[GNC] Reporting Woes - Newbie incompetence

[Michael or Penny Novack]

>> The end of the UK Tax Year approaches and I am thinking about my tax
>> return. When I used Quicken there was a report that listed every
>> transcation in particular accounts which was useful since not all my
>> accounts are related to the Return.  I had been hoping to do the same in
>> GNU but I don't seem to be able to find a way to do something so simple.
>> (Yes I have read all about Reporting but am not a lot the wiser)
>>
>> Opening a relevant account, choosing Select All, Copy and Paste into a
>> spreadsheet does not seem to be possible either.
>>
>> I am sure that somebody has worked out how to do this hence my request.

Keep in mind jurisdictions differ, so what I am about to describe would 
be US (and 501(c)3 non-profits)

Gnucash is a basic accounting system, keeps standard double entry books. 
You need to set up your CaO so that the data will be usefully grouped 
for tax and other reporting purposes. BUT .... also keep in mind that 
you might have to do some work outside of gnucash because you might need 
to be reporting to different entities (the state might require different 
from the feds) and you can have only one hierarchy of accounts.

For example, "printing and postage" is a line item on the 990/990-EZ 
*Federal" so each expense parent that has those as a component of that 
parent's total* should have a separate "printing and postage" child. If 
what you "pay" and intern is partly PAY and partly Mileage Reimbursement 
you'd want those as separate children under that intern (because the pay 
part might mean a 1099-MISC)

In other words, it is going to be up to YOU to create a suitable CoA so 
it will make it easy to get the data you need for the reports you must 
fill out.

Michael D Novack