Several small fixes.

2004-04-08 23:14:53 +00:00 · 2004-04-08 23:14:53 +00:00 · 83b7a0ea9c
commit 83b7a0ea9c
parent 250248fd9e
5 changed files with 959 additions and 188 deletions
--- a/6
+++ b/6
@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ OBJS   = $(patsubst %.cc,%.o,$(CODE))
 CFLAGS = #-Wall -ansi -pedantic
 DFLAGS = -O3 -fomit-frame-pointer
 #DFLAGS = -g -DDEBUG=1
-INCS   = -I/usr/local/include
+INCS   = -I/sw/include
-LIBS   = -L/usr/local/lib -lgmpxx -lgmp -lpcre
+LIBS   = -L/sw/lib -lgmpxx -lgmp -lpcre
 ifdef GNUCASH
 CODE   := $(CODE)   gnucash.cc
@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ ledger.info: ledger.texi
 	g++ $(CFLAGS) $(INCS) $(DFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<
 clean:
-	rm -f ledger ledger.info *.o *~ .\#*
+	rm -f ledger ledger.info *.o *~ .\#* *.elc
 rebuild: clean deps all
--- a/658
+++ b/658
@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 #title Ledger: Command-Line Accounting
 <contents>
 * Building
 Welcome to ledger, a command-line accounting program that uses a
-text-based ledger file, yet provides full double-entry accouting, use
+text-based ledger file, yet provides full double-entry accounting, use
 of commodities, unlimited accounts, etc.
 Ledger is written in ANSI C++, and should compile on any platform.  It
@ -10,5 +16,651 @@ Also, this project was developed using GNU make and gcc 3.3.
 To build and install, once you have these libraries on your system,
 enter these commands:
-  make
+<example>
-  cp ledger /usr/local/bin
+make
 cp ledger /usr/local/bin
 </example>
 * Introduction
 Ledger is an accounting tool with the moxie to exist.  It provides not
 one bell or whistle for the money, and returns the user to the days
 before user interfaces were even a twinkle in their father's CRT.
 What it does do is provide a double-entry accounting ledger with all
 of the flexibility and muscle of its modern day cousins -- without any
 of the fat.  Think of it as the bran muffin of accounting tools.
 To begin with, you need to start keeping a ledger.  This is the basis
 of all accounting, and if you don't know how to do it, now is the time
 to learn.  The little booklet that comes with your checkbook is a
 ledger, so we'll describe double-entry accounting in terms of that.
 A checkbook ledger records debits (subtractions, or withdrawals) and
 credits (additions, or deposits) with reference to a single account:
 your checking account.  Where the money comes from, and where it goes
 to, are simply described in the memo field where you write the person
 or the company's name.  The ultimate aim of keeping a checkbook ledger
 is so you know how much money is available to spend at all times.
 That is really the aim of all ledgers.
 What computers add is the ability to walk through all of those
 transactions and tell you things about your spending habits; let you
 devise budgets to get control over your spending; squirrel away money
 into virtual savings account without having to physically move the
 money around; etc.  As you keep your checkbook ledger, you are
 recording a lot of information about your life and your habits, and
 sometimes that information can tell you things you aren't even aware
 of.  That is the aim of all good accounting tools.
 The next step up from a checkbook ledger is a ledger that covers all
 of your accounts, not just your checking account.  In this ledger, you
 write not only who the money goes to -- in the case of a debit -- but
 where the money is coming from.  In the checkbook ledger, its assumed
 that all of the money is coming from your checking account.  But in a
 general ledger, you have to write two-lines: The source and target.
 There must always be a debit from some account for any credit made to
 anyone else.  This is what is meant by "double-entry" accounting.
 For example, let's say you have a checking account and a brokerage
 account, and that you can write checks from both of them.  Rather than
 keeping two checkbooks, you decide to use one ledger for both.  Once
 you get the hang of this, you'll be ready to use one ledger for all of
 your accounting needs, which gets you to the point of this
 introduction.
 So in your general ledger, you need to pay Pacific Bell Telephone for
 your monthly phone bill.  The cost is $23.00.  In a checkbook ledger,
 you would write out a line that credits your account with Pacific Bell
 by $23 as follows:
 <example>
 9/29  100  Pacific Bell                $23.00     $77.00
 </example>
 Very simple: You've written check #100 for $23 to Pacific Bell, which
 leaves your balance in checking at $77.
 But in a general ledger, you need to say where the money is coming
 from.  A general ledger entry would look like this:
 <example>
 9/29  100  Pacific Bell                $23.00    $223.00
           Checking                   $-23.00     $77.00
 </example>
 What does all of this mean?  The first line shows a credit (or
 payment) to Pacific Bell to the tune of $23.00.  Then, because there
 is no one "balance" in a general ledger, we've written in the total
 balance of your payments to the account "Pacific Bell".  This was done
 by looking at the last entry for "Pacific Bell" in the general ledger,
 adding $23.00 to that amount, and writing in the total in the balance
 column.
 Secondly, the money is coming from your "Checking" account, which
 means a debit (or withdrawal) of $23.00, which will leave the ending
 balance in your "Checking" account at $77.00.
 The transaction itself must balance to $0: $23 goes to Pacific Bell,
 $23 comes from Checking: there is nothing left over to be accounted
 for.  The money has in fact moved from one account to another.  This
 is basis of double-entry accounting: That money never pops out of
 existence, it is always described as a transaction between accounts --
 as a flow from one place to another.
 Keeping a general ledger is the same as keeping two separate ledgers:
 One for Pacific Bell and one for Checking.  In that case, each time
 you write a credit into one, you write a corresponding debit into the
 other.  This makes it much easier to write in the running balance,
 since you don't have to go looking back for the last time an account
 was referenced, but it also means having a lot of ledger books if you
 deal with multiple accounts.
 Enter the beauty of a computerized accounting tool.  The purpose of
 Ledger is to make general ledger accounting simple by keeping track of
 the balances for you.  Your only job is to enter credit/debit pairs
 and make sure they balance.  If a transaction does not balance, Ledger
 will display an error and ignore the transaction.[1]
 Your usage of Ledger will have two parts: Keeping the ledger, and
 using the Ledger tool to provide you with information summaries
 derived from your ledger's entries.
 * Keeping a ledger
 The most important part of accounting is keeping a good ledger.  If
 you have a good ledger, tools can be written to work whatever
 mathematically tricks you need to better understand your spending
 patterns.  Without a good ledger, no tool, however smart, can help
 you.
 The Ledger program aims at making ledger entry as simple as possible.
 Since it is a command-line tool, it does not provide a user interface
 for keeping a ledger.  If you like, you may use Gnucash to maintain
 your ledger, in which case the Ledger program will read Gnucash's data
 files directly.  In that case, read the Gnucash manual now, and skip
 to the next chapter.
