages.</para>
+
+ <para>You can choose a different register style by selecting
+ <guimenu>View</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Auto-Split Ledger</guisubmenu>
+ style expands the current transaction automatically. As you highlight a
+ new transaction in the register, the transaction automatically expands to
+ show all splits. The <guimenu>View</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Transaction
+ Journal</guisubmenu> style is more like an accounting journal, in which
+ all splits are shown for all transactions.</para>
+
+ <para>All styles permit you to view your data in either single-line or
+ double-line format. In the <guimenu>View</guimenu> ->
+ <guisubmenu>Style</guisubmenu> menu item, check the box next to
+ <guimenuitem>Double Line</guimenuitem>, and you will see your transaction
+ line expand to two register lines.</para>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="txns_shortcuts1">
- <title>Using Entry Shortcuts</title>
- <para>
-GnuCash provides several time-saving shortcuts for entering your data. When you type the first few characters of a description that you have used before, the QuickFill feature automatically fills in the rest of the transaction as you last entered it. When you type in the first characters of an account name in either the <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> field of the transaction line or the <guilabel>Account</guilabel> field of the split line, QuickFill will automatically complete the name from your account list. It also helps you with entering sub-accounts in these fields: simply type the first characters of the parent account name followed by a colon and the first characters of the sub-account name. For example, to enter <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>, you might type <userinput>A:C</userinput> and let GnuCash fill in the rest.
- </para>
- <para>
-Register keyboard shortcuts also save you time, and GnuCash provides several of them. In the date field, you can type:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>+</keycap> or <keycap>=</keycap> to increment the date and <keycap>-</keycap> or <keycap>_</keycap> to decrement the date
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>]</keycap> or <keycap>}</keycap> to increment the month and <keycap>[</keycap> or <keycap>{</keycap> to decrement the month
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>M</keycap> or <keycap>m</keycap> to enter the first date of the month
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>H</keycap> or <keycap>h</keycap> to enter the last date of the month
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>Y</keycap> or <keycap>y</keycap> to enter the first date of the year
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>R</keycap> or <keycap>r</keycap> to enter the last date of the year
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>T</keycap> or <keycap>t</keycap> to enter today's date
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
-In the <guilabel>Num</guilabel> field of the transaction line, you can type <keycap>+</keycap> to increment the transaction number from the last one you typed in. Typing <keycap>-</keycap> will decrement the number. This will also work in the <guilabel>Action</guilabel> field of the split line, if you choose to enter split numbers there. The <guilabel>Action</guilabel> field also supports QuickFill - if you type the first characters of a common action (such as <guilabel>Deposit</guilabel>), GnuCash will fill in the rest.
- </para>
- <para>
-In any of the amount fields, you can use a built-in calculator. Simply type in the first value, followed by <keycap>+</keycap>, <keycap>-</keycap>, <keycap>*</keycap>, or <keycap>/</keycap>, then type in the second value. GnuCash will perform the calculation and return the resulting value to the amount field when you press the <keycap>Tab</keycap> key.
- </para>
- <para>
-Most of the menu items have keyboard shortcuts, and these are marked by underlined characters in the menu names. Press <keycap>Alt</keycap> + [underlined character] to bring up the menu, then select an item by typing its underlined character. For example, typing <keycombo><keycap>Alt</keycap><keycap>T</keycap></keycombo> brings up the Transaction menu, then typing <keycap>S</keycap> will split the transaction. A few of the menu items use <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> key shortcuts instead, and these are listed next to the item.
- </para>
- <para>
-To move around the register, use these keys to save time:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>Tab</keycap> to move to the next field, <keycombo><keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap></keycombo> to move to the previous field
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>Home</keycap> to move to the beginning of the field, <keycap>End</keycap> to move to the end of the field
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>Enter</keycap> or <keycap>↓</keycap> to move to the next transaction, <keycap>↑</keycap> to move to the previous transaction
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>Page Up</keycap> to move up one screen, <keycap>Page Down</keycap> to move down one screen
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycombo><keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>Page Up</keycap></keycombo> to go to the first transaction, <keycombo><keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>Page Down</keycap></keycombo> to go to the last transaction
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
-In the <guilabel>Reconcile</guilabel> window you can use these keyboard shortcuts:
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>Tab</keycap> moves to the next box and <keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap> moves to the previous box
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Space bar toggles the status between reconciled and not reconciled
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-<keycap>↑</keycap> and <keycap>↓</keycap> navigate through the entries within the current box
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
+ <sect1 id="txns-shortcuts1">
+ <title>Using Entry Shortcuts</title>
+
+ <para>GnuCash provides several time-saving shortcuts for entering your
+ data. When you type the first few characters of a description that you
+ have used before, the QuickFill feature automatically fills in the rest of
+ the transaction as you last entered it. When you type in the first
+ characters of an account name in either the <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel>
+ field of the transaction line or the <guilabel>Account</guilabel> field of
+ the split line, QuickFill will automatically complete the name from your
+ account list. It also helps you with entering sub-accounts in these
+ fields: simply type the first characters of the parent account name
+ followed by a colon and the first characters of the sub-account name. For
+ example, to enter <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>, you might type
+ <userinput>A:C</userinput> and let GnuCash fill in the rest.</para>
+
+ <para>Register keyboard shortcuts also save you time, and GnuCash provides
+ several of them. In the date field, you can type:</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>+</keycap> or <keycap>=</keycap> to increment the date
+ and <keycap>-</keycap> or <keycap>_</keycap> to decrement the
+ date</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>]</keycap> or <keycap>}</keycap> to increment the month
+ and <keycap>[</keycap> or <keycap>{</keycap> to decrement the
+ month</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>M</keycap> or <keycap>m</keycap> to enter the first date
+ of the month</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>H</keycap> or <keycap>h</keycap> to enter the last date
+ of the month</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>Y</keycap> or <keycap>y</keycap> to enter the first date
+ of the year</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>R</keycap> or <keycap>r</keycap> to enter the last date
+ of the year</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>T</keycap> or <keycap>t</keycap> to enter today's
+ date</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>In the <guilabel>Num</guilabel> field of the transaction line, you
+ can type <keycap>+</keycap> to increment the transaction number from the
+ last one you typed in. Typing <keycap>-</keycap> will decrement the
+ number. This will also work in the <guilabel>Action</guilabel> field of
+ the split line, if you choose to enter split numbers there. The
+ <guilabel>Action</guilabel> field also supports QuickFill - if you type
+ the first characters of a common action (such as
+ <guilabel>Deposit</guilabel>), GnuCash will fill in the rest.</para>
+
+ <para>In any of the amount fields, you can use a built-in calculator.
