Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting • Hacker News Board

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#41

Post by _emacsomancer_ » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:21 AM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #22

hannibalhorn wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't speak to Transity, but I use HLedger for my entity (nothing fancy, just a single member LLC.) I can keep my ledger in git, I don't need to pay for or even learn to use QuickBooks, I can quickly write a script to import data from basically anywhere, and I can use all the standard tools in my toolbox (grep, diff, python) to visualize and work with the data. I'm sure mainstream accounting programs add value as t…

I used ledger to keep the books as treasurer for a small non-profit for a few years. It worked really well for me but the problem came with handing it off to the next person or thinking about involving an accountant to do the annual reports. Very few are going to be able to deal with a text file of journal entries. QuickBooks is the standard for all small business accounting, like it or not.

I've never actually used it (or Quickbooks), but does ledger have any way of exporting something that could imported by Quickbooks?

> Very few are going to be able to deal with a text file of journal entries. QuickBooks is the standard for all small business accounting, like it or not.

I always find this lowest-common-denominator as de facto standard depressing. It's how we end up with word processing documents as a standard for exchange and collaboration (and word processors are horrible environments to create in).

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#42

Post by smichael » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:26 AM UTC

Jtsummers wrote: post #37

So I like the idea of using YAML versus ledger's format (very slightly, I'm used to ledger's format so it's not a pain point, but YAML offers some ways to make things a bit easier especially for newer folks). However, I could see a fairly trivial mapping between YAML and Ledger being developed by quicker programmers than I in less than a weekend (there's already a way to spit out s-expressions from ledger). hledger m…

That's correct about hledger: a few reports make assumptions about the top level account names. Until the dev-droids make this customisable, account aliases can be a workaround.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#43

Post by staticautomatic » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:27 AM UTC

mikeyjk wrote: post #39

jeremymcanally wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's also non-sensical. A CLI "interface" needs a lot of thought and work behind it, too, unless you want to end up loathed by your users as something like git is.

I don't think it is fair to say that git users loathe it overall. I enjoy using git, is this not a common experience?

I think it would be fair to say that a lot of people have a love/hate relationship with git.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#44

Post by Jtsummers » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:28 AM UTC

_emacsomancer_ wrote: post #41

ams6110 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used ledger to keep the books as treasurer for a small non-profit for a few years. It worked really well for me but the problem came with handing it off to the next person or thinking about involving an accountant to do the annual reports. Very few are going to be able to deal with a text file of journal entries. QuickBooks is the standard for all small business accounting, like it or not.

I've never actually used it (or Quickbooks), but does ledger have any way of exporting something that could imported by Quickbooks? > Very few are going to be able to deal with a text file of journal entries. QuickBooks is the standard for all small business accounting, like it or not. I always find this lowest-common-denominator as de facto standard depressing. It's how we end up with word processing documents as a…

Ledger can output to CSV, so yes. But, not having QuickBooks, I couldn't tell you what it wants in the CSV and what needs to be altered from ledger's output.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#45

Post by p1necone » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:29 AM UTC

mikeyjk wrote: post #39

jeremymcanally wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's also non-sensical. A CLI "interface" needs a lot of thought and work behind it, too, unless you want to end up loathed by your users as something like git is.

I don't think it is fair to say that git users loathe it overall. I enjoy using git, is this not a common experience?

Nope, I enjoy using it too. It might have a learning curve but afaic for a tool I use every day in my full time job productivity == good ux.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#46

Post by Jtsummers » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:34 AM UTC

smichael wrote: post #42

Jtsummers wrote: post #37

So I like the idea of using YAML versus ledger's format (very slightly, I'm used to ledger's format so it's not a pain point, but YAML offers some ways to make things a bit easier especially for newer folks). However, I could see a fairly trivial mapping between YAML and Ledger being developed by quicker programmers than I in less than a weekend (there's already a way to spit out s-expressions from ledger). hledger m…

That's correct about hledger: a few reports make assumptions about the top level account names. Until the dev-droids make this customisable, account aliases can be a workaround.

Thanks for hledger. I haven't explored its capabilities fully, but I have it running on my laptop at all times (a window in my tmux config displays various reports on my accounts like current balance, uncleared balance, uncleared transactions, etc.). I find it helps me to be mindful of my money if it's only a couple keypresses away.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#47

Post by madhadron » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:42 AM UTC

mikeyjk wrote: post #39

jeremymcanally wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's also non-sensical. A CLI "interface" needs a lot of thought and work behind it, too, unless you want to end up loathed by your users as something like git is.

I don't think it is fair to say that git users loathe it overall. I enjoy using git, is this not a common experience?

I regard the command line as a last resort if I can't do something in SourceTree. After spending time with a quality source control client, any command line interface feels like wading through quicksand.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#48

Post by chris_wot » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:49 AM UTC

mikeyjk wrote: post #39

jeremymcanally wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's also non-sensical. A CLI "interface" needs a lot of thought and work behind it, too, unless you want to end up loathed by your users as something like git is.

I don't think it is fair to say that git users loathe it overall. I enjoy using git, is this not a common experience?

Yup, it's much easier in many ways to use the git CLI than it is to use a UI.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#49

Post by madhadron » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:50 AM UTC

There are several things wrong here:

1. The author doesn't understand bookkeeping. 2. The author doesn't somehow believes that emulated teletypes are a good substrate for building user interfaces. 3. The author has spent significant time writing a bookkeeping tool for his business instead of doing something that will move the business forward.

If you're thinking about writing an open source accounting program, spend time mastering GnuCash first. If you feel like you can't do what you need with that and cannot possibly extend it in the way that you need, then write your own.

Re: Show HN: Transity – Plain Text Accounting

#50

Post by chris_wot » Wed, Jun 06, 2018, 1:51 AM UTC

stevievee wrote: post #11

chad_oliver wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but that just means they're creating a product for a specific market -- one whose area of expertise isn't accounting or finance. This is something we should encourage, rather than nitpicking the wording.

I am not nitpicking at all. All of the things the author said are "mumbo jumbo" are fundamental to keeping proper books. Proper bookkeeping is also regulated so it is not just my opinion.

Agreed. If you haven't spent the time to understand what debits and credits are in a double-entry book keeping system, then you really shouldn't be trying to do accounting.