Roger Davies
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Other stuff I use - GnuCash vs Wave Accounting

2/5/2023

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Last month I shared my favorite (and free) personal finance tracking system using Google Sheets (ssdirect.com/news/personal-finance-management-another-how-to). This month I would like to share more business finance tracking methods (still free) that I have been using in recent years. This is not 'the best of' kind of review. It is only 'what I have found that really works for me'.
  • GnuCash (that I describe as a open-source free-to-use-at-no-cost Quicken clone).
  • Wave Accounting (more like a free version of Quickbooks Online - but with options to pay them for add-on services .. accounting help, online credit card payments, etc).
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GnuCash is a standalone program that runs on your Windows or Linux or even Mac computer. I would have preferred a better more generic program name like 'Where-Did-All-My-Money-Go' but I guess all the good names get taken up early and some lawyer will be asked to sue you for using 'their' program name (can you even trademark the name 'Money'?). GNU is a nerdy recursive acronym used in the Linux world, but don't let that stop you. Cash is a name for that stuff you are trying to track.
  • Getting Started: You download the version that works on your system from gnucash.org/download and run it. Setting up an appropriate accounting chart of accounts (ie the bank accounts you own and the expense and income categories you want to track and use) is a bit daunting at the outset, but you can use the default set and customize it over time. You could hire an accountant I suppose, or ask a grandchild to help you, but I prefer to just do it myself. Dive in! 
  • Using the System: In theory, there is supposed to be a way to download transactions directly from your bank. I do not use this as the setup is arcane and I prefer to access my banking information directly online. I just enter transactions directly into the program as they happen. Actually, I use GnuCash as my backup system to my Google Sheets system and just copy and paste transactions between the two to keep them in sync. The interface is much like a checkbook register for each back account you set up with a date, num, description etc for each transaction. I create a saved report for Balance Sheet and  Profit Loss and use that to monitor account balances. 
  • Pro's: Double entry system. Functions much like my favorite old Quicken program (now obsolete, from my old Windows days) used to e.g. using + or- in date field increments the date up and down. Categories are efficiently entered using Quicken shortcuts e.g. Income:Other is quickly entered using unique start for each section i.e. typing 'in' finds Income, pressing : and then 'o' yields Other for the desired category .. Reports are very customizable - click Options to select which accounts to include, what currency, which dates,  and how to display them. Reports can be saved and reopened as needed. User data changes are automatically saved and backed up.
  • I like the fact that with GnuCash your data is locally stored and accessible even if the internet is down. And even if the internet is working, the website you need may go down itself, but with GnuCash .. happy days. That said, it is  somewhat rare now a days that the internet goes down or that sites stop working or go down for maintenance (but it can and does happen). On the other hand, your trusty old computer could also go poof, so IF you don't have a backup from elsewhere .. so sorry. I like to download my Google Sheets file from the cloud to my local computer as a backup, AND copy my synced GnuCash data file to backup server as well .. just in case.
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More recently, I was also introduced to Wave, a free online invoicing and accounting program at waveapps.com.
  • Owned by H&R Block since 2019, headquartered in Canada, over 2 million users, offers "free-forever" features, unlimited credit card and bank accounts, plus online payment processing for a small fee (if you are in to that kind of thing). Bookkeeping services are also available for an additional fee.
  • Using the System: Wave is web-based, so no installation is necessary. Can be accessed from pretty much any browser. Transactions can be downloaded directly from many banks. Again, I do not use this feature as I feel it introduces potential risk to my banking information (as implemented via an external program called PLAID.. but who ya gonna trust? web browsers)! I enter my transactions directly or upload  from my Google Sheet via the provided "Wave Connect" extension for Google Sheets. If you are any little bit paranoid about security you probably won't want all your information up and out there on the internet anyway. Meanwhile, I am more trusting and have been testing Wave as an additional backup accounting system. The interface is much like Quickbooks online, but free!
  • Pro's: Invoicing is wonderful. Not everybody needs this, but for me it automates the entire process. Setup the template as you like, enter the information, and let it send out emails and tracks payments. Sweet! Business expense tracking is also appreciated, with ability to upload scanned copies of invoices and other free accounting tools. System is available to anyone you choose to grant access to (multi-user: presuming the internet is up and Wave is still running).  The interface speed will vary depending on how fast your internet connection is, but it will always be slower than a standalone program like GnuCash.
  • Some Con's: Not sure how to make a real backup from the cloud. Yes, I know that THEY are doing backups of some sort up there, but what if (the company goes away or changes hands, or the internet is inaccessable for longer periods of time, or I decide to migrate to some other system). No backup except printed reports. Wave is still a learning place for me, but it does weird and wonderful things with my USD vs CAD accounts e.g. thinking $10.16 USD is somehow worth about $53.63 CAN in its reports. It also automatically dumps some of my business sales into it's generic Sales income account when I prefer the specific one I set up for each sub-category business.  Hmmm My workaround for each was to add in an 'in/out correcting transaction' (ie an accounting Journal Entry) to move the amounts from where it ended up to where I wanted it so it matched the way all my other accounting systems worked. This works, but requires extra entries and time. Also, since the system is web based, it takes much longer to enter each of these adjustments .. find the account, wait for page load,  click More > Add Journal Entry, wait for page load, enter information, click Save, wait for page load .. you get the idea. The speed of your internet connection and computer will determine your actual experience, but it is noticably more laggy than either of the other two systems I have been using.
Bottom line. I like parts of each application. I love my Google Sheets system for ability to quickly capture transaction details and provide basic updated Balance Sheet information. GnuCash can be synced fairly easily with the Google Sheet but has more professional reporting with drill down and reporting flexibility. Wave is great for Invoices, but takes more work to sync the transaction data and still has some quirks (for a new user like me .. and of course, is somewhat redundant with the other two applications also in use). Your choice. For a mid to small business, either GnuCash or Wave might be more appropriate. For personal finance or a smaller business, the Google Sheets may be all you need. What say you?
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Personal Finance Management - Another how to

19/4/2023

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Other the past several years I have been using an online spreadsheet to manage my finances. It started with a monthly template which was added to, modified and refined into a yearly running check register that I find quite useful today. I have made a sample template to share with interested family and friends (that is you now)!

If you do a search for 'google sheets personal finance templates' you will discover 100's or even 1000's of free templates offered up. Many are more complicated. Some are more colorful. I don't know if my new offering will be of much interest, but it is what I use and I like it. Simple and effective. 

The link to this sample template is found at:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iq9vZ41E43QfR_JEQj_MQjXvyboBKd2ybWG7Fnr8uTs/edit?usp=sharing
where you can simply 'save as copy' and start customizing it to fit your needs.
Pros:
  • Using it as a google sheet allows me to access and update from any computer/device/phone in the world, although a desktop computer is most convenient.
  • Entering details as soon as possible allows me to remember and document the what and why .. not as much 'honey, what did we spend $xxx on three months ago?'. 
  • Recurring transactions are easily copied and reused .. just insert new line, copy, paste, update dates and info.
  • Split transactions are fairly simple .. just add one line for each part of the split. eg 20 of 100 to Grocery and 80 of 100 to Merchandise ..
  • Completely customizable - if you want 1000 expense categories, you can. If you have 100 bank accounts, you can have those tracked as well.
Cons:
  • Completely customizable - if you mess up .. oops. However, Google Sheets does have a nice undo/history feature that can help you un-mