GnuCash Help Manual

This druid helps you to create a set of GnuCash accounts. It will appear if you choose Create a new set of accounts in the Welcome to GnuCash! menu.

To start this druid manually go to File -> New File. This will create a new blank GnuCash file and then automatically start the New Account Hierarchy Setup druid.

The New Account Hierarchy Setup druid opens with a screen that briefly describes what this druid does. The three buttons at the very bottom of the screen will not change while using the druid.

The next screen allows you to select the default currency to use for your accounts. The Select... button on this screen is used to access the list of currencies. The Select... button brings up the Select currency/security dialog.

The next screen is used to choose a hierarchy of accounts to create. You will see a screen divided into three parts.

The next screen allows you to enter opening balances for your accounts and also select if the account is a placeholder account. Placeholder accounts are used to create a hierarchy of accounts and normally do not have transactions or opening balances. Equity accounts also do not have opening balances.

The last screen gives you a list of three choices to finish the druid.

You should now have a hierarchy of accounts in your main GnuCash account window.

This Druid helps you import Quicken (QIF) files. It will appear if you choose Import my QIF files in the Welcome to GnuCash! menu.

To start this druid manually go to File -> Import -> Import QIF... or press Ctrl-I.

The Import QIF files druid opens with a screen that briefly describes what this druid does. The three buttons at the very bottom of the screen will not change while using the druid.

The next screen allows you to Select a QIF file to load. The Select... button on this screen is used to access the list of files. The Select... button brings up the Select QIF File dialog.

Navigate to where you have stored your QIF files and select the first one then click OK. You will now see it listed in the QIF Filename: field.

If the file you are loading does not have an account name listed in it you will see the Set the default QIF account name screen. Otherwise you will skip this screen and go on to the screen in the next section that shows loaded QIF files.

The next screen shows you the QIF files you have loaded. You can use this screen to return to the previous screen and load more QIF files. It will also let you unload any files you have loaded by mistake.

The next screen gives a description of the Accounts and stock holdings matching process on the Match QIF accounts with GnuCash accounts screen. This and other informational screens in the Import QIF files druid can be turned off in the Online Banking & Importing section of the GnuCash Preferences. Please refer to the GnuCash Preferences section of the help for instructions on this.

The next screen lets you Match QIF accounts with GnuCash accounts. You will see a list of QIF account names on the left and suggested GnuCash account names on the right. The New? column indicates if the GnuCash account name will be created by the QIF Import.

To change the GnuCash account to a different one select the QIF account. A dialog will pop up to select another account or create a new one.

The next screen gives a description of the Income and Expense categories matching process on the Match QIF categories with GnuCash accounts screen.

The next screen lets you Match QIF categories with GnuCash accounts. You will see a list of QIF category names on the left and suggested GnuCash account names on the right. The New? column indicates if the GnuCash account name will be created by the QIF Import.

To change the GnuCash account to a different one select the QIF category. A dialog will pop up to select another account or create a new one.

The next screen gives a description of the Payees and memos matching process on the Match payees/memos to GnuCash accounts screen.

The next screen lets you Match payees/memos to GnuCash accounts. You will see a list of QIF payee/memo names on the left and suggested GnuCash account names on the right. The default GnuCash account used is called Unspecified. The New? column indicates if the GnuCash account name will be created by the QIF Import.

To change the GnuCash account to a different one select the QIF payee/memo. A dialog will pop up to select another account or create a new one.

The next screen allows you to Enter the currency used for new accounts. The drop down list defaults to USD (US Dollar). If you wish the new accounts to use a different currency select one from the list.

The next screen gives a description of the Match duplicate transactions process on the Select possible duplicates screen.

The next screen lets you Select possible duplicate transactions. Imported transactions are shown on the left panel and possible matches to each selected transaction are shown on the right.

The last screen gives you a list of three choices to finish the druid.

You should now have successfully imported your accounts.

This guide is the counterpart to this help. It explains the concepts used in GnuCash and has a tutorial that takes you through using GnuCash to manage your accounts. It will appear if you choose Open the new user tutorial in the Welcome to GnuCash! menu.

To open this Guide manually go to Help -> Tutorial and Concepts Guide.

It is strongly recommended to read this guide if you are new to GnuCash or unfamiliar with accounting concepts.

This window provides an overview of all your accounts and a summary of their balances. It groups the accounts into types based on standard accounting practice. Access to commonly used windows and account tools is through this window.

