Newbie various

[Derek Atkins]

Michael Hall <ninti at ninti.com> writes:

> Is GST that I have collected an asset or a liability? Seems to me that it could
> be either depending on how you look at it! An asset because it is money in the
> bank I can use to pay my tax bill, or a liability because I've really only
> collected it for the tax man to whom I owe it?

A liability (because it's the latter).

> Likewise, what is GST that I have paid? A liability because it cost me money, or
> an asset because it will ultimately reduce my tax bill? I'm confused ...

Again the latter.

> Would SQL Ledger be easier to use for a financial illiterate like myself? I kind
> of prefer the idea of web-based software (multiuser, platform independent) and
> an SQL backend anyway. Because I have never used any type of financial software
> before, I find it difficult to judge the relative usability of GnuCash.

No clue.  I didn't like SQL Ledger when I looked at it because it
didn't have the ability to create and print invoices and do a lot of
other general accounting.  That's why I wrote the business features
for GnuCash.  Also, I didn't want a web-app, which is another reason I
started with the GnuCash codebase.

> SQL Ledger looks like a capable enough package, though IMHO it could do with
> some improvements (get rid of the frames, use XHTML, make it look a bit flasher,
> maybe pull out any stuff not relevant to Australia). I'd really like a
> straight-forward Linux accounting package for the Aussie small business punter
> (myself included) ... anyone else interested in hacking SQL Ledger? I'm more
> PHP, Python and MySQL, but should be able to get up to speed with Perl and
> PostgreSQL without too much trouble.

This is the wrong forum to be asking about SQL-Ledger.  Sorry.

> Don't get me wrong, I'm as internationalist as the next bloke, but trying to
> make an accounting package that works everywhere does, IMHO, tend to result in
> something that doesn't quite hit the mark for anyone. Interfaces, menus,
> categories, etc, tend to get filled with irrelevant confusing stuff.

This is true.  GnuCash is flexible, but as a result not customized to
any particular area.  The flexibility allows you to set it up, but
that means you need some guidelines in HOW to set it up.

A programmer could add a bunch of setup druids (hint hint) to help
initialize the system for various locales.  Such a code donation would
be happily accepted.

-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
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available