+ Simply type in the first value, followed by <keycap>+</keycap>,
+ <keycap>-</keycap>, <keycap>*</keycap>, or <keycap>/</keycap>, then type
+ in the second value. GnuCash will perform the calculation and return the
+ resulting value to the amount field when you press the
+ <keycap>Tab</keycap> key.</para>
+
+ <para>Most of the menu items have keyboard shortcuts, and these are marked
+ by underlined characters in the menu names. Press <keycap>Alt</keycap> +
+ [underlined character] to bring up the menu, then select an item by typing
+ its underlined character. For example, typing <keycombo>
+ <keycap>Alt</keycap>
+
+ <keycap>T</keycap>
+ </keycombo> brings up the Transaction menu, then typing
+ <keycap>S</keycap> will split the transaction. A few of the menu items use
+ <keycap>Ctrl</keycap> key shortcuts instead, and these are listed next to
+ the item.</para>
+
+ <para>To move around the register, use these keys to save time:</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>Tab</keycap> to move to the next field, <keycombo>
+ <keycap>Shift</keycap>
+
+ <keycap>Tab</keycap>
+ </keycombo> to move to the previous field</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>Home</keycap> to move to the beginning of the field,
+ <keycap>End</keycap> to move to the end of the field</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>Enter</keycap> or <keycap>↓</keycap> to move to the next
+ transaction, <keycap>↑</keycap> to move to the previous
+ transaction</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>Page Up</keycap> to move up one screen, <keycap>Page
+ Down</keycap> to move down one screen</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycombo>
+ <keycap>Shift</keycap>
+
+ <keycap>Page Up</keycap>
+ </keycombo> to go to the first transaction, <keycombo>
+ <keycap>Shift</keycap>
+
+ <keycap>Page Down</keycap>
+ </keycombo> to go to the last transaction</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>In the <guilabel>Reconcile</guilabel> window you can use these
+ keyboard shortcuts:</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>Tab</keycap> moves to the next box and
+ <keycap>Shift</keycap><keycap>Tab</keycap> moves to the previous
+ box</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Space bar toggles the status between reconciled and not
+ reconciled</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><keycap>↑</keycap> and <keycap>↓</keycap> navigate through the
+ entries within the current box</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="txns_reconcile1">
- <title>Reconciliation</title>
- <para>Transactions are typically checked against bank statements - a process known as "reconciliation". GnuCash keeps track of the reconciliation status of each transaction.</para>
- <para>The reconciliation status of a transaction is shown by the reconciliation (R) field. 'y' indicates that a transaction has been reconciled, 'n' indicates that it has not, and 'c' indicates that it has been cleared, but not reconciled. You can toggle the reconciliation status between 'n' and 'c' by clicking in the (R) field; you can set it to 'y' by using the Reconciliation Window.</para>
- <para>At the bottom of the account window, there are two running totals: 'Balance', and 'Cleared'. 'Cleared' should correspond to how much money the bank thinks you have in your account, while 'Balance' includes outstanding transactions.</para>
+ <sect1 id="txns-reconcile1">
+ <title>Reconciliation</title>
- <sect2 id="txns_reconcile_window2">
- <title>Reconcile Window</title>
- <para>The Reconciliation Window is used to reconcile a GnuCash account with a statement that a bank or other institution has sent you. Reconciliation is useful not only to double-check your records against those of your bank, but also to get a better idea of outstanding transactions, e.g. uncashed checks.</para>
- <para>At the bottom of the account window, there are two running balances: the "cleared and reconciled" balance, and the "total" balance. The "cleared and reconciled" balance should correspond to how much money the bank thinks you have in your account, and the "total" balance includes outstanding transactions.</para>
- <para>For example, when you write a check for something, you should enter the transaction into GnuCash. The reconciliation (R) field of the transaction will initially contain n (new). Your new entry will contribute to the "total" balance, but not to the "cleared and reconciled" balance. Later, if you think that the check has been cashed, you might click on the transaction's R field to change it to c (cleared). When you do this, the "cleared and reconciled" balance will change to include this amount. When the bank statement arrives, you can then compare it to what you've recorded in GnuCash in the Reconciliation window. There, you will be able to change the R field to y (reconciled). You cannot reconcile in the register window, you must use the reconciliation window. Once a transaction has been marked "reconciled", it can no longer be easily changed.</para>
- <para>To use the Reconciliation Windows, select an account from the account tree and click on <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> -> <guimenu>Reconcile</guimenu>. A window will appear in which you can enter the reconcile information.</para>
+ <para>Transactions are typically checked against bank statements - a
+ process known as "reconciliation". GnuCash keeps track of the
+ reconciliation status of each transaction.</para>
-<screenshot id="txns_reconcile_window_1">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_reconcile_window1.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Reconcile Window</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>The initial reconcile window.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <para>The reconciliation status of a transaction is shown by the
