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diff --git a/doc/Ledger.scriv/7.rtfd/TXT.rtf b/doc/Ledger.scriv/7.rtfd/TXT.rtf deleted file mode 100644 index 342f84d5..00000000 --- a/doc/Ledger.scriv/7.rtfd/TXT.rtf +++ /dev/null @@ -1,125 +0,0 @@ -{\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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