Shareholders/Owners Equity Question

[Maf. King]

On Tue 24 July 12 20:19:24 quest46 wrote:
> I'm using GnuCash 2.4.11.
> OS: Windows 7
> 
> I'm switching software. So, I'm trying to set up my accounts, in GnuCash,
> but I hit a snag when it came to the "Equity" part.
> 
> My old software (Simply Accounting) allowed me to create "Voting",
> "Non-voting", and "Preferred", etc. accounts, in the "Equity" section. Then
> I could enter an opening amount, for each - which, since I'm switching
> software, now, has to be the case this time, too. Afterwards, I could change
> the value of those sub-accounts via the General Journal.
> 
> Yet, I'm finding GnuCash to be a bit odd (not user-friendly/flexible), in
> this matter. Rather than just being a header, the "Equity" account reflects
> a rigid running net-total and any sub-accounts cannot start with an opening
> amount.
> 
> I've spent hours trying to find a work-around or solution, but I could not
> find any.
> 
> So, is there a way to get GnuCash to act more like Simply Accounting, when
> it comes to shareholders/owners equity accounts?
> 


Hi,

I only have one type of shareholder, so I can't exactly be certain that what 
I'm doing is extendable to multi-class share businesses, but maybe it is.

My share capital is under Equity:Shares.  the  shares are all fully paid up, 
so the initial investment shows as transfers (one per shareholder) to 
Bank:Current. (after all, that is where the money went when the shares were 
first bought)!

I see no reason why you couldn't have multiple accounts under Equity (eg 
:voting, :non-voting :special :ordinary or whatever)

HTH,
Maf.