GnuCash and running a business?

[Linas Vepstas]

On Tue, May 22, 2001 at 11:03:09AM +0000, Gerd Arlitt was heard to remark:
> Paul Lussier wrote:
> 
> >
> > I guess the things that I'd be interested in seeing in
> > business-related software would be things like:
> >
> >         - payroll
> >         - project tracking
> >         - billing (time/services)
> >         - personell/materiel management
> > etc.
> >
> I think you are plainly wrong here if you compare  GnuCash with Applications
> like SAP or Peoplesoft in general. You'd better read some application

Right. SAP is a high end, and does very different things.  But a more appropriate 
comparison might be with peachtree, which comes shrink-wrapped, on a cdrom,
and support the above to a sifficeint degree to be usable in a small office.

What changes is when you have more than a handful of people using the system.
You can't go on with a simple pc-based app any more ...

The question was 'can gnucash, the pc-based app, be enhanced to support 
peachtree/quickbooks style features'? and the answer is yes.   

But if the question is 'can it be morphed into some mainframe-mangling 
enterprise-class system', then no. Maybe absorbed by, merged into, but 
not grown into. 

> Overall consistency, (easy) adaptability  to individual
> business needs are the problems..
> Once you get into the areas of  material managment interleaved with supply
> logistics
> and prodution control and that in differing business types, it can become
> quite complex. And don't forget that organisational processes and software
> must go well together.

That's what gnue is meant to solve ...

> There is a lot more to say to this ... and I have my own views about the
> fututre in these areas, application and softwarewise. I am not convinced
> that conceptually redoing again and again what has been done 30 years ago
> already with punched cards is the way to go. 

?? 

> I believe in new approaches and
> architectures which allow for better management of complexity of company
> processes as well as reducing the software complexity going with it.

Such as ??

> This may be all too much off topic .... maybe it can be discussed somewhere
> else but I woulden't know where ....

Nah, this is a great place, although the gnue place may be good too.  Maybe
we should set up some sort of 'linux-financial' list?  I don't beleive the 
community has a general list of this kind.


-- 
Linas Vepstas -- linas@gnumatic.com -- http://www.gnumatic.com/