Gnucash Lots?

[Derek Atkins]

linas@linas.org (Linas Vepstas) writes:

> > > I don't quite understand why this is a 'hard question'.  I imagine
> > > that there might be an 'invoice report' which looks similar to 
> > > the 'transaction report', except that it only shows the
> > > transactions/splits associated with a particular lot.
> > 
> > Showing just a particular lot is insufficient.  
> 
> I don't see why its 'insufficient'.  One lot == one invoice.  Other
> accounting packages only display one invoice at a time, I don't see
> anything wrong with that.

No, you are confused.  A Lot is not an Invoice.  A Lot is a container
that ties together:

        a) the Transaction created when an Invoice is posted
        b) any Transactions that apply payment to the invoice.

The Lot itself does NOT contain an invoice.  In fact, you CANNOT view
an invoice from the normal account-viewing windows.  When you view
A/R, what you see _IS_ a summary of the Invoice, which is contained in
the posted Transaction (and therefore tied into its lot).

Viewing one lot at a time _IS_ insufficient.  It is insufficient in
the case of Invoices for the same reason it is insufficient for the
case of stocks.  It's extremely possible to have multiple, related
lots and the user should be able to see them all at once.

For example, AGAIN, if you've invoiced Customer XXX five times,
wouldn't you like to see a report that says:

        invoice #258:   customer XXX    $138.27
        invoice #327:   customer XXX    $1924.29
        invoice #367:   customer XXX    $193.28
        invoice #401:   customer XXX    $205.79
        invoice #420:   customer XXX    $1000.17

This is viewing five lots at once.  Anything that can't do this
is just broken.

Note that actually viewing the Invoice (which is NOT viewing the Lot)
is separate.

> > Except you're not showing just one lot.  Assume you've posted five
> > invoices to this customer -- there are now five open lots awaiting
> > payment.  This means the UI has to be able to display all five open
> > lots at once (and allow a single "payment" transaction to split into
> > all of them).
> 
> I don't see that you have to show all five invoices at once.  Maybe a
> one-or-two-line summary of each invoice, showing the balance, the
> due-date, the invoice number...

Please re-read what I said.  I did not say "show all five invoices at
once" I specifically said "show all five open lots at once".  Again, a
lot != an invoice.  A lot is only the the transaction that results
from posting an invoice.

> Imagine an invoice from digikey. It would be five pages long, listing
> transistors, resistors,  and whatnot; I'm not sure I'd have the
> intestinal fortitude to view more than one of these at a time ...

You wouldn't.  In the "lot" view you would see:

        invoice #nnn    Digikey         $129.40

> > > It would be nice to be able to embed the register window into a visual
> > > layout that looks more like an invoice, with name, address showing, etc.
> > 
> > Already done (have you even LOOKED at current cvs to see what's
> > already there?)
> 
> Uhh, no, I was just answering your question.

May I urge that, before you respond to this mail, you actually look
at current CVS to see what's there?  I think we're talking past each
other, mostly because I don't think you understand what's already
been done.

Perhaps we just don't have a common vocabulary, here?  I don't know
for sure, but I think if you look at how Invoices work in current CVS,
and how Invoices interact with A/R, A/P, and the current Chart of
Accounts, I think this conversation can be much easier.

> > Currently none of the invoice code (posting or paying) is tied into
> > Lots.
> 
> Well, you *did* say you needed lots 'yesterday'.  
> 
> I don't expect you to start using lots immediately (they're not ready)
> but I'm not going to give them high priority if I sense that there is no
> interest ...

There is interest.  I do want to use them, as fifos, as a means to
attach payments to invoices with something more that just a string in
the Transaction Description that contains the Customer Name.  The
reason I want something more is: what happens if you have two
customers with the same name?

Before you respond, please look at current CVS...  Run with
GNC_DEBUG=1, and play with the Extensions menu.

> --linas

-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord@MIT.EDU                        PGP key available