[GNC] beginner bookkeeping question

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 1/5/2023 7:19 PM, Simon Roberts wrote:
> Can I check an understanding? I have an account "Liabilities:CreditCard"
>
> Assuming I owe them money, the balance of this would be positive, am I
> correct?
>
> Thanks!
> Simon
>
The "senses" in double entry bookkeeping are "debit" and "credit" (as 
opposed to "positive" and "negative") and you may confuse yourself 
trying to relate the former to the latter. If this seems surprising to 
you, remember double entry bookkeeping was in use by the 13th Century  
but European math didn't begin dealing with negative numbers till the 
15th Century.

Gnucash, like any other application partially automating double entry 
bookkeeping, will make the work of keeping double entry books much 
easier (and less prone to errors) but cannot relieve you of having to 
learn the basics. If the tutorial isn't enough (if still confused) then 
obtain a "text" (paper or in-line) on bookkeeping basics. If nothing 
else, learning from scratch that way will give you appreciation of what 
gnucash is doing for you. I'm speaking as somebody who learned 
bookkeeping in the old days of pen and ink on paper, enter in the 
journal and then post to the ledger << and all the tricks you needed to 
find the errors caused by miscopying a digit or transposing some digits >>

Do note that you CAN ask gnucash to use "formal" accounting (debit and 
credit) and enter transactions as if first in the journal (normally you 
do "journal view" only when entering a "split" transaction, one with 
more than just two accounts affected). This MIGHT help you learn more 
quickly.. Shortcuts work best when you already know what you are doing.

Michael D Novack

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