associate jpeg image of receipt with a transaction?

[jdebert]

Mike wrote:
> On Saturday 11 December 2004 06:08 am, Mark H. Wood wrote:
> 
> 
>>To anyone contemplating the addition of such a feature, I'd like to
>>suggest that the specific details should not be integrated into Gnucash
> 
> 
> Mark,
> 
> I would appreciate additional features but my feeling (from a programming 
> standpoint) is: Why complicate things?  An accurate and reliable accounting 
> program simply cannot do everything for everyone.  I am not a programmer, but 
> I know those who write code for Gnucash have plenty to do, especially when 
> you consider they volunteer their time.  
> 
> As far as scanning an image of a receipt and using OCR to automatically enter 
> transaction details, the transaction would require careful scrutiny.  A 
> single misread OCR character may make it very difficult to track down a 
> transaction when you discover your accounts don't balance.  OCR is far from 
> perfect, at least in my experience.  Additionally, some manual entry would 
> still be required.  For instance, OCR would have no idea of which account(s) 
> to use for the transaction. 
> 

I don't care about OCR, myself. I simply would like to reference or link 
an external file. If one gets too busy to enter the information then a 
bookkeeper would be a better choice and is far more accurate than OCR. 
It's not expensive, unless they're hired full-time.

> For those here in the U.S who want to scan a receipt, do some OCR entry into 
> Gnucash, save the image and then throw away the hard copy, consider this:
> 
> For business transactions, the IRS requires hard copies of every transaction 
> for the previous five years and will not (in most cases) accept computer 
> generated copies.  The same applies to personal records, the only difference 
> being they must be saved for seven years.  Also, copies of important 
> documents are not accepted in some States; you must provide the original 
> document as proof of a transaction.
> 

Thermal paper receipts are the most common ones people get. They are 
relatively cheap to produce, which is all the vendor cares about. The 
big selling points for thermal paper are: no maintenance, fewer moving 
parts, no ink, and it's quieter and faster. They don't care if the 
receipts are not permanent.

Thermal paper receipts are short-lived and tend to fade out over time. 
Sometimes that time is just a few days. If there is no copy, the record 
is lost.

It is a bad idea to discard original documents like receipts immediately 
after copying. Bad accounting procedure, too. Originals are required for 
audits (people do audit their books, right?) to ensure the bookkeeping 
is accurate.

The IRS no longer requires paper records for every business or tax 
related transaction. They will accept electronic records. In the case 
where the record was originally paper, an electronic substitute may 
still be acceptable under certain conditions, such as when the original 
is no longer legible or was destroyed in a disaster or some other way 
beyond one's control. (IANAL so do not take it as advice--talk to a tax 
attorney about it. They're not expensive.)

Presenting the self-erased receipts should be proof enough to allow 
using an electronic copy.

Every state has (or should have) procedures for cases where certain 
original documents are somehow unavailable. States may accept either 
certified copies or affidavits. This is another area where consulting an 
attorney is useful.

But it is unlikely that one will have to go to such lengths for personal 
accounting records. As for business, a business should have already 
consulted an accountant and a tax attorney about such recordkeeping 
matters--including any who are self-employed/sole-proprietors.

-- 
=-=
jd

i is a by-product of public education.