On Wed, Nov 03, 2004 at 08:21:53AM +0000, tom potts wrote:
www.gnucash.org dont know if its got an html front end. I've got half of one written in .net (mono should work) but with the above it took away the motivation
The fundamental problem with GnuCash (and many other similar packages) is that they make things so difficult for the small business user. Or at least they don't seem to be designed to work well for small businesses. GnuCash in particular seems not to be able to help at all with VAT and VAT returns.
My (self written) accounts package has a single 'ledger' (if you like to call it that) where *all* transactions are entered. What GnuCash calls different accounts are identified in my entries by a transaction type and an account type. Thus all entries are done serially in one place without having to move from account to account at all.
Reconciliation is done by reporting all transactions (with running balances etc.) for one account type. E.g. for bank reconciliation one simply runs a report of all transactions of type B[ank]. Accounts are identified by a single letter, as there are only three or four accounts it's not a problem to remember the letters and if you forget the database will tell you anyway (and won't allow non-existent ones).
Analysis etc. can be done by reporting all transactions of a certain type, e.g. one can run a Computer Hardware purchases report. The types are three letter abbreviations - simple to remember.
Then the bit I've not seen elsewhere, the VAT is calculated automatically once you have filled in the Ex. VAT column, the rate is derived from the transaction type, 17.5% for most things, 0% for books, exempt for bank charges and such. If rates change then I just adjust the database table that holds these values. Having automatically filled the VAT and the Inc VAT columns one can then change these values manually if necessary. E.g. if VAT isn't charged on a whole amount one reduces the VAT amount and the other amounts are recalculated. The way in which the recalculations are done means that most entries you just enter the Ex VAT amount and you're done but you can adjust easily for special cases.
At the end of each quarter I just run a VAT Report which outputs the figures to enter onto my VAT return.