It might seem very 80s to use a text editor for ledger entries - especially since there is a short learning curve involved. However, I find that a big strength. The flexibility of this system is unlimited though you will need to keep past versions of the files you edit if you are using it for an official bookkeeping system.
The biggest problem with more sophisticated bookkeeping systems is that they impose complex and artificial rules on what you may do and it takes longer to learn them. For example, with MYOB, you can't spend money on a customer. You have to receive a negative amount from them. And as for payroll, .... ARRRGH! Xero doesn't have provision for general journal entries so you need a fudge to do so. No doubt, you can create a GUI entry system that doesn't impose these artificialities but that is low on my list of priorities. On Sunday, May 12, 2019 at 6:26:08 PM UTC+8, Alen Šiljak wrote: > > After a fairly short time of using Ledger, it is obvious that it is a very > powerful system for producing any sort of view of our financial status. It > is also fairly obvious that the main point in plain-text accounting is the > side that Ledger does not cover - data entry. > This is, yet, the crucial part that user needs to do. And, for fairly > simple financial flows, it helps develop some self-discipline with the user. > However, for anything that's a bit more complex or at challenging in terms > of number of transactions, a tool to help out would come in handy. > I've seen multiple attempts to solve this and they cover different > scenarios more or less well. None of them seems to work (too) well for me > so I'm coming out with the following idea. > The data-entry application needs to satisfy the following functional > requirements: > > - convenient data-entry screen for transactions > - work both on desktop and mobile devices. These are two different > scenarios - I enter bank statements on desktop but, when away from a PC, I > use the phone. > - load quickly and help me enter the transactions within a couple of > seconds. Similar to MMEx for Android is currently doing. > - show me current balances > - export entered transactions as a text file for inclusion in the main book > > Non-functional requirements would be: > - run on multiple platforms > - require minimal effort in maintenance > - require minimum infrastructure > > The solution, in my view, is to create a Progressive Web Application. > Utilize modular approach and convenience of Vue.js. It runs in a web > browser. Can be used offline. Can auto-update. Stores the data on a local > device. > > I am posting here to get some feedback and ideas from you, Ledger users > (and also mostly software developers :). Do you find this useful? I also > want to share the idea in case others would like to participate. > > For this purpose, I've (just) started the project at > https://gitlab.com/alensiljak/cashier > The end-result can be seen at https://cashier.alensiljak.ml/. > Note that it is in a *very early* stage (read as of this week) and is > still mostly use to prototype concepts and provide blueprints. > > My todo list is offline as it is still in the brainstorming/prototype > stage but at some point I would dump it into a file or just use the issue > tracker for it. > > Hope some find this useful. > -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ledger" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ledger-cli/7837a890-6d73-4c09-aedc-17d07664f9f1%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
