[GNC] Managing multiple vehicles

[Michael or Penny Novack]

> Actually I just stumbled on another problem, maybe you could clear
> something for me?
> >From what I can tell,  I'll place COGS of a certain fixed asset that were
> payed in cash under expenses on GnuCash, like "expenses:cow feed" for
> example. And these expenses would constitute a transaction listed on that
> specific asset account, say Cows. Am I right?

No, and this means not understanding accounting basics. I'll start by 
explaining that the cow feed would be an expense and NOT under a fixed 
asset account for "cows". But to make this less involved with 
complications, let's for the moment stick with a fixed asset that cannot 
reproduce.

You buy a tractor. That is not immediately and expense (in accounting) 
but buying a fixed asset (exchange of one kind of asset, cash, for 
another, tractor). The tractor has a finite useful life, wears out over 
time, so it depreciates. The depreciation is how what you paid for the 
tractor becomes an expense, only over time. The rate at which you 
depreciate the tractor in your books will be determined by the tax laws 
of your jurisdiction as applied to farming, not the reality of its 
useful life.

> As for the other part of your answer, about CoA hierarchy, I might be
> fundamentally wrong, but from my point of view having an expenses account
> for "gas" or "auto:gas" makes a lot more sense than making one for each of
> the 10 vehicles, as I would have 30 different gas accounts when they are
> the same thing, and isn't that what I need from an accounting point of
> view, gas expenses? Now from a managerial point of view, I'd be interested
> in knowing each car expenses on gas. That's why I mentioned categories (or
> tags, etc...), In a sense that I would have a much cleaner CoA and still be
> able to get the information I need for managerial purposes.

EXACTLY --- how you structure your CoA depends on what information you 
want/need appearing on reports. If you have the fuel expense broken down 
by vehicle you can have that information. You can report all the expense 
for a vehicle if you have all its expenses grouped that way and you can 
report on all your fuel use reported if grouped that way. Your CoA can 
have only one hierarchy structure but your reports (say an 
income/expense report) can produce a report for say "all fuel expense" 
(include JUST the fuel accounts) or "just expenses for tractorA" 
(include just those accounts).

I'm sorry, but you are just at the start. You are going to need to get 
"accounting 101" knowledge and then "as applied to farms" knowledge. An 
accounting package like gnucash can automate much of the data entry and 
we can give you "how to" advice but not the "what to do" advice about 
how to set up your books for farming and what reports you will need for 
your jurisdiction. Or, you need the professional services of an 
accountant who does farms (there is a lot that is different from other 
businesses -- for example, fixed assets in almost all other businesses 
cannot reproduce and the few exceptions like "timber land management" 
also have special rules).

Michael D Novack


-- 
There is no possibility of social justice on a dead planet except the equality of the grave.