clueless beginner needs basic advice

[Cam Ellison]

john wrote:
> I might be in over my head with this program.
> I'm wishing for a replacement for quicken basic that I can use in 
> debian. Installing gnucash was easy because I could use synaptic package 
> manager. Opening a file and choosing s simple checking account was easy. 
> Importing a quicken qif file was easy. Making sense out of the results 
> has been a confusing problem. I am not a accountant. I don't find 
> complicated bookkeeping to be interesting. Every month I have the same 3 
> or so deposits and write the same 10-15 checks. What I want is a program 
> similar to quicken where I have a long list of checks going out and 
> deposits coming in arranged by the date on the left with a running 
> balance on the right all on the same very long page. Quicken had a lot 
> of complicated extra features but I was allowed to ignore all of them 
> and keep things understandable at my level.
> So here's the question.
> If I stick it out and learn how to use this program am I going to be 
> able to set it up as described above or is that too contrary to the 
> double entry style of thinking. Gnucash is obviously a very slick 
> program but I can't tell if it is what I need. It would be very 
> frustrating to have to learn it just to find out that I can't use it. 
> I'm not finding a clear example of anyone using gnucash this way so I 
> have to ask.

If you're looking at the stock chart of accounts, it probably looks more 
complicated than it is.  Much of what you see, you probably won't need. 
  The first thing to do is to install the gnucash-docs (that's a 
separate application), and then when you fire up gnucash, go to help and 
select the Tutorial and Concepts Guide.  It's actually quite well done.

The basic thing about double-entry is that money must go from one place 
to another place - it doesn't grow on trees, and it doesn't come from 
nowhere.  So, you'll need at least one account called Income and one 
called Chequing (under Assets).  It will also help to have a few under 
Expenses, so that you can keep track of where your money is going. 
Don't try to set up too much at once: keep it simple.

To get money into Chequing, you need to open it, and show Income (or 
Income:Salary, or whatever your income source is) in the space reserved 
for the other account name - that's double entry.  Really, you only 
enter it once, but by specifying both accounts the transaction gets 
entered into two places at once.

HTH

Cam


-- 
Cam Ellison, Ph.D. R.Psych. #1417

Cam Ellison & Associates Ltd.
3446 Beach Avenue
Roberts Creek BC      V0N 2W2
Phone:           604-885-4806
Fax:             604-885-4809