handling multiple entities in single book : issue with trading accounts

[Sébastien de Menten]

>
> This is where you and I should be thinking together
>
> Feel free !


>  The first is to set, below the root account of gnucash 3 other root
>> accounts (person 1, person 2 and common 1+2) to get the following account
>> tree
>>
>> ROOT
>> ROOT       person 1
>> ASSET     person 1:Assets
>> LIABILITY person 1:Liabilities
>> INCOME     person 1:Income
>> EXPENSE   person 1:Expenses
>> ROOT       person 2
>> ASSET     person 2:Assets
>> LIABILITY person 2:Liabilities
>> INCOME     person 2:Income
>> EXPENSE   person 2:Expenses
>> ROOT       common 1+2
>> ASSET     common 1+2:Assets
>> LIABILITY common 1+2:Liabilities
>> INCOME     common 1+2:Income
>> EXPENSE   common 1+2:Expenses
>>
>>
>> While it works at first sight (see sample "multiple_roots.gnucash" in
>> attachment), I fear Gnucash may not support that 100% down the road.
>>
>> So the second way is to move the person one way down the tree structure:
>>
>> ROOT
>> ASSET     Assets
>> ASSET     Assets:person 1
>> ASSET     Assets:person 2
>> ASSET     Assets:common 1+2
>> LIABILITY Liabilities
>> LIABILITY Liabilities:person 1
>> LIABILITY Liabilities:person 2
>> LIABILITY Liabilities:common 1+2
>> INCOME     Income
>> INCOME     Income:person 1
>> INCOME     Income:person 2
>> INCOME     Income:common 1+2
>> EXPENSE   Expenses
>> EXPENSE   Expenses:person 1
>> EXPENSE   Expenses:person 2
>> EXPENSE   Expenses:common 1+2
>>
>>
>> which is what I described in my original email ... with the point about
>> Trading account not being able to be split among persons.
>>
>
> You are doing it wrong, Sébastien, you have neglected Equity, again!
>
> This will never make sense until you undrstand certain accounting things.
>
> It is very simple, really: to introduce money into a "book" it has to come
> from somewhere
>
> The sample here above are just examples to illustrate the two way
of organising accounts, in my tree of accounts I have indeed also the
equity for opening balances.  Money in my book comes from the income
accounts (except for opening balances). I do not understand well what I am
supposed to not understand...