 If you are not using Gnucash, but a text editor to maintain your
 ledger, read on.  Ledger has been designed to make data entry as
 simple as possible, by keeping the ledger format easy, and also by
 automagically determining as much information as possible based on the
 nature of your entries.
 For example, you do not need to tell Ledger about the accounts you
 use.  Any time Ledger sees a debit or a credit to an account it knows
 nothing about, it will create it.  If you use a commodity that is new
 to Ledger, it will create that commodity, and determine its display
 characteristics (placement of the symbol before or after the amount,
 display precision, etc) based on how you used the commodity in the
 transaction.
 Here is the Pacific Bell example from above, given as a Ledger
 transaction:
 <example>
 9/29  (100)  Pacific Bell
    Expenses:Utilities:Telephone               $23.00
    Assets:Checking                           $-23.00
 </example>
 As you can see, it is very similar to what would be written on paper,
 minus the computed balance totals, and adding in account names that
 work better with Ledger's scheme of things.  In fact, since Ledger is
 smart about many things, you don't need to specify the balanced
 amount, if it is the same as the first line:
 <example>
 9/29  (100)  Pacific Bell
    Expenses:Utilities:Telephone               $23.00
    Assets:Checking
 </example>
 For this entry, Ledger will figure out that $-23.00 must come from
 "Assets:Checking" in order to balance the entry.
 ** Credits and Debits
 Credit and debit are simple enough terms in themselves, but the usages
 of the modern world have made them very hard to puzzle out.
 Basically, a credit means you add something to an account, and a debit
 means you take away.  A debit card is correctly name: From your point
 of view, it debits your checking account every time you use it.
 The credit card is strangely named, because you have to look at it
 from the merchant's point of view: Every time you use it, it credit's
 *his* account right away.  This was a giant leap from the days of cash
 and checks, when the only other way to supply immediate credit was by
 a wire transfer.  But a credit card does not credit you anything at
 all.  In fact, from your point of view, it should be called a
 liability card, since it increases your liability to the issuing bank
 every time you use it.
 In Ledger, credits and debits are given as they are, which means that
 sometimes you will see a minus sign where you don't expect one.  For
 example, when you get paid, in order to credit your bank account, you
 need to debit an income account:
 <example>
 9/29  My Employer
    Assets:Checking                           $500.00
    Income:Salary                            $-500.00
 </example>
 But wait, you say, why is the Income a negative figure?  And when you
 look at the balance totals for your ledger, you will certainly be
 surprised to see Expenses as a positive figure, and Income as a
 negative figure.  Isn't that the opposite of how it should look?
 It may take getting used to, but to properly use a general ledger you
 will need to think in terms of correct debits and credits.  Rather
 than Ledger "fixing" the minus signs, let's understand why they are
 there.
 When you earn money, the money has to come from somewhere.  Let's call
 that somewhere "society".  In order for society to give you an income,
 you must take money away from society (debit) in order to put it into
 your bank (credit).  When you then spend that money, it leaves your
 bank account (debit) and goes back to society (credit).  This is why
 Income will appear negative -- it reflects the money you have drawn
 from society -- and why Expenses will be positive -- it is the amount
 you've given back.  These credits and debits will always cancel each
 other out in the end, because you don't have the ability to create new
 money: It must always come from somewhere, and in the end must always
 leave.  This is the beginning of economy, after which the explanation
 gets terribly difficult.
 Based on that explanation, here's another way to look at your balance
 report: Every negative figure means that that account or person or
 place has less money now than when you started your ledger; and every
 positive figure means that that account or person or place has more
 money now that when you started your ledger.  Make sense?
 Also, credit cards will have a negative value, because you are
 spending *from* them (debit) in order pay someone else (credit).  They
 are called credit cards because you are able to instantly credit that
 other person, by simply waving a card.
 ** Commodities and Currencies
 Ledger makes no assumptions about the commodities you use; it only
 requires that you specify a commodity.  The commodity may be any
 non-numeric string that does not contain a period, comma, forward
 slash or at-sign.  It may appear before or after the amount, although
 it is assumed that symbols appearing before the amount refer to
 currencies, while non-joined symbols appearing after the amount refer
 to commodities.  Here are some valid currency and commodity
 specifiers:
 <example>
 $20.00         ; currency: twenty US dollars
 USD 20         ; currency: the same
 40 AAPL        ; commodity: 40 shares of Apple stock
 MD 60          ; currency: 60 Deutsch Mark
 £50            ; currency: 50 British pounds
 50e            ; currency: 50 Euros (use symbol)
 </example>
 Ledger will examine the first use of any commodity to determine how
 that commodity should be printed on reports.  It pays attention to
 whether the name of commodity was separated from the amount, whether
 it came before or after, the precision used in specifying the amount,
 whether thousand marks were used, etc.  This is done so that printing
 the commodity looks the same as the way you use it.
 An account may contain multiple commodities, in which case it will
 have separate totals for each.  For example, if your brokerage account
 contains both cash, gold, and several stock quantities, the balance
 might look like:
 <example>
  $200.00
 100.00 AU
  AAPL 40
 BORL 100
 FEQTX 50  Assets:Brokerage
 </example>
 This balance report shows how much of each commodity is in your
 brokerage account.
 Sometimes, you will want to know the current street value of your
 balance, and not the commodity totals.  For this to happen, you must
 specify what the current price is for each commodity.  The price can
 be in any commodity, in which case the balance will be computed in
 terms of that commodity.  The usual way to specify prices is with a
 file of price settings, which might look like this:
 <example>
 AU=$357.00
 AAPL=$37
 BORL=$19
 FEQTX=$32
 </example>
 Specify the prices file using the =-p= option:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger -p prices.db balance brokerage
 </example>
 Now the balance for your brokerage account will be given in US
 dollars, since the prices database has specified conversion factors
 from each commodity into dollars:
 <example>
 $40880.00  Assets:Brokerage
 </example>
 You can convert from any commodity to any other commodity.  Let's say
 you had $5000 in your checking account, and for whatever reason you
 wanted to know many ounces of gold that would buy.  If gold is
 currently $357 per ounce, then each dollar is worth 1/357 AU:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger -p "$=0.00280112 AU" balance checking
 </example>
 <example>
 14.01 AU  Assets:Checking
 </example>
 $5000 would buy 14 ounces of gold, which becomes the new display
 commodity since a conversion factor was provided.
 Commodities conversions can also be chained, up to a depth of 10.
 Here is a sample prices database that uses chaining:
 <example>
 AAPL=$15
 $=0.00280112 AU
 AU=300 Euro
 Euro=MD 0.75
 </example>
 This is a roundabout way of reporting AAPL shares in their Deutsch
 Mark equivalent.
 ** Accounts and Inventories
 Since Ledger's accounts and commodity system is so flexible, you can
 have accounts that don't really exist, and use commodities that no one
 else recognizes.  For example, let's say you are buying and selling
 various items in EverQuest, and want to keep track of them using a
 ledger.  Just add items of whatever quantity you wish into your
 EverQuest account:
 <example>
 9/29  Get some stuff at the Inn
    Places:Black's Tavern                   -3 Apples
    Places:Black's Tavern                   -5 Steaks
    EverQuest:Inventory
 </example>
 Now your EverQuest:Inventory has 3 apples and 5 steaks in it.  The
 amounts are negative, because you are taking *from* Black's Tavern in
 order to credit your Inventory account.  Note that you don't have to
 use "Places:Black's Tavern" as the source account.  You could use
 "EverQuest:System" to represent the fact that you acquired them
 online.  The only purpose for choosing one kind of source account over
 another is for generate more informative reports later on.  The more
 you know, the better analysis you can perform.
 If you later sell some of these items to another player, the entry
 would look like:
 <example>
 10/2  Strum Brightblade
    EverQuest:Inventory                     -2 Steaks
    EverQuest:Inventory                     15 Gold
 </example>
 Now you've turned 2 steaks into 15 gold, courtesy of your customer,
 Strum Brightblade.
 ** Understanding Equity
 The most confusing entry in any ledger will be your equity account --
 because starting balances can't come out of nowhere.
 When you first start your ledger, you will likely already have money
 in some of your accounts.  Let's say there's $100 in your checking
 account; then add an entry to your ledger to reflect this amount.
 Where will money come from?  The answer: your equity.
 <example>
 10/2  Opening Balance
    Assets:Checking                         $100.00
    Equity:Opening Balances                $-100.00
 </example>
 But what is equity?  You may have heard of equity when people talked
 about house mortgages, as "the part of the house that you own".
 Basically, equity is like the value of something.  If you own a car
 worth $5000, then you have $5000 in equity in that car.  In order to
 turn that car (a commodity) into a cash flow, or a credit to your bank
 account, you will have to debit the equity by selling it.
 When you start a ledger, you are probably already worth something.
 Your net worth is your current equity.  By transferring the money in
 the ledger from your equity to your bank accounts, you are crediting
 the ledger account based on your prior equity value.  That is why,
 when you look at the balance report, you will see a large negative
 number for Equity that never changes: Because that is what you were
 worth (what you debited from yourself in order to start the ledger)
 before the money started moving around.  If the total positive value
 of your assets is greater than the absolute value of your starting
 equity, it means you are making money.
 Clear as mud?  Keep thinking about it.  Until you figure it out, put
 "-- -Equity" at the end of your balance command, to remove the
 confusing figure from the totals.
 * Using the Ledger Tool
 Now that you have an orderly and well-organized general ledger, it's
 time to start generating some orderly and well-organized reports.
 This is where the Ledger tool comes in.  With it, you can balance your
 checkbook, see where your money is going, tell whether you've made a
 profit this year, and even compute the present day value of your
 retirement accounts.  And all with the simplest of interfaces: the
 command-line.
 The most often used command will be the "balance" command:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ export LEDGER=/home/johnw/doc/ledger.dat
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance
 </example>
 Here I've set my Ledger environment variable to point to where my
 ledger file is hiding.  Thereafter, I needn't specify it again.
 The balance command prints out the summarized balances of all my
 top-level accounts, excluding sub-accounts.  In order to see the
 balances for a specific account, just specify a regular expression
 after the balance command:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance expenses:food
 </example>
 This will show all the money that's been spent on food, since the
 beginning of the ledger.  For food spending just this month
 (September), use:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger -d sep balance expenses:food
 </example>
 Or maybe I want to see all of my assets, in which case the -s (show
 sub-accounts) option comes in handy:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance -s
 </example>
 To exclude a particular account, use a regular expression with a
 leading minus sign.  The following will show all expenses, but without
 food spending:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance expenses -food
 </example>
 If you want to show all accounts but for one account, remember to use
 "--" to separate the exclusion pattern from the options list:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance -- -equity
 </example>
 ** Virtual transactions
 A virtual transaction is when you, in your mind, see money as moving
 to a certain place, when in reality that money has not moved at all.
 There are several scenarios in which this type of tracking comes in
 handy, and each of them will be discussed in detail.
 To enter a virtual transaction, surround the account name in
 parentheses.  This form of usage does not need to balance.  However,
 if you want to ensure the virtual transaction balances with other
 virtual transactions in the same entry, use square brackets.  For
 example:
 <example>
 10/2  Paycheck
    Assets:Checking                        $1000.00
    Income:Salary                         $-1000.00
    (Debt:Alimony)                          $200.00
 </example>
 In this example, after receiving a paycheck an alimony debt is
 increased -- even though no money has moved around yet.
 <example>
 10/2  Paycheck
    Assets:Checking                        $1000.00
    Income:Salary                         $-1000.00
    [Savings:Trip]                          $200.00
    [Assets:Checking]                      $-200.00
 </example>
 In this example, $200 has been deducted from checking toward savings
 for a trip.  It will appear as though the money has been moved from
 the account into "Savings:Trip", although no money has actually moved
 anywhere.
 When balances are displayed, virtual transactions will be factored in.
 To view balances without any virtual balances factored in, using the
 "-R" flag, for "Reality".
 *** Saving for a Special Occasion
 *** Keeping a Budget
 *** Tracking Allocated Funds
 ** Automated transactions
 *** Computing Bahá'í Huqúqu'lláh
 As a Bahá'í, I need to compute Huqúqu'lláh on some of my assets.  The
 exact details of this matter are rather complex, so if you have any
 interest, I encourage you to do research on the Web.
 For any fellow Bahá'ís out there who want to track Huqúqu'lláh, the
 Ledger tool makes this extraordinarily easy.  Just too easy, in fact.
