gnucash/README

X-Accountant
------------

xacc is a program to keep track of your finances.  It is similar in
concept to Quicken(TM).  Although xacc still lacks the advanced
features of quicken, it does have the basic functionality.  Some
of the features of xacc are:

  - Multiple Accounts
  - Each account keeps a running balance and
    a reconciled balance, so you can keep track
    of the checks that have clear your account.
  - A simple interface.  If you can use the
    register in the back of your checkbook,
    you can use xacc.
  - QuickFill... if you begin typing a description
    in the description fields, and it matches an
    previous transaction, hitting <TAB> will copy
    the previous transaction.  Handy if you have
    similar transactions on a regular basis.
    (such as depositing your paycheck every week :)
  - Stock/Mutual Fund Portfolios.  Track stocks
    individually (one per account) or in portfolio
    of accounts (a group of accounts that can be 
    displayed together).  
  - Quicken File Import. Import Quicken Version 3.0 
    QIF files.

Advanced Features
-----------------
X-Accountant offers some features not usually found
in simpler accounting programs.
  - Sub-accounts: A master account can have a hierarchy
    of detail accounts underneath it.  This allows similar
    account types (e.g. Cash, Bank, Stock) to be grouped 
    into one master account (e.g. Assets).
  - Double Entry: 
    Every transaction can appear in two
    accounts; one account is debited and the other is 
    credited with exactly the same amount.  With 
    double-entry, a transaction edited in one window 
    will be automatically updated in all other windows 
    showing that transaction, and in both of the 
    accounts.
  - Income/Expense Account Types (Categories).   
    When used properly 
    with the double-entry feature, these can be used 
    to create both Balance Sheet and Profits &amp; Losses
    reports.  For example, savings account interest,
    stock dividends, or paychecks can be marked as 
    both a deposit in a bank account, and as income in 
    an Income account type, using the double-entry 
    (transfer) feature.  Similarly, credit card charges
    can be noted in the credit card account, as well 
    as in a corresponding expense account.
  - General Ledger: Multiple accounts can be displayed 
    in one register window at the same time.  This can
    ease the trouble of tracking down typing/entry errors.
    It also provides a convenient way of viewing a
    portfolio of many stocks, by showing all transactions
    in that portfolio.

Home Page:
----------
http://www3.hmc.edu/~rclark/xacc/


Running:
--------
The binary-only distribution includes two files: 'xacc' and
'xacc-static'. The former requires a Motif shared library;
the latter has Motif statically linked in.  If you have Motif,
then just run xacc.  If you do not have Motif, then copy 
'xacc-static' to 'xacc'.

Access to the on-line help documentation requires the that
the environment variable XACC_HELP be set to the 'Docs'
directory.  For example, for csh/tcsh, 

% setenv XACC_HELP /usr/local/share/xacc/Docs

or, for bash/bsh/ksh/sh

% set XACC_HELP=/usr/local/share/xacc/Docs
% export XACC_HELP

You can then start xacc at the command-line, with
"xacc" or "xacc <filename>", where <filename> is an
xacc account file.  Sample accounts can be found in 
"data" subdirectory.  *.dat files are xacc accounts that can 
opened with the "Open File" menu entry.  *.qif files are
Quicken Import Format files that can be opened with the 
"Import QIF" menu entry.


Building & Installing:
----------------------
These steps does not apply to binary distributions; only to
source distributions.

Normally, to build and install xacc, all you have to do is:

  # ./configure
  # make
  # make depend
  # make install

You can also build xacc in a seperate directory, which is
useful if you are compiling for several platforms from a
single copy of the source tree:

  # mkdir BUILD
  # mkdir BUILD/debug
  # cd BUILD/debug
  # ../../configure --enable-debug
  # make
  # make install

sorry, no "make install" yet.



Status:
-------
As of version 0.9t:

---------------
Bare-bones general ledger capabilities added.
Working Features:
-- accounts can have sub-accounts
-- Income and Expense account types added.
-- General Ledger windows for sub-accounts

---------------
Bare-bones Mutual Fund and Stock Portfolio handling
is implemented. 
Working Features:
-- transfers between bank account & fund work correctly
-- save to disk, restore from disk.
-- Type of transaction (Buy, Cap Gain, Dividend Reinvest, etc.) now 
   supported for portfolio/mutual fund accounts.  This field can be set 
   and cleared, but is not currently used anywhere.  It will become 
   useful when reports and graphs are generated.

---------------
An beta-level double-entry system has been created.
"Double-entry" is a form of accounting where all transactions
show up in two accounts (for example, a transfer from
a credit card(Diners Club) to a cash account(Entertainment Expense)
will show up in both accounts.  Modifying/deleting a transaction 
in one account window automatically modifies/deletes it in the 
other too.  

The system does not force the use of double-entry: in fact,
double entries are made ONLY when the "transfer" menu item is 
used.

A future extension to force the use of double-entry for an account
is planned, as well as the ability to make transfers directly
from the register(ledger) window.  However, this function will
be tricky, since it requires hacks on the Xbae widget used to
display the register.

-------------
The "reports" menu item is unimplemented.
-------------

That's all folks!