+ reconciliation (R) field. 'y' indicates that a transaction has been
+ reconciled, 'n' indicates that it has not, and 'c' indicates that it has
+ been cleared, but not reconciled. You can toggle the reconciliation status
+ between 'n' and 'c' by clicking in the (R) field; you can set it to 'y' by
+ using the Reconciliation Window.</para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Statement Date</emphasis> - this is the date of the statement you will be reconciling against.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Starting Balance</emphasis> - this is a non-editable item which displays the balance from the previous reconciliation. It should match the starting balance in your statement.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Ending Balance</emphasis> - this is the ending balance as it appears in the statement.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Include Sub-accounts</emphasis> - select this if you want to include the sub-accounts of the currently selected account in this reconciliation.</para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para><emphasis>Enter Interest Payment</emphasis> - click here to enter an interest payment to XXX (??).</para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
-
- <para>Click on the <guibutton>Ok</guibutton> button, and you will see the transactions listing reconcile window:</para>
+ <para>At the bottom of the account window, there are two running totals:
+ 'Balance', and 'Cleared'. 'Cleared' should correspond to how much money
+ the bank thinks you have in your account, while 'Balance' includes
+ outstanding transactions.</para>
-<screenshot id="txns_reconcile_window_2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_reconcile_window2.png"
- srccredit="Jon Lapham" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Reconcile Window</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>The transactions listing in the reconcile window.</para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
+ <sect2 id="txns-reconcile-window2">
+ <title>Reconcile Window</title>
- <para>The two lists called <guilabel>Funds In</guilabel> and <guilabel>Funds Out</guilabel> lists all the unreconciled transactions. The 'R' columns show whether the transactions have been cleared or reconciled.</para>
- <para>Now, examine each item on the bank statement, and look for the matching item in the Reconcile window.</para>
- <para>If you cannot find one, then perhaps you forgot to enter a transaction, or did not know that the transaction had happened. You can use the New button on the tool bar, or the New menu item in the Transaction menu, to open a register window and enter the missing transaction. The new item will appear in the Reconcile window when you press enter after entering the transaction.</para>
- <para>When you find the item in the Reconcile window, compare the amount in the item to the amount on the statement. If they disagree, you may have made an error when you entered the transaction in GnuCash. You can use the <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button on the tool bar, or the <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu item in the Transaction menu, to open a register window and correct the transaction.</para>
- <para>If the amounts agree, click on the item in the Reconcile window. The 'R' column will change to 'y' (reconciled) from 'n' or 'c'.</para>
- <para>You then repeat this for each item that appears on the bank statement, verifying that the amounts match with the amounts in GnuCash, and marking off transactions in GnuCash as they are reconciled.</para>
- <para>At the bottom of the "Reconcile" window is a "Difference" field, which should show $0.00 when you are done reconciling. If it shows some other value, then either you have missed transactions, or some amounts may be incorrect in GnuCash. (Or, less likely, the bank may have made an error.)</para>
- <para>When you have marked off all the items on the bank statement, and when the difference is $0.00, press the Finish button on the tool bar or select Finish from the Reconcile menu (the latter method will work even if your "Difference" isn't $0.00). The Reconcile window will close. In the Register window, the R field of the reconciled transactions will change to 'y'. </para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>The Reconciliation Window is used to reconcile a GnuCash account
+ with a statement that a bank or other institution has sent you.
+ Reconciliation is useful not only to double-check your records against
+ those of your bank, but also to get a better idea of outstanding
+ transactions, e.g. uncashed checks.</para>
+
+ <para>At the bottom of the account window, there are two running
+ balances: the "cleared and reconciled" balance, and the "total" balance.
+ The "cleared and reconciled" balance should correspond to how much money
+ the bank thinks you have in your account, and the "total" balance
+ includes outstanding transactions.</para>
+
+ <para>For example, when you write a check for something, you should
+ enter the transaction into GnuCash. The reconciliation (R) field of the
+ transaction will initially contain n (new). Your new entry will
+ contribute to the "total" balance, but not to the "cleared and
+ reconciled" balance. Later, if you think that the check has been cashed,
+ you might click on the transaction's R field to change it to c
+ (cleared). When you do this, the "cleared and reconciled" balance will
+ change to include this amount. When the bank statement arrives, you can
+ then compare it to what you've recorded in GnuCash in the Reconciliation
+ window. There, you will be able to change the R field to y (reconciled).
