[GNC] first post

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 4/4/2024 12:44 AM, tburmas wrote:
> Hello,
>
>     Apologies if this is the wrong list to send this to.  I wanted to 
> express my appreciation for this program.  I'm coming from Quickbooks 
> which has served me well but I'm tired of the costs increasing, every 
> few years losing support and being tied to Intuit.  I love how GNUcash 
> has been in development for many years, is lightweight and powerful.   
> To those who have worked on it, thank you.
>
>     One suggestion I have as a small business owner: add a COGS (cost 
> of goods sold) and an advertising account as part of the new file 
> wizard for chart of accounts. 

It's the right list.

As a new user, you might be unaware that YOU can add any accounts you 
need. The "wizard" to produce a skeleton CoA that includes accounts that 
would meet the needs of many users is just that, a skeleton/sample CoA. 
It's a matter of adding the additional accounts you need AND deleting 
the ones irrelevant to your needs. If the developers expanded to 
"wizard" to create a fuller CoA that would include all accounts that 
almost anybody might need, that second step of deleting would become 
onerous.

Since switching to gnucash after the 2006 fire* I have set up many sets 
of books. In all cases deleting all but a few of the "skeleton" 
accounts, keeping just the few that were needed, and then adding lots of 
other accounts that were needed.

It is outside the scope for us to decide what the CoA of any particular 
user should look like.  For example, I lack the "qualifications" to give 
accounting advice. If you do need help setting up a CoA appropriate to 
YOUR business, that has to come from an accountant.

Michael D Novack


* Insurance would have replaced the organizational copies of "QuickBooks 
Pro for Non-profits". But why, since that did NOT in fact support much 
of what a non-profit wants out of the box.