account organization

[Andrew Pimlott]

On Mon, Mar 31, 2003 at 10:38:33PM -0800, Bill Wohler wrote:
> Andrew Pimlott <gnucash-user at andrew.pimlott.net> writes:
> 
> > I don't know how it works with your friends :-), but I'm talking
> > about stuff like I buy dinner one night, he buys another.  It all
> > belongs in one account so I can see that it evens out.  Yes, this is
> > anal, but it works out so nicely in double entry accounting that I
> > can't resist.
> 
> OK, I'll see your AR, and raise you one. One disadvantage of your petty
> loans is that you don't log the expenses under Expenses:Dining.

Sure I do.  It's just a small variation on what you describe below.

> If your friend buys you dinner, you can log that under Liabilities:Petty
> Loans:Jack and transfer it to Expenses:Dining. You can transfer from
> your Assets:Accounts Receivable:Petty Loans:Jack to Liabilities:Petty
> Loans:Jack to even things out.

I do the same thing, except I transfer from Petty Loans: Jack to
Expenses:Dining when he buys dinner, and transfer from Cash to Petty
Loans:Jack when I pay him back.  Or, if I buy dinner next time, I
might do a three-split transaction: from my credit card to dining
and to Petty Loans:Jack.

I don't see the advantage to using more than one account for this.

Andrew