[GNC] Buying with PayPal - how do I split the transaction?

[David T.]

People aren't reading the GnuCash documents. What makes you think they'll read a text on accounting? 

⁣David T. ​

On Dec 15, 2022, 6:49 PM, at 6:49 PM, Michael or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> I'm not sure what you mean when you say "documentation," but I don't
>think the Guide or the Help would be appropriate places to make such
>references. Section 2.1 of the Guide gives a few basic explanations on
>underlying accounting concepts. This section, in fact, states that "you
>do not need to have a complete understanding of accounting principles
>to find it useful."
>
>
>Misunderstanding? (at least what I have had to say)
>
>     I did not write that "you do not have to have a complete 
>understanding principles to find it useful (gnucash)" That's not quite
>a 
>wrong statement, but I would not have worded it that way because open
>to 
>misinterpretation. Which is what appears to be going on here.
>
>a) Disagreement about what is "basics". You do not have to have a 
>complete understanding (or any understanding) of the parts of
>accounting 
>that you do not use. You don't have fixed assets that are being 
>depreciated? Fine, then you need to know nothing about that part of the
>
>accounting process. .
>
>b) We are seeing a lot of questions about things I would consider 
>"basics". Is what is in the Guide enough? I can't judge that because I 
>am not a teacher of accounting and there is nothing in there that I 
>didn't already know. It might perfectly well be adequate IF new people 
>studied it carefully and played around with test books before trying to
>
>use gnucash "in production".
>
>c) It could conceivably be better with the suggestion that people 
>entirely new to double entry bookkeeping try "formal" and "journal"
>mode 
>since that closer to what is actually being modeled. Allowing the 
>simplest transactions (just two accounts, one debit and one credit) to 
>skip entering as if in the journal saves a great deal of time once you 
>know what you are modeling as they make up the vast majority of 
>transactions.
>
>    It would definitely be better if it suggest "FIRST" create a set of
>
>test books with just a handful of accounts and a small number of 
>transactions to be entered and then the reports that you plan to use 
>run, etc. don't just jump right in. The "jump right in" is OK for folks
>
>who already know double entry bookkeeping and especially OK for folks 
>who have used other accounting software (QuickBooks, Sage, etc) and so 
>are only needing to learn the things different "the gnucash way". It is
>
>not OK for folks coming from a "single entry"  system. Double entry is
>a 
>different concept.
>
>Michael D Novack
>
>
>
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