Re: Help with GnuCash! Why is there a “Rebate” column in the Expense account on GnuCash?

David T. sunfish62 at yahoo.com
Thu Oct 18 16:44:28 EDT 2012


Robby--

Please use Reply All, and keep this on the list. If you do that, others (with FAR more experience and understanding of both Gnucash and accounting) can chime in with their own observations.

In regards to your point: I believe that it will ultimately be easier and clearer for you to use Gnucash to track all your expenses and accounts, rather than some indeterminate subset of them. I do not believe that Gnucash is well suited to such a partial accounting.

If all you need is a running total, you might best be served with a spreadsheet. Personally, I prefer having all my various accounts under Gnucash, and I like the fact that I can determine how much money I spend on (say) gas or dining out, or how much interest I paid last year.

And yes, if you want to track cash expenditures, you'll have to have a Cash account. Gnucash sets one up by default when you start up. That, by the way, is one area that I have not found a compelling need to track. When I take out cash, it goes into that account (to account for the ATM withdrawal), but I never end up putting in the expenditures that use up the cash in my pocket. Gnucash thinks I am sitting on a huge pile of cash.

David


________________________________
 From: Robby Burns <robbyburns2010 at gmail.com>
To: David T. <sunfish62 at yahoo.com> 
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 1:28 PM
Subject: Re: Help with GnuCash! Why is there a “Rebate” column in the Expense account on GnuCash?
 

Thanks for your reply, David.

Maybe I need to make my request more clear.

I just wanted to add up all the expenses--in different categories--that I incurred.

Yes, the payments may have been made from different accounts (banks, credit cards) but I do not want to have to do accounting for all of those accounts.  If I use my credit card for some personal stuff and some business stuff, 

I just want to be able to keep a running total of my business expenses...regardless of where the funds came from. (BTW...what if I pay cash for something? Do I have to keep a "cash account" in GnuCash, too?)

Is this something I cannot do in GnuCash?

Thanks for your feedback.


On Tue, Oct 16, 2012 at 6:15 PM, David T. <sunfish62 at yahoo.com> wrote:

Robby--
>
>
>Please keep this on the list.
>
>
>The whole point of Gnucash being "double-entry" is that you HAVE to have your money come from one place and go somewhere else. 
>
>
>Take this example: you purchase a ream of paper for five dollars cash. The transaction would have:
>
>
>Expenses:Supplies  -$5
>Assets:Cash in Wallet:   -$5
>
>
>In other words, you take money from your wallet and exchange it for a ream of paper. [Presumably, you got the cash into your wallet by withdrawing from your checking account, and the money in the checking account got there from your paycheck, which is listed as income]
>
>
>To get an accounting of a particular expenses, you can create reports based on the specific account, covering a particular time frame.
>
>
>You really should read more background on basic accounting, as well as the Gnucash Tutorial.
>
>
>
>HTH,
>David
>
>
>
>
>
>
>________________________________
> From: Robby Burns <robbyburns2010 at gmail.com>
>To: David T. <sunfish62 at yahoo.com> 
>Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2012 4:23 AM
>
>Subject: Re: Help with GnuCash! Why is there a “Rebate” column in the Expense account on GnuCash?
> 
>
>
>Hi, David,
>
>
>Okay...I understand what it is doing...now how can I stop it from doing that in this case?
>
>
>I just want to add up all the expenses in different categories. I don't need to "balance" out the payments with a "rebate" from somewhere else.  Is it possible to change the "headers" on the columns?
>
>
>Thanks for your reply.
>
>
>
>On Mon, Oct 15, 2012 at 9:33 PM, David T. <sunfish62 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>Robby:
>>
>>Try looking at http://gnucash.org/docs/v2.4/C/gnucash-guide/basics-accounting1.html
>>
>>You're seeing Gnucash enforcing the concept of Double-Entry bookkeeping. Money flows from one account to another.
>>
>>HTH,
>>David
>>
>>
>>
>>________________________________
>> From: Yawar Amin <yawar.amin at gmail.com>
>>To: Robby Burns <robbyburns2010 at gmail.com> 
>>Cc: "gnucash-user at gnucash.org" <gnucash-user at gnucash.org> 
>>Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 5:47 PM
>>Subject: Re: Help with GnuCash! Why is there a “Rebate” column in the Expense account on GnuCash?
>> 
>>
>>Hi,
>>
>>I am forwarding your email to the GnuCash users mailing list, which is a
>>public discussion forum where everyone can benefit from sharing
>>questions and answers. To participate in the mailing list, click the
>>‘Reply All’ button in your email program whenever you get an email from
>>someone in the list.
>>
>>Regards,
>>
>>Yawar
>>
>>On 2012-10-15 09:47, Robby Burns wrote:
>>>
>>> I am trying to set up an account where I can track my small business
>>> expenses.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Whenever I enter a line item, and put the amount I spent under the
>>> “Expense” column, the program creates a duplicate line item right
>>> underneath my entry, but it enters the same amount under a
 column
>>> named “Rebate.”
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> I do not want a Rebate. I just want to keep a running total of all the
>>> Expenses, with the ability to subdivide the expenses into sub-accounts.
>>>
>>>  
>>>
>>> Hw do I get rid of the “Rebate” column?
>>>
>>>
>>> I cannot find the answer in the manual.
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks for your help.
>>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
>


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