account organization

Bill Wohler wohler at newt.com
Mon Mar 31 22:38:33 CST 2003


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.

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.

It occurred to me that a really twisted thing to do would be to create a
parent account like Petty Loans:Jack which has a Liability subaccount
called Payable and an Asset account called Receivable. Maybe the parent
account would show you where you stand. Gnucash probably doesn't allow
that though.

I'll let you try that since when I buy someone dinner, I just account
for the whole thing under Expenses:Dining, and don't account for
anything when that someone buys me dinner back.

--
Bill Wohler <wohler at newt.com>  http://www.newt.com/wohler/  GnuPG ID:610BD9AD
Maintainer of comp.mail.mh FAQ and MH-E. Vote Libertarian!
If you're passed on the right, you're in the wrong lane.


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