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

[Mike or Penny Novack]

Benjamin Melançon wrote:

>We are a small collective, worker-owners each with an equal share in the
>company.  We're moving to GnuCash for accounting and i have two questions
>about equity accounts and expense accounts.
>
>My first question is how to set up equity accounts.  This is for a worker
>co-op, but any partnership would probably do the same.
>  
>
.........
You are looking in the wrong place if you expect gnucash documentation 
to answer the question "I am setting up books for a type XYZ entity. 
What should my chart of accounts look like?"

1) Your answer would be the same no matter what software package you 
were using or even were you doing the bookkeeping the old fashioned way, 
pen and ink on paper (or the more modern equivalent, spreadsheets with 
columns the way accounting paper was ruled).

2) You need books, ideally "accounting for the small co-operative" but 
you probably would be OK with "accounting for partnerships" since you 
imply that's how organized << but do note, you might instead need "for 
the small corporation" if that's how >>

3) We can tell you HOW to do something in gnucash but you are still 
going to have to know the WHAT you would be asking about.

Michael D Novack

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.