GnuCash

Getting Started

install gnucash and gnucash-docs

Fix the Help

Due to a bug, the help does not open properly, even in GnuCash 2.6.3 (on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS)

sudo su -
cd /usr/share/gnome/help
ln -s gnucash gnucash-help
ln -s gnucash gnucash-guide
exit
yelp ghelp:gnucash-help
yelp ghelp:gnucash-guide

Importing Customers

QuickBooks will only export "lists" to IntuitFinanacialFormat (IFF) files. From QuickBooks, in the menu, open File -> Utilities -> Export -> Lists to IFF Files. Select only Customers and save. Repeat, selecting only Vendors and save to a different file.

GnuCash will import a variety of formats, but not IFF directly. GnuCash wants CSV data for importing Customers and Vendors. But IFF files are essentially proprietary CSV files. So, using Kate or any text editor, just discard the first few meaningless lines of the file(s) saved earlier until you only have headers and data left. Save and rename that as a .csv file, and open with LibreOffice. Then you can rearrange the file in LibreOffice calc to match the header requirements of GnuCash. The Importing Customers and Vendors page in the GnuCash help gives you the column headers you need. Import your data using the 'File'->'import'->'Import Customers and Vendors' menu option.

Strangely, I couldn't get it to import without the header line, but it ends up importing the header line as a (meaningless) record. You can only make that record 'inactive'.

Importing Vendors

Do the same for Vendors.

Double entry Accounting basics

wp:Debits and credits

Account type	Debit	Credit
Asset	+	-
Liability	-	+
Income/Revenue	-	+
Expense	+	-
Equity/Capital	-	+

In double-entry accounting the source account for the transation is credited (that is, an entry is made on the right side of the account's ledger) and the destination account is debited (that is, an entry is made on the left side). The difference between the total debits and total credits in a single account is the account's balance. If debits exceed credits, the account has a debit balance; if credits exceed debits, the account has a credit balance. For the company as a whole, the totals of debit balances and credit balances must be equal as shown in the trial balance report, otherwise an error has occurred.

Accountants use the trial balance to prepare financial statements (such as the balance sheet and income statement) which communicate information about the company's financial activities in a generally accepted standardized format.