Budgets - how does the community want to use them?

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 12/27/2015 4:29 PM, Wm... wrote:
> I would like to improve the way Gnucash implements budgets, to make
>> them more useful in a personal context.
> At present GnuCash's Budgeting is more business than person orientated.
> You may want to consider, "something new" rather than "fixing the 
> existing". However, I want to get feedback
>> on how people want to use a budget so that this effort can make the
>> software better for everyone.
> May I gently suggest this is a bad way to approach this?  You can ask 
> for ideas but if you do it you are going to have to be clear minded. 
> Reason?  There isn't *a* way to do budgets.  The formal business 
> methods don't suit what most people as individuals expect. 

I agree the "something new" is what is really needed, not a replacement. 
The issue is NOT really "business" vs "personal" but "standard 
bookkeeping" vs things that are useful for individuals who require 
something more basic. Just as individuals might need something to 
ENFORCE following  budget, entities might also be legally constrained to 
follow their budget (not spend amounts their governing body authorized). 
But those entities would be using standard accounting methods << their 
bookkeeper or treasurer would know how to spot when the budget amount 
for a category had reached its limit and refuse to authorize further 
expenditures, call a special meeting of the board or town council, etc. 
<< living in a New England town, I have been at "special" town meetings 
called to authorize paying a bill that was over budget >>

The point is, an "envelope" application might be useful/necessary for 
individuals not up to doing it all the standard way and quite possibly  
gnucash could be extended to provide this capability but that should NOT 
be instead of "budgets".

Yes, comparing "budgeted" with "actuals" quite useful, but providing 
side by side reports not necessarily coming from WITHIN the application. 
That's because how to treat actuals above budgeted would vary. Almost 
certainly would want to be able to annotate, because not just OVER but 
pending over (an unpaid bill that needs the budget adjusted or other 
emergency action). Like I said, I am treasurer for some, on the board of 
some, on finance committees and executive committees for some, and the 
resident of a town still governed by town meetings. What happens when an 
account goes over budget (or would go over budget) differs.

Michael D Novack

PS: As an individual, I would still be using "standard" because this is 
a CASH FLOW matter (that isn't actuals or budget). As an individual, not 
required to stick to my budget unless insufficient "current assets" 
(cash and cash equivalents). People who need an "envelope" system are 
people where the cash flow is also relevant (think budget + cash flow) 
because there ISN'T a reserve of cash that can drawn upon in the short 
term. Individuals who have only six days reserve of cash in hand need 
something like the "envelope" system but people who have six months 
living expenses in the bank don't.