Re: Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[Paulo Oliveira]

Indeed I follow more or less psionl0's suggested approach.
The only situation I am unsure to deal with then is when I have some sort
of online wallet where I can hold multiple currencies and/or commodities.
Imagine like a brokerage platform where I can hold both currencies and
stocks. How would you do in that case?

On Mon, Dec 13, 2021 at 6:49 AM psionl0  wrote:

> Since cash holdings don't have bank statements associated with them, it is
> acceptable  to use a single Assets:Cash account with multiple currencies.
> Your balance report will show how much of each currency is held in the cash
> account.
>
> On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 1:05:16 PM UTC+8 POliveira wrote:
>
>> In addition, there is a 4th Case I forgot to mention, which is cash
>> holdings.
>> Do you recommend having a single account Assets:Cash with multiple
>> currencies in it or instead separate accounts as in Assets:Cash:EUR ,
>> Assets:Cash:USD etc.? And why?
>>
>> On Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 12:50:24 PM UTC+4 POliveira wrote:
>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> I wanted to know your opinion regarding how to emulate multi-currency or
>>> multi-commodity accounts.
>>> I understand this is ultimately subjective, but I hope someone can
>>> provide me some guidance.
>>>
>>> Case #1
>>>
>>> I have multiple bank accounts with my Bank, denominated in different
>>> currencies. Each account has a distinct account number and I receive an
>>> individual account statement for each one of them.
>>>
>>> Question: Should I (option 1) create/use a separate account in ledger
>>> (Assets:My Bank:EUR and Assets:My Bank:USD) OR should I (option 2) have
>>> only one account (Assets:By Bank) which then has holdings in both
>>> currencies?
>>>
>>> I am currently using option 1.
>>>
>>> Case #2
>>>
>>> I have an online wallet (imagine something like Paypal, Skrill, or
>>> Revolut) where I hold multiple currencies and I can do instant currency
>>> exchanges. For this type of services, I do not receive any statement,
>>> although I could download one on-demand. Depending on the specific service,
>>> I may or may not be able to download individual statements for each
>>> currency.
>>>
>>> Question is the same as in Case #1. However, in this case I am using
>>> option 2.
>>>
>>> Case #3
>>>
>>> I have an online brokerage account which I use to buy commodities (let's
>>> say, corporate stocks). In this platform, I will have a portfolio of
>>> multiple stocks AND I may have a balance of multiple currencies as well.
>>>
>>> Question is the same again. In this case I am using option 2 too.
>>>
>>> So, at the end of the day, I would like to know how do you decide
>>> whether to use multiple single-currency/commodity accounts or a single
>>> multi-currency/commodity account?
>>>
>>> Also, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of each
>>> approach.
>>>
>>> Many thanks, POliveira
>>>
>> --
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Re: Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[psionl0]

Since cash holdings don't have bank statements associated with them, it is 
acceptable  to use a single Assets:Cash account with multiple currencies. 
Your balance report will show how much of each currency is held in the cash 
account.

On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 1:05:16 PM UTC+8 POliveira wrote:

> In addition, there is a 4th Case I forgot to mention, which is cash 
> holdings.
> Do you recommend having a single account Assets:Cash with multiple 
> currencies in it or instead separate accounts as in Assets:Cash:EUR , 
> Assets:Cash:USD etc.? And why?
>
> On Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 12:50:24 PM UTC+4 POliveira wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I wanted to know your opinion regarding how to emulate multi-currency or 
>> multi-commodity accounts.
>> I understand this is ultimately subjective, but I hope someone can 
>> provide me some guidance.
>>
>> Case #1
>>
>> I have multiple bank accounts with my Bank, denominated in different 
>> currencies. Each account has a distinct account number and I receive an 
>> individual account statement for each one of them.
>>
>> Question: Should I (option 1) create/use a separate account in ledger 
>> (Assets:My Bank:EUR and Assets:My Bank:USD) OR should I (option 2) have 
>> only one account (Assets:By Bank) which then has holdings in both 
>> currencies?
>>
>> I am currently using option 1.
>>
>> Case #2
>>
>> I have an online wallet (imagine something like Paypal, Skrill, or 
>> Revolut) where I hold multiple currencies and I can do instant currency 
>> exchanges. For this type of services, I do not receive any statement, 
>> although I could download one on-demand. Depending on the specific service, 
>> I may or may not be able to download individual statements for each 
>> currency.
>>
>> Question is the same as in Case #1. However, in this case I am using 
>> option 2.
>>
>> Case #3
>>
>> I have an online brokerage account which I use to buy commodities (let's 
>> say, corporate stocks). In this platform, I will have a portfolio of 
>> multiple stocks AND I may have a balance of multiple currencies as well.
>>
>> Question is the same again. In this case I am using option 2 too.
>>
>> So, at the end of the day, I would like to know how do you decide whether 
>> to use multiple single-currency/commodity accounts or a single 
>> multi-currency/commodity account?
>>
>> Also, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of each 
>> approach.
>>
>> Many thanks, POliveira
>>
>

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Re: Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[psionl0]

My preference is that transactions in a particular ledger account should be 
exactly the same as those in the corresponding bank statement. So if your 
bank gives you a different statement for each individual currency then you 
should have different ledger accounts for each statement/currency.