To reopen the Account Tree if you have closed it or to open an additional Account Tree go to File -> New Account Tree. This will open the account tree in the existing window

To open a new window with an Account Tree go to File -> Open in a New Window. Figure ? shows an Account Tree Window.

Table 2 describes the components of the Account Tree Window.

This window is used to enter and edit your account data. It also provides tools for scheduling future transactions, finding and reporting on transactions and printing checks.

To open the Account Register Window for an account, select the account in the Account Tree then go to File -> Open Account or press Ctrl-O. This will open a new window with the Account Register. Pressing the Open button on the Tool Bar in the Account Tree Window or the Jump button in the Account Register Window are alternate methods.

Figure ? shows an Account Register Window.

Table 12 describes the components of the Account Register Window.

This window is shown whenever a report or chart is selected from the Reports menu. It provides a web browser type display with clickable links to account data.

At this time all the functions of the report window are accessed through Tool Bar buttons.

There are several specialized Tool Windows used in GnuCash. These windows provide additional functions to the basic account register.

To access the Scheduled Transaction Editor go to Actions -> Scheduled Transactions -> Scheduled Transaction Editor. To access the Reconcile Window go to Actions -> Reconcile... (menu shortcut Ctrl-R). The other Tools are accessed by going to the Tools menu.

The GnuCash Help Window is used to display web page versions of these help documents that are installed with GnuCash. It also has a searchable database of help terms and the ability to load web pages directly from the Internet.

This window is accessed by going to the Help menu and selecting either the Tutorial and Concepts Guide or the Help.

The Help Window has a toolbar for navigation. The toolbar is described below;

The right side of the Help Window displays the currently opened web page. The left side of the Help Window contains the help Topics list tab and the Search tab. Selecting one of the help topics will load that page on the right side. The topics list also contains a link to the GnuCash bug reporting webpage at http://bugzilla.gnome.org.

The Search tab is used to search the help for documents containing terms you specify. Enter the term to search for in the Search Term field then click the Search button to get a list of pages containing that term. Selecting a link in the Search Results pane will load the web page.

GnuCash supports a number of different account types. It is recommended to choose an appropriate account type based on the list of account types described below.

Table 29: Types of GnuCash Accounts.

The New Account Hierarchy Setup druid described in the first section of this help is a convenient way of setting up a set of accounts to use as a framework of account types.

When new accounts are created the available choices of account types are grayed out according to what type the parent account is. The following list contains the possible choices.

The Chart of Accounts is like a table of contents for your finances. The best way to conceptualize a chart of accounts is as a tree. The main branches represent entire categories or groups, while the leaves of the tree denote individual bank accounts or expense categories. When a summary report is requested, typically only the main branches are shown in the report, rather than the individual accounts. For example, a chart of accounts might look like the following:

Note that accounts not only have names; they have codes, to order the accounts. When a report is generated, the sort order is determined by the numbering. It's customary to have the leaf accounts end in non-zero digits, while parent nodes have increasing numbers of zeros.

GnuCash does not prevent duplicate numbering, although we would encourage you to avoid this. Account codes are treated as numbers in base-36, thus, if you run out of numbers, you can use the letters, a through z.

A sample chart of accounts is shown below. Each account is of a given account type. This example is a combination of some typical business and personal accounts.

The New Account properties dialog consists of two tabs, the General Information tab and the Opening Balance tab. This dialog can be accessed by going to File -> New Account... or by clicking the New toolbar icon in the Account Tree Window.

Creating a New Account involves planning in advance several details that are used in the New Account dialog.

These details are described below.

The Edit Account dialog consists of just the General Information tab. This tab has the same information that was described in To Create a New Account. To access the Edit Account dialog go to Edit -> Edit Account (menu shortcut Ctrl-E) or click the Edit toolbar icon in the Account Tree Window.

Editing the Chart of Accounts is done within the Parent Account pane of the Edit Account dialog. It is possible to move an account to any part of the Chart of Account. It is recommended to keep accounts generally under the related types of accounts as described in the Types of GnuCash Accounts section. This helps to preserve the Chart of Accounts structure.

To move the selected account to a different parent account just select the account in the Parent Account pane. If New top level account is selected then the account will be move to the top level.

Deleting an Account means removing all transaction information and information about this account from the file. This cannot be undone. You will be prompted to that you wish to remove the account. If the account still contains transaction information you will be warned that this account contains transactions.

A side effect of removing an account that contains transactions is that you will end up with unbalanced accounts. This will be indicated in the account by a grey checkbox next to the debit and credit amounts. You can repair automatically these unbalanced accounts by using the Actions -> Check & Repair menu. This will automatically assign the unbalanced amounts to a new account named Imbalance.

When using the Account Register Window it is frequently useful to be able to view an account and also the transfer account at the same time. GnuCash allows you to do this quickly by using 'Jump'. This is available on the toolbar and in the Actions menu in the Account Register Window.

Select the transaction in the Account Register Window and click jump to open the transfer Account Register Window. If the transaction is split between more than one transfer account then you will need to show all the split transfer accounts first and select the transfer account to jump to.

Reconciliation of Accounts in GnuCash with statements from a bank or other institution is a way of double checking the balance of your accounts. It also is useful to track uncleared checks and other outstanding transactions.

The Summary Bar at the top of the Account Register Window indicates the amounts of Cleared and Reconciled transactions. Online account information can be used to mark which transaction the bank has processed by changing the R (reconciliation) column in the register from n (new) to c (cleared). The bank statement is then used with the Reconcile Window to reconcile the account which changes the R field to y (reconciled).

The Reconcile Window is accessed in the Account Tree Window by going to Actions -> Reconcile... (menu shortcut Ctrl-R). In the Account Register Window it is accessed by going to Actions -> Reconcile...

Stock splits commonly occur when a company decides its stock price is to expensive for individual investors to buy the stock. Splits have the effect of lowering the price of a single share while keeping the value of shares owned by investors who have already purchased shares.

GnuCash has several options to change the way the register looks so transactions can be seen more clearly. The default style is the Basic Ledger. This presents a single line view of transactions to allow the most concise view with all the relevant details.

The default view or style can be changed by going to View -> Style. When the window closes the style will revert to the Basic Ledger style. To make this change permanent change the style in the Preferences in the Register section.

The two other options to change the view of the register is to restrict the Date Range and change the Sort Order. These are both accessible from the View menu.

When the Account Register Window for an account is opened the list of transactions for that account is shown. This window has the name of the account on its title bar. The menus contain several functions that alter the display of transactions. The toolbar also contains several functions that are used often when entering transactions. These are described in the Account Register Window section of this help.

GnuCash has two methods available for entering transactions. Entering directly into the register window is the most common way of entering transactions. The Transfer Funds Window is the second method.

The register window will look slightly different depending on the style options you have chosen. The following describes entering transactions with multiple splits in the basic ledger style. GnuCash describes the accounts that money is transferred to or from in the currently opened transaction a Split. The cursor is placed in the date field by default when the register window is opened.

Currently transfers between different currencies are only supported by using the Transfer Funds Window described above. It is necessary to use this dialog to add an exchange rate.

To setup an account as a different currency edit the account properties and change the Commodity field to the foreign currency. This account will now enable the Currency Transfer pane in the Transfer Funds Window.

Editing a transaction involves just selecting the part of the transaction that needs to be changed. Once the changes are made pressing the Enter key, selecting the Enter icon or going to Actions -> Enter will now move the cursor to the next line or transaction.

To see a more detailed view of a transaction for editing, press the Split button on the toolbar or select Actions -> Split Transaction.

If a transaction needs to be removed from the register, select the transaction and press either the Delete icon on the toolbar or go to Actions -> Delete. Parts of a transaction can also be removed by pressing the Split button on the toolbar or selecting Actions -> Split Transaction. The part of the transaction that needs to be deleted can be then selected for deletion.

Removing Transaction Splits involves erasing all splits except the one for the account that is opened. This is a useful way of reusing a previous transaction that has multiple splits that need to be changed. (Note this can be done without opening the split, but doing so makes the effect more visible)

Copying Transactions is available from both the Edit menu and the Actions menu. The Edit menu has Cut Transaction, Copy Transaction and Paste Transaction which allows a whole transaction to be cut or copied and pasted to a new transaction line. This way of copying a transaction will use the date showing in the new transaction blank line.

The Actions menu also contains Duplicate Transaction... which unlike the previous method allows for choosing a different date.

Scheduled Transactions provide the ability to have transactions automatically entered into the register at a specified time. The Scheduled Transaction Editor is used to create and edit transactions that are to be added to the register in an automated way. This is combined with the Since Last Run druid to review and enter the transactions. The Mortgage & Loan Repayment druid is used to setup a scheduled transaction to repay a compounding interest loan.

The easiest way to setup a scheduled transaction is to use an existing transaction in an account register as a template. Select the account you wish to use as a template and then either select the Schedule icon on the toolbar of go to Actions -> Schedule... This will bring up the Make Scheduled Transaction dialog.

The Advanced... button brings up the Scheduled Transaction Editor's dialog to Edit the Scheduled Transaction. This is described in the next section.

Checks are printed in GnuCash from the account register. GnuCash provides the ability to print to standard Quicken Checks (US Letter) or to make a custom check format. Check position and Date formats are also customizable.

To access the check printing feature in GnuCash, select the transaction to print a check for and go to File -> Print Check. This will open the Print Check properties dialog.

The Print Check dialog has two tabs. The first tab, Options, is used to setup the most common options to print a check. The second tab, Custom format, is used to setup the position of various fields on the check. It is useful to print a test check to a plain piece of paper first and use that to make any adjustments needed.

The default selection in Options is for Quicken/Quickbooks (tm) US-Letter checks.

The Custom check format contains two columns to enter in the X and Y co-ordinates of the field position on the check. Positions in the Custom Check Format entry area are specified with x = 0 at the left edge of the check with x increasing to the right, and y = 0 at the bottom edge of the check with y increasing as you travel up.

Once OK is pressed on the Print Check dialog the Print GnuCash Document dialog is presented. Press OK to print the check.

GnuCash has classified the main types of reports into four major classes. These are all available under the Reports menu. Note that barcharts can be moved by clicking on them and dragging the mouse, and piecharts can be "exploded" into individual segments.

It is possible to write reports if the current ones are not suitable. To do this you will need to know Scheme (a LISP-like programming language), and it is an excellent idea to have a copy of the GnuCash source code available.

The reporting interface is documented in the source code file src/report/report-system/doc/report-html.txt. The file src/scm/report/hello-world.scm in the GnuCash source distribution provides a good example of how reports are developed.

It is also necessary to access data from the engine to get information for your report. This is performed by a set of Scheme wrapper functions that are documented in the file src/g-wrap/gnc.html. Examine some of the other reports in src/scm/report for an indication of how they are used.

At present, reports are produced by calling a HTML-generation API, which outputs a dialect of HTML and rendering this with a HTML widget. This has limitations, particularly when trying to align objects precisely, as might be necessary for printing onto pre-printed invoices for example.

GnuCash reports have many options for customization. To access report options choose the Options button on the toolbar.

Many reports share similar sorts of options. Some common ones include:

GnuCash is able to print reports and to export the reports to web pages. The Print GnuCash Document dialog is accessed from the Print button on the toolbar or go to File -> Print in the menu. To Export a report to a web page (HTML) select the Export button on the toolbar and type in a file name.

The Print GnuCash Document dialog is used to select which Printer to send the print job to or to print to a File. It also contains a Preview button to view the document before printing. Press Print to send the job to the selected printer or Cancel to dismiss the Print dialog.

Printing from an open register prints the Account Report, which is also called the Register Report. This lists transactions in the account with a total. Other reports print as viewed in the Report screen.

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This section contains the following preferences;

This section contains the following preferences (this screen is hidden by default);

The Default Style Sheet has two tabs to alter the appearance of reports, General and Tables.

The Technicolor Style Sheet has four tabs to alter the appearance of reports, Colors, General, Images and Tables.

TaxCut 1999

These two codes, from the same payer, are not correlated. The user will have to adjust for this after import.

TaxCut 1999, 2000

Does not accept the date field and does not import the individual payment amounts, only the total. The date and individual payment amounts, only matter if you have to compute the penalty. (this may be a TurboTax enhancement)

Information from only one job may be imported.

TurboTax 1999, 2000

Does not accept the dates outside of the tax year. This is a problem for the last payment that is due Jan 15. GnuCash changes the the date of the last payment to Dec 31. The user will have to adjust for this after import. The date only matters if you have to compute the penalty.

TXF Tax eXport Format

Most codes are not supposed to appear more than once. GnuCash issues an error message if it detects this, but will still export the data. These are not handled the same by TaxCut and TurboTax.

Sums the duplicate codes. i.e., job one and job two are added together.

Keeps only the LAST of the duplicate codes. i.e., job one is ignored and job two is kept.

Table 32. Detailed TXF Category Descriptions