[mdlug] GNUCash (Was: Knoppix from Windoze)

[Robert Meier]

Rob,

> Here's an article where a guy talks (briefly) about Double-Entry 
> within Quicken.

Thank you for the reference.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Money, Quicken, and many imitators have taken
to redefining accounting terms (e.g. accounts, double-entry) to enhance
marketting claims.

<SATIRE>
	Carsen

Come to us for all your automobile needs.

An automobile needs no horse to pull it.  It uses a driveshaft and tires.
Rotation of the drive shaft causes the tires to push the vehicle forward.

[Carsen sells peddle cars.]
</SATIRE>



      "The debits and credits were then cross-indexed to corresponding
       accounts in a ledger and then balanced. The method was well suited
       to partnerships and permanent commercial associations, which dealt
       in credit and had numerous customers in foreign markets. Double
       entry differed markedly from single entry "charge and discharge"
       techniques, which recorded the flow of goods but did not measure
       profit and loss. It made cheating more difficult and facilitated
       efficient management."
		 -- http://www.answers.com/topic/accounting-and-bookkeeping

The use of debits and credits (charge and discharge) stemmed from the
fact that prior to the Renaissance, few in Europe knew of negative numbers
or zero.  Computers seldom make math errors, and people are familiar
enough with negative numbers today, that choice of debit/credit or
negative/positive is more a matter of personal taste.

Double entry refers to entry into both a journal (source document map)
and ledger (state map).  Multiple ledgers are to accounting
what file hashes in a manifest are to bundled data transmission.  A
single bundled transmission hash tells you the bundle was corrupted
but requires resending the whole bundle.  A mismatch among file hashes
narrows the descrepancy to a file without the need to resend every file.
A mismatch between debits and credits tells you only that you did your
math wrong, but gives no clue where the error is.  A mismatch between
your ledgers and the statements/invoices/... of others identifies
the nature and party to a discrepancy without having to brute process
everybody's statements/invoices/... at once.



Like "X windows" rather "windows" it is apparently now necessary to call
it journal-post-ledger accounting.

Regretfully,
-- 
Dr. Robert J. Meier