Now this puzzles me... double entry bookkeeping is double bookkeeping, whether a transaction has the simple case of "used my credit card to buy gas" or a transaction with a dozen accounts (such as a paycheck, with deductions for 401K, medical insurance, dental insurance, social security taxes, medicare taxes, and so on). In each transaction, there must be a balance.
Even back when I used Quicken, I had entries with multiple splits. The more my understanding of accounting grows, the more I appreciate GnuCash. On Sat, Nov 23, 2024 at 8:44 PM Michael or Penny Novack via gnucash-user < gnucash-user@gnucash.org> wrote: > BUT (and this is a big but) the questions we get on this list are not > about how to enter "I went to the convenience store and spent $X on gas" > or even "I went to the convenience store and spent $X which was $Y on > gas and $Z on food". > > In other words, sooner or later will have a transaction to enter NOT so > simple, will ask how, and NOW "you have to be willing to learn the > basics of double entry bookkeeping". > > Michael D Novack > > * The item under equity "retained earnings" or "retained losses" is > actually "retained net of all income and expense accounts" -- earnings > if credit and losses if debit > > > > On 11/23/2024 12:38 PM, Phyllis Bruce wrote: > > Thanks, Mr. Losey for getting this particular ball rolling. I don't have > > an accounting degree but I was a budget analyst for many years using > > various computer programs. It is not necessary for many users to > > understand double entry accounting in order to use Gnucash. > > > > Whenever you spend money, you identify the source of the money (your bank > > accounts or credit cards or cash from your wallet.) Those are your > assets. > > You also identify what you spend it on and those are your expense > accounts. > > You can usually identify one type of expense for each time you spend your > > money and that is called a transaction. The money out will equal the > item > > cost. > > > > Sometimes you want to be more detailed about your cost and that is where > > splits come into play. Maybe you went to a gas station and purchased > both > > gas and some groceries. You have one expense from your assets (the total > > spent), and two "incomes" to your expense accounts - an increase in money > > spent on gas in one split, and an increase in food cost in the other. > The > > two splits will equal the money spent. > > > > That is the very basics of double-entry accounting and ignores equity if > > you don't care about it. My gnucash file has only the starting balances > of > > my bank accounts and cash, and the starting balances of my liability > > accounts - credit cards or loans. These are the balances that existed > the > > day I started using Gnucash. They include any unreconciled expenses in > my > > checking accounts and in my liability accounts. All of these > transactions > > were entered with their original dates so that I could balance the > accounts > > when I received statements. > > > > I hope this helps using Gnucash less daunting. Start with a practice > file > > and see how that works. Then you can create your good file to go > forward. > > Any time I was trying something different in Gnucash, I would first play > > with it in my practice file. > > > > Pobruce > > > > _______________________________________________ > gnucash-user mailing list > gnucash-user@gnucash.org > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > ----- > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. > -- _________________________________ Richard Losey rlo...@gmail.com Micah 6:8 _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
