GnuCash

As the economy becomes more and more of a concern to society as a whole, more and more people are finding it necessary to keep their finances in order. With this need comes the search for the perfect tool to record financial transactions, which may be the primary reason why open source accounting software are steadily gaining popularity in the business world, and even among a number of individuals striving to keep abreast of their financial status at all times. One of the more popular open source accounting software currently in use is GnuCash.

GnuCash is primarily geared for use in personal or small-business financial accounting. Because of this focus on the individual user, it was designed to be user-friendly without sacrificing power and flexibility. The software allows you to track your bank accounts and stocks, as well as personal income and expenditures. The GnuCash system is based on professional accounting principles to ensure the maintenance of balanced books and the delivery of accurate reports.

GnuCash features a checkbook-style register, which provides a familiar and convenient user interface to enter financial transactions. This style supports common credit card and checking transactions and also works well with currency, stock and income transactions. Aside from this checkbook-style register, Gnucash also employs a double entry system, which means that each transaction must debit an account and credit another with an equal amount. This is to ensure that the difference between income and outflow is equal to the sum of assets and equity.

GnuCash has a complete set of standard reports, such as but not limited to Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet and Portfolio. It also comes with several customizable reports and an integrated graphing module. The system also allows the user to denominate different accounts in different currencies, and to keep track of stocks either individually or in a portfolio of accounts. Furthermore, GnuCash is the first open source software to support the HBCI protocol, which allows German software users to facilitate bank transfers and perform statement downloads.

Other features of the GnuCash accounting software include a transaction finder, a general ledger, check printing, a scheduled transactions system, and a mortgage and loan repayment druid. The scheduled transactions feature is especially useful for those who want to record recurring transactions or received automatic reminders every time a transaction is due. This also allows you to postpone any of your scheduled transactions without having to cancel or delete the entry. A new user's manual is also available to provide users with background information on basic accounting principles and to outline how GnuCash reflects these principles.

Of course, the effectiveness of software will always depend on how well it addresses the specific needs of the user. For the most part, software users have positive things to say about GnuCash. Based on a number of reviews, its strength lies in the simplicity and sensibility of the programs and features. Users appreciate its no-frills approach and user-friendliness. Perhaps its most powerful edge is that it is backed by an active development community and is slowly emerging as a full-fledged accounting system.