Categorization of transactions

[Cam Ellison]

Dennis Muhlestein wrote:
> I don't see how a feature like this could cause anyone any heartache who 
> doesn't want to use it.  I used Quicken for a lot of years and though I 
> didn't use Categories much, it didn't bother me that they were there.  I 
> don't see why this feature would need to be implemented in a way that 
> would be intrusive to anyone who didn't use/understand it.
>
> On the other hand, I can see how this feature could be very helpful for 
> some people.  For instance, I have more than one vehicle.  Every time I 
> buy gas, I like to associate the transaction with which car it was 
> purchased for.  I could just make sub accounts under fuel for more than 
> one car, but that is annoying when you want to look at fuel for all 
> vehicles (you have to open sub-accounts, select multiple accounts for 
> reports, ect).  Next, what about insurance, repair, etc.  Do each of 
> these accounts now need multiple sub accounts too?  What if I want to 
> look at all the data (multiple accounts) for just one car?  Now I'd need 
> to open lots of different accounts, or do a more complicated search.
>
>
>   
It's important to remember that Quicken is not a "real" accounting 
system, in the sense that it doesn't do double-entry.  The Categories 
amount to a stop-gap to get around this problem.  Trying to use the 
Categories to balance things drove me crazy, and finding Gnucash was a 
great relief.

I expect it would take some clever and complex programming to add such a 
feature to Gnucash, with a consequently greater risk of bugs and data 
loss and generally of screwing things up. 

You are supposed to have multiple sub-accounts: that approach keeps 
things tidy.  Generating different reports for each vehicle is actually 
pretty easy: start with the Transaction Report and select carefully.  We 
keep track of both RRSPs and rental properties under a general 
investment account, and each property has its own set of sub-accounts.  
Saved specialized reports take care of the need for thorough analysis 
very well.  You may not like the detailed and repetitious work that is 
required to set them up, but once they're done you know exactly what's 
going on.

Cam