[GNC] Cash Account

[Stephen M. Butler]

On 10/1/24 10:04, R Losey wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 1, 2024 at 11:44 AM Chris Miller via gnucash-user <
> gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi Folks,
>>
>> These are GnuCash questions; not accounting questions:
>>
>>
>>      * How do "Cash", "Bank" and "Asset" accounts different from each
>> other? They are all assets ...
>>      * How do "Liability" and "Credit Card" accounts different from each
>> other? They are all liabilities ...
>>
>>
>> Are these distinctions without a difference?
>> Are they here because most users might not know that a "Bank" account is
>> an asset and a "Credit Card" is a liability?
>> Does GnuCash treat them differently?
>>
>> Thanks for the help,
>> --
>> Chris.
>>
> Isn't that just a bit like stating that "your brother is a person, and your
> wife is a person, so what's the difference? They are all persons?" I would
> suggest that there is a difference <grin>.
>
> Yes, they are all assets, but different type of assets... "Cash" (called
> "Cash on Hand" in my GnuCash list of accounts) is cash lying around the
> house, or petty cash - it is not kept at an institution and thus only
> tracked by the user.  Bank accounts - checkings and savings - are kept by a
> bank; they may or may not pay interest.  Other assets - such as a house -
> are different from either of the previous two -- you can't go out to eat
> and pay for it with your house (at least I hope it's not that expensive!
> <grin>)
>
> In the same way, credit cards are a type of liability; you use these to
> purchase stuff on a routine basis. I have also had other liabilities; for
> example, if I needed expensive plumbing work done, they will let me pay it
> out over the next 12 months. That is a liability, but it is not a "credit
> card".
>
> These are legitimate distinctions in my mind.
>
> I think GnuCash may use different labels for the columns (if you are not
> using formal accounting terms of "debit" and "credit").
>
> Also, the default list of transaction types is different depending on the
> account type.
>
> I hope this is helpful.
>

I think you missed the thrust of his question -- namely, how does 
GnuCash treat these differently?

I don't have the answer, but I do know as a software developer that 
there can be subtle differences.
[ I could go out on a limb here -- but prefer not to fall when it is cut 
off behind me. ]