 Here's all you have to do: If an expense is exempt from Huqúqu'lláh --
 a "necessary" expense -- put an exclamation mark before the account
 name:
 <example>
 2002.12.31  Rent
   !Expenses:Rent                      $450.00
    Assets:Checking                   $-450.00
 </example>
 Even easier than that, simply put a list of regular expressions that
 match the categories you consider exempt in a file called =.huquq=,
 and the special marking will be done for you.  Here is the file I use:
 <example>
 ^Income:
 ^Retirement:
 ^Expenses:Rent
 ^Expenses:Taxes
 </example>
 When you're ready to pay Huqúqu'lláh, just write the check to the
 account "Huququ'llah" (no accents, one apostrophe):
 <example>
 2003.01.20 * (101)  Baha'i Huququ'llah Trust
    Huququ'llah                      $1,000.00
    Assets:Checking                 $-1,000.00
 </example>
 That's it.  To see how much Huqúq is currently owed based on your
 ledger data, type:
 <example>
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance ^huquq
 </example>
 * An easy way to add new entries
 The three most laborious tasks of keeping a ledger are: adding new
 entries, reconciling accounts, and generating reports.  To address the
 first of these, there is a sub-command to ledger called "entry".  It
 works on the principle that 80% of all transactions are variants of
 earlier transactions.  Here's how it works:
 Let's say you have an old transaction of the following form:
 <example>
 2004/03/15 * Viva Italiano
    Expenses:Food                       $12.45
    Expenses:Tips                        $2.55
    Liabilities:MasterCard             $-15.00
 </example>
 Now it's 2004/4/9, and you've just eating at Viva Italiano again.  The
 exact amounts are different, but the overall form is the same.  With
 the "entry" command you can type:
 <example>
 ledger entry 2004/4/9 viva food 11.00 tips 2.50
 </example>
 This will produce the following output:
 <example>
 2004/04/09 Viva Italiano
    Expenses:Food                       $11.00
    Expenses:Tips                        $2.50
    Liabilities:MasterCard             $-13.50
 </example>
 This works by finding a transaction that matches the regexp "viva",
 and then assuming that any accounts or amounts you specify will be the
 same as that earlier transaction.  If Ledger does not succeed in
 generating a new entry for you, it will print an error and set the
 exit code to 1.
 There is a shell script in the distribution called "entry", which
 simplifies the task of adding a new entry to your ledger, and then
 launches =vi= to let you confirm that the entry looks appropriate.
 * Using Emacs to Keep Your Ledger
 In the Ledger tarball is an Emacs module, =ledger.el=.  This module
 makes the process of keeping a text ledger much easier for Emacs
 users.  I recommend putting this at the top of your ledger file:
 <example>
 ; -*-ledger-*-
 </example>
 And this in your =.emacs= file, after copying =ledger.el= to your
 site-lisp directory:
 <example>
 (load "ledger")
 </example>
 Now when you edit your ledger file, it will be in =ledger-mode=.
 =ledger-mode= adds the following commands:
 C-c C-a ::
  For quickly adding new entries based on the form of older ones
  (see previous section).
 C-c C-c ::
  Toggles the "cleared" flag of the transaction under point.
 C-c C-r ::
  Reconciles an account by displaying the transactions in another
  buffer, where simply hitting the spacebar will toggle the cleared
  flag of the transaction in the ledger.  It also displays the current
  cleared balance for the account in the modeline.
 * Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger
 The Ledger tool is fast and simple, but it gives you no special
 method of actually editing the ledger.  It assumes you know how to use
 a text editor, and like doing so.  Perhaps an Emacs mode will appear
 someday soon to make editing Ledger's data files much easier.
 Until then, you are free to use GnuCash to maintain your ledger, and
 the Ledger program for querying and reporting on the contents
 of that ledger.  It takes a little longer to parse the XML data format
 that GnuCash uses, but the end result is identical.
 Then again, why would anyone use a Gnome-centric, 35 megabyte behemoth
 to edit their data, and a 65 kilobyte binary to query it...
 Footnotes:
 [1]  In some special cases, it will automatically balance the entry
     for you.
--- a/16
+++ b/16
@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 if [ -z "$LEDGER" -o ! -r $LEDGER ]; then
   echo Please set your LEDGER environment variable.
 fi
 line=`wc -l $LEDGER | awk '{print $1}'`
 if ledger entry "$@" > /tmp/entry; then
   cat /tmp/entry >> $LEDGER
 else
   echo "$@" >> $LEDGER
 fi
 rm /tmp/entry
 vi +$line $LEDGER
--- a/ledger.el
+++ b/ledger.el
@ -130,7 +130,8 @@
 	indent-tabs-mode nil)
  (let ((map (current-local-map)))
    (define-key map [(control ?c) (control ?a)] 'ledger-add-entry)
-    (define-key map [(control ?c) (control ?c)] 'ledger-toggle-current)))
+    (define-key map [(control ?c) (control ?c)] 'ledger-toggle-current)
    (define-key map [(control ?c) (control ?r)] 'ledger-reconcile)))
 (defun ledger-parse-entries (account &optional all-p after-date)
  (let (total entries)
--- a/ledger.texi
+++ b/ledger.texi
@ -1,57 +1,70 @@
 \input texinfo  @c -*-texinfo-*-
@comment $Id: ledger.texi,v 1.11 2003/10/10 19:12:31 johnw Exp $
@comment %**start of header
@setfilename ledger.info
@settitle Ledger: Command-Line Accounting
-@settitle Ledger Accouting Tool
+@documentencoding iso-8859-1
@syncodeindex pg cp
@comment %**end of header
-@dircategory Ledger Accouting Tool
+@iftex
-@direntry
+@finalout
-* ledger:    (ledger)The Ledger Accouting Tool.
+@end iftex
@end direntry
@titlepage
-@title Ledger Accouting Tool
+@title Ledger: Command-Line Accounting
-@author John Wiegley <@email{johnw@@newartisans.com}>
+@author John Wiegley
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@c @insertcopying
@end titlepage
-@contents
+@node Top, Building, (dir), (dir)
@top Overview
@c Page published by Emacs Muse begins here
@ifnottex
@node Top, Introduction, (dir), (dir)
@top Ledger Accouting Tool
@c @insertcopying
@end ifnottex
@menu
 * Building::			
 * Introduction::		
 * Keeping a ledger::		
 * Using the Ledger Tool::	
 * An easy way to add new entries::  
 * Using Emacs to Keep Your Ledger::  
 * Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger::  
@end menu
-@node Introduction, Keeping a ledger, Top, Top
+@node Building, Introduction, Top, Top
@chapter Building
 Welcome to ledger, a command-line accounting program that uses a
 text-based ledger file, yet provides full double-entry accounting, use
 of commodities, unlimited accounts, etc.
 Ledger is written in ANSI C++, and should compile on any platform.  It
 only depends on the GNU multiprecision integer library (gmp, or
 libgmp), and the Perl regular expression library (pcre, or libpcre).
 Also, this project was developed using GNU make and gcc 3.3.
