For check numbers and per-postings description use metadata. ISO8601 dates sort naturally. Part of the design aesthetic in this project is to keep things simple, e.g. minimal number of options and variants. Cheers,
On Tue, Jun 8, 2021 at 4:41 PM Brandon Anderson <brandon753...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hey, so I have been using GnuCash for years, and as a software developer, > I like the idea of moving to text-based accounting, which can be > version-controlled and shared between my computers. First, I want to tell > you what a fantastic project you have built; it looks like a ton of work > has been put into it, and I am glad you shared it with the world. As I > explored Beancount, though, I realized there were a few differences between > how records could be kept in Gnucash and some features that GnuCash offered > that I don't believe Beancount currently does. Taking an elementary example > of a checking account transaction, I wish to highlight those to ask if my > implementation in Beancount is the closest representation to the GnuCash > record. > > [image: GnuCashExample.png] > > Above is the GnuCash record of a transaction to purchase a good with two > elements that it is expensed as. I made the equivalent record as a > Beancount file below. > > ``` > 2021-06-08 open Equity:Opening-Balances > 2021-06-08 open Assets:Checking-Account > 2021-06-08 open Expenses:Groceries > 2021-06-08 open Expenses:Bribes > > > 2021-06-08 * "John Smith" "Opening Balance" > Assets:Checking-Account 5,000.00 USD > Equity:Opening-Balances > > 2021-06-08 * "Willy Wonka" "Everlasting Gobstopper" > check: "226" > Expenses:Groceries 32.76 USD > note: "Gobstopper" > Expenses:Bribes 500.00 USD > note: "Bribe to get Gobstopper Access" > Assets:Checking-Account > ``` > > GnuCash lets you record a note not only for the overall transaction but > also for the individual elements. I did not see such an option in > Beancount, so I assumed the proper way to record that data is with the > metadata field. Though it does not show those notes when looking at the > journal through the bean-web interface, it is visible with the fava > interface. Is this the best way to track notes on individual lines? > Second, it is very common in checking accounts to write checks, and as > checks are numbered, there is typically a field to record the check number > in the ledger. I did not see a proper way to record a check number, so I > used a meta field again, but I feel a transaction declaration should have > an optional number field. Would adding an optional transaction/check number > field be a reasonable feature request? > I am also curious about uncommon situations when recording transactions in > a checking account. What is the proper way to record a reverse transaction > that occurs at a later date? What is the proper way to record a voided > transaction? > One of the features I heavily use on GnuCash, and the only reason I have > not switched over yet is the ability to print checks from recorded > transactions in my ledger. I don't see any ability to print checks, but I > know Beancount has a report generator (though I don't believe it supports > PDF or PostScript). Still, I wonder if it would be possible to add support > for check printing using the report generator as a basis? > > My most minor gripe, though, it is pretty jarring being in the US, is the > requirement to use ISO8601 dates. As you can see from the GnuCash record, > the US typically uses MM/DD/YYYY dates, and it's almost unheard of to use > the ISO8601 style. I believe the lexer could trivially be modified to > accept both types as I do not believe there is any ambiguity between the > ISO8601 and the US method, as the four-digit year is either the start or > end of the string. Would adding support for the US-style dates be a > reasonable feature request? > > If there is a proper way to record the things I listed above and I am not > doing it that way, please let me know. If the changes I asked about would > not be objected to, I would gladly file a more formal feature request with > the planned changes and then make the changes myself for a merge request. I > just don't want to waste my time making changes if the project does not > accept them once I finish. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Beancount" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to beancount+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/d5b6ce60-e81c-4434-a16d-1714500a61c8n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/d5b6ce60-e81c-4434-a16d-1714500a61c8n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Beancount" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to beancount+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/CAK21%2BhOT61euGDuogcCs-CSAKogMv-9E%2BtoKCpffiQONi0sMJQ%40mail.gmail.com.
