[GNC] Is GnuCash right for me?

[Robert Heller]

At Sat, 20 Aug 2022 10:32:03 -0400 dave at ditdit.us wrote:

> 
> HI Everyone,
> Sorry for the totally noob uneducated question. I'm an engineer by 
> training, not an accountant!
> I recently started a home business and everyone said "Quickbooks". It's 
> too expensive and I despise subscription software. Online/cloud options 
> are not an option, we have limited (and expensive) internet where we 
> live.
> 
> The business is repairing custom electronic equipment.
> What I want/need:
> Basic money tracking for the checking account.
> Keep track of equipment based on serial number (I was thinking a 
> database). Here I will keep a record of owner(s), data like software 
> versions, and work done per RMA.
> RMA tracking (another database?). Ability to generate RMA numbers or use 
> one supplied by the distributor.
> Invoicing based on what was done on an RMA (labor, parts and state tax 
> if applicable).
> Simple payroll (I'm the only employee).
> Light duty inventory control. I have about 30 items, some are almost too 
> cheap to track, a few items are expensive, some of those are supplied by 
> the manufacturer so I need to settle with them at the end of the month.

I use GnuCash for my business and home finances.  Works well for me.

I am a computer programmer and Linux Admin.

GnuCash does not have support for "Payroll" functions, but with a single
"employee" (yourself), there really isn't any "payroll" in the full HR sense:
you are not going to need to bother with payroll taxes -- you are
"self-employed", so you might do quarterly estimates & payments to the IRS
(and your state) and pay SE tax when you file your 1040 schedule C. You just
need the numbers you will file on the 1040 schedule C, 1040SE, etc. GnuCash
will have those numbers. 

Inventory management is "interesting" with GnuCash, but it sounds like you
could manage. GnuCash does not really have any proper tools for true inventory
management (eg for a proper storefront), but for a small scale it can be made
to work, possibly with a small database on the side. If you just want to keep
track of how much you owe the suppliers (and if you need resupply), GnuCash
can do that just fine (eg you just create account(s) for the inventory -- when 
you acquire more inventory you add the value to the inventory account and 
when you sell or use some inventory, you reduce the inventory account by the 
amount used/sold.  

Yes, using a proper database for keeping track of equipment and RMA tracking 
makes sense.

GnuCash can manage your invoicing, etc.

> 
> My wife wants to run the entire business from Excel, and in one 
> spreadsheet I think? Databases seem more proper to me :-)

YES! People seem to think a spreadsheet program is a be-all-end-all
application (ARG!). This is like tossing out your whole toolbox and buying a
Swiss Army Knife as a replacement. Would you actually do that?  (Yes, a Swiss 
Army Knife is great on a camping trip or if you are MacGiver, but otherwise, 
probably not really.)  Using a spreadsheet for something like this is going to 
cause trouble later on.  Spreadsheet software is not going to properly 
validate "data" and you you could end up with missing or incompatible data 
"fields" (I seen this happen and it leads to all sorts of weirdnesses).

> 
> Thanks and enjoy the weekend.
> 
> Dave
> 

-- 
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