+ You cannot reconcile in the register window, you must use the
+ reconciliation window. Once a transaction has been marked "reconciled",
+ it can no longer be easily changed.</para>
+
+ <para>To use the Reconciliation Windows, select an account from the
+ account tree and click on <guimenu>Actions</guimenu> ->
+ <guimenu>Reconcile</guimenu>. A window will appear in which you can
+ enter the reconcile information.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-reconcile-window-1">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_reconcile_window1.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Reconcile Window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>The initial reconcile window.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Statement Date</emphasis> - this is
+ the date of the statement you will be reconciling against.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Starting Balance</emphasis> - this
+ is a non-editable item which displays the balance from the previous
+ reconciliation. It should match the starting balance in your
+ statement.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Ending Balance</emphasis> - this is
+ the ending balance as it appears in the statement.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Reconcile Info: Include Sub-accounts</emphasis> -
+ select this if you want to include the sub-accounts of the currently
+ selected account in this reconciliation.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para><emphasis>Enter Interest Payment</emphasis> - click here to
+ enter an interest transaction to the account to be
+ reconciled.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>Click on the <guibutton>Ok</guibutton> button, and you will see
+ the transactions listing reconcile window:</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-reconcile-window-2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_reconcile_window2.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Reconcile Window</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>The transactions listing in the reconcile window.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ <para>The two lists called <guilabel>Funds In</guilabel> and
+ <guilabel>Funds Out</guilabel> lists all the unreconciled transactions.
+ The 'R' columns show whether the transactions have been cleared or
+ reconciled.</para>
+
+ <para>Now, examine each item on the bank statement, and look for the
+ matching item in the Reconcile window.</para>
+
+ <para>If you cannot find one, then perhaps you forgot to enter a
+ transaction, or did not know that the transaction had happened. You can
+ use the New button on the tool bar, or the New menu item in the
+ Transaction menu, to open a register window and enter the missing
+ transaction. The new item will appear in the Reconcile window when you
+ press enter after entering the transaction.</para>
+
+ <para>When you find the item in the Reconcile window, compare the amount
+ in the item to the amount on the statement. If they disagree, you may
+ have made an error when you entered the transaction in GnuCash. You can
+ use the <guibutton>Edit</guibutton> button on the tool bar, or the
+ <guimenu>Edit</guimenu> menu item in the Transaction menu, to open a
+ register window and correct the transaction.</para>
+
+ <para>If the amounts agree, click on the item in the Reconcile window.
+ The 'R' column will change to 'y' (reconciled) from 'n' or 'c'.</para>
+
+ <para>You then repeat this for each item that appears on the bank
+ statement, verifying that the amounts match with the amounts in GnuCash,
+ and marking off transactions in GnuCash as they are reconciled.</para>
+
+ <para>At the bottom of the "Reconcile" window is a "Difference" field,
+ which should show $0.00 when you are done reconciling. If it shows some
+ other value, then either you have missed transactions, or some amounts
+ may be incorrect in GnuCash. (Or, less likely, the bank may have made an
+ error.)</para>
+
+ <para>When you have marked off all the items on the bank statement, and
+ when the difference is $0.00, press the Finish button on the tool bar or
+ select Finish from the Reconcile menu (the latter method will work even
+ if your "Difference" isn't $0.00). The Reconcile window will close. In
+ the Register window, the R field of the reconciled transactions will
+ change to 'y'.</para>
+
+ <para>In this case, we have not received all the information yet, so we
+ simply press the <guibutton>Postpone</guibutton>, so we can continue at
+ a later stage. Observe that the 'R' column indicates we cleared ('c')
+ two transactions. They have not been reconciled yet, but we have
+ verified these two transactions so they have been marked as cleared. If
+ you look at the status bar at the bottom of the account register, you
+ will see a summary of what has been reconciled and what has been cleared
+ (<guilabel>Cleared:USD 954.79 Reconciled:USD 0.00</guilabel>)</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-reconcile-window-3">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_reconcile_window3.png"
+ format="PNG" srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Checking account</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>The Checking account after postponed the reconsolidation.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="txns_sxn1">
- <title>Scheduled Transactions</title>
- <para>
-Scheduled transactions is made to help entering repetitive money operations, like subscriptions, insurances or taxes. By using scheduled transactions, you only have to enter the concerned transaction once, set a few parameters like start date, frequency and a little description, and then GnuCash will tell you whenever a scheduled transaction is ready to create, and create it for you.
- </para>
- <para>
-In this howto, we'll take a monthly Internet subscription of 20 EUR as example, which is taken on the first day of each month.
- </para>
- <para>
-In GnuCash, there are two ways of creating scheduled transactions, from the ledger or from the scheduled transactions editor.
- </para>
- <sect2 id="txns_sxn_ledger2">
- <title>Creating from the Ledger</title>
- <para>
-Enter the first occurence of your to-schedule transaction in the ledger.
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_ledger_1">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger1.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ <sect1 id="txns-sxn1">
+ <title>Scheduled Transactions</title>
+
+ <para>Scheduled transactions is made to help entering repetitive money
+ operations, like subscriptions, insurances or taxes. By using scheduled
+ transactions, you only have to enter the concerned transaction once, set a
+ few parameters like start date, frequency and a little description, and
+ then GnuCash will tell you whenever a scheduled transaction is ready to
+ create, and create it for you.</para>
+
+ <para>In this howto, we'll take a monthly Internet subscription of 20 USD
+ as example, which is taken on the 28th of each month.</para>
+
+ <para>In GnuCash, there are two ways of creating scheduled transactions,
+ from the ledger or from the scheduled transactions editor.</para>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-sxn-ledger2">
+ <title>Creating from the Ledger</title>
+
+ <para>Enter the first occurence of your to-schedule transaction in the
+ ledger. <screenshot id="txns-sxn-ledger-1">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger1.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the ledger</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the ledger</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the
+ ledger</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the
+ ledger</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
- Then you right click on your transaction and select "Schedule..."
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_ledger_2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger2.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>Since we did not create the Expence:Internet account, GnuCash
+ will prompt us to create it.</para>
+ </note>
+
+ <para>Then you right click on your transaction and select "Schedule..."
