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diff --git a/doc/Ledger.scriv/7.rtfd/TXT.rtf b/doc/Ledger.scriv/7.rtfd/TXT.rtf new file mode 100644 index 00000000..342f84d5 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/Ledger.scriv/7.rtfd/TXT.rtf @@ -0,0 +1,125 @@ +{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\cocoartf949\cocoasubrtf460 +{\fonttbl\f0\fmodern\fcharset0 Courier;} +{\colortbl;\red255\green255\blue255;} +\pard\tx560\tx1120\tx1680\tx2240\tx2800\tx3360\tx3920\tx4480\tx5040\tx5600\tx6160\tx6720\sl264\slmult1\ql\qnatural\pardirnatural + +\f0\fs28 \cf0 Ledger is an accounting tool with the moxie to exist. It provides no\ +bells or whistles, and returns the user to the days before user\ +interfaces were even a twinkling in their father's CRT.\ +\ +What it does offer is a double-entry accounting ledger with all the\ +flexibility and muscle of its modern day cousins, without any of the\ +fat. Think of it as the Bran Muffin of accounting tools.\ +\ +To use it, you need to start keeping a ledger. This is the basis of\ +all accounting, and if you haven't started yet, now is the time to\ +learn. The little booklet that comes with your checkbook is a ledger,\ +so we'll describe double-entry accounting in terms of that.\ +\ +A checkbook ledger records debits (subtractions, or withdrawals) and\ +credits (additions, or deposits) with reference to a single account:\ +the checking account. Where the money comes from, and where it goes\ +to, are described in the payee field, where you write the person or\ +company's name. The ultimate aim of keeping a checkbook ledger is to\ +know how much money is available to spend. That's really the aim of\ +all ledgers.\ +\ +What computers add is the ability to walk through these postings,\ +and tell you things about your spending habits; to let you devise\ +budgets and get control over your spending; to squirrel away money\ +into virtual savings account without having to physically move money\ +around; etc. As you keep your ledger, you are recording information\ +about your life and habits, and sometimes that information can start\ +telling you things you aren't aware of. Such is the aim of all good\ +accounting tools.\ +\ +The next step up from a checkbook ledger, is a ledger that keeps track\ +of all your accounts, not just checking. In such a ledger, you record\ +not only who gets paid---in the case of a debit---but where the money\ +came from. In a checkbook ledger, its assumed that all the money\ +comes from your checking account. But in a general ledger, you write\ +posting two-lines: the source account and target account.\ +@emph\{There must always be a debit from at least one account for every\ +credit made to another account\}. This is what is meant by\ +``double-entry'' accounting: the ledger must always balance to zero,\ +with an equal number of debits and credits.\ +\ +For example, let's say you have a checking account and a brokerage\ +account, and you can write checks from both of them. Rather than keep\ +two checkbooks, you decide to use one ledger for both. In this\ +general ledger you need to record a payment to Pacific Bell for your\ +monthly phone bill. The cost is $23.00, let's say, and you want to\ +pay it from your checking account. In the general ledger you need to\ +say where the money came from, in addition to where it's going to.\ +The transaction might look like this:\ +\ +@smallexample\ +9/29 BAL Pacific Bell $-200.00 $-200.00\ + Equity:Opening Balances $200.00\ +9/29 BAL Checking $100.00 $100.00\ + Equity:Opening Balances $-100.00\ +9/29 100 Pacific Bell $23.00 $223.00\ + Checking $-23.00 $77.00\ +@end smallexample\ +\ +The first line shows a payment to Pacific Bell for $23.00. Because\ +there is no ``balance'' in a general ledger---it's always zero---we\ +write in the total balance of all payments to ``Pacific Bell'', which\ +now is $223.00 (previously the balance was $200.00). This is done by\ +looking at the last transaction for ``Pacific Bell'' in the ledger, adding\ +$23.00 to that amount, and writing the total in the balance column.\ +And the money came from ``Checking''---a withdrawal of $23.00---which\ +leaves the ending balance in ``Checking'' at $77.00. This is a very\ +manual procedure; but that's where computers come in...\ +\ +The posting must balance to $0: $23 went to Pacific Bell, $23 came\ +from Checking. There is nothing left over to be accounted for, since\ +the money has simply moved from one account to another. This is the\ +basis of double-entry accounting: that money never pops in or out of\ +existence; it is always a posting from one account to another.\ +\ +Keeping a general ledger is the same as keeping two separate ledgers:\ +One for Pacific Bell and one for Checking. In that case, each time a\ +payment is written into one, you write a corresponding withdrawal into\ +the other. This makes it easier to write in a ``running balance'',\ +since you don't have to look back at the last time the account was\ +referenced---but it also means having a lot of ledger books, if you\ +deal with multiple accounts.\ +\ +Enter the beauty of computerized accounting. The purpose of the\ +Ledger program is to make general ledger accounting simple, by keeping\ +track of the balances for you. Your only job is to enter the\ +postings. If a posting does not balance, Ledger displays an\ +error and indicates the incorrect posting.@footnote\{In some\ +special cases, it automatically balances this transaction for you.\}\ +\ +In summary, there are two aspects of Ledger use: updating the ledger\ +data file, and using the Ledger tool to view the summarized result of\ +your transactions.\ +\ +And just for the sake of example---as a starting point for those who\ +want to dive in head-first---here are the ledger transactions from above,\ +formatting as the ledger program wishes to see them:\ +\ +@smallexample\ +2004/09/29 Pacific Bell\ + Payable:Pacific Bell $-200.00\ + Equity:Opening Balances\ +\ +2004/09/29 Checking\ + Accounts:Checking $100.00\ + Equity:Opening Balances\ +\ +2004/09/29 Pacific Bell\ + Payable:Pacific Bell $23.00\ + Accounts:Checking\ +@end smallexample\ +\ +The account balances and registers in this file, if saved as\ +@file\{ledger.dat\}, could be reported using:\ +\ +@example\ +$ ledger -f ledger.dat balance\ +$ ledger -f ledger.dat register checking\ +$ ledger -f ledger.dat register bell\ +@end example}
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