 To build and install, once you have these libraries on your system,
 enter these commands:
@example
 make
 cp ledger /usr/local/bin
@end example
@node Introduction, Keeping a ledger, Building, Top
@chapter Introduction
-@code{ledger} is an accouting tool that has the chutzpah to exist.  It
+Ledger is an accounting tool with the moxie to exist.  It provides not
-provides not one bell or whistle for the money, and returns the user
+one bell or whistle for the money, and returns the user to the days
-to the days before user interfaces were even a twinkle in their
+before user interfaces were even a twinkle in their father's CRT.
 father's CRT.
-What it does do is provide a double-entry accouting ledger with all of
+What it does do is provide a double-entry accounting ledger with all
-the flexibility and muscle of its modern day cousins---without any of
+of the flexibility and muscle of its modern day cousins---without any
-the fat.  Think of it as the bran muffin of accouting tools.
+of the fat.  Think of it as the bran muffin of accounting tools.
 To begin with, you need to start keeping a ledger.  This is the basis
-of all accouting, and if you don't know how to do it, now is the time
+of all accounting, and if you don't know how to do it, now is the time
 to learn.  The little booklet that comes with your checkbook is a
-ledger, so we'll describe double-entry accouting in terms of that.
+ledger, so we'll describe double-entry accounting in terms of that.
 A checkbook ledger records debits (subtractions, or withdrawals) and
 credits (additions, or deposits) with reference to a single account:
@ -68,7 +81,7 @@ into virtual savings account without having to physically move the
 money around; etc.  As you keep your checkbook ledger, you are
 recording a lot of information about your life and your habits, and
 sometimes that information can tell you things you aren't even aware
-of.  That is the aim of all good accouting tools.
+of.  That is the aim of all good accounting tools.
 The next step up from a checkbook ledger is a ledger that covers all
 of your accounts, not just your checking account.  In this ledger, you
@ -77,13 +90,13 @@ where the money is coming from.  In the checkbook ledger, its assumed
 that all of the money is coming from your checking account.  But in a
 general ledger, you have to write two-lines: The source and target.
 There must always be a debit from some account for any credit made to
-anyone else.  This is what is meant by ``double-entry'' accouting.
+anyone else.  This is what is meant by ``double-entry'' accounting.
 For example, let's say you have a checking account and a brokerage
 account, and that you can write checks from both of them.  Rather than
 keeping two checkbooks, you decide to use one ledger for both.  Once
 you get the hang of this, you'll be ready to use one ledger for all of
-your accouting needs, which gets you to the point of this
+your accounting needs, which gets you to the point of this
 introduction.
 So in your general ledger, you need to pay Pacific Bell Telephone for
@ -109,10 +122,10 @@ from.  A general ledger entry would look like this:
 What does all of this mean?  The first line shows a credit (or
 payment) to Pacific Bell to the tune of $23.00.  Then, because there
 is no one ``balance'' in a general ledger, we've written in the total
-balance of your payments to the account ``Pacific Bell''.  This was
+balance of your payments to the account ``Pacific Bell''.  This was done
-done by looking at the last entry for ``Pacific Bell'' in the general
+by looking at the last entry for ``Pacific Bell'' in the general ledger,
-ledger, adding $23.00 to that amount, and writing in the total in the
+adding $23.00 to that amount, and writing in the total in the balance
-balance column.
+column.
 Secondly, the money is coming from your ``Checking'' account, which
 means a debit (or withdrawal) of $23.00, which will leave the ending
@ -122,8 +135,8 @@ The transaction itself must balance to $0: $23 goes to Pacific Bell,
 $23 comes from Checking: there is nothing left over to be accounted
 for.  The money has in fact moved from one account to another.  This
 is basis of double-entry accounting: That money never pops out of
-existence, it is always described as a transaction between
+existence, it is always described as a transaction between accounts---
-accounts---as a flow from one place to another.
+as a flow from one place to another.
 Keeping a general ledger is the same as keeping two separate ledgers:
 One for Pacific Bell and one for Checking.  In that case, each time
@ -133,19 +146,18 @@ since you don't have to go looking back for the last time an account
 was referenced, but it also means having a lot of ledger books if you
 deal with multiple accounts.
-Enter the beauty of a computerized accouting tool.  The purpose of
+Enter the beauty of a computerized accounting tool.  The purpose of
-@code{ledger} is to make general ledger accouting simple by keeping
+Ledger is to make general ledger accounting simple by keeping track of
-track of the balances for you.  Your only job is to enter credit/debit
+the balances for you.  Your only job is to enter credit/debit pairs
-pairs and make sure they balance.  If a transaction does not balance,
+and make sure they balance.  If a transaction does not balance, Ledger
-@code{ledger} will display an error and ignore the
+will display an error and ignore the transaction.@footnote{In some special cases, it will automatically balance the entry
-transaction.@footnote{In some special cases, it will automatically
+for you.}
 balance the entry for you.}
-Your usage of @code{ledger} will have two parts: Keeping the ledger,
+Your usage of Ledger will have two parts: Keeping the ledger, and
-and using the @code{ledger} tool to provide you with information
+using the Ledger tool to provide you with information summaries
-summaries derived from your ledger's entries.
+derived from your ledger's entries.
-@node Keeping a ledger, Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger, Introduction, Top
+@node Keeping a ledger, Using the Ledger Tool, Introduction, Top
@chapter Keeping a ledger
 The most important part of accounting is keeping a good ledger.  If
@ -154,29 +166,28 @@ mathematically tricks you need to better understand your spending
 patterns.  Without a good ledger, no tool, however smart, can help
 you.
-The @code{ledger} program aims at making ledger entry as simple as
+The Ledger program aims at making ledger entry as simple as possible.
-possible.  Since it is a command-line tool, it does not provide a user
+Since it is a command-line tool, it does not provide a user interface
-interface for keeping a ledger.  If you like, you may use
+for keeping a ledger.  If you like, you may use Gnucash to maintain
-@code{gnucash} to maintain your ledger, in which case the
+your ledger, in which case the Ledger program will read Gnucash's data
-@code{ledger} program will read @code{gnucash}'s data files directly.
+files directly.  In that case, read the Gnucash manual now, and skip
-In that case, read the @code{gnucash} manual now, and skip to the next
+to the next chapter.
 chapter.
-If you are not using @code{gnucash}, but a text editor to maintain
+If you are not using Gnucash, but a text editor to maintain your
-your ledger, read on.  @code{ledger} has been designed to make data
+ledger, read on.  Ledger has been designed to make data entry as
-entry as simple as possible, by keeping the ledger format easy, and
+simple as possible, by keeping the ledger format easy, and also by
-also by automagically determining as much information as possible
+automagically determining as much information as possible based on the
-based on the nature of your entries.
+nature of your entries.
-For example, you do not need to tell @code{ledger} about the accounts
+For example, you do not need to tell Ledger about the accounts you
-you use.  Any time @code{ledger} sees a debit or a credit to an
+use.  Any time Ledger sees a debit or a credit to an account it knows
-account it knows nothing about, it will create it.  If you use a
+nothing about, it will create it.  If you use a commodity that is new
-commodity that is new to @code{ledger}, it will create that commodity,
+to Ledger, it will create that commodity, and determine its display
-and determine its display characteristics (placement of the symbol
+characteristics (placement of the symbol before or after the amount,
-before or after the amount, display precision, etc) based on how you
+display precision, etc) based on how you used the commodity in the
-used the commodity in the transaction.
+transaction.
-Here is the Pacific Bell example from above, given as a @code{ledger}
+Here is the Pacific Bell example from above, given as a Ledger
 transaction:
@example
@ -187,9 +198,9 @@ transaction:
 As you can see, it is very similar to what would be written on paper,
 minus the computed balance totals, and adding in account names that
-work better with @code{ledger}'s scheme of things.  In fact, since
+work better with Ledger's scheme of things.  In fact, since Ledger is
-@code{ledger} is smart about many things, you don't need to specify
+smart about many things, you don't need to specify the balanced
-the balanced amount, if it is the same as the first line:
+amount, if it is the same as the first line:
@example
 9/29  (100)  Pacific Bell
@ -197,15 +208,14 @@ the balanced amount, if it is the same as the first line:
    Assets:Checking
@end example
-For this entry, @code{ledger} will figure out that $-23.00 must come
+For this entry, Ledger will figure out that $-23.00 must come from
-from ``Assets:Checking'' in order to balance the entry.
+``Assets:Checking'' in order to balance the entry.
@menu
 * Credits and Debits::		
 * Commodities and Currencies::	
 * Accounts and Inventories::	
 * Understanding Equity::	
 * Automated transactions::      
@end menu
@node Credits and Debits, Commodities and Currencies, Keeping a ledger, Keeping a ledger
@ -220,17 +230,17 @@ of view, it debits your checking account every time you use it.
 The credit card is strangely named, because you have to look at it
 from the merchant's point of view: Every time you use it, it credit's
-@emph{his} account right away.  This was a giant leap from the days of
+@emph{his} account right away.  This was a giant leap from the days of cash
-cash and checks, when the only other way to supply immediate credit
+and checks, when the only other way to supply immediate credit was by
-was by a wire transfer.  But a credit card does not credit you
+a wire transfer.  But a credit card does not credit you anything at
-anything at all.  In fact, from your point of view, it should be
+all.  In fact, from your point of view, it should be called a
-called a liability card, since it increases your liability to the
+liability card, since it increases your liability to the issuing bank
-issuing bank every time you use it.
+every time you use it.
-In @code{ledger}, credits and debits are given as they are, which
+In Ledger, credits and debits are given as they are, which means that
-means that sometimes you will see a minus sign where you don't expect
+sometimes you will see a minus sign where you don't expect one.  For
-one.  For example, when you get paid, in order to credit your bank
+example, when you get paid, in order to credit your bank account, you
-account, you need to debit an income account:
+need to debit an income account:
@example
 9/29  My Employer
@ -245,15 +255,15 @@ negative figure.  Isn't that the opposite of how it should look?
 It may take getting used to, but to properly use a general ledger you
 will need to think in terms of correct debits and credits.  Rather
-than @code{ledger} ``fixing'' the minus signs, let's understand why
+than Ledger ``fixing'' the minus signs, let's understand why they are
-they are there.
+there.
 When you earn money, the money has to come from somewhere.  Let's call
-that somewhere ``society''.  In order for society to give you an
+that somewhere ``society''.  In order for society to give you an income,
-income, you must take money away from society (debit) in order to put
+you must take money away from society (debit) in order to put it into
-it into your bank (credit).  When you then spend that money, it leaves
+your bank (credit).  When you then spend that money, it leaves your
-your bank account (debit) and goes back to society (credit).  This is
+bank account (debit) and goes back to society (credit).  This is why
-why Income will appear negative---it reflects the money you have drawn
+Income will appear negative---it reflects the money you have drawn
 from society---and why Expenses will be positive---it is the amount
 you've given back.  These credits and debits will always cancel each
 other out in the end, because you don't have the ability to create new
@ -267,41 +277,41 @@ place has less money now than when you started your ledger; and every
 positive figure means that that account or person or place has more
 money now that when you started your ledger.  Make sense?
-Alos, credit cards will have a negative value, because you are
+Also, credit cards will have a negative value, because you are
-spending @emph{from} them (debit) in order pay someone else (credit).
+spending @emph{from} them (debit) in order pay someone else (credit).  They
-They are called credit cards because you are able to instantly credit
+are called credit cards because you are able to instantly credit that
-that other person, by simply waving a card.
+other person, by simply waving a card.
@node Commodities and Currencies, Accounts and Inventories, Credits and Debits, Keeping a ledger
@section Commodities and Currencies
-@code{ledger} makes no assumptions about the commodities you use; it
+Ledger makes no assumptions about the commodities you use; it only
-only requires that you specify a commodity.  The commodity may be any
+requires that you specify a commodity.  The commodity may be any
 non-numeric string that does not contain a period, comma, forward
-slash or at sign (@@).  It may appear before or after the amount,
+slash or at-sign.  It may appear before or after the amount, although
-although it is assumed that symbols appearing before the amount refer
+it is assumed that symbols appearing before the amount refer to
-to currencies, while non-joined symbols apearing after the amount
+currencies, while non-joined symbols appearing after the amount refer
-refer to commodities.  Here are some valid currency and commodity
+to commodities.  Here are some valid currency and commodity
 specifiers:
@example
 $20.00         ; currency: twenty US dollars
 USD 20         ; currency: the same
-40 AAPL        ; commodity: 40 shares of Apple Computer stock
+40 AAPL        ; commodity: 40 shares of Apple stock
-DM 60          ; currency: 60 Deutsch Mark
+MD 60          ; currency: 60 Deutsch Mark
 £50            ; currency: 50 British pounds
-50e            ; currency: 50 Euros (use appropriate symbol)
+50e            ; currency: 50 Euros (use symbol)
@end example
-@code{ledger} will examine the first use of any commodity to determine
+Ledger will examine the first use of any commodity to determine how
-how that commodity should be printed on reports.  It pays attention to
+that commodity should be printed on reports.  It pays attention to
 whether the name of commodity was separated from the amount, whether
 it came before or after, the precision used in specifying the amount,
 whether thousand marks were used, etc.  This is done so that printing
 the commodity looks the same as the way you use it.
 An account may contain multiple commodities, in which case it will
-have separate totals for each.  For example, if your brokage account
+have separate totals for each.  For example, if your brokerage account
 contains both cash, gold, and several stock quantities, the balance
 might look like:
@ -333,7 +343,7 @@ FEQTX=$32
 Specify the prices file using the @samp{-p} option:
@example
-/home/johnw $ ledger -f ledger.dat -p prices.db balance brokerage
+/home/johnw $ ledger -p prices.db balance brokerage
@end example
 Now the balance for your brokerage account will be given in US
@ -350,7 +360,7 @@ wanted to know many ounces of gold that would buy.  If gold is
 currently $357 per ounce, then each dollar is worth 1/357 AU:
@example
-/home/johnw $ ledger -f ledger.dat -p "\$=0.00280112 AU" balance checking
+/home/johnw $ ledger -p "$=0.00280112 AU" balance checking
@end example
@example
@ -367,7 +377,7 @@ Here is a sample prices database that uses chaining:
 AAPL=$15
 $=0.00280112 AU
 AU=300 Euro
-Euro=DM 0.75
+Euro=MD 0.75
@end example
 This is a roundabout way of reporting AAPL shares in their Deutsch
@ -376,12 +386,12 @@ Mark equivalent.
@node Accounts and Inventories, Understanding Equity, Commodities and Currencies, Keeping a ledger
@section Accounts and Inventories
-Since @code{ledger}'s accounts and commodity system is so flexible,
+Since Ledger's accounts and commodity system is so flexible, you can
-you can have accounts that don't really exist, and use commodities
+have accounts that don't really exist, and use commodities that no one
-that no one else recognizes.  For example, let's say you are buying
+else recognizes.  For example, let's say you are buying and selling
-and selling various items in EverQuest, and want to keep track of them
+various items in EverQuest, and want to keep track of them using a
-using a ledger.  Just add items of whatever quantity you wish into
+ledger.  Just add items of whatever quantity you wish into your
-your EverQuest account:
+EverQuest account:
@example
 9/29  Get some stuff at the Inn
@ -391,31 +401,31 @@ your EverQuest account:
@end example
 Now your EverQuest:Inventory has 3 apples and 5 steaks in it.  The
-amounts are negative, because you are taking @emph{from} Black's
+amounts are negative, because you are taking @emph{from} Black's Tavern in
-Tavern in order to credit your Inventory account.  Note that you don't
+order to credit your Inventory account.  Note that you don't have to
-have to use ``Places:Black's Tavern'' as the source account.  You
+use ``Places:Black's Tavern'' as the source account.  You could use
-could use ``EverQuest:System'' to represent the fact that you acquired
+``EverQuest:System'' to represent the fact that you acquired them
-them online.  The only purpose for choosing one kind of source account
+online.  The only purpose for choosing one kind of source account over
-over another is for generate more informative reports later on.  The
+another is for generate more informative reports later on.  The more
-more you know, the better analysis you can perform.
+you know, the better analysis you can perform.
 If you later sell some of these items to another player, the entry
 would look like:
@example
-10/2  Sturm Brightblade
+10/2  Strum Brightblade
    EverQuest:Inventory                     -2 Steaks
    EverQuest:Inventory                     15 Gold
@end example
 Now you've turned 2 steaks into 15 gold, courtesy of your customer,
-Sturm Brightblade.
+Strum Brightblade.
-@node Understanding Equity, Automated transactions, Accounts and Inventories, Keeping a ledger
+@node Understanding Equity,  , Accounts and Inventories, Keeping a ledger
@section Understanding Equity
-The most confusing entry in any ledger will be your equity
+The most confusing entry in any ledger will be your equity account---
-account---because starting balances can't come out of nowhere.
+because starting balances can't come out of nowhere.
 When you first start your ledger, you will likely already have money
 in some of your accounts.  Let's say there's $100 in your checking
@ -450,25 +460,26 @@ Clear as mud?  Keep thinking about it.  Until you figure it out, put
 ``-- -Equity'' at the end of your balance command, to remove the
 confusing figure from the totals.
-@chapter Using the @code{ledger} Tool
+@node Using the Ledger Tool, An easy way to add new entries, Keeping a ledger, Top
@chapter Using the Ledger Tool
 Now that you have an orderly and well-organized general ledger, it's
 time to start generating some orderly and well-organized reports.
-This is where the @code{ledger} tool comes in.  With it, you can
+This is where the Ledger tool comes in.  With it, you can balance your
-balance your checkbook, see where your money is going, tell whether
+checkbook, see where your money is going, tell whether you've made a
-you've made a profit this year, and even compute the present day value
+profit this year, and even compute the present day value of your
-of your retirement accounts.  And all with the simplest of interfaces:
+retirement accounts.  And all with the simplest of interfaces: the
-the command-line.
+command-line.
-The most often used command will be the @code{balance} command:
+The most often used command will be the ``balance'' command:
@example
-/home/johnw $ export LEDGER=/home/johnw/doc/finance/ledger.dat
+/home/johnw $ export LEDGER=/home/johnw/doc/ledger.dat
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance
@end example
-Here I've set my @code{LEDGER} environment variable to point to where
+Here I've set my Ledger environment variable to point to where my
-my ledger file is hiding.  Thereafter, I needn't specify it again.
+ledger file is hiding.  Thereafter, I needn't specify it again.
 The balance command prints out the summarized balances of all my
 top-level accounts, excluding sub-accounts.  In order to see the
@ -503,23 +514,30 @@ food spending:
@end example
 If you want to show all accounts but for one account, remember to use
-@samp{--} to separate the exclusion pattern from the options list:
+``--'' to separate the exclusion pattern from the options list:
@example
 /home/johnw $ ledger balance -- -equity
@end example
@menu
 * Virtual transactions::	
 * Automated transactions::	
@end menu
@node Virtual transactions, Automated transactions, Using the Ledger Tool, Using the Ledger Tool
@section Virtual transactions
-A virtual transaction is when you, in your mind, see money as moving to
+A virtual transaction is when you, in your mind, see money as moving
-a certain place, when in reality that money has not moved at all.  There
+to a certain place, when in reality that money has not moved at all.
-are several scenarios in which this type of tracking comes in handy, and
+There are several scenarios in which this type of tracking comes in
-each of them will be discussed in detail.
+handy, and each of them will be discussed in detail.
 To enter a virtual transaction, surround the account name in
-parentheses.  This form of usage does not need to balance.  However, if
+parentheses.  This form of usage does not need to balance.  However,
-you want to ensure the virtual transaction balances with other virtual
+if you want to ensure the virtual transaction balances with other
-transactions in the same entry, use square brackets.  For example:
+virtual transactions in the same entry, use square brackets.  For
 example:
@example
 10/2  Paycheck
@ -539,14 +557,14 @@ increased---even though no money has moved around yet.
