See below.
--- In LINUX_Newbies@
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> > I was googleing a little, and it looks like this is a package for
> > small bussines: http://www.gnucash.
> >
> > Please, check it out.
> >
> > Arturo.
>
> Thanks Arturo,
> I had seen this package, but my accountant looked at it askance, saying
> "you want to keep away from that double entry stuff". Once again, no
> idea what that means.
>
> Anyway, I've installed gnucash, and I'll explore it to see if it works
> for me. Much of what I read indicates that it's aimed in a direction
> that doesn't suit my needs, but I'll see for myself. One of the problems
> is that tax is calculated differently for so many different countries
> and regions, and gnucash is aimed primarily at the U.S.
> A useful thing would be something that's flexible so all the variations
> could be accommodated. Not much chance there, the tax office don't know
> what they're doing so how could a software developer?
>
> Clay.
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> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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Double-entry refers to an accounting term. From Merriam-Webster: "a
method of bookkeeping that recognizes both sides of a business
transaction by debiting the amount of the transaction to one account
and crediting it to another account so the total debits equal the
total credits." This is the "old-school" way of doing accounting.
Modern accounting programs tend to go toward a check-book model.
This is much simpler for non-accountants to grasp. I am a computer-
geek with a degree in physics not accounting. Back in the early
1990s I used a double-entry system for a non-profit group. It is
a nightmare for non-accountants trying to figure out why accounting
types do it the way they do. Modern software like Quickbooks does
things on more of the check-book model. I buy a computer part from
Best Buy, and fill out the entry like I was filling out a check.
The only difference is that I add an "account" that is computer
hardware. This "account" represents what accountants call a
chart of accounts. Think of it as categorizing your expenditures.
Because of tax laws, expenditures for paper are different than
assets like computers. A chart of accounts (category or account)
keeps these expenditures separate to ease tax time.
I would be interested if you find a FOSS program that does simple
business accounting. My companies use QuickBooks because even *I*
can understand what it is doing. However, even though it is not
sexy, this is a real need. I do a lot of programming, so I am will-
ing to put my money where my mouth is. I would be willing to work
with some people to start such a project. My suggestion would be
to do it web-based in either Java/jsp or possibly php. I know Java
pretty well and do not know php well. Anybody game? Should we
suggest this elsewhere and see if we get takers?
Thanks,
Loyal
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