From: Michael Butash <
michael@butash.net>
> I've attempted probably no less than 4 times over the past 5 years or
> so to get [GNUcash] working in efforts to track finances more effectively,
> but never once got the hbci stuff working with my bank(s) to do so. That
> bit was quite cryptic and frustrating
I haven't tried that, since I usually have fewer than 5 bank transactions per
day, so entering these by hand is easy/fast. Getting Finance::Quote installed
and set up for tracking stock/mutual funds was relatively easy once I'd read
the fine manual.
> That and the accounting knowledge required to use it effectively simply
> eludes me as much seemed to assume I actually understood accounting.
Take a look at the basic help,
http://gnucash.org/docs/v2.4/C/gnucash-help/help.html , and see if anything
in
the advanced help ,
http://gnucash.org/docs/v2.4/C/gnucash-guide/index.html
is
interesting.
The thing to do when setting up GNUcash is to start out your checking account
opening balance with the opening balance on the first of (month), then just
enter all the income/expenses from then til today that are on your bank
statement. Start your cash in wallet opening balance with the bills in your
wallet. *DON'T* try to enter everything you have records of, just pick a
start date.[0] Then spend 5 minutes every day recording what you spent that
day and what you spent it on.
The real power of GNUcash is that it forces you to categorize every
transaction. $4.65 double venti marshmellow fluff mocachino every day? That
accumulates in Expenses:Dining and then you say, "What in the name of Richard
Stallman did I spend so much money on in Dining?" and then you think about
buying cheaper drinks.[1]
Split transactions and scheduled transactions are also useful. Though if I
were going to use scheduled transactions a lot, I'd schedule the expenses <= 5
days in advance, so that your ledger reflects what you have *now*. And I only
enter income transactions when I've actually got the money in my wallet or
bank account. (Somebody I know scheduled a bunch of expenses and income
transactions 180 days in advance, making it look as though she'd paid off her
credit card on the overview window when there was still $1000 on it. While
that might make you feel better, it doesn't reflect current reality....)
FWIW, I haven't had any formal accounting training at all, and I managed to
get GNUcash mostly figured out in 2000-2001, when the documentation was sort
of incomplete.
[0] Accountants, feel free to gasp in horror here.
[1] Not if you file everything under Expenses:Miscellaneous , so don't do
that. You'll probably need to create a few custom accounts. I have
Expenses:Cat , you may need Expenses:Dog or Expenses:Kid .
--
Matt G / Dances With Crows
The Crow202 Blog:
http://crow202.org/wordpress/
There is no Darkness in Eternity/But only Light too dim for us to see
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