Can GNU Cash keep track of expenses of multiple businesses?

[Yves S. Garret]

Yes, I know that there are legal questions that are beyond the scope of
this mail thread, but that is not my goal in having started this discussion
:-) .

Now, if I have 3 files in GnuCash, for the sake of keeping the powers that
be content (and off my tail), I'm someone that likes the big picture.
 Could I combine the output/results/content/data from 3 of those files in
some other location?  So that I know -- for the sake of an example -- I
have $3,000 coming in and $2,500 being spent.

On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 8:37 AM, Shane Litherland <
litherland-farm at bigpond.com> wrote:

> Yves,
>
> so, from your end, having three top-level accounts in one gnucash file
> might actually be easier to use..
>
> from the authorities' perspective, having them as three separate files
> would be much easier to demonstrate they are separate and independent.
>
> I reckon I'd be doing it the slightly harder way for myself, so I can
> sleep easier at night ;-)
>
> Also given your setup, chances are they'd have little in the way of txns
> between them for you to benefit from the former 'shortcut'.. unless you
> intend to do 'hand-me-down' furniture and have to deal with capital
> depreciations/write-offs etc.. ;-)
>
> -shane.
>
> On Wed, 2012-02-01 at 05:41 -0500, Yves S. Garret wrote:
> > The only reason why I want to do this is because if I buy apartments and
> rent them out and I put them as being ownedby its own LLC and -- God forbid
> -- I get sued, my losses will be contained to only that LLC and house.
> >
> > On Jan 31, 2012, at 11:35 PM, Shane Litherland <
> litherland-farm at bigpond.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Yves,
> > >
> > > As per Derek's comment, but there is another way to view the scenario:
> > >
> > > One GNUcash file, with three top-level accounts (one for each
> business).
> > >
> > > This would NOT be the recommended setup for business reasons, some
> would
> > > argue there is more transparency/independence in records in having
> three
> > > separate files.
> > >
> > > HOWEVER, there have been comments over the time though in the GNUcash
> > > forums where some people have favoured this way for multiple
> > > 'businesses' (or e.g. three separate accounts for three individuals in
> a
> > > household) because they found the amount of 'internal' txns between
> said
> > > business units meant having them within one gnucash file was easier for
> > > them to enter/record txns, rather than having to record any 'transfer'
> > > as an expense from one then go and record that same amount as an income
> > > in the other.
> > >
> > > It is in a very rough comparison, like having three separate
> spreadsheet
> > > documents or one spreadsheet document with three pages. Both ways
> record
> > > the same stuff. but moving info around involves subtly different
> > > processes.
> > >
> > > Besides, if you have three separate files, it stops anyone that should
> > > only access one of them from viewing/breaking/tampering with stuff that
> > > they shouldn't!
> > >
> > > PS if you are setting up three accts from scratch and they have a
> > > similar acct structure, you might be able to set up one, then save a
> > > copy or create a new one that inherits the same acct tree layout...
> > > you'd have to read up the gnucash info/tips on that but it could be
> > > handy??
> > >
> > > -shane.
> > >
>
>
>