Accounts structure for a worker cooperative (read: partnership) with expense accounts

[Benjamin Melançon]

Thank you all for responding, especially Maf. King, Buddha Buck, and David
Cousens.  Advice has been employed successfully!  Sorry for a very delayed
response, here's what i'm doing:

Equity:Owner's Draw:Benjamin etc.
Assets:Current Assets:Checking:Agaric (for company-wide expenses), Ben, etc.

For the expense account, on the first of the month withdraw from
Checking:Agaric and deposit in (debit) Checking:Ben
Then move expensed transactions to the appropriate checking sub-account
after selecting a sub-account under Expenses (Office Supplies etc).

This is working great, except for a problem i'll put in a new e-mail: when
importing from a bank's OFX file, all transactions moved out of the
original account and into subaccounts are no longer matched by fitid and
prevented from importing again.

Depositing in individual Owner's Draw accounts from Checking also seems to
be working out fine.

Thanks again!

ben

On Sat, Aug 2, 2014 at 5:10 AM, Wm <wm+gnc at tarrcity.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> Wed, 30 Jul 2014 17:21:28 <53D961D8.3040102 at mtdata.com>  Mike or Penny
> Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com>
>
>
> PS: Either SOMEBODY in your cooperative needs bookkeeping experience or
> else you face an ethical/structural problem "how do we employ non-co-op
> members for professional services in areas where we lack the skills".
> Sorry, but that's an old problem.
>
> There have been good comments in this thread.  I'd like OP Benjamin to
> consider one more non-gnc thought.
>
> Co-operatives, by definition, tend to start out well: good intentions,
> everyone throwing in equal weight and gaining equal benefits.
>
> However, as things progress, at some point someone will end up doing most
> of the accounting and administration and (depending on the nature of the
> co-op) someone will do the picking up and cleaning, general maintenance and
> so on.
>
> ===
>
> In plain terms the division of labour *must* become unequal and should be
> recognised in equity.
>
> Example:
>
> Mary, John and Fred each spend 40 hours doing something.
>
> At the end of week 1
>
> Mary does the accounting and admin, arranges insurance, makes sure taxes
> are filed, books appointments for the next week, etc.
>
> John checks the vehicles and equipment used, does basic maintenance and
> repairs using some bits and pieces he happened to have in his workshop at
> home.
>
> Fred goes to the bar, has a few drinks and calls this networking and
> marketing.
>
> What is the equity each has at the end of the week?
>
> ===
>
> I am not presenting an answer so much as saying that non-material equity
> should be considered too.  If we repeat the scenario above for a year I'd
> say Mary and John had more equity than Fred.
>
> Every couple knows (or should know) this concept and it is recognised in
> modern divorce rulings, a co-op isn't much different to a marriage, really.
>
>
> --
> Wm...
>
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