gnucash-devel digest, Vol 1 #726 - 8 msgs

[Michael T. Garrison Stuber]

> It sounds pretty interesting, could you give some more
> examples of its use?

Sure, first I'll explain what I use it for.  In my household somethings are 
budgeted (sp?) others are not.  For example, we don't have a set grocery 
budget, we spend whatever we need to buy good food.  On the other hand we 
have a fixed budget for miscellaneous expenses.  We do almost all our 
purchases through a single credit card.  I download the QFX file from my 
bank, and convert to QIF and import it.  We keep separate checking accounts 
for budget and non-budget items.  This addition to the transaction report 
allows me to get a report of how much was spent on the credit card on 
budget items, versus how much was spent on non budget items, with 
subtotals, so that I can debit the appropriate checking account it's share 
of the credit bill when it comes due.

Another way of looking at is this:  Let's say I run a widget manufacturing 
business.  I have a single corporate line of credit.  My expenditures may 
be paid for out of operating funds, or I may choose to use my line of 
credit.  I have accounts for each of my major components, plastic, 
hardware, and circuit boards.  The additions to this report would allow me 
to report on only hardware expenditures which I paid for on credit.

Or here is another:  I have a series of bank accounts and a series of 
expense accounts.  My dot-com went under and I am interested in controlling 
my spending.  To start with I want to see how much I'm spending on luxury 
items.  I might have used any of my accounts to pay for them.  I select my 
bank accounts and then filter on the appropriate expense accounts (maybe 
the massage, personal trainer, and gambling accounts)

Maybe I want to take a look at all my bank interest except for account X, 
but I only have one bank account interest account.  I can do a report on 
bank interest as the source account, but exclude account X.

On last example:  I want to closely examine my spending, but certain things 
just don't matter I will pay them no matter what.  I report on the accounts 
I spend from excluding expense accounts for the utilities and the mortgage. 
This lets me see how much I'm spending on discretionary items.

Beyond this it would be cool to provide a check box beside each transaction 
in the transaction report so that you could select the box and have the 
transaction not included in the subtotal.  This would be real useful for 
excluding wierd one time expenditures when analyzing your accounts.  Maybe 
I'll do that . . . maybe I won't.

> Would it be hard to have the transaction report have it's default
> behavior if you don't mess with the new options?

No, in fact it does this already.  Basically I've updates the "Accounts" 
option tab as follows:
Acounts has been renamed Report Accounts
A second account list has been added called "Filter Accounts"
Below Filter Accounts is Filter option list which contains ("Do not 
filter", "Include transactions to/from filter accounts only", "Exclude 
transaction to/from any filter accounts")  It defaults to "Do not filter"

> Not really, since it has been so soon after the branch.
> If the reporting infrastructure starts to change again
> (there are no plans for it to change, atm) then you
> might want to switch to the development tree, though
> I understand it's easier to use the stable one.

Cool.  I'm using GNUCash is production, so I haven't been inclined to be on 
the head release.  If my report works or doesn't it's not the end of the 
world.  If GNUCash ate all my transactions it might be.  :)