diff --git a/doc/html/C/xacc-acctypes.html b/doc/html/C/xacc-acctypes.html
index eb0473b746..a1ba562593 100644
--- a/doc/html/C/xacc-acctypes.html
+++ b/doc/html/C/xacc-acctypes.html
@@ -11,6 +11,9 @@
Account Types
+GnuCash supports a number of different account types. You should always
+choose the type that is appropriate for what you want to record. If
+you're not sure, the explanations below should help you decide.
- Cash
@@ -23,9 +26,8 @@
- The Bank account type denotes a savings or
checking account held at a bank or other financial
- institution.
-
- - Such accounts sometimes bear interest.
+ institution.
+ Such accounts sometimes bear interest.
- Credit
@@ -35,6 +37,7 @@
American Express that do not permit you to maintain
continuing balances.
+
- The introduction of Check
Cards where payments are withdrawn directly from a
@@ -116,19 +119,36 @@
- Income,
Expense
- - Income and Expense accounts are used to
- collect incomes and expenses.
+ - Income and Expense account types are used to
+ record income and expenses.
+ For example, if you deposit a paycheck in your bank account, you
+should mark it as a transfer from an 'income' account type.
+Marking income in this way helps balance the books: the change in your
+net worth in the course of a few ekks, a few months, or a year, should
+exactly equal your income (minus expenses) for the same period.
+The value stored in the bank account contributes to your 'net worth';
+whereas the income contributes to your 'profits'.
+
+
- Equity
- - Equity accounts are used to balance the balance
- sheet, indicating the portion of the "corporate" value
- represents the net amount that the owners own.
+ - Equity accounts are used to
+store the opening balances when you first start using GnuCash
+(or start a new accounting period). Assuming that you've had a bank
+account far longer than you've been using GnuCash, and assuming you
+don't want to type in old transactions, you will want to type in a
+non-zero 'opening balance' into your bank account. This opening balance
+should be marked as a transfer from an account of type 'equity'.
+Alternately, if you close and reopen all your books at the end of every
+quarter/year, the 'equity' will be your net-worth at the begining of the
+period: it equal all assets minus all liabilities. As time passes by,
+you will have both income and expenses. At the end of the year, your net
+worth will be the equity at the begining of the year, plus all income
+minus all expense. This value will become, of course, the equity for
+the next accounting period.
-
- On a year-by-year basis, a computed value called
- Retained Earnings indicates the net value of the
- enterprise; it is generally considered a good thing when this
- value increases.
+
- Currency