blog/Ledger___double_entry_accounting_using_text_based_storage_format.html

   1 <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
   2           "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
   3 <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" dir="ltr">
   4   <head>
   5     <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=utf-8" />
   6     <title>Petter Reinholdtsen: Ledger - double-entry accounting using text based storage format</title>
   7     <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/style.css" />
   8     <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/vim.css" />
   9
  10
  11   </head>
  12   <body>
  13     <div class="title">
  14  <h1>
  15      <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/">Petter Reinholdtsen</a>
  16
  17  </h1>
  18
  19 </div>
  20
  21
  22     <div class="entry">
  23       <div class="title">Ledger - double-entry accounting using text based storage format</div>
  24       <div class="date">18th December 2012</div>
  25       <div class="body"><p>A few days ago I came across
  26 <a href="http://joeyh.name/blog/entry/hledger/">a blog post from Joey
  27 Hess</a> describing <a href="http://ledger-cli.org/">ledger</a> and
  28 hledger, a text based system for double-entry accounting.  I found it
  29 interesting, as I am involved with several organizations where
  30 accounting is an issue, and I have not really become too friendly with
  31 the different web based systems we use.  I find it hard to find what I
  32 look for in the menus and even harder try to get sensible data out of
  33 the systems.  Ledger seem different.  The accounting data is kept in
  34 text files that can be stored in a version control system, and there
  35
  36 are at least <a href="https://github.com/ledger/ledger/wiki/Ports">five
  37 different implementations</a> able to read the format.  An example
  38 entry look like this, and is simple enough that it will be trivial to
  39 generate entries based on CVS files fetched from the bank:</p>
  40
  41 <blockquote><pre>
  42 2004-05-27 Book Store
  43       Expenses:Books                 $20.00
  44       Liabilities:Visa
  45 </pre></blockquote>
  46
  47 <p>The concept seemed interesting enough for me to check it out and
  48 look for others using it.  I found blog posts from
  49 <a href="http://blog.spang.cc/posts/hledger_rocks_my_world/">Christine
  50 Spang</a>,
  51 <a href="http://bugsplat.info/2010-05-23-keeping-finances-with-ledger.html">Pete
  52 Keen</a>,
  53 <a href="http://blog.andrewcantino.com/blog/2010/11/06/command-line-accounting-with-ledger-and-reckon/">Andrew
  54 Cantino</a> and
  55 <a href="http://blog.iphoting.com/blog/2012/11/29/command-line-double-entry-accounting/">Ronald
  56 Ip</a> describing how they use it, as well as a post from
  57 <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups=#!topic/ledger-cli/r0oWjwbQ9Bo">Bradley
  58 M. Kuhn</a> at the Software Freedom Conservancy.  All seemed like good
  59 recommendations fitting my need.</p>
  60
  61 <p>The <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/l/ledger.html">ledger</a>
  62 package is available in Debian Squeeze, while the
  63 <a href="http://packages.qa.debian.org/h/haskell-hledger.html">hledger</a>
  64 package only is available in Debian Sid.  As I use Squeeze, ledger
  65 seemed the best choice to get started.</p>
  66
  67 <p>To get some real data to test on, I wrote a
  68 <a href="http://www.nuug.no/tools/lodo2ledger">web scraper</a> for
  69 <a href="http://www.lodo.no/">LODO</a>, the accounting system used by
  70 the <a href="http://www.nuug.no/">NUUG</a> association, and started to
  71 play with the data set.  I'm not really deeply into accounting, but I
  72 am able to get a simple balance and accounting status for example
  73 using the "<tt>ledger balance</tt>" command.  But I will have to
  74 gather more experience before I know if the ledger way is a good fit
  75 for the organisations I am involved in.</p>
  76 </div>
  77
  78       <div class="tags">Tags: <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english</a>, <a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug</a>.</div>
  79
  80
  81     </div>
  82
  83
  84
  85
  86     <div id="sidebar">
  87
  88
  89
  90 <h2>Archive</h2>
  91 <ul>
  92
  93 <li>2014
  94 <ul>
  95
  96 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/01/">January (2)</a></li>
  97
  98 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2014/02/">February (1)</a></li>
  99
 100 </ul></li>
 101
 102 <li>2013
 103 <ul>
 104
 105 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/01/">January (11)</a></li>
 106
 107 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/02/">February (9)</a></li>
 108
 109 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/03/">March (9)</a></li>
 110
 111 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/04/">April (6)</a></li>
 112
 113 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/05/">May (9)</a></li>
 114
 115 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/06/">June (10)</a></li>
 116
 117 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/07/">July (7)</a></li>
 118
