Hi, at the end of this very long email you ask:
> SO, any ideas as to who or where we could point this idea toward? My answer is: gnucash-devel. You should keep all your responses on the list. As for your view about CuteCash v. GnuCash -- they are both based on the same underlying technology, so it's certainly possible to make either one work the way you want. Good Luck, -derek "treasurer -tuswvt.org" <treasu...@tuswvt.org> writes: > Thank-you for your email... > > FYI - History of this post... > Just emailed this to the email address on web page, someone else posted > this to where ever it ended up? > > MoneyCounts is a great fund accounting software that works better, even > for personal accounting needs than GNUcash, or even Quicken (because it > can also be used for non-profit fund accounting). Per a conversation > with the company that controls it now, two years ago, they didn't forsee > any software updates to it at all going forward, and it is not even > mentioned as a product on their site. Too bad that the code for it does > not have a GPL or LGPL license. > > To date, none of the geeks in the Free software world seems to > understand non-profit or business enough to see that there are two > different kinds of Accounting methods, that requires two different kinds > of Accounting software approaches. No geeks at MIT, Media Lab or anyone > else, even OLPC folks missed this need for their 3rd world education > efforts, where even schools in the highlands of Peru would need this > type of accounting software...maybe because they are not exposed to the > need, due to the road that they are traveling on, and that they never > have it cross directly in their own path? > > Since CuteCash is being worked on, and GNUcash would be so hard to > change to a true FUND ACCOUNTING software, (and I/we, in our small 100% > volunteer chapter of TU that has a main focus as an environmental > organization, no one in our group or national organization has any > ability, really no one has a skill set to do this), ...then maybe > someone else. Like maybe a team funded by Google Summer of Code or > other) will see the need for a GPL'd Fund Accounting software, and if > possible "tweak" GNUcash to be able to do this (as it can not do it now > and there is NO (ZERO) Free software FUND ACCOUNTING applications ... > oops, except maybe one - as there is the very advanced OpenRDA or > OpenXpert software (I think this is based on MySQL at this time) at: > http://www.openrda.org > http://www.openrda.org/open-source/open-source-open-to-better-software > http://www.openrda.org/open-source/gnu-lgpl > The problem with OpenRda Xpert - is that it is far too complex for the > small fund accounting non-profit or school maybe, depending! If it had > a "lite" version that could be easy to install, and use, that could be > then migrated to the other version, then that might be a good direction. > However, it is not a lite version today. There was something that they > were working on toward this direction, but I have not seen it in two > years... maybe a GUI change, but not a lite (MoneyCounts-like) version? > > Would be great if there were a simple to start with FUND accounting > GNUcash variant, that could be then be migrated from, if the need due to > growth were present -to be able to migrate then a more robust FUnd > Accounting platform (like a OpenRDA like product, but with a much more > friendly GUI again) -that could be easy to migrate to for more advanced > an complicated non-profits, schools, etc. Once a non-profit crosses > the line to having employees, requiring MULTI-USER abilities that could > be difficult with a GNUcash based software... and when this happens more > than likely the organization then would be involved with more complex > accounting having to do with UNRELATED BUSINESS INCOME - that is very > complex to track, and when major universities deal with Unrelated > Business Income, they often hire very expensive legal and/or accounting > firms to help them with it. See: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unrelated_Business_Income_Tax > http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96106,00.html > > 3 sizes of non-profits (including schools). > Small (mostly volunteer) > Medium (might have some Unrelated Business Income to track) > Large (employees and payroll taxes, more complex UBIT needs, multi-user) > > The benefit of a "FREE SOFTWARE" solution for non-profits, would be > massive for all sizes of schools (developed country and "3rd world", > non-profits of all types, governments, etc that must use Fund Accounting. > > Chances that we will see a GUNcash or CuteCash FUND ACCOUNTING variant > is slim to none... as I see "GEEKS" more focused on other "fancy" > projects in Free software vs the meat and potato computing needs of > non-profits. > > PS- if a project were to develop, and service the needs of the small > non-profits or schools world-wide, then they could move into the > subscription tax services area for the larger non-profits and charge for > support (meaning stuff like payroll tax tables and UBI fund accounting > tax change updates, etc that a medium to larger fund accounting > non-profit would need, and would expect to pay for). > > Oh - one good thing, is that you can use a fund accounting software > easily for a FOR PROFIT company, or even for personal individual use. > So, any software programming effort would cover two bases (vs the focus > on programming for "for profit" where the software can not be used for > non-profits that easily at all. > > Could there be a GPL business model in it all, YES (small fund > accounting or normal accounting device that could be sold as supported > hardware platform, or even the larger more complex non-profit or > business that as the small non-profit or business "grew up" could > provide other "support options" for a fee as needed (aka Red Hat or > Intuit payroll tax table update types of support for their users). > > SO, any ideas as to who or where we could point this idea toward? > > On 01/12/2011 09:54 AM, Derek Atkins wrote: >> "treasurer -tuswvt.org" <treasu...@tuswvt.org> writes: >> >> [snip] >>> Would be great if GNUcash or CuteCash fork, could do full fund accounting... >>> AND as a bonus it would be if it could migrate accounts from MoneyCounts >>> to this new GNUcash/Cute Cash fund accounting compatible software >>> (MoneyCounts is a question right now due to risk of future >>> non-development going on with that application that will leave it's >>> users orphaned at some point in time in the future). >> >> Sounds great! I look forward to seeing your patches that implement it. >> (This *IS* the -devel list, after all!) >> >> -derek >> > > -- Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board (SIPB) URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/ PP-ASEL-IA N1NWH warl...@mit.edu PGP key available _______________________________________________ gnucash-devel mailing list gnucash-devel@gnucash.org https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-devel
