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ch_oview.xml
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<!--
(Do not remove this comment block.)
Version: 2.2.0
Last modified: 2014-09-22 (fell)
Maintainers: Tom Bullock <tbullock@nd.edu>
Chris Lyttle <chris@wilddev.net>
Author:
Jon Lapham <lapham@extracta.com.br>
Updated Bengt Thuree <bengt@thuree.com>
Originally written by Carol Champagne.
Translators:
(translators put your name and email here)
-->
<chapter id="chapter_oview">
<title>Overview</title>
<sect1 id="oview-intro1">
<title>Introduction</title>
<para><application>&app;</application> is the personal finance software package made for you. It is
versatile enough to keep track of all your financial information, from the
simple to the very complex. It is one of the few financial software
packages that supports global currencies, and it is the only open-source
program of its kind. Best of all, <application>&app;</application> is easy to learn and use!</para>
<para>So, what can <application>&app;</application> do for you? It can keep track of your personal
finances in as much detail as you prefer. If you are just starting out,
use <application>&app;</application> to keep track of your checkbook. You may then decide to track
cash as well as credit card purchases to better determine where your money
is being spent. When you start investing, you can use <application>&app;</application> to help
monitor your portfolio. Buying a vehicle or a home? <application>&app;</application> will help you
plan the investment and track loan payments. If your financial records
span the globe, <application>&app;</application> provides all the multiple-currency support you
need.</para>
<screenshot id="oview-intro">
<mediaobject>
<imageobject role="html">
<imagedata fileref="figures/oview_intro.png" format="PNG"
srccredit="Bengt Thuree" width="510"></imagedata>
</imageobject>
<imageobject role="fo">
<imagedata fileref="figures/oview_intro.png" format="PNG"
srccredit="Bengt Thuree"></imagedata>
</imageobject>
<textobject>
<phrase><application>&app;</application> Chart of Accounts - Teaser</phrase>
</textobject>
<caption>
<para>This image shows a Chart of Accounts with multiple currencies and investments.</para>
</caption>
</mediaobject>
</screenshot>
<para>While <application>&app;</application> is well suited for personal finances, it is also
powerful enough for business use. There are many business features, from
integrated accounts receivable and payable systems, to tax table
construction. You will find these and the many other business features
surprisingly powerful and easy to use.</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="oview-features1">
<title>Features</title>
<sect2 id="oview-featureseasy2">
<title>Easy to Use</title>
<para>Within a matter of minutes you will be able to enter your personal
finance information and generate color graphs that represent your
financial status. If you can use the register in the back of your
checkbook - you can use <application>&app;</application>! Type directly into the register, tab
between fields, and use quick-fill to automatically complete
transactions. The interface is customizable from within the application
itself.</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Easy to Use Menus</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> menus conform
to the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines. This means that they are
simple and similar in appearance to many other GNOME
applications.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Documentation</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> has built-in Help
and extensive User’s Guide documentation.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Import Methods</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> supports many
ways to input transactions besides manual entry. If you can access
your bank accounts on-line, this is especially useful, as most banks
and credit card companies support one of the following import
methods. You will spend less time entering data and more time
analyzing results.</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Quicken Import File (QIF)</emphasis>: Import
Quicken <acronym>QIF</acronym> style files, a popular file format with many
commercial personal finance software packages.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Open Financial Exchange (OFX)</emphasis>:
<application>&app;</application> is the first free software application to support the
Open Financial Exchange protocol. Many financial institutions
are moving towards this format.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Home Banking Computer Interface
(HBCI)</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> is the first free software
application to support the German Home Banking Computer
Interface protocol. This protocol includes statement download,
initiates bank transfers, and makes direct debits
possible.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Reports</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> comes with over 30
prebuilt reports, including Account Summary, Income, Expenses,
Transaction Report, Balance Sheet, Profit&Loss, Portfolio
Valuation, and many others. Reports support graphical views of the
data, including pie charts, bar charts, and scatter plots. The
reports can be exported to <acronym>HTML</acronym> files, and are easily
customized.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Scheduled Transactions</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> now has
the ability to automatically create and enter transactions, or
remind you when these transactions are due, giving you the choice of
entering, postponing or removing the automated transaction.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Mortgage and Loan Repayment Assistant</emphasis>: Used
to set up a variable payment loan scheduled transaction.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Easy Account Reconciliation</emphasis>: Integrated
reconciliation makes reconciling your <application>&app;</application> accounts with
statements simple and effective.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Multi-platform Compatibility</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> is
supported on a variety of platforms and operating systems. The list
of fully supported operating systems (and platforms) for <application>&app;</application>
&vers-stable; is: GNU/Linux (x86, x86_64, Sparc, PPC), FreeBSD (x86, x86_64), OpenBSD
(x86, x86_64), Solaris (Sparc), and MacOS X (Intel, PPC). Previous versions of
<application>&app;</application> have been known to work with, SGI IRIX (MIPS), IBM AIX 4.1.5
(RS/6000), Unixware 7 (Intel), and SCO OpenServer 5.0.4 (Intel), but
their current status is unknown.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="oview-featuresinvest2">
<title>Tracks Your Investments</title>
<para><application>&app;</application> includes a number of investment features that allow you to track all your investments. With <application>&app;</application> you can track stocks individually (one per account) or in a portfolio of accounts (a group of accounts that can be displayed together).</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> supports online stock and mutual fund quotes. This means you no longer need to look up stock prices one at a
time. The process can be automated, and you can see the latest value of your stocks.</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="oview-featuresintl2">
<title>International Support</title>
<para><application>&app;</application> is truly an application that works with and understands
users from all around the world. There are many built-in features to
facilitate interaction with the international world we live in
today.</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Native Languages</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> has been fully
translated into 12 languages: Chinese, Czech, Dutch, English,
French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovak, Spanish and
Swedish. More than 25 other languages are partially
supported.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>International Format Handling</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application>
understands that different countries display the date and numbers differently.
You are able to work with the date and number formats you are accustomed
to.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Multiple Currencies and Currency Trading</emphasis>:
Multiple currencies are supported and can be bought and sold
(traded). Currency movements between accounts remain fully balanced
if "Trading Accounts" is enabled.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>On-line exchange rates</emphasis>:
With <application>&app;</application>, you no longer need look up your exchange rates one at a
time. The process can be automated, to always present you with the
account values converted to your preferred currency using the latest
exchange rates.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="oview-featuresbus2">
<title>Business Support</title>
<para><application>&app;</application> has many features to support the needs of the business
accounting community.</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Accounts Receivable/Payable</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> has
an integrated Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable system. You
can track Customers, Vendors, Invoicing and Bill Payment, and use
different Tax and Billing Terms in a small business.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Depreciation</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> can track
depreciation of capital assets.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Reports</emphasis>: <application>&app;</application> offers a wide variety of
ready-to-use business reports.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="oview-featuresaccounting2">
<title>Accounting Features</title>
<para>For those knowledgeable in accounting, here is a list of <application>&app;</application>’s
accounting features.</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Double Entry</emphasis>: Every transaction must
debit one account and credit others by an equal amount. This ensures
the <quote>books balance</quote> - that the difference between income and expense
exactly equals the sum of all bank, cash, stock and other
assets.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Split Transactions</emphasis>: A single transaction
can be split into several pieces to record taxes, fees, and other
compound entries.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Chart of Accounts</emphasis>: A master account can
have a hierarchy of detail accounts underneath it. This allows
similar account types such as Cash, Bank, or Stock to be grouped
into a master account such as <quote>Assets</quote>.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>General Ledger</emphasis>: One register window can
display multiple accounts at the same time. This eases the trouble
of tracking down typing/entry errors. It also provides a convenient
way of viewing a portfolio of many stocks, by showing all
transactions in that portfolio.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Income/Expense Account Types
(Categories)</emphasis>: These categorize your cash flow and, when
used properly with the double-entry feature, will provide an
accurate Profit&Loss statement.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
</sect2>
<!-- The What’s New section for the current stable series must be at
the top and the older What’s New sections must be moved down as they
get superseded. The list of changes is a greatly summarised one
compiled by looking through the milestone bugfixes pointed to by
http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Release_Schedule to pick up on significant
user-visible improvements. -->
<sect2 id="oview-featuresnewstable2">
<title>What’s New in &series-stable;</title>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><application>&app;</application> is available on
Windows.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>The <application>&app;</application> file format is
incompatible with versions earlier than 2.1.2. Specifically,
scheduled transactions are stored differently. Using version
&series-stable;, you can upgrade your older
<application>&app;</application> file to the new format.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>More translations.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Improved report handling.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Fixed lots of crashes.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Improved multi-currency support.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Enhanced <acronym>QIF</acronym> import.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>See <ulink
url="http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Release_Schedule#Release_Schedule_for_2.2.x">http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Release_Schedule#Release_Schedule_for_2.2.x</ulink>
for detailed lists of improvements made in this series.</para>
</sect2>
<sect2 id="oview-featuresnew2">
<title>What’s New in v2.0</title>
<para><itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Gnome 2.0 (Gtk2)</emphasis></para>
<para><application>&app;</application> is now using the latest tool-kits from gtk, and
follows the normal Gnome2 HIG standards.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>UTF-8 support</emphasis></para>
<para><application>&app;</application> now stores and reads each country’s special
character sets by using UTF-8.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Budget</emphasis></para>
<para><application>&app;</application> now comes with a budget feature that can help you
keep your expenses under control.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Import of MT940 files</emphasis></para>
<para>Data files with transactions in MT940 format (as can be
downloaded from some banks) can now be imported into
<application>&app;</application>.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Bug fixes</emphasis></para>
<para><application>&app;</application> is now more stable and secure than ever before due
to the long testing phase before we reached 2.0, as well as using
more stable and mature libraries (gtk2 for instance). Numerous
corrections has been made in every part of <application>&app;</application>, and too many
for us to highlight any special area.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist></para>
</sect2>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="oview-about1">
<title>About this Book</title>
<para>This manual’s goal is to save you time. It will get you started
using <application>&app;</application> as quickly as possible.</para>
<para>Each chapter follows a simple format. A chapter begins with a
<quote>Concepts</quote> discussion which introduces general themes and
terminology, addressed and used within that chapter. <quote>How-To</quote>
sections, which address specific procedures follow. Finally, a
<quote>Putting It All Together</quote> section ends the chapter by giving
detailed, concrete examples.</para>
<para>Beginning users will find the <quote>Concepts</quote> sections very
helpful. They provide a reference for good ways to track your finances,
and serve as a general introduction to financial background and
terminology. Experienced users can flip to the <quote>How-To</quote>
sections to quickly scan procedures. These sections provide to-the-point
steps for accomplishing specific tasks. The <quote>Putting It All
Together</quote> sections present real-world examples in the form of a
tutorial. Beginning with creation of a file in <xref linkend="chapter_basics"></xref>,
each successive chapter builds on the previous chapter’s tutorial.</para>
<para>This manual is organized into 3 main parts: <itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Getting Started</emphasis></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Managing Personal Finances</emphasis></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><emphasis>Managing Business Finances</emphasis>.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist></para>
<para><emphasis>Getting Started</emphasis> provides you with the most
basic information needed to begin using <application>&app;</application>. The chapters in this section explain concepts that are fundamental to using <application>&app;</application>. New users of <application>&app;</application> should familiarize themselves with the information in these chapters to get you up and running: <itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_oview"></xref> - (this chapter) gives a general overview of <application>&app;</application></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_basics"></xref> - gives users a very brief introduction to accounting principles, and then provides information about how <application>&app;</application> structures its data. There is also information on basic interface elements in <application>&app;</application>. Finally, this chapter explains how <application>&app;</application> stores and manages your data.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_accts"></xref> - gives further information about accounts and how to organize them.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_txns"></xref> - gives basic information about transactions and how to enter them.</para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist></para>
<para><emphasis>Managing Personal Finances</emphasis> addresses
common applications and features of <application>&app;</application> in greater detail. You will
see more specific cases, based on frequently asked questions about
applying <application>&app;</application> to everyday situations. Here are the applications and
features covered in this part: <itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_cbook"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_cc"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_loans"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_invest"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_capgain"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_currency"></xref></para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist></para>
<para><emphasis>Managing Business Finances</emphasis> discusses the
use of <application>&app;</application> in business accounting: <itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_dep"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_bus_ar"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_bus_ap"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_bus_pay"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_budgets"/></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="chapter_other_assets"></xref></para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist></para>
