linking gnucash to data in postgres

[Joseph Mack]

Benjamin Carlyle wrote:

> Inventory tracking can be done in terms of purely financial records, if
> you have the patience. Consider this transaction:
> 
> Payable:Supplier $100CR
> Cost Of Inventory $100DR
> Bought 10 soccer balls @ $10 each
> 
> This kind of inventory handling is the "right way to do it" in financial
> jurisdictions I'm aware of. 

I've had no financial training at all.

> The cost is not an expense, however later depreciation and shrinkage are expenses. 

For several years I thought the entries on my credit card were expenses. 
I then found out in one of the gnucash manuals that the entries on my
credit card were a liability.

OK so for a business the cost of a ball is not an expense, so what is it?

> The gnucash manual covers this to some extent.

better go print out the latest manual


> Now, let's consider wanting to track the number of balls, too. We could
> create a currency/commodity that represents balls. The above transaction
> becomes:
> Payable:Supplier $100CR
> Cost Of Inventory $100DR
> Soccer Balls Received 10balls CR
> Soccer Ball Inventory 10balls DR
> Bought 10 soccer balls @ $10 each

I'd always though of commodities as things traded on stock exchanges, and
which I know nothing about. I've never thought about how business thinks
of their stock. 
 
> Now our financial records show that we have 10 balls at a cost value of
> $100. We use standard reports to show how many "balls rich" we are. We
> can create transactions for when balls are lost or damaged. We need to
> do that anyway to keep track of the dollar value of our inventory.
> Keeping track of the inventory count is just a small stretch further.

what if you need to keep track of the brand, color and size of the soccer balls?
 
> When you report your financial position you only take into consideration
> accounts with dollar values. When you report on your inventory you can
> report separately on ball counts, their costs, and their depreciation.

thanks, 

Joe

-- 
Joseph Mack PhD, High Performance Computing & Scientific Visualization
SAIC, Supporting the EPA Research Triangle Park, NC 919-541-0007
Federal Contact - John B. Smith 919-541-1087 - smith.johnb at epa.gov