On Sat, Dec 17, 2022 at 7:01 PM Martin Michlmayr <[email protected]> wrote:
> 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. > I just keep those open. > 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. > A bit much if you ask me, but why not. > 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). > I've been using subaccounts for A/R and A/P when it gets confusing. 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 > . > -- 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/CAK21%2BhPnC7mQvKthyDeyCF8s95CL1aMKDgwJmZgRmEDFknNMqw%40mail.gmail.com.
