Top Related Projects
Gnucash for Android mobile companion application.
Double-entry accounting system with a command-line reporting interface
Beancount: Double-Entry Accounting from Text Files.
Firefly III: a personal finances manager
Quick Overview
GnuCash is a free, open-source personal and small business finance management software. It provides a user-friendly interface for tracking bank accounts, stocks, income, and expenses, offering double-entry bookkeeping and extensive reporting capabilities.
Pros
- Cross-platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux)
- Supports multiple currencies and investments
- Offers a wide range of financial reports and graphs
- Provides a mobile app for on-the-go expense tracking
Cons
- Steep learning curve for users new to double-entry bookkeeping
- User interface can feel outdated compared to modern finance apps
- Limited online banking integration options
- Performance can slow down with large datasets
Getting Started
To get started with GnuCash:
- Download the installer from the official website: https://www.gnucash.org/download.phtml
- Install GnuCash on your system
- Launch the application
- Create a new file or import data from your previous finance software
- Set up your accounts (e.g., bank accounts, credit cards, investments)
- Start entering transactions and managing your finances
For detailed instructions, refer to the GnuCash documentation: https://www.gnucash.org/docs.phtml
Competitor Comparisons
Gnucash for Android mobile companion application.
Pros of gnucash-android
- Mobile-friendly interface optimized for Android devices
- Lightweight and faster performance on mobile platforms
- Easier to use on-the-go for quick expense tracking
Cons of gnucash-android
- Limited features compared to the full desktop version
- Less robust reporting and analysis capabilities
- Smaller community and fewer contributors
Code Comparison
gnucash (C++):
void gnc_ui_util_init (void)
{
gnc_option_db_init();
gnc_options_dialog_init();
gnc_add_gui_hooks();
}
gnucash-android (Java):
public class GnuCashApplication extends Application {
@Override
public void onCreate() {
super.onCreate();
AppRate.init(this);
}
}
The gnucash repository is primarily written in C++ and focuses on desktop environments, while gnucash-android is Java-based and tailored for mobile use. The desktop version offers more comprehensive financial management tools, while the Android app provides a streamlined experience for basic accounting tasks on smartphones and tablets.
Double-entry accounting system with a command-line reporting interface
Pros of ledger
- Lightweight and fast, with minimal dependencies
- Highly flexible, supporting custom reporting and scripting
- Text-based format allows for version control and easy editing
Cons of ledger
- Steeper learning curve, especially for non-technical users
- Lacks a graphical user interface, which may be less intuitive for some
- Limited built-in investment tracking features compared to GnuCash
Code Comparison
ledger:
2023-04-15 Grocery Store
Expenses:Food $50.00
Assets:Checking
GnuCash:
<gnc:transaction>
<trn:date-posted>
<ts:date>2023-04-15</ts:date>
</trn:date-posted>
<trn:description>Grocery Store</trn:description>
<trn:splits>
<trn:split>
<split:account>Expenses:Food</split:account>
<split:value>50.00</split:value>
</trn:split>
<trn:split>
<split:account>Assets:Checking</split:account>
<split:value>-50.00</split:value>
</trn:split>
</trn:splits>
</gnc:transaction>
ledger uses a simple, human-readable text format for transactions, while GnuCash employs a more complex XML structure. This difference reflects ledger's focus on simplicity and GnuCash's more comprehensive approach to financial management.
Beancount: Double-Entry Accounting from Text Files.
Pros of Beancount
- Plain text-based, allowing for version control and easy scripting
- Flexible and extensible through Python plugins
- Double-entry accounting with strict enforcement of balanced transactions
Cons of Beancount
- Steeper learning curve, especially for non-programmers
- Lacks a graphical user interface, which may be less intuitive for some users
- Smaller community and ecosystem compared to GnuCash
Code Comparison
Beancount (Plain text format):
2023-05-01 * "Grocery Store" "Weekly shopping"
Expenses:Food:Groceries 50.00 USD
Assets:Checking -50.00 USD
GnuCash (XML format):
<gnc:transaction>
<trn:date-posted>
<ts:date>2023-05-01 12:00:00 +0000</ts:date>
</trn:date-posted>
<trn:description>Weekly shopping</trn:description>
<trn:splits>
<trn:split>
<split:account>Expenses:Food:Groceries</split:account>
<split:value>50.00 USD</split:value>
</trn:split>
<trn:split>
<split:account>Assets:Checking</split:account>
<split:value>-50.00 USD</split:value>
</trn:split>
</trn:splits>
</gnc:transaction>
Beancount uses a simple, human-readable text format, while GnuCash employs XML for data storage. Beancount's approach allows for easier version control and manual editing, but GnuCash's XML structure supports a more complex data model and GUI interactions.
Firefly III: a personal finances manager
Pros of Firefly III
- Web-based application, accessible from any device with a browser
- Multi-currency support and automatic currency conversion
- Extensive API for integration with other services
Cons of Firefly III
- Requires server setup and maintenance
- Less mature project with potentially fewer features
- May have a steeper learning curve for non-technical users
Code Comparison
Firefly III (PHP):
public function store(Request $request): RedirectResponse
{
$data = $request->getAll();
$account = $this->accountRepository->store($data);
return redirect()->route('accounts.show', [$account->id]);
}
GnuCash (C):
static void
gnc_account_create_account_cb (GtkWidget *w, gpointer data)
{
GncPluginPage *page = GNC_PLUGIN_PAGE(data);
gnc_ui_new_account_window (gnc_plugin_page_get_book(page), NULL);
}
Both repositories showcase different approaches to financial management software. Firefly III offers a modern web-based solution with multi-currency support and API integration, while GnuCash provides a more traditional desktop application with a longer history and potentially more comprehensive features for accounting purposes. The code snippets illustrate the different programming languages and paradigms used in each project.