 119 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/08/">August (3)</a></li>
 120
 121 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/09/">September (5)</a></li>
 122
 123 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/10/">October (7)</a></li>
 124
 125 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/11/">November (9)</a></li>
 126
 127 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2013/12/">December (3)</a></li>
 128
 129 </ul></li>
 130
 131 <li>2012
 132 <ul>
 133
 134 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/01/">January (7)</a></li>
 135
 136 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/02/">February (10)</a></li>
 137
 138 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/03/">March (17)</a></li>
 139
 140 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/04/">April (12)</a></li>
 141
 142 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/05/">May (12)</a></li>
 143
 144 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/06/">June (20)</a></li>
 145
 146 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/07/">July (17)</a></li>
 147
 148 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/08/">August (6)</a></li>
 149
 150 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/09/">September (9)</a></li>
 151
 152 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/10/">October (17)</a></li>
 153
 154 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/11/">November (10)</a></li>
 155
 156 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2012/12/">December (7)</a></li>
 157
 158 </ul></li>
 159
 160 <li>2011
 161 <ul>
 162
 163 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/01/">January (16)</a></li>
 164
 165 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/02/">February (6)</a></li>
 166
 167 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/03/">March (6)</a></li>
 168
 169 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/04/">April (7)</a></li>
 170
 171 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/05/">May (3)</a></li>
 172
 173 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/06/">June (2)</a></li>
 174
 175 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/07/">July (7)</a></li>
 176
 177 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/08/">August (6)</a></li>
 178
 179 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/09/">September (4)</a></li>
 180
 181 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/10/">October (2)</a></li>
 182
 183 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/11/">November (3)</a></li>
 184
 185 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2011/12/">December (1)</a></li>
 186
 187 </ul></li>
 188
 189 <li>2010
 190 <ul>
 191
 192 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/01/">January (2)</a></li>
 193
 194 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/02/">February (1)</a></li>
 195
 196 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/03/">March (3)</a></li>
 197
 198 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/04/">April (3)</a></li>
 199
 200 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/05/">May (9)</a></li>
 201
 202 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/06/">June (14)</a></li>
 203
 204 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/07/">July (12)</a></li>
 205
 206 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/08/">August (13)</a></li>
 207
 208 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/09/">September (7)</a></li>
 209
 210 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/10/">October (9)</a></li>
 211
 212 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/11/">November (13)</a></li>
 213
 214 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2010/12/">December (12)</a></li>
 215
 216 </ul></li>
 217
 218 <li>2009
 219 <ul>
 220
 221 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/01/">January (8)</a></li>
 222
 223 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/02/">February (8)</a></li>
 224
 225 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/03/">March (12)</a></li>
 226
 227 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/04/">April (10)</a></li>
 228
 229 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/05/">May (9)</a></li>
 230
 231 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/06/">June (3)</a></li>
 232
 233 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/07/">July (4)</a></li>
 234
 235 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/08/">August (3)</a></li>
 236
 237 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/09/">September (1)</a></li>
 238
 239 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/10/">October (2)</a></li>
 240
 241 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/11/">November (3)</a></li>
 242
 243 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2009/12/">December (3)</a></li>
 244
 245 </ul></li>
 246
 247 <li>2008
 248 <ul>
 249
 250 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/11/">November (5)</a></li>
 251
 252 <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/archive/2008/12/">December (7)</a></li>
 253
 254 </ul></li>
 255
 256 </ul>
 257
 258
 259
 260 <h2>Tags</h2>