    [Assets:Checking]                      $-200.00
@end example
-In this example, $200 has been deducted from checking toward savings for
+In this example, $200 has been deducted from checking toward savings
-a trip.  It will appear as though the money has been moved from the
+for a trip.  It will appear as though the money has been moved from
-account into ``Savings:Trip'', although no money has actually moved
+the account into ``Savings:Trip'', although no money has actually moved
 anywhere.
 When balances are displayed, virtual transactions will be factored in.
 To view balances without any virtual balances factored in, using the
-@samp{-R} flag, for ``Reality''.
+``-R'' flag, for ``Reality''.
@menu
 * Saving for a Special Occasion::  
@ -554,16 +572,16 @@ To view balances without any virtual balances factored in, using the
 * Tracking Allocated Funds::	
@end menu
-@node Saving for a Special Occasion, Keeping a Budget, Understanding Equity, Understanding Equity
+@node Saving for a Special Occasion, Keeping a Budget, Virtual transactions, Virtual transactions
@subsection Saving for a Special Occasion
-@node Keeping a Budget, Tracking Allocated Funds, Saving for a Special Occasion, Understanding Equity
+@node Keeping a Budget, Tracking Allocated Funds, Saving for a Special Occasion, Virtual transactions
@subsection Keeping a Budget
-@node Tracking Allocated Funds,  , Keeping a Budget, Understanding Equity
+@node Tracking Allocated Funds,  , Keeping a Budget, Virtual transactions
@subsection Tracking Allocated Funds
-@node Automated transactions,  , Understanding Equity, Keeping a ledger
+@node Automated transactions,  , Virtual transactions, Using the Ledger Tool
@section Automated transactions
@menu
@ -578,10 +596,10 @@ exact details of this matter are rather complex, so if you have any
 interest, I encourage you to do research on the Web.
 For any fellow Bahá'ís out there who want to track Huqúqu'lláh, the
-@code{ledger} tool makes this extraordinarily easy.  Just too easy, in
+Ledger tool makes this extraordinarily easy.  Just too easy, in fact.
-fact.  Here's all you have to do: If an expense is exempt from
+Here's all you have to do: If an expense is exempt from Huqúqu'lláh---
-Huqúqu'lláh---a ``necessary'' expense---put an exclamation mark befroe
+a ``necessary'' expense---put an exclamation mark before the account
-the account name:
+name:
@example
 2002.12.31  Rent
@ -590,9 +608,8 @@ the account name:
@end example
 Even easier than that, simply put a list of regular expressions that
-match the categories you consider exempt in a file called
+match the categories you consider exempt in a file called @samp{.huquq},
-@file{.huquq}, and the special marking will be done for you.  Here is
+and the special marking will be done for you.  Here is the file I use:
 the file I use:
@example
 ^Income:
@ -614,23 +631,108 @@ That's it.  To see how much Huq
 ledger data, type:
@example
-/home/johnw $ ledger -f ledger.dat balance ^huquq
+/home/johnw $ ledger balance ^huquq
@end example
-@node Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger,  , Keeping a ledger, Top
+@node An easy way to add new entries, Using Emacs to Keep Your Ledger, Using the Ledger Tool, Top
@chapter An easy way to add new entries
 The three most laborious tasks of keeping a ledger are: adding new
 entries, reconciling accounts, and generating reports.  To address the
 first of these, there is a sub-command to ledger called ``entry''.  It
 works on the principle that 80% of all transactions are variants of
 earlier transactions.  Here's how it works:
 Let's say you have an old transaction of the following form:
@example
 2004/03/15 * Viva Italiano
    Expenses:Food                       $12.45
    Expenses:Tips                        $2.55
    Liabilities:MasterCard             $-15.00
@end example
 Now it's 2004/4/9, and you've just eating at Viva Italiano again.  The
 exact amounts are different, but the overall form is the same.  With
 the ``entry'' command you can type:
@example
 ledger entry 2004/4/9 viva food 11.00 tips 2.50
@end example
 This will produce the following output:
@example
 2004/04/09 Viva Italiano
    Expenses:Food                       $11.00
    Expenses:Tips                        $2.50
    Liabilities:MasterCard             $-13.50
@end example
 This works by finding a transaction that matches the regexp ``viva'',
 and then assuming that any accounts or amounts you specify will be the
 same as that earlier transaction.  If Ledger does not succeed in
 generating a new entry for you, it will print an error and set the
 exit code to 1.
 There is a shell script in the distribution called ``entry'', which
 simplifies the task of adding a new entry to your ledger, and then
 launches @samp{vi} to let you confirm that the entry looks appropriate.
@node Using Emacs to Keep Your Ledger, Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger, An easy way to add new entries, Top
@chapter Using Emacs to Keep Your Ledger
 In the Ledger tarball is an Emacs module, @samp{ledger.el}.  This module
 makes the process of keeping a text ledger much easier for Emacs
 users.  I recommend putting this at the top of your ledger file:
@example
 ; -*-ledger-*-
@end example
 And this in your @samp{.emacs} file, after copying @samp{ledger.el} to your
 site-lisp directory:
@example
 (load "ledger")
@end example
 Now when you edit your ledger file, it will be in @samp{ledger-mode}.
@samp{ledger-mode} adds the following commands:
@table @strong
@item C-c C-a
 For quickly adding new entries based on the form of older ones
 (see previous section).
@item C-c C-c
 Toggles the ``cleared'' flag of the transaction under point.
@item C-c C-r
 Reconciles an account by displaying the transactions in another
 buffer, where simply hitting the spacebar will toggle the cleared
 flag of the transaction in the ledger.  It also displays the current
 cleared balance for the account in the modeline.
@end table
@node Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger,  , Using Emacs to Keep Your Ledger, Top
@chapter Using GnuCash to Keep Your Ledger
-The @code{ledger} tool is fast and simple, but it gives you no special
+The Ledger tool is fast and simple, but it gives you no special
 method of actually editing the ledger.  It assumes you know how to use
 a text editor, and like doing so.  Perhaps an Emacs mode will appear
-someday soon to make editing @code{ledger}'s data files much easier.
+someday soon to make editing Ledger's data files much easier.
 Until then, you are free to use GnuCash to maintain your ledger, and
-the @code{ledger} program for querying and reporting on the contents
+the Ledger program for querying and reporting on the contents
 of that ledger.  It takes a little longer to parse the XML data format
 that GnuCash uses, but the end result is identical.
 Then again, why would anyone use a Gnome-centric, 35 megabyte behemoth
-to edit their data, and a 65 kilobyte executable to query it@dots{}
+to edit their data, and a 65 kilobyte binary to query it...
@c Page published by Emacs Muse ends here
@contents
@bye