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############################################################ GnuCash README file.
The current stable series is GnuCash 5.x.
################## Table of Contents:
- Overview
- Dependencies
- Invocation/running
- Internationalization
- Building & Installing
- Supported Platforms
- Additional Download Sites
- Getting the Source via Git
- Developing GnuCash
######## Overview
GnuCash is a personal and small business double entry accounting application.
Home Page: https://www.gnucash.org/
Wiki: https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/GnuCash
Precompiled binaries: https://www.gnucash.org/download
############ Dependencies
Please see README.dependencies for current build dependencies.
The optional online stock and currency price retrieval feature requires Perl. This is generally already installed on Gnu/Linux and *BSD, and MacOS.
In addition, some perl modules need to be installed. You can run the script 'gnc-fq-update' as root to obtain the latest versions of required packages.
Microsoft Windows users can use the "Install Online Quotes" program in the Start menu's Gnucash group; it will install perl and all of the required modules more-or-less automatically. MacOS users will find "Update Finance Quote" in the distribution disk image; it will automate running gnc-fq-update for you.
####### Running
For GnuCash invocation details, see the manpage in doc/gnucash.1. You can also run gnucash --help for the command line options.
You can start GnuCash at the command-line, with "gnucash" or "gnucash
GnuCash responds to the following environment variables:
GNC_BOOTSTRAP_SCM - the location of the initial bootstrapping scheme code.
GUILE_LOAD_PATH - an override for the GnuCash load path, used when loading scheme files. It should be a string in the same form as the PATH or LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
GNC_MODULE_PATH - an override for the GnuCash load path, used when loading gnucash modules. It should be a string representing a proper scheme list. It should be a string in the same form as the PATH or LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
GNC_DEBUG - enable debugging output. This allows you to turn on debugging earlier in the startup process than you can with --debug.
#################### Internationalization
Message catalogs exist for many different languages. In general GnuCash will use the locale configured in the desktop environment if we have a translation for it, but this may be overridden if one likes. Instructions for overriding the locale settings may be found at https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Locale_Settings
##################### Building & Installing
GnuCash uses CMake to handle the build process. Details are available in cmake/README_CMAKE.txt
Prior to building GnuCash, you will have to obtain and install the following packages:
cmake: Available https://cmake.org.
ninja: Optional, available at https://ninja-build.org. CMake can generated build rules for Ninja, and generally using Ninja results in faster builds that Makefile based ones.
gnome development system: headers, libraries, etc.
libxml2: available from ftp.gnome.org
SWIG: 2.0.10 or later is needed. See http://www.swig.org or https://sourceforge.net/projects/swig/
Generally, up-to-date build instructions for various Linux distributions can be found on the GnuCash wiki at https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Building
The options that the CMake build system understands are documented in cmake/README_CMAKE.txt and in the Building wiki page mentioned above.
Note that while you need the Gnome libraries installed, you don't need to have a Gnome desktop.
Runtime and install destinations are separate. The CMake option
CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX determines where the resulting binary will look
for things at runtime. Normally this determines where a "make
install" will put all the files. However, cmake also supports the
DESTDIR variable. DESTDIR is used during the make install' step to relocate install objects into a staging area. Each object and path is prefixed with the value of DESTDIR' before being copied into the
install area. Here is an example of typical DESTDIR usage:
make DESTDIR=/tmp/staging install
This places install objects in a directory tree built under
/tmp/staging'. If /gnu/bin/foo' and /gnu/share/aclocal/foo.m4' are to be installed, the above command would install /tmp/staging/gnu/bin/foo' and
`/tmp/staging/gnu/share/aclocal/foo.m4'.
DESTDIR can be helpful when trying to build install images and packages.
NOTE: If you have installed different parts of Gnome in different places (for instance, if you've installed webkit in /usr/local) you will need to set the environment variables GNOME_PATH and GNOME_LIBCONFIG_PATH. See the manpage for gnome-config for more details.
################### Supported Platforms
GnuCash 5.x is known to work with the following operating systems:
GNU/Linux -- x86, Sparc, PPC FreeBSD -- x86 OpenBSD -- x86 MacOS -- Intel, Versions 10.9 and later
GnuCash can probably be made to work on any platform for which Gtk+ can and for which there is a C++11 compiler available, given sufficient expertise and effort. If you try and encounter difficulty, please subscribe to the developer's mailing list, gnucash-devel@gnucash.org and we'll try to help you.
######################### Downloads
GnuCash sources and Mac and Windows binaries are hosted at SourceForge and Github. Links for the current version are provided at https://www.gnucash.org. We depend upon distribution packagers for GNU/Linux and *BSD binaries, so if you want a more recent version than your distribution provides you'll have to build from source.
############################## Getting Source with Git
We maintain a mirror of our master repository on Github. You can browse the code at https://github.com/Gnucash/gnucash. Clone URIs are on that page, or if you have a Github account you can fork it there.
################## Developing GnuCash
Before you start developing GnuCash, you should do the following:
-
Look over the doxygen-generated documentation at https://code.gnucash.org/docs/MASTER/ or https://code.gnucash.org/docs/MAINT/
-
Go to the GnuCash website and skim the archives of the GnuCash development mailing list.
-
Join the GnuCash development mailing list. See the GnuCash website for details on how to do this.
-
Build the branch you want from a git clone of our repository and make sure that your build passes all of the tests and runs correctly.
Submitting a Patch:
Please read https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Development#Submitting_Patches.
Thank you.
Top Related Projects
Gnucash for Android mobile companion application.
Double-entry accounting system with a command-line reporting interface
Beancount: Double-Entry Accounting from Text Files.
Firefly III: a personal finances manager
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