[GNC] How to treat a sale which involves more accounts?

[Michael or Penny Novack]

> Of course,  following split transaction can be posted
>
>
> Sale with profit: selling at 3500
>
> Debit - cash or bank  - 3500
> Credit - asset - 2300
> Credit -gain on sale : 1200
>
> Sale with loss : selling at 2000
>
> Debit - cash or bank - 2000
> Credit - asset - 2300
> Debit - loss on sale - 300
>
> Paras

Please folks, at least speaking for myself, I am not "qualified" to give 
accounting advice, especially with regard to what might be potentially 
taxes and tax filings. The answer to questions like this are dependent 
on jurisdiction and type of entity.

Thus here in the US and keeping books for a non-profit, that would not 
do. The NET gain or loss is not enough. Will need the gross "sales" and 
"cost of goods sold". The net gain or loss is not a line item on the 
990/990EZ but those two are. If you just have the net, how so you know 
the two numbers whose difference* is that net? A net of 40 could be 50 - 
10, 70 - 30, 140 - 100, etc.

When an accounting question (as opposed to a gnucash question) we should 
always say "get professional advice" or look up in a standard accounting 
text. Even if we then go on to what we think is the answer,

Michael D. Novack

* actually the sum, as these have opposite sense. Addition is well 
defined without negative numbers but subtraction requires negative 
numbers to be well defined. Double entry bookkeeping did not involve 
subtraction because it is older than the general acceptance of negative 
numbers in Western math. In other words, the sum of "cost of goods sold" 
and "sales" will be either a debit or a credit (if a debit, a loss; if a 
credit, a gain --- the fundamental type is equity)