How set up Income accounts to continually have new monthly income??

[Derek Atkins]

seberino at spawar.navy.mil writes:

> I'm new to GNUcash... I want my paychecks
> to be a transfer from "Income" to "Checking".
> (I assume that is how most do it?)

That is how you _HAVE_ to do it.

> How do this since the $$ in Income will be constantly
> growing as I get paid over and over again???

Income accounts are "SPECIAL"..  They are designed to be "money
sources".  So, they count "backwards".  As you move money "out" of an
income account, the balance increases.

> I'm not sure how to set this account up.
> 
> Income will require more than just an opening
> balance of course unlike other accounts.
> This is what I don't understand.

You're thinking too hard about the problem.  Just consider income and
expense accounts as "magic".

Your salary is a transfer from Income:Salary to Assets:Checking.
That's it.  There is no "periodic refresh" of an income account.

Try it and you'll see what I mean.  Both accounts will show a
"positive" number after you do this.  The income account will show the
total amount of income.  The Checking account will show, well, your
checking account balance.

> Chris

-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
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