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Re: replacement for QuickBooks?
by Rod Engelsman
::
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On 3/28/07, Daniel Carrera <daniel.carrera@...> wrote:
>
> On Wed, 2007-28-03 at 11:45 +0100, Daniel Carrera wrote:
> > If your friend understands the very basics of double-entry bookkeeping
> > he'll be fine with GnuCash (and really, he should if he wants to run a
> > small business).
>
> Btw, GnuCash comes with very good documentation. It is organized in
> tutorial format, starting with the most important or common concepts to
> the least. It teaches you not only how to use the software, but also
> accounting itself. Each chapter has three sections:
>
> * Concepts: Teaches an accounting principle. People who know accounting
> can skip this.
> * Feature: Shows you how to use the relevant feature in GnuCash.
> * Example: Practical example where you use apply the concept using
> GnuCash.
>
> The community is friendly, and they are willing to help you not only
> with the software, but with accounting concepts. They've answered a few
> accounting questions for me.
>
> --
> int RandomNumber() {
> return 4; // Generated by fair dice roll.
> // Guaranteed to be random!
> }
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: social-unsubscribe@...
> For additional commands, e-mail: social-help@...
I tried it a couple of years ago and I have to say that my experience wasn't
as positive. It wasn't particularly friendly toward home users accustomed to
Quicken or MS Money, yet it didn't have all the features (at least in
working form) that business users needed and expected. I recall issues from
business customers regarding it's handling of invoicing and payroll in
particular.
I had a couple of issues with the program and found the support sorely
lacking. One was a loan calculator wizard that produced wildly inaccurate
results (orders of magnitude in error) and the other was the tax file
exporter (produces txf files for import into tax prep software; a relevant
issue this time of year!!). I was basically told by the lead developer that
he didn't personally use those features, couldn't possibly know how all the
modules worked, what the problem might be, and didn't particularly care.
Frankly, he struck me as a narcissistic little martinet who lived for people
to tell him what a fine person and programmer he was. If you didn't show the
proper level of obeisance he didn't want to hear from you.
As to the double-entry accounting stuff, I would just as soon that it was
hidden. Debits and credits don't mean anything anyway. The whole system is
basically a mechanical device invented about 700 years ago to catch math
errors and crooked bookkeepers. Quicken, Quickbooks, MS Money, etc. all
employ the basic accounting logic that money can't just appear or disappear;
it has to come from somewhere or go somewhere. Sort of like the law of
conservation of energy applied to money. Yet while money can't appear or
disappear at will, /wealth/ certainly can appear or disappear on it's own.
Stock prices go up and down, houses appreciate, cars depreciate, currency
values fluctuate, etc. So to keep track of your net worth you have to create
fictional cash flows that you then later have to balance out when you
eventually dispose of the asset.
Just my take on things. The package may have improved since I last used it,
so YMMV.
Rod
>
> On Wed, 2007-28-03 at 11:45 +0100, Daniel Carrera wrote:
> > If your friend understands the very basics of double-entry bookkeeping
> > he'll be fine with GnuCash (and really, he should if he wants to run a
> > small business).
>
> Btw, GnuCash comes with very good documentation. It is organized in
> tutorial format, starting with the most important or common concepts to
> the least. It teaches you not only how to use the software, but also
> accounting itself. Each chapter has three sections:
>
> * Concepts: Teaches an accounting principle. People who know accounting
> can skip this.
> * Feature: Shows you how to use the relevant feature in GnuCash.
> * Example: Practical example where you use apply the concept using
> GnuCash.
>
> The community is friendly, and they are willing to help you not only
> with the software, but with accounting concepts. They've answered a few
> accounting questions for me.
>
> --
> int RandomNumber() {
> return 4; // Generated by fair dice roll.
> // Guaranteed to be random!
> }
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: social-unsubscribe@...
> For additional commands, e-mail: social-help@...
I tried it a couple of years ago and I have to say that my experience wasn't
as positive. It wasn't particularly friendly toward home users accustomed to
Quicken or MS Money, yet it didn't have all the features (at least in
working form) that business users needed and expected. I recall issues from
business customers regarding it's handling of invoicing and payroll in
particular.
I had a couple of issues with the program and found the support sorely
lacking. One was a loan calculator wizard that produced wildly inaccurate
results (orders of magnitude in error) and the other was the tax file
exporter (produces txf files for import into tax prep software; a relevant
issue this time of year!!). I was basically told by the lead developer that
he didn't personally use those features, couldn't possibly know how all the
modules worked, what the problem might be, and didn't particularly care.
Frankly, he struck me as a narcissistic little martinet who lived for people
to tell him what a fine person and programmer he was. If you didn't show the
proper level of obeisance he didn't want to hear from you.
As to the double-entry accounting stuff, I would just as soon that it was
hidden. Debits and credits don't mean anything anyway. The whole system is
basically a mechanical device invented about 700 years ago to catch math
errors and crooked bookkeepers. Quicken, Quickbooks, MS Money, etc. all
employ the basic accounting logic that money can't just appear or disappear;
it has to come from somewhere or go somewhere. Sort of like the law of
conservation of energy applied to money. Yet while money can't appear or
disappear at will, /wealth/ certainly can appear or disappear on it's own.
Stock prices go up and down, houses appreciate, cars depreciate, currency
values fluctuate, etc. So to keep track of your net worth you have to create
fictional cash flows that you then later have to balance out when you
eventually dispose of the asset.
Just my take on things. The package may have improved since I last used it,
so YMMV.
Rod
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