+ <screenshot id="txns-sxn-ledger-2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger2.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the ledger</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the ledger</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the
+ ledger</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the
+ ledger</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
- A window like this will appear:
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_ledger_3">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger3.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>A window like this will appear: <screenshot id="txns-sxn-ledger-3">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger3.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the ledger</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the ledger</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the
+ ledger</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the
+ ledger</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-Let's fill the values, we know that the subscription is taken on the first of each month, and the next one is for next month (since we entered the one for this month manually) :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_ledger_4">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger4.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>Let's fill the values, we know that the subscription is taken on
+ the 28th each month, and the next one is for next month (since we
+ entered the one for this month manually) : <screenshot
+ id="txns-sxn-ledger-4">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_ledger4.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Filling in data to a scheduled transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Filling in data to a scheduled transaction</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Filling in data to a scheduled transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Filling in data to a scheduled transaction</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-Click the OK button, and the transaction will be scheduled. GnuCash now has memorized this scheduled transaction and on the first of next month, it will pop up a window asking if it should create it (see far below for a screenshot of this window).
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ </screenshot></para>
- <sect2 id="txns_sxn_editor2">
- <title>Creating from the Editor</title>
- <para>
-Another way of entering a scheduled transaction is from the Scheduled Transaction Editor, it may be faster if we have several scheduled transactions to create at once.
- </para>
- <para>
-From the main accounts windows, go in the Actions menu, select Scheduled Transactions, a submenu will open in which you'll click Scheduled transaction Editor.
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_1">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor1.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>Click the OK button, and the transaction will be scheduled.
+ GnuCash now has memorized this scheduled transaction and on the 28th of
+ next month, it will pop up a window asking if it should create it (see
+ far below for a screenshot of this window).</para>
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-sxn-editor2">
+ <title>Creating from the Editor</title>
+
+ <para>Another way of entering a scheduled transaction is from the
+ Scheduled Transaction Editor, it may be faster if we have several
+ scheduled transactions to create at once.</para>
+
+ <para>From the main accounts windows, go in the Actions menu, select
+ Scheduled Transactions, a submenu will open in which you'll click
+ Scheduled transaction Editor. <screenshot id="txns-sxn-editor-1">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor1.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the editor</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Step one creating scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-A window like this will pop up :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_2">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor2.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>A window like this will pop up : <screenshot
+ id="txns-sxn-editor-2">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor2.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the editor</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Step two creating scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-This window contains a list, now empty, of all the scheduled transactions. Let's create a new one by clicking on the "New" button, another window will pop up :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_3">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor3.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>This window contains a list, now empty, of all the scheduled
+ transactions. Let's create a new one by clicking on the "New" button,
+ another window will pop up : <screenshot id="txns-sxn-editor-3">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor3.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the editor</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Step three creating scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-This window mays seem complicated but it's fairly eay to understand. First, let's enter a name for this new scheduled transaction, this name will only identify it in the Scheduled Transaction Editor, it will never
-appear in the ledger.
- </para>
- <para>
-Then we'll enter the transaction's parameters. We know that the subscription is taken on the first day of each month, so the start date will be Nov 1, 2003 (assuming november is the next month), the frequency
-will be "Monthly", it will be taken every month on the 1st.
- </para>
- <para>
-In the "Options" tab you have three options :
- </para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-"Create automatically" will insert this transaction in the ledger
-without asking you before (see below)
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-"Create n days in advance" is explicit
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-"Remind me n days in advance" is explicit and used for example when you have to pay something by check, GnuCash can remind you one week before so you send your check before the deadline.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </itemizedlist>
- <para>
-The End tab allows you to tell GnuCash that this scheduled transaction won't last for ever, for example if you are repaying a loan, you can enter the loan end date.
- </para>
- <para>
-Since in our example the internet subscription is automatically taken from the account, we have no need to create it in advance, nor give an end date.
- </para>
- <para>
-Finally, enter your transaction in the lower part as you would do in the ledger, with the only difference of having no date.
- </para>
+ </screenshot></para>
- <note>
- <para>
-Warning: don't use the ENTER key like in the ledger, as it will activate the default button of the whole window : Cancel. Instead, use TAB to go to the next field, and when you have finished entering your transaction, click on the "Enter" button to validate it.
- </para>
- </note>
+ <para>This window mays seem complicated but it's fairly eay to
+ understand. First, let's enter a name for this new scheduled
+ transaction, this name will only identify it in the Scheduled
+ Transaction Editor, it will never appear in the ledger.</para>
- <note>
- <para>
-Note: In the version I have (1.8.5) the "Debit Formula" and "Credit Formula" are swapped, so I typed 20 as debit for my bank account, but you'll see below that it will be recorded as funds in. Look in your version if the bug is still here, and remember that the debit column is the right one, and the credit the left one.
