Additional Applications

4.7.1. GnuCash Accounting

GnuCash is an application that helps you track home or small business finances. Instead of tracking all your expenses on paper, you can use GnuCash to ensure that you don't lose any information at the end of the month.

All details of income and expenditure can be managed with this utility. Using GnuCash, a small business can track its customers as well as its vendors by entering their details. You can also create a monthly profit/loss report for your business.

GnuCash can store and manage the details of all your bank accounts in one place. GnuCash is based on dou-ble-entry bookkeeping (the sort that trained, professional accountants use) to ensure balanced accounts and ac-curate reports.

GnuCash is easy to use and can be tailored as per your needs.

Figure 4.100. The GnuCash Accounting Application

Key Features of the GnuCash Application.  Using GnuCash is like filling your personal finance information in a register but in a more organised way. The following features make GnuCash a very useful, powerful, yet flexible software programme:

• Easy-to-Use Interface: The interface of GnuCash is as simple to use as keeping records on a piece of paper. It also has a Quick-Fill feature, which means that as soon as you type a few characters, GnuCash scans its list and completes the entry automatically. If you use an entry on a regular basis, you don't need to type it every time.

• Double Entry System: Following the principles of double-entry accounting, in GnuCash each transaction has to be mentioned in two places -- debit in one account and credit in another. This means that the difference between income and expenses exactly equals the sum of all assets and equity. This will help you verify that you have entered the details of the income and expenses accurately, which, in turn, will also help you track all expenses.

• Reports: You can generate a vast range of reports using GnuCash. Home users can generate a Budget report, which will give them a clear view of the income and expenses for the month. You can also generate a Tax report for calculating tax based on tax-related income and expenses. A vast range of Business reports, such as Customer and Vendor reports, can also be generated. Another report that can be generated is the Assets and Liabilities report, which includes the balance sheet.

• Multi-Currency Transaction Handling: You need not worry about transactions in different currencies;

GnuCash automatically handles currency conversions. In addition, GnuCash provides menus and pop-up win-dows in different languages.

• The Reconcile Window: GnuCash provides the Reconcile window, which contains the balances of all your accounts. As a result, you don't have to check the balances in various registers. Using this window, you can easily validate bank statements.

• Split Transactions: The split transaction feature allows you to split a transaction into multiple amounts and categories. For example, you purchase a few things, which can be divided into different categories, from a store. Here, the main transaction is the amount spent on the purchase of these items, and the split transaction consists of the entries of all the items on the split transaction editor screen. You can re-check the main trans-action at any time by simply displaying the split transtrans-action entries.

• HBCI Support: GnuCash also supports the German Home Banking Computer Information (HBCI) protocol.

This feature is useful for German users who need not enter the details of their bank account manually. They can directly perform online bank account transfers, download bank statements and make direct debits.

• Scheduled Transactions: Users can schedule transactions in GnuCash as per their requirements, and they can also set a reminder for the transactions. This feature does not require you to remember which transaction needs to run at what time. The software will automatically keep track of the transaction and run the transaction at the scheduled time. You can also re-schedule the transactions, when required.

• Transaction Finder: The Transaction Finder dialogue box helps you locate even the smallest transaction.

You can enter the relevant fields in the Transaction Finder window, and GnuCash will find the transaction for you. For example, you want to identify all expenses above a certain amount this month. GnuCash will be able to identify these transactions. You need to mention the transaction as greater than and the amount in the amount field.

• New User Manual and Help: GnuCash provides a new Tutorial and Concepts guide to give an overview of the accounting principles to new users. This helps the users apply the principles effectively and gives them the exact procedure of each task.

Lesson Summary 157

4.8. Lesson Summary

In this lesson, you learned that:

• OpenOffice.org is the default office application suite provided with Ubuntu.

• The OpenOffice.org sofware suite contains five applications to help you handle your work effectively.

• Writer forms the word processor component of the OpenOffice.org office software suite and contains all the features that you expect from a modern, fully equipped word processor.

• Calc forms the spreadsheet component of the OpenOffice.org office software suite and offers a whole range of advanced functions to help accomplish complex tasks.

• Impress is a fully featured presentation tool included in the OpenOffice.org office software suite.

• Math is the equation writer component of OpenOffice.org office software suite.

• GnuCash is extremely useful application software for managing your home and/or small business finances.

4.9. Review Exercise

Question:  List the applications included in the OpenOffice.org office software suite.

Answer: 

Question:  The applications in OpenOffice.org save files in which format, by default?a) SWFb) PDFc) ODF Answer: 

Question:  Name the equation editor component of the OpenOffice.org software suite.

Answer: 

Question:  Which software feature help you create multiple personalised form letters?

Answer: 

Question:  Which software feature in available OpenOffice.org helps you navigate inside your document?

Answer: 

Question:  Name the feature in the Openoffice.org software suite that allows you to perform a complete document makeover?

Answer: 

Question:  Do you require any additional software to convert a OpenOffice.org document into a PDF file?

Answer: 

Question:  Name the software tool that guide you through the creation of a formula in OpenOffice.org Calc.

Answer: 

Question:  Math allows you to type your formula directly into the document if you are familiar with the_______________?

Answer: 

Question:  Name the feature available in OpenOffice.org Impress that allows you to create textwith stunning 3D effects?

Answer: 

Question:  Which feature of GnuCash helps you look for a transaction using a Query window?1. Split trans-action2. Scheduled transaction3. Transaction finder4. Reconcile window

Answer: 

Lab Exercise 159

4.10. Lab Exercise

Exercise 1: Performing BasicWord Processing Tasks Using Writer.  As an employee in an interior dec-orating company, you have been asked to prepare an chapter on interior decoration that would feature in the company's e-newlsetter. You have been quite upbeat about the assignment as it would showcase your abilities to the fore. However, you will have to prepare the chapter in the most aesthetically pleasing manner as possible.

You plan to include lots of text, equally supported by some graphics and tables all aligned to live up to the highly aesthetic sensibilities of the company employees.

To complete your assignment, you need to perform the following tasks:

• Create and format a text document

• Insert tables in the document

• insert images in the document

• Save the document