<ARTICLE ID="XACC-COMMODITY">

<ARTHEADER>
<TITLE>Creating a "commodity"</TITLE>
</ARTHEADER>

    <sect1>
      <title></title>
<PARA>Gnucash represents national currencies, stocks, mutual funds,
and all other tradable commodities using a unified framework.  In
this dialog, you will specify the properties of a new commodity. 
</PARA>

<para>The <emphasis>full name</emphasis> of the commodity is a recognizable
name such as "US Dollars" or "IBM Common Stock". </para>

<para>The <emphasis>symbol or abbreviation</emphasis> for the commodity is the
ticker symbol (for stocks), ISO currency symbol (for national
currencies), or other unique abbreviation for the commodity.  If the
commodity is traded on any public exchange, it is important to use the
same identifier used on that exchange. </para>

<para>The <emphasis>type</emphasis> of a commodity is the grouping or
namespace in which it exists.  For example, national currencies are of
the ISO4217 type.  ISO-4217 is an international standard which defines
unique three-letter symbols for each currency.  Other types include
AMEX, NYSE, NASDAQ, and EUREX for stocks traded on those exchanges,
and FUND for mutual funds.  If your commodity is not of one of these
types, you can create a new type by typing it in the box.</para>

<para>The commodity's <emphasis>code</emphasis> is any numeric or alphanumeric
code that is used to identify the commodity.  The CUSIP code, for
example, is a unique identifying numeric string that is associated
with every stock, bond, mutual fund, and most kinds of tradable
options, futures, and commodities.  This code is not required.</para>

<para>The <emphasis>fraction traded</emphasis> is the smallest tradable unit
of the commodity, expressed as a fraction of a single nominal unit.
For US Dollars, for example, the fraction traded is "1/100", because
bank balances and currency are counted to 1/100 of a dollar. This
value is used as a default accounting resolution for accounts
denominated in the security, but can be overridden if a particular
account's books need to be kept to a different resolution.  For
example, stock ownership may be reckoned to 1/1000 of a share by some
brokerage houses, though actual transactions in the stock are in
integer numbers of shares (the fractional share ownership is an "on
paper" accounting trick of the brokerage house).</para>
    </sect1>
</ARTICLE>

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