Future "Tutorial and User Guide" direction

[Jon Lapham]

Derek Atkins wrote:
> Personal users may still need depreciation.  For example, I rent out
> part of my house so I need to depreciate it. 

Right, and for this business-esque activity, a personal finance user 
will have to look in the business section.  I'm guessing a huge majority 
of personal finance users would not need to depreciate anything.  BTW, 
if what I am saying is not correct, then we should add a depreciation 
section in the Personal user guide with example that relate to personal 
finance.

> Also, business users may
> have to pay rent on their office space.

And should thus be included in the business section, with examples, etc. 
  Including discussions of possible business tax implications, etc.

> Honestly, I can't think of anything that would belong in a "GnuCash
> guide to Personal Finance" that wouldn't also belong in a "GnuCash
> guide to Business Finance".  


Certainly the "Getting Started" chapters would be... basically.. 
identical (Basic Structure and Setup, Accounts, Transactions).  However, 
the chapters Checkbook, Credit Cards, Investments, Loans could be very 
different in the business guide.

For example, the "credit card" section of the personal finance guide 
discusses how to deal with accounting for your personal credit card (I 
charged my groceries, what do I do now?).  Whereas the business chapter 
on CCs could deal with accounting for credit card expense accounts, 
expense forms, back charging employees for personal expenses, etc.  You 
know, the business perspective on credit cards.

Certainly investments and loans are quite different in a business versus 
personal finance setting?

> The inverse is not true -- I see no
> reason to discuss AR, AP, Customers, Vendors, Invoices, Bills,
> Payroll, TaxTables, Billing Terms, etc. in the "Personal Finance"
> docs.

I agree.  And, that is the other side of the coin, making the Personal 
Finance guide less intimidating for new users.

> But seriously, I think except for the specific chapters devoted to
> the above sections, I see no reason to duplicate the docs.

But, they wouldn't be duplicated, except maybe in name.

Well, it doesn't matter now.  Let's concentrate on the docs organization 
we have now.

:)

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  Jon Lapham  <lapham at extracta.com.br>          Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
  Work: Extracta Moléculas Naturais SA     http://www.extracta.com.br/
  Web: http://www.jandr.org/
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