- </para>
- </note>
+ <para>Then we'll enter the transaction's parameters. We know that the
+ subscription is taken on the 28th each month, so the start date will be
+ Nov 1, 2003 (assuming november is the next month), the frequency will be
+ "Monthly", it will be taken every month on the 28th.</para>
- <para>
-Now, you should have a window like this:
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_4">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor4.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>In the "Options" tab you have three options :</para>
+
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>"Create automatically" will insert this transaction in the
+ ledger without asking you before (see below)</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>"Create n days in advance" is explicit</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>"Remind me n days in advance" is explicit and used for example
+ when you have to pay something by check, GnuCash can remind you one
+ week before so you send your check before the deadline.</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+
+ <para>The End tab allows you to tell GnuCash that this scheduled
+ transaction won't last for ever, for example if you are repaying a loan,
+ you can enter the loan end date.</para>
+
+ <para>Since in our example the internet subscription is automatically
+ taken from the account, we have no need to create it in advance, nor
+ give an end date.</para>
+
+ <para>Finally, enter your transaction in the lower part as you would do
+ in the ledger, with the only difference of having no date.</para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>Warning: don't use the ENTER key like in the ledger, as it will
+ activate the default button of the whole window : Cancel. Instead, use
+ TAB to go to the next field, and when you have finished entering your
+ transaction, click on the "Enter" button to validate it.</para>
+ </note>
+
+ <para>Now, you should have a window like this: <screenshot
+ id="txns-sxn-editor-4">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor4.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Validate a scheduled transaction from the editor</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Validate a scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Validate a scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Validate a scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-You have to validate the transaction you just entered, like in the ledger, before clicking the OK button. Many users reported problems creating scheduled transactions because they were not validating the template, and the scheduled transaction was not created.
- </para>
- <para>
-Now click OK, it takes you to the previous window, now with one item in
-the list :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_5">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor5.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>Remember to click on the Enter icon, to validate and enter the
+ transaction.</para>
+
+ <para>Now click OK, it takes you to the previous window, now with one
+ item in the list : <screenshot id="txns-sxn-editor-5">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor5.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Validate a scheduled transaction from the editor</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Validate a scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Validate a scheduled transaction from the
+ editor</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Validate a scheduled transaction from the editor</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
+ </screenshot></para>
- <para>
-If you click in the calendar part on the first day of one month, a small window, following your mouse, will show you what is planned for this day.
- </para>
- <para>
-You can now close the Scheduled Transaction Editor window, and save your work.
- </para>
- <para>
-From now on, on each first day of month (or the next time you launch GnuCash after this day) a windows will pop up to remind you to create this transaction :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_6">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor6.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ <para>If you click in the calendar part on the first day of one month, a
+ small window, following your mouse, will show you what is planned for
+ this day.</para>
+
+ <para>You can now close the Scheduled Transaction Editor window, and
+ <guilabel>save</guilabel> your work.</para>
+
+ <note>
+ <para>What comes below is just an illustration, and is not meant to be
+ entered into the GnuCash database at this stage. As per this example,
+ the below dialogs will appear when the scheduled transaction is
+ supposed to run.</para>
+ </note>
+
+ <para>From now on, on each first day of month (or the next time you
+ launch GnuCash after this day) a windows will pop up to remind you to
+ create this transaction : <screenshot id="txns-sxn-editor-6">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor6.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Scheduled transaction popup reminder</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Scheduled transaction popup reminder</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Scheduled transaction popup reminder</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Scheduled transaction popup reminder</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-You can click on the list entry to see the detailed transaction in the lower part, then just click on Next to advance.
- </para>
- <para>
-When you click Next, a window summaring all transactions to be created will appear :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_7">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor7.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>You can click on the list entry to see the detailed transaction in
+ the lower part, then just click on <guibutton>Forward</guibutton> to
+ advance.</para>
+
+ <para>When you click Forward, a window summaring all transactions to be
+ created will appear : <screenshot id="txns-sxn-editor-7">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor7.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Scheduled transaction summary</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Scheduled transaction summary</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Scheduled transaction summary</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Scheduled transaction summary</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
- <para>
-In this window you can adjust the transactions that will be created. For example, this month my ISP made a special offer and my subscription only costed 10EUR, so I just modified the amount from 20 to 10.
- </para>
- <para>
-When you have finished with this window, just click "Finish". The window will disappear and the transactions will be created.
- </para>
- <para>
-Then if you take a look in your bank account, you'll see the transaction has been created :
-<screenshot id="txns_sxn_editor_8">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor8.png"
- srccredit="Sebastien Millet" format="PNG"/>
+ </screenshot></para>
+
+ <para>In this window you can adjust the transactions that will be
+ created. For example, this month my ISP made a special offer and my
+ subscription only costed 10EUR, so I just modified the amount from 20 to
+ 10.</para>
+
+ <para>When you have finished with this window, just click
+ <guibutton>Forward</guibutton> and on the next window click
+ <guibutton>Apply</guibutton>. The window will disappear and the
+ transactions will be created.</para>
+
+ <para>Then if you take a look in your bank account, you'll see the
+ transaction has been created :</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-sxn-editor-8">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_sxn_editor8.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
</imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Scheduled transaction created transaction</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>Scheduled transaction created transaction</para>
- </caption>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Scheduled transaction created transaction</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>Scheduled transaction created transaction</para>
+ </caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <note>
+ <para>If you entered the transaction for 28 of April at this stage,
+ then please revert back to the last saved GnuCash file.
+ <guimenu>File</guimenu> -><guimenuitem> Open</guimenuitem> and
+ choose <filename>gcashdata_3</filename></para>
+ </note>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- <sect1 id="txns_puttoget1">
- <title>Putting It All Together</title>
- <para>
-In the previous sections of this chapter the concepts and mechanics of working with transactions in GnuCash has been discussed. This section will expand upon the chart of accounts initially built in the previous chapter.
- </para>
- <para>
-Start by opening your chart of accounts file. Assuming you have been following the progress of this example chart of accounts, you should have 3 transactions already saved within the checking account. The main window should look something like this:
-<screenshot id="txns_puttoget">
- <mediaobject>
- <imageobject>
- <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_puttoget1.png"
- srccredit="Chris Lyttle" format="PNG"/>
- </imageobject>
- <textobject>
- <phrase>Starting point for Putting It All Together</phrase>
- </textobject>
- <caption>
- <para>This image shows the starting point for this section.
- </para>
- </caption>
- </mediaobject>
- </screenshot>
- </para>
+ <sect1 id="txns-puttoget1">
+ <title>Putting It All Together</title>
- <sect2 id="txns_puttoget_open2">
- <title>Opening Balances</title>
- <para>
-As shown earlier with the <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> account, the starting balances in an account are typically assigned to a special account called <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel>. To start filling in this chart of account, begin by setting the starting balances for the accounts. Assume that there is $1000 in the savings account and $500 charged on the credit card.
- </para>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
- Open the <guilabel>Assets:Savings</guilabel> account register. Select <guimenu>View</guimenu> -> <guisubmenu>Style</guisubmenu> from the menu and check to make sure you are in Basic Ledger style. You will view your transactions in the other modes later, but for now let's enter a basic transaction using the basic default style.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-From the <guilabel>Asset:Savings</guilabel> account register window, enter a basic 2 account transaction to set your starting balance to $1000, transferred from <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel>. Remember, basic transactions transfer money from a source account to a destination account. Record the transaction (press the 'enter' key, or click on the 'enter' icon).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-From the <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> account register window, confirm that you have already set the starting balance to $1000, transferred from <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel>. This should already have been done previously from the example earlier in this chapter, but if not, do so now.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-From the <guilabel>Liabilities:Visa</guilabel> account register window, enter
-a basic 2 account transaction to set your starting balance to $500, transferred from <guilabel>Equity:Starting Balances</guilabel>. This is done by entering the $500 as a "decrease", since it is money you borrowed. Record the transaction (press the 'enter' key, or click on the 'enter' icon).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
- <para>
-You should now have 3 accounts with opening balances set. <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>, <guilabel>Assets:Savings</guilabel>, and <guilabel>Liabilities:Visa</guilabel>.
- </para>
- </sect2>
+ <para>In the previous sections of this chapter the concepts and mechanics
+ of working with transactions in GnuCash has been discussed. This section
+ will expand upon the chart of accounts initially built in the previous
+ chapter, by setting some opening balances, adding transactions and a
+ scheduled transaction.</para>
- <sect2 id="txns_puttoget_add2">
- <title>Additional Transaction Examples</title>
+ <sect2 id="txns-puttoget-openfile">
+ <title>Open GnuCash file</title>
- <para>
-Now add some more transactions to simulate a month's expenses. During the month, $78 is spent on electricity, $45 on phone, and $350 on rent. All paid by check. Finally, let's move $100 from the savings account to the checking account.
- </para>
+ <para>Start with opening the previous datafile we stored,
+ <filename>gcashdata_3</filename>, and store it as
+ <filename>gcashdata_4</filename> directly. The main window should look
+ something like this: </para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-puttoget1-Charts">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_puttoget_Charts.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
- <orderedlist>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Open the <guilabel>Expenses:Electricity</guilabel> account register and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $78 electrical bill at the end of the current month (eg: June 30, 2003). Enter a description (eg: Light Company) and the check number (eg: 101). The <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Open the <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> account register and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $45 phone bill at the end of the current month (eg: June 30, 2003). Enter a description (eg: Phone Company Name) and the check number (eg: 102). The <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be <guilabel>Expenses:Phone</guilabel>. Notice that you can enter expense transactions from either the credit side (the expense accounts) or the debit side (the asset account).
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-Open the <guilabel>Expenses:Rent</guilabel> account register and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $350 in rent at the end of the current month (eg: June 30, 2003). Enter a description (eg: June Rent) and the check number (eg: 101). The <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>.
- </para>
- <para>
-Duplicate this transaction using the <guibutton>Duplicate</guibutton> button in the tool bar. Start by clicking on the current rent transaction, and click on the <guilabel>Duplicate</guilabel> icon. Enter the transaction date a month out in the future (eg: July 31, 2003) and set the check number (eg: 102), and notice the blue line separator that GnuCash uses to separate future transactions from current ones. In this way, you can enter transactions before they occur.
- </para>
- <para>
-You could also set up a scheduled transaction to pay your rent, since the value of the rent is likely to be constant for the foreseeable future. FIXME, add scheduled transaction stuff.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- <listitem>
- <para>
-To transfer money from you savings account to your checking account, open the <guilabel>Assets:Savings</guilabel> account register, add a new transaction setting the Transfer to <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> in the amount of $100.
- </para>
- </listitem>
- </orderedlist>
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Starting point for Putting It All Together</phrase>
+ </textobject>
- </sect2>
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the starting point for this section.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-puttoget-open2">
+ <title>Opening Balances</title>
+
+ <para>As shown earlier with the <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel>
+ account, the starting balances in an account are typically assigned to a
+ special account called <guilabel>Equity:Opening Balance</guilabel>. To
+ start filling in this chart of account, begin by setting the starting
+ balances for the accounts. Assume that there is $1000 in the savings
+ account and $500 charged on the credit card.</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open the <guilabel>Assets:Savings</guilabel> account register.
