On 16 May 2000 21:45:09 CDT, the world broke into rejoicing as
John Hasler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
> Rob Coker writes:
> > Has anybody written code to be able to delete every transaction in every
> > account to prepare for a new accounting period?
>
> Wouldn't it be simpler to just extract the chart of accounts and use it to
> start a new file? In fact, a chart of accounts editor of some sort would
> be nice. Creating dozens of expense accounts by going pointy-clicky over
> and over is rather slow.
>
> > It would be really cool if it also adjusted the opening balance to be the
> > prior ending balance, but that is a nicety.
>
> Or extract the closing balances from the old file and insert them as
> opening balances in the new one.
In the long run, I think this needs to have some sort of user interface
to control policy.
--> There may be accounts where it is desirable to keep history _forever_.
Mortgage payments, for instance.
Or property improvements.
--> There may be accounts where it is desirable to "roll things up"
once in a while, perhaps melding transactions together into (let's say)
monthly summaries.
--> It may then be valuable to, after some period of time, have the "rolled
up" transactions folded together, and the income side removed from
the income (and expense) accounts, netted against Retained Earnings.
_Usually_, I'd expect the short term accounts (banks, cash, accounts
receivable, accounts payable, ...) to get rolled up once in a while;
long term stuff like mortgages and fixed assets wouldn't get messed
around with as often, if ever.
--
"Avoid the Gates of Hell. Use Linux" -- Unknown source
[EMAIL PROTECTED] - <http://www.ntlug.org/~cbbrowne/lsf.html>