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

Thu Oct 18 20:32:39 EDT 2012

My credit card account says payment and charge.  Simple enough. My checking
account says Increase and Decrease.  Obviously both have a column that says
balance.  Look in Edit>Preferences. In the accounts tab (buttons on the
left) see what you have a change them around.  I have basic accounts and
credit accounts selected.  Check the other tabs.  Play around.  I'm sure it
will depend on what version of Gnucash  you have installed.
I am not an accountant or a computer whiz.  I'm a firefighter with
determination to make stuff work. So you have reached the limit of my
expertise.

Good Luck.

Rich...

On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 7:00 PM, Robby Burns <robbyburns2010 at gmail.com>wrote:

> So...if I make charges on my credit card, and then pay the credit card at
> the end of the month, the money will come out of my bank account...but it
> will all come out as one lump some credit card payment?
>
> or...do I go in each month and go line by line (off the credit card bill)
> and enter the sub-category that I spent the money on...without showing that
> it was an actual credit card payment?
>
> And...with all politeness..I still have not received an answer as to how I
> get rid of the "Rebate" header on the column. How do I change those headers?
>
> If I want one to say "Expense"...what should the other ones say.
>
> Maybe I am just too stupid to be using GnuCash.  Huh?
>
> Robby
>
>
> On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 5:40 PM, Richard Bishopp <rbishopp44 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Paper and a pencil might be a better tool in this case.  I used them for
>> years.  Using gnucash I can see how much I have in addition to what I've
>> spent.
>>
>> Sorry for being insensitive.  Comes easy for me.
>>
>> Rich....
>>
>> Sent from my mobile device
>> On Oct 18, 2012 4:45 PM, "David T." <sunfish62 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 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.
>>> >>>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >>_______________________________________________
>>> >>gnucash-user mailing list
>>> >>gnucash-user at gnucash.org
>>> >>https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
>>> >>-----
>>> >>Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>>> >>You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
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>>
>>
>