GettingStartedWithGnucash

Open Week -- Getting Started with gnucash -- Cheri Francis and Leigh Honeywell -- Fri, May 6

   1 [17:02] <ClassBot> Logs for this session will be available at http://irclogs.ubuntu.com/2011/05/06/%23ubuntu-classroom.html following the conclusion of the session.
   2 [17:02] <Cheri703> Hi, and welcome to "Getting Started with Gnucash"
   3 [17:03] <Cheri703> I need to apologize up front, originally this was planned to be a screencast, but there were MANY technical difficulties.
   4 [17:03] <Cheri703> Thanks to the wonderful AlanBell, there is a Live Desktop to go with this session
   5 [17:04] <Cheri703> You'll need to use either vncviewer or the Remote Desktop application
   6 [17:04] <Cheri703> AlanBell: is putting the directions in #ubuntu-classroom-chat
   7 [17:05] <Cheri703> Gnucash is a Free, cross-platform, open-source accounting program
   8 [17:05] <Cheri703> It is available in many different languages, and it can handle both personal and business accounting.
   9 [17:06] <Cheri703> The first thing I will show you is how to access the Account hierarchy setup, if you've gone past it the first time.
  10 [17:06] <Cheri703> Many people open up gnucash and are presented with a blank grey scree.
  11 [17:07] <Cheri703> *screen.
  12 [17:07] <Cheri703> they don't know where to go from there, and they aren't sure what happened.
  13 [17:07] <Cheri703> On the first run of the software (after installation), a druid pops up, but it is VERY easy to click past it and get stuck.
  14 [17:08] <Cheri703> In order to access that druid again, you simply need to go to File > New > New File
  15 [17:08] <Cheri703> This will bring you to the Account Hierarchy Setup screen.
  16 [17:08] <Cheri703> We are having technical difficulties with the live desktop, so feel free to open up gnucash on your own computer and follow along :)
  17 [17:09] <Cheri703> Ah, for those confused by the terminology: a druid in ubuntu = wizard in windows
  18 [17:10] <Cheri703> In the Account Hierarchy screen, you will move forward through a few basic settings, and get to a page titled "Choose accounts to create"
  19 [17:10] <Cheri703> this gives you the option to automatically create accounts that will be populated in your file.
  20 [17:11] <Cheri703> The default gives MANY detailed categories, down to "hobbies" and "public Transportation"
  21 [17:11] <Cheri703> I do not get that detailed in how I track my money, so I choose to clear the selection, and go to the top of the list to "A Simple Checkbook"
  22 [17:12] <Cheri703> This creates one checkbook and the basic parent accounts for the Expense and Income categories
  23 [17:12] <Cheri703> The next page is "Setup New Accounts" from here you can add opening balances if you'd like to do so.
  24 [17:13] <Cheri703> After you finish the druid/wizard, you will reach your Accounts Page.
  25 [17:13] <Cheri703> This shows all of your accounts currently in your Gnucash file.
  26 [17:14] <Cheri703> On the accounts page, you can Create, Edit, Delete and Hide accounts.
  27 [17:14] <Cheri703> To create a new account, you'll just right click on the desired parent account (Assets if you're adding a bank account or something, Expenses if adding a bill category)
  28 [17:14] <Cheri703> and choose "New Account"
  29 [17:15] <Cheri703> In the window that pops up, you can name the account, choose account type, and on a second tab, add an opening balance.
  30 [17:15] <Cheri703> If you choose to edit an existing account, you'll notice that the "opening balance" tab no longer shows up. There IS a way to add an opening balance after the account has been created, I will get to that in a bit. That is something that has thrown off several people I know.
  31 [17:18] <Cheri703> If you choose to delete an account that has transactions in it, You'll get the option to move those transactions to another account, or delete them completely.
  32 [17:19] <Cheri703> There is the option (on the account edit screen) to Hide an account. I use this if I've had a prepaid gift card that I used up, I still want those transactions to stay in the system, but I don't want it cluttering up my Accounts page.
  33 [17:19] <Cheri703> The next area you'll encounter is the Transactions Register.
  34 [17:20] <Cheri703> This is where the majority of your interaction with Gnucash will happen.
  35 [17:20] <Cheri703> To open an account, you simply double click it on the accounts page. It will open in a new tab.
  36 [17:20] <Cheri703> Gnucash uses Double-Entry Accounting, this means that every transaction has a "from" entry and a "to" entry.
  37 [17:21] <Cheri703> If you want to create an opening balance for an account, you simply would enter it as a normal transaction, but in the "transfer" column, you'd choose "Equity:Opening Balances"
  38 [17:21] <Cheri703> The Transfer column is the "from" column.
  39 [17:22] <Cheri703> Well, From or To, depending on which direction money is going
  40 [17:22] <Cheri703> If a deposit, you're using the transfer column as "this money came FROM Income:person1"
  41 [17:23] <Cheri703> if a payment, then it is "this money is going out of this account TO Expenses:Bills"
  42 [17:24] <Cheri703> If you create a transaction, and later create another one with the same description, Gnucash will auto-fill the Transfer and deposit/withdrawl columns
  43 [17:24] <Cheri703> Obviously you can change it if necessary.
  44 [17:25] <Cheri703> To better understand the Double Entry accounting, you can split the transaction and view both halves. Generally Gnucash will only show you a portion of it, so it can be confusing for some people.
  45 [17:25] <Cheri703> To show transaction splits, you simply right click on the transaction and choose "split"
  46 [17:27] <Cheri703> There are MANY things you can do in the transaction register, and many ways to manipulate the data. Duplication, multiple entry splits (paying with multiple accounts on the same bill), as well as others.