When it comes time to reconcile your transactions, you will be glad you 
structured your accounts this way.

On Sunday, December 12, 2021 at 1:05:16 PM UTC+8 POliveira wrote:

> In addition, there is a 4th Case I forgot to mention, which is cash 
> holdings.
> Do you recommend having a single account Assets:Cash with multiple 
> currencies in it or instead separate accounts as in Assets:Cash:EUR , 
> Assets:Cash:USD etc.? And why?
>
> On Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 12:50:24 PM UTC+4 POliveira wrote:
>
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I wanted to know your opinion regarding how to emulate multi-currency or 
>> multi-commodity accounts.
>> I understand this is ultimately subjective, but I hope someone can 
>> provide me some guidance.
>>
>> Case #1
>>
>> I have multiple bank accounts with my Bank, denominated in different 
>> currencies. Each account has a distinct account number and I receive an 
>> individual account statement for each one of them.
>>
>> Question: Should I (option 1) create/use a separate account in ledger 
>> (Assets:My Bank:EUR and Assets:My Bank:USD) OR should I (option 2) have 
>> only one account (Assets:By Bank) which then has holdings in both 
>> currencies?
>>
>> I am currently using option 1.
>>
>> Case #2
>>
>> I have an online wallet (imagine something like Paypal, Skrill, or 
>> Revolut) where I hold multiple currencies and I can do instant currency 
>> exchanges. For this type of services, I do not receive any statement, 
>> although I could download one on-demand. Depending on the specific service, 
>> I may or may not be able to download individual statements for each 
>> currency.
>>
>> Question is the same as in Case #1. However, in this case I am using 
>> option 2.
>>
>> Case #3
>>
>> I have an online brokerage account which I use to buy commodities (let's 
>> say, corporate stocks). In this platform, I will have a portfolio of 
>> multiple stocks AND I may have a balance of multiple currencies as well.
>>
>> Question is the same again. In this case I am using option 2 too.
>>
>> So, at the end of the day, I would like to know how do you decide whether 
>> to use multiple single-currency/commodity accounts or a single 
>> multi-currency/commodity account?
>>
>> Also, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of each 
>> approach.
>>
>> Many thanks, POliveira
>>
>

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Re: Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[the.so...@gmail.com]

For all "Assets" and "Equity" sub-accounts, I enforce a single-commodity 
only structure. While I haven't consciously enforced this in "Liabilities" 
and "Income" sub-accounts, they've ended up as single-commodity-only in 
practice.  However, with "Expenses", I end up having multiple commodities 
in a single sub-account.

The main considerations for me are:
1. It is a bit easier to type queries, as I don't have to use the syntax 
for currencies.
2. There is no penalty for sub-accounts: the depth of the accounts can be 
limited using `--depth`.
3. Reports look neater, in my opinion, with single-commodity sub-accounts.

I guess the one quasi-exception / breaking of a rule is that while I keep 
USD in Assets:Cash:USD, and GBP in Assets:Cash:GBP, I keep ₹ in Assets:Cash 
rather than Assets:Cash:INR, since that is my base currency, and the :INR 
seems redundant even though this choice is an affront to consistency.


On Saturday, 11 December, 2021 at 2:20:24 pm UTC+5:30 POliveira wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I wanted to know your opinion regarding how to emulate multi-currency or 
> multi-commodity accounts.
> I understand this is ultimately subjective, but I hope someone can provide 
> me some guidance.
>
> Case #1
>
> I have multiple bank accounts with my Bank, denominated in different 
> currencies. Each account has a distinct account number and I receive an 
> individual account statement for each one of them.
>
> Question: Should I (option 1) create/use a separate account in ledger 
> (Assets:My Bank:EUR and Assets:My Bank:USD) OR should I (option 2) have 
> only one account (Assets:By Bank) which then has holdings in both 
> currencies?
>
> I am currently using option 1.
>
> Case #2
>
> I have an online wallet (imagine something like Paypal, Skrill, or 
> Revolut) where I hold multiple currencies and I can do instant currency 
> exchanges. For this type of services, I do not receive any statement, 
> although I could download one on-demand. Depending on the specific service, 
> I may or may not be able to download individual statements for each 
> currency.
>
> Question is the same as in Case #1. However, in this case I am using 
> option 2.
>
> Case #3
>
> I have an online brokerage account which I use to buy commodities (let's 
> say, corporate stocks). In this platform, I will have a portfolio of 
> multiple stocks AND I may have a balance of multiple currencies as well.
>
> Question is the same again. In this case I am using option 2 too.
>
> So, at the end of the day, I would like to know how do you decide whether 
> to use multiple single-currency/commodity accounts or a single 
> multi-currency/commodity account?
>
> Also, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of each 
> approach.
>
> Many thanks, POliveira
>