 261 <ul>
 262
 263  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/3d-printer">3d-printer (13)</a></li>
 264
 265  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/amiga">amiga (1)</a></li>
 266
 267  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/aros">aros (1)</a></li>
 268
 269  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bankid">bankid (4)</a></li>
 270
 271  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bitcoin">bitcoin (8)</a></li>
 272
 273  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bootsystem">bootsystem (14)</a></li>
 274
 275  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/bsa">bsa (2)</a></li>
 276
 277  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/chrpath">chrpath (2)</a></li>
 278
 279  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian">debian (93)</a></li>
 280
 281  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/debian edu">debian edu (144)</a></li>
 282
 283  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/digistan">digistan (10)</a></li>
 284
 285  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/docbook">docbook (10)</a></li>
 286
 287  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/drivstoffpriser">drivstoffpriser (4)</a></li>
 288
 289  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/english">english (235)</a></li>
 290
 291  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fiksgatami">fiksgatami (21)</a></li>
 292
 293  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/fildeling">fildeling (12)</a></li>
 294
 295  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freeculture">freeculture (12)</a></li>
 296
 297  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/freedombox">freedombox (5)</a></li>
 298
 299  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/frikanalen">frikanalen (11)</a></li>
 300
 301  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/intervju">intervju (39)</a></li>
 302
 303  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/isenkram">isenkram (7)</a></li>
 304
 305  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/kart">kart (18)</a></li>
 306
 307  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ldap">ldap (8)</a></li>
 308
 309  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/lenker">lenker (6)</a></li>
 310
 311  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ltsp">ltsp (1)</a></li>
 312
 313  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/mesh network">mesh network (7)</a></li>
 314
 315  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/multimedia">multimedia (25)</a></li>
 316
 317  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/norsk">norsk (239)</a></li>
 318
 319  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/nuug">nuug (161)</a></li>
 320
 321  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/offentlig innsyn">offentlig innsyn (9)</a></li>
 322
 323  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/open311">open311 (2)</a></li>
 324
 325  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/opphavsrett">opphavsrett (45)</a></li>
 326
 327  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/personvern">personvern (68)</a></li>
 328
 329  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/raid">raid (1)</a></li>
 330
 331  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/reprap">reprap (11)</a></li>
 332
 333  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rfid">rfid (2)</a></li>
 334
 335  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/robot">robot (9)</a></li>
 336
 337  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/rss">rss (1)</a></li>
 338
 339  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/ruter">ruter (4)</a></li>
 340
 341  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/scraperwiki">scraperwiki (2)</a></li>
 342
 343  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sikkerhet">sikkerhet (34)</a></li>
 344
 345  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sitesummary">sitesummary (4)</a></li>
 346
 347  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/skepsis">skepsis (4)</a></li>
 348
 349  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/standard">standard (44)</a></li>
 350
 351  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stavekontroll">stavekontroll (3)</a></li>
 352
 353  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/stortinget">stortinget (9)</a></li>
 354
 355  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/surveillance">surveillance (21)</a></li>
 356
 357  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/sysadmin">sysadmin (1)</a></li>
 358
 359  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/valg">valg (8)</a></li>
 360
 361  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/video">video (39)</a></li>
 362
 363  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/vitenskap">vitenskap (4)</a></li>
 364
 365  <li><a href="http://people.skolelinux.org/pere/blog/tags/web">web (28)</a></li>
 366
 367 </ul>
 368
 369
 370     </div>
 371     <p style="text-align: right">
 372  Created by <a href="http://steve.org.uk/Software/chronicle">Chronicle v4.6</a>
 373 </p>
 374
 375   </body>
 376 </html>