+ Select <guimenu>View</guimenu> from the menu and check to make sure
+ you are in Basic Ledger style. You will view your transactions in
+ the other modes later, but for now let's enter a basic transaction
+ using the basic default style.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>From the <guilabel>Asset:Savings</guilabel> account register
+ window, enter a basic 2 account transaction to set your starting
+ balance to $1000, transferred from <guilabel>Equity:Opening
+ Balance</guilabel>. Remember, basic transactions transfer money from
+ a source account to a destination account. Record the transaction
+ (press the 'enter' key, or click on the 'enter' icon).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>From the <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> account register
+ window, enter a basic 2 account transaction to set your starting balance to
+ $1000, transferred from <guilabel>Equity:Opening Balance</guilabel>.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>From the <guilabel>Liabilities:Visa</guilabel> account
+ register window, enter a basic 2 account transaction to set your
+ starting balance to $500, transferred from <guilabel>Equity:Opening
+ Balance</guilabel>. This is done by entering the $500 as a "charge"
+ in the Visa account (or "decrease" in the Opening Balance account),
+ since it is money you borrowed. Record the transaction (press the
+ 'enter' key, or click on the 'enter' icon).</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <para>You should now have 3 accounts with opening balances set.
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>,
+ <guilabel>Assets:Savings</guilabel>, and
+ <guilabel>Liabilities:Visa</guilabel>.</para>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-puttoget1-Charts1">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_puttoget_Charts1.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Chart accounts after setting opening balance</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the opening balances.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-puttoget-add2">
+ <title>Additional Transaction Examples</title>
+
+ <para>Now add some more transactions to simulate a month's expenses.
+ During the month, $78 is spent on electricity, $45 on phone, and $350 on
+ rent. All paid by check.We also spend $45.21 on groceries, receive $670 as
+ salary, and paids our Internet bill this month, Finally, let's move $100 from the savings
+ account to the checking account.</para>
+
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open the <guilabel>Expenses:Electricity</guilabel> account
+ register and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $78
+ electrical bill at the end of the current month (eg: March 28,
+ 2006). Enter a description (eg: Light Company) and the check number
+ (eg: 102). The <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open the <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> account register
+ and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $45 phone bill
+ at the end of the current month (eg: March 28, 2006). Enter a
+ description (eg: Phone Company Name) and the check number (eg: 103).
+ The <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Phone</guilabel>. Notice that you can enter
+ expense transactions from either the credit side (the expense
+ accounts) or the debit side (the asset account).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Open the <guilabel>Expenses:Rent</guilabel> account register
+ and enter a simple 2 account transaction to pay the $350 in rent at
+ the end of the current month (eg: March 28, 2006). Enter a
+ description (eg: April Rent) and the check number (eg: 104). The
+ <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> account should be
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel>.</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Duplicate this transaction using the
+ <guibutton>Duplicate</guibutton> button in the tool bar. Start by
+ clicking on the current rent transaction, and click on the
+ <guilabel>Duplicate</guilabel> icon. Enter the transaction date a
+ month out in the future (eg: April 28, 2006), and notice the blue
+ line separator that GnuCash uses to separate future transactions
+ from current ones. In this way, you can enter transactions before
+ they occur.</para>
+
+ <para>You could also set up a scheduled transaction to pay your
+ rent, since the value of the rent is likely to be constant for the
+ foreseeable future. <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Start by clicking on the current (April 28) rent transaction, and
+ click on the <guilabel>Schedule</guilabel> icon</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>Change to <guilabel>Monthly</guilabel>, change description if needed
+ and press OK</para>
+ </listitem>
+ </itemizedlist></para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>To transfer money from you savings account to your checking
+ account, open the <guilabel>Assets:Savings</guilabel> account
+ register, add a new transaction setting the Transfer to
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> in the amount of $100 (date 6
+ March, 2006).</para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>As another example of a simple 2 account transaction, add another
+ transaction to describe the purchase of $45.21 worth of groceries on 5 of March.
+ From within the Asset:Checking account, you would set
+ <guilabel>Transfer</guilabel> to
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Groceries</guilabel>. The account register should now
+ appear:
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>To add a paycheck transaction from the
+ <guilabel>Assets:Checking</guilabel> account register window, click on a
+ new transaction line, and click on <guilabel>Split</guilabel>. First
+ enter the description of this transaction on the first line (eg:
+ "Employers R Us"), as well as the date (14 March). In the "split" line below this,
+ enter the deposit
+ into <guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> (eg:$670) (This is due to a
+ current bug, that demands the first line in a split is the actual
+ account). Follow this with the various tax deposits
+ (<guilabel>Asset:Checking</guilabel> (eg: $670),
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Federal</guilabel> (eg: $180),
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Medicare</guilabel> (eg: $90), and
+ <guilabel>Expenses:Taxes:Social Security</guilabel> (eg: $60)) and
+ lastly the gross total of your paycheck (eg: $1000) as a withdrawal
+ transfer from <guilabel>Income:Salary</guilabel>.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ <listitem>
+ <para>
+ We also need to pay for our Internet subscription of 20 USD
+ on the 28th.
+ </para>
+ </listitem>
+
+ </orderedlist>
+
+ <screenshot id="txns-puttoget2-Charts1">
+ <mediaobject>
+ <imageobject>
+ <imagedata fileref="figures/txns_puttoget_Charts2.png" format="PNG"
+ srccredit="Bengt Thuree" />
+ </imageobject>
+
+ <textobject>
+ <phrase>Chart accounts after setting all the various transactions</phrase>
+ </textobject>
+
+ <caption>
+ <para>This image shows the ending balances after chapter 4.</para>
+ </caption>
+ </mediaobject>
+ </screenshot>
+
+
+ </sect2>
+
+ <sect2 id="txns-puttoget-save">
+ <title>Save file</title>
+
+ <para>Last, save the GnuCash data file
+ (<filename>gcashdata_4</filename>).</para>
+ </sect2>
</sect1>
- </chapter>
+</chapter>
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