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Re: Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[Martin Michlmayr]

* POliveira  [2021-12-11 21:05]:
> In addition, there is a 4th Case I forgot to mention, which is cash 
> holdings.
> Do you recommend having a single account Assets:Cash with multiple 
> currencies in it or instead separate accounts as in Assets:Cash:EUR , 
> Assets:Cash:USD etc.? And why?

Personally, I have a single Assets:Cash account.  I prefer a simple
account structure.

If I want to limit my queries to one currency, I can always do:
ledger reg ets:cas -l "commodity == 'PHP'"

Having said that, I can see two arguments for using Assets:Cash:CURRENCY

* `reg cash:php` is easier than `reg ets:cas -l "commodity == 'PHP'"`
* Balance assertions might be easier if there's only one commodity in the 
account (?)

-- 
Martin Michlmayr
https://www.cyrius.com/

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Re: Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[POliveira]

In addition, there is a 4th Case I forgot to mention, which is cash 
holdings.
Do you recommend having a single account Assets:Cash with multiple 
currencies in it or instead separate accounts as in Assets:Cash:EUR , 
Assets:Cash:USD etc.? And why?

On Saturday, December 11, 2021 at 12:50:24 PM UTC+4 POliveira wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I wanted to know your opinion regarding how to emulate multi-currency or 
> multi-commodity accounts.
> I understand this is ultimately subjective, but I hope someone can provide 
> me some guidance.
>
> Case #1
>
> I have multiple bank accounts with my Bank, denominated in different 
> currencies. Each account has a distinct account number and I receive an 
> individual account statement for each one of them.
>
> Question: Should I (option 1) create/use a separate account in ledger 
> (Assets:My Bank:EUR and Assets:My Bank:USD) OR should I (option 2) have 
> only one account (Assets:By Bank) which then has holdings in both 
> currencies?
>
> I am currently using option 1.
>
> Case #2
>
> I have an online wallet (imagine something like Paypal, Skrill, or 
> Revolut) where I hold multiple currencies and I can do instant currency 
> exchanges. For this type of services, I do not receive any statement, 
> although I could download one on-demand. Depending on the specific service, 
> I may or may not be able to download individual statements for each 
> currency.
>
> Question is the same as in Case #1. However, in this case I am using 
> option 2.
>
> Case #3
>
> I have an online brokerage account which I use to buy commodities (let's 
> say, corporate stocks). In this platform, I will have a portfolio of 
> multiple stocks AND I may have a balance of multiple currencies as well.
>
> Question is the same again. In this case I am using option 2 too.
>
> So, at the end of the day, I would like to know how do you decide whether 
> to use multiple single-currency/commodity accounts or a single 
> multi-currency/commodity account?
>
> Also, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of each 
> approach.
>
> Many thanks, POliveira
>

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Chart of Accounts standards and consistency

[POliveira]

Dear all,

I wanted to know your opinion regarding how to emulate multi-currency or 
multi-commodity accounts.
I understand this is ultimately subjective, but I hope someone can provide 
me some guidance.

Case #1

I have multiple bank accounts with my Bank, denominated in different 
currencies. Each account has a distinct account number and I receive an 
individual account statement for each one of them.

Question: Should I (option 1) create/use a separate account in ledger 
(Assets:My Bank:EUR and Assets:My Bank:USD) OR should I (option 2) have 
only one account (Assets:By Bank) which then has holdings in both 
currencies?

I am currently using option 1.

Case #2

I have an online wallet (imagine something like Paypal, Skrill, or Revolut) 
where I hold multiple currencies and I can do instant currency exchanges. 
For this type of services, I do not receive any statement, although I could 
download one on-demand. Depending on the specific service, I may or may not 
be able to download individual statements for each currency.

Question is the same as in Case #1. However, in this case I am using option 
2.

Case #3

I have an online brokerage account which I use to buy commodities (let's 
say, corporate stocks). In this platform, I will have a portfolio of 
multiple stocks AND I may have a balance of multiple currencies as well.

Question is the same again. In this case I am using option 2 too.

So, at the end of the day, I would like to know how do you decide whether 
to use multiple single-currency/commodity accounts or a single 
multi-currency/commodity account?

Also, what do you find to be the advantages and disadvantages of each 
approach.

Many thanks, POliveira

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