r23489 - gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C - Upstream from [23488]: docs/guide/C/ch_accts.xml: minor improvements

[Frank H. Ellenberger]

Author: fell
Date: 2013-12-04 19:26:09 -0500 (Wed, 04 Dec 2013)
New Revision: 23489
Trac: http://svn.gnucash.org/trac/changeset/23489

Modified:
   gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml
Log:
Upstream from [23488]: docs/guide/C/ch_accts.xml: minor improvements

Modified: gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml
===================================================================
--- gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml	2013-12-05 00:20:13 UTC (rev 23488)
+++ gnucash-docs/trunk/guide/C/ch_accts.xml	2013-12-05 00:26:09 UTC (rev 23489)
@@ -32,7 +32,11 @@
     <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 <application>&app;</application>. But first, let’s divide them into 2 groups, the
-    balance sheet accounts and the income and expense accounts.</para>
+    balance sheet accounts and the income and expense accounts.
+    As the name says the balance sheet accounts can be summarized in the
+    balance of what you own and owe <emphasis>at a point in the time</emphasis>,
+    while the income and expense accounts can be summarized in the Profit & Loss report,
+    which shows the <emphasis>change of values in a period of time</emphasis> like the economic year </para>
 
     <para>Let’s have a quick look at the Accounting Equation (<emphasis>Assets
     - Liabilities = Equity + (Income - Expenses)</emphasis>) again as a
@@ -68,7 +72,7 @@
       <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>
+      the 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
@@ -103,12 +107,19 @@
       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
+      <para><guilabel>Expense</guilabel> refers to money you spend to purchase
+      goods or services provided by someone else 
+      <emphasis>for early consumption</emphasis>. 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>
+<!--
+  Translators:
+    Your language might have a generic term for 'income and expense'.
+    Then you should introduce it here in a separate paragraph 
+    and replace 'income and expense' by it in the latter sections of this book.
+-->
     </sect2>
   </sect1>
 
@@ -123,8 +134,8 @@
     <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 <application>&app;</application>, in which logically associated accounts reside
-    within a common parent account.</para>
+    trees</guilabel> in <application>&app;</application>, in which logically associated accounts are grouped
+    together within a common parent account.</para>
 
     <para>A <application>&app;</application> account must have a unique name (that you assign) and one
     of the predefined <application>&app;</application> <quote>account types</quote>. There are a total of 12 account
@@ -270,8 +281,9 @@
       balances, because these balances represent your beginning net
       worth.</para>
 
-      <para>There is only a single <application>&app;</application> equity account, called naturally
-      enough, <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>.</para>
+      <para>There is usually only a single <application>&app;</application> equity account, called naturally
+      enough, <guilabel>Equity</guilabel>. 
+      For companies, cooperatives etc. you can create a subaccount for each partner.</para>
 
       <tip>
         <para>In equity accounts, credits increase account balances and debits