I come from ledger which doesn't have a "close" directive. I'm just wondering how people use this directive in beancount.
There are obvious scenarios: you open a bank account and later close it; if you re-open it a few years later you open it again. There are some things which stay open permanently (e.g. something like Expenses:Food). But what about accounts that "come and go". For example I sell things on eBay sometimes and have an Assets:Receivable:EBay account. That has been dormant for years now and I'd probably add a "close" so it doesn't pollute my view - I can always open it later if I need to. But I was wondering how other people handle this. To answer my own question, I can see multiple solutions: 1) Some people in beancount world like detailed account names, so you'd open a specific account for the transaction (using eBay txn number or the buyer name) and you close that once payment is received. 2) I could also move the other way and just use one "Assets:Receivable" account for everything and use meta-data (like "Who" or "Payee") indicating the eBay buyer. I can then look at Assets:Receivable and pivot on the "Who" meta-data. (This is usually the method I follow, although I have in the past created sub-accounts for frequent payees). 3) Use "Assets:Receivable:EBay" and open/close as I see fit. (e.g. if it annoys me and I don't expect to sell anything, I add a "close). Anyway, just wondering what other people are doing. -- Martin Michlmayr https://www.cyrius.com/ -- 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 [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/beancount/Y55YRgkFCDvsbPLG%40jirafa.cyrius.com.