<para>This manual also includes several appendices, which contains extra information
you might want to know:</para>
<itemizedlist>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="appendixa"></xref> - Guide for former <trademark
class="registered">Quicken</trademark>, MS Money or other <acronym>QIF</acronym>
users</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="appendixb"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="appendixc"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="appendixd"></xref></para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para><xref linkend="fdl"></xref></para>
</listitem>
</itemizedlist>
<para>Last, but not least, a glossary and index help you quickly locate
topics.</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="oview-reasons1">
<title>Top Ten Reasons to Use <application>&app;</application></title>
<para>We’ve already discussed some of the general advantages of using
<application>&app;</application>. Here are some specific features offered by <application>&app;</application> that may not
exist in other programs.</para>
<orderedlist>
<listitem>
<para>Simple user interface</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> is as easy to use as a checkbook register. It’s simpler
than a paper register, because auto-completion and other entry
shortcuts not only do work for you, but reduce data entry
errors.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Easy import</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> allows you to import data from on-line bank statements
and software packages using <acronym>QIF</acronym> (<trademark
class="registered">Quicken</trademark> Interchange Format), <acronym>OFX</acronym> and
<acronym>HBCI</acronym> files. An easy-to-use <quote>assistant</quote> walks you through
reviewing resulting changes and actually importing them into
<application>&app;</application>.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Statement reconciliation</para>
<para>Reconcile monthly statements quickly by entering the statement
ending balance and checking off transactions. <application>&app;</application> helps you catch
any discrepancies between your data and statements you receive.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Investment tracking</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> offers a host of ways to track your investment
portfolio. Special investment accounts simplify data entry, and
on-line tools allow you to update prices of your holdings as the
markets change. Reports complete the picture, allowing you to analyze
your investment decisions.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Multiple currency support</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> allows you to track multiple currencies. If you have
bank accounts, investments or other financial data in different
currencies, use <application>&app;</application> to monitor them.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Customized reports and graphs</para>
<para>Reports and graphs give you valuable information for filing
taxes, budgeting, or simply figuring out where your money goes.
<application>&app;</application> offers a variety of easy-to-use reports and graphs to help
analyze your financial position. It gives you the freedom to customize
your own reports to suit your unique needs.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Double entry</para>
<para>To provide complete records, <application>&app;</application> uses the double entry
method of bookkeeping. Double entry simply means that money doesn’t
just appear or disappear - an equal amount must come from one location
and go to another location. By tracking the transaction in both
locations, <application>&app;</application> will give you detailed reports from the perspective
of either account.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Sources of help</para>
<para>A <guilabel>Tip of the Day</guilabel> screen gives helpful tips to new users about
<application>&app;</application> features. Within the program, a searchable Help menu guides
you to information or connects to the <application>&app;</application> web page for further
assistance. <application>&app;</application> also has strong, helpful developer and user
communities who provide help through mailing lists as well as through
the IRC channel.</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Shortcuts</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> offers many shortcuts to help you enter data. Type the
first few characters of a common entry and <application>&app;</application> will automatically
fill in the rest! You can also use copy, paste and duplicate functions
to save typing time. Keyboard shortcuts let you quickly choose a menu
option or to enter numerical data. Many numeric entry fields can act
as a calculator: enter "92.18+33.26" and watch <application>&app;</application> input the
corresponding sum for you!</para>
</listitem>
<listitem>
<para>Open source</para>
<para><application>&app;</application> doesn’t hide its methods. If you wonder how <application>&app;</application>
computed a number, you can find it out. In addition, you can set
preferences that tell <application>&app;</application> how much information to display to you.
There is no <quote>secret code</quote> used in <application>&app;</application> - it continues
to be an open-source program.</para>
</listitem>
</orderedlist>
<para>These are only a few of the advantages you’ll discover when you
start using <application>&app;</application> to track your financial information. Now get ready to
enjoy the benefits of <application>&app;</application> for yourself!</para>
</sect1>
<sect1 id="oview-install1">
<title>Installation</title>
<para>Installation of <application>&app;</application> is usually simple.</para>
<para>The <ulink url="http://www.gnucash.org/download.phtml"><citetitle><application>&app;</application> download page</citetitle></ulink> contains detailed instructions on how to install
<application>&app;</application> for each operating system supported.</para>
</sect1>
</chapter>