Can Gnucash Be Used As Single Entry?

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 1/23/2016 9:41 PM, JL Marcos ENDO wrote:
> Thank you, Mike. Thank you do your reply.
>
> I have zero knowledge of accounting, so I admit I didn't understand 
> your description of what Gnucash does nor your explanation of how my 
> using a checking account exclusively could be considered part of dual 
> entry accounting 😵
>
> Income is once a month, direct-deposited into business checking account.
>
> Expenses are about, say 30 a year.
>
> Most expenses are paid for with dedicated business credit card, whose 
> balance is paid off in full each month with money from business 
> checking account.
>
> A few expenses (tax payments, tax withholdings) will be paid by 
> whatever method IRS approves out of checking account. Business is 
> brand new so no tax payments made quite yet.
>
> Finally, two business expenses (business use of personal phone, 
> business mileage she driving personal vehicle) will actually be 
> reimbursements transferred from my business checking account into my 
> personal checking account.
>
> I like simplicity, so I'm looking for the way/product I can record 
> these transactions without unnecessary steps nor complex routines.
>
> What would you use if you had these needs and also wanted simplicity 
> and effectiveness? 😏
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> JL Marcos

OK, if using gnucash you would be entering transactions in one of two 
accounts>

1) Checking ------ for your "income" and for the check written to pay 
the credit card balance.
2) Credit card (type is Liability) ---- for your expenses.

And no NOT so simple. Please do note that you are paying for each 
expense when you incur the liability (not when you pay the credit card 
balance) and when you pay the credit card balance that is a transfer, 
not an expense (you are reducing the liability but at the same time 
reducing an asset)

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: the expense belongs to the tax period when you 
incurred the liability, not necessarily the same tax period when you 
paid off the credit card balance (not a taxable event.

What would I use? Probably gnucash. Besides being easy to enter, will 
generate the necessary reports.

Let's come back here to " I didn't understand your description of what 
Gnucash does nor your explanation of how my using a checking account 
exclusively could be considered part of dual entry accounting"  It 
sounds like your checking account would be used for only a few 
transactions a month. At least two, salary coming in and check going out 
to pay credit card balance. So maybe not the best to look at except to 
note that you  might be forgetting a couple transactions. Is this an 
interest bearing checking account? Are there any bank fees charged?

So let's instead consider the credit card. You would be working mainly 
in this account. You would enter transactions: date, vendor or other 
description, the particular expense account, and amount. Gnucash would 
then automatically enter into that expense account the same information 
in reverse (the paying account being the credit card) . The one 
transaction a month paying the credit card balance you could also enter 
here (specifying the checking account for the other account) or in the 
checking account (specifying the credit card as the other account).



Michale D Novack.