  47 [17:27] <Cheri703> I will go more in depth on the screen cast.
  48 [17:28] <Cheri703> The next topic is Searching for Transactions.
  49 [17:28] <Cheri703> You can go to Edit > Find or press ctrl-F to open the search dialog.
  50 [17:28] <Cheri703> There are MANY options for searching. You can search by almost any field (Description, memo, check number, value, account, etc)
  51 [17:28] <Cheri703> You can also combine criteria to narrow your search.
  52 [17:30] <Cheri703> If you are searching by Value, you have the options to search for a value less than, less than or equal to, equal to, NOT equal to, greater than, or greater than or equal to the value you enter. It is VERY helpful for those times when you go "hmm, I know it was not quite $150, but I know it was definitely over $100" you can search that way and find your transaction very easily
  53 [17:30] <Cheri703> Search results open in a new tab.
  54 [17:31] <Cheri703> Any questions so far? I know I'm plowing through this stuff, and it is hard to follow without looking at it.
  55 [17:32] <Cheri703> Ok, moving on. Scheduled Transactions!
  56 [17:32] <Cheri703> Scheduled transactions are a WONDERFUL thing.
  57 [17:32] <Cheri703> However, one step of creating them is a bit tricky. (If I am in a hurry I tend to have to go back and switch it)
  58 [17:33] <Cheri703> To create scheduled transactions, you go to "Actions > Scheduled Transactions > Scheduled Transaction Editor"
  59 [17:34] <Cheri703> Once that tab opens, there is a button that looks like a building with a green plus sign on it. This is the "create new" button. You will have options on when to have the transaction appear on your account, and the option to create a reminder in advance.
  60 [17:34] <Cheri703> I choose to have mine created 60 days out, because I like to be able to have a general idea of what my finances look like for the next few months.
  61 [17:35] <Cheri703> You can also choose how many occurrences will happen: Forever, until a certain date, or a certain number of times - useful if making payments on something and you know you have a certain number of them left.
  62 [17:36] <Cheri703> You then can choose WHEN you want it to occur, daily/weekly/monthly, start date, and if you'd like it to be every week, ever 2 weeks, etc. Also if you'd like it to be on a certain day of the week, you can choose that as well.
  63 [17:36] <Cheri703> The tricky part of scheduled transactions comes on the Template Transaction section.
  64 [17:36] <Cheri703> This is where you create the transaction that will be applied to the account.
  65 [17:37] <Cheri703> At first glance it looks like a normal transaction editor, but where you would normally have "deposit" and "withdrawal" it says "Tot Funds In" and "Tot Funds Out"
  66 [17:38] <Cheri703> Once you have put in a description, and you are ready to put in the transfer amount, you'll notice that those labels CHANGE
  67 [17:38] <Cheri703> Tot Funds IN becomes "Debit Formula" and Tot Funds Out becomes "Credit Formula"
  68 [17:39] <Cheri703> This always throws me off, because in my mind "debit = out" and "credit = in"
  69 [17:39] <Cheri703> but it's not
  70 [17:39] <Cheri703> If you click back up to the description line, it will shift the labels back, so it is good to double check when entering.
  71 [17:40] <Cheri703> Or you'll end up like me and have to go through and swap all of the transactions that now show a withdrawal instead of a deposit.
  72 [17:40] <Cheri703> Once you've created scheduled transactions, they will not show up on the account until you go to "Actions > Scheduled Transactions > Since Last Run"
  73 [17:41] <Cheri703> This will process any that have been created since the software was last opened or you last ran the command.
  74 [17:41] <Cheri703> Any questions on scheduled transactions?
  75 [17:42] <Cheri703> Ok, Reports!
  76 [17:42] <Cheri703> Gnucash can generate many types of reports, some very useful, some that are interesting if you are trying to evaluate your spending habits.
  77 [17:43] <Cheri703> One thing to know when creating any of them is that you can filter your transactions, so you only see ones relevant to you at the time.
  78 [17:43] <Cheri703> You'll go to "View > Filter By..."
  79 [17:43] <Cheri703> and you can choose dates to show.
  80 [17:44] <Cheri703> This lets you create an account report for ONLY that month instead of the entire year.
  81 [17:44] <Cheri703> Well, that is pretty much all I have that I can go through without showing on the software.
  82 [17:45] <Cheri703> www.gnucash.org is a great resource, with a wiki, documentation, faq, and info about IRC and mailing lists
  83 [17:45] <Cheri703> there are also quite a few good tutorials available online.
  84 [17:45] <Cheri703> As I said before, If anyone is interested in viewing the screencast once it is available, please pm me with your email address, and I will get you a link as soon as I can.
  85 [17:46] <Cheri703> Forewarning: It covers much of this same information, but you'll be able to follow along better.
  86 [17:46] <Cheri703> Does anyone have any questions about what I covered or anything else about Gnucash?
  87 [17:47] <Cheri703> Ok, well. I will be around for the remainder of the time allotted for the session in case anyone thinks of questions.
  88 [17:51] <Cheri703> I will also ask that the link be appended to the logs at whatever time it becomes available (if that's possible), so in the future you can (hopefully) check there as well.
  89 [17:52] <ClassBot> There are 10 minutes remaining in the current session.
  90 [17:55] <Cheri703> !q
  91 [17:55] <Cheri703> whoops
  92 [17:56] <Cheri703>  QUESTION for Cheri703: what does "Tot" mean/stand for in scheduled transactions?
  93 [17:56] <Cheri703> Total
  94 [17:57] <ClassBot> There are 5 minutes remaining in the current session.

MeetingLogs/openweekNatty/GettingStartedWithGnucash (last edited 2011-05-08 09:23:21 by 0x573b2a2b)