Apportioning GST in the account register

[Steven Patrick]

Just to expand on the previous message...

Exactly as in your example, in Australia (and other countries around the world) GST (or VAT) has to be calculated on the basis of the various components - some taxable, others not taxable - for every transaction.

The GnuCash invoicing process does this automatically for larger businesses, but many smaller businesses use only cash book records and need to be able to automatically calculate and record GST in bank account transactions.  Because it is already being done in the invoicing process, it would seem logical it can be done in the bank account process.

The need for automation arises because even small businesses have large numbers of transactions and the manual entry of the components (including GST) for each and every transaction is very time consuming.

The problem is exacerbated (in Australia, at least) because invoices often only reflect the total price paid for each component and a "flag" if that price includes GST.  To work out the GST component, we have to divide the gross price by 11 (eleven) - again a time consuming process with potential for data entry errors all along the way.

Even if the changes to GnuCash are complex and expensive, my clients are prepared to look at any quote or estimate for the GnuCash improvement because it is an extensive problem in Australia - and probably around the world.

Steve