Luis:
Welcome to GnuCash! You ask a good question.
On 2024-05-30 01:31, Luis Sini wrote:
TL;DR
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I would like to add "ASSETS" and "LIABILITIES" account types as
sub-accounts but GnuCash only allows it if they are "Top Level Accounts"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hello to everyone,
I make money personally, I own a couple of properties, and I also design
and manufacture audio devices. These are basically different entities, and
I know that I can create a separate GnuCash file for each one of those
ventures. But, I wanted to create 1 GnuCash file that will allow me to have
a comprehensive view of all my financial activities while being able to
track each venture separately.
I've gone ahead and created the following structure:
1. PERSONAL WORK
1. INCOME
2. EXPENSES
2. PROPERTIES
1. PROPERTY A
1. INCOME
2. EXPENSES
2. PROPERTY B
1. INCOME
2. EXPENSES
3. AUDIO DEVICES
1. INCOME
2. EXPENSES
What I would like to do is add "ASSETS" and "LIABILITIES" sub-accounts to
"PERSONAL WORK" and each of the "PROPERTIES". Unfortunately, GnuCash only
allows me to assign sub-accounts types as either "Income" or "Expense"
unless the parent account is not set up as either Assets or Liability? I
can make an account an "Asset" or "Liability" if the account is a "Top
Level Account". Is there any way to get around this limitation?
I do not know a way around the limitation that GnuCash places on the
types of accounts which can be children of various types of accounts,
e.g. that an Asset account may not be a child of an Income or Expense
account.
I face a similar situation with my own bookkeeping. I track assets,
liabilities, income, and expenses, for my marriage's joint holdings, and
my personal income, and my spouse's personal income, for my small
business, and some real estate. I let GnuCash insist that Assets,
Liabilities, Equity, Income, and Expenses be top-level accounts. I
divide into my various joint and personal and business divisions at the
next level down.
Applying that to your example, your chart of accounts might be:
1. Assets
1.A. Personal Assets
1.B. Property Assets
1.B.a. Property A Assets
1.B.b. Property B Assets
1.C. Audio Devices Assets
2. Equity
2.A. Personal Equity
2.B. Property Equity
2.B.a. Property A Equity
2.B.b. Property B Equity
2.C. Audio Devices Equity
3. Expenses
3.A. Personal Expenses
3.B. Property Expenses
3.B.a. Property A Expenses
3.B.b. Property B Expenses
3.C. Audio Devices Expenses
4. Income
4.A. Personal Income
4.B. Property Income
4.B.a. Property A Income
4.B.b. Property B Income
4.C. Audio Devices Income
5. Liabilities
5.A. Personal Income
5.B. Property Income
5.B.a. Property A Income
5.B.b. Property B Income
5.C. Audio Devices Income
I can imagine three objections you might have to this structure.
1. It is verbose. My structure has 30 lines, while yours has only 13
lines (or 21 after you add Assets and Liabilities as you propose). I do
not find that to be a problem. The only time I see all the accounts is
in the Accounts tab, and most of the time most of the hierarchy is
collapsed and hidden from view. When I want to enter an account name
into a transaction, I type portions of the path of account names, and
GnuCash gives me a menu of the few accounts which match those portions.
2. It doesn't let you report on a single subtree of the account and
capture all the income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. I also do not
find that to be a problem. GnuCash custom reports allow you to select
which accounts to include in the reports. If you want a report for
Property A, you can define a GnuCash custom report which includes 1.B.a.
Property A Assets, 2.B.a. Property A Equity, 3.B.a. Property A Expenses,
4.B.a. Property A Income, 5.B.a. Property A Income and all subaccounts
of those five accounts.
3. You might not be sure which structure will work for you long-term.
The good news is that GnuCash lets you move accounts from one parent to
another within the Accounts tree (subject to its rules about which
account types can be children of which account types), and all the
transactions associated with that account follow the account to its new
home. You can do even pretty major restructuring of accounts as you go,
and your records stay intact.
I hope this helps. Good luck with your bookkeeping!
—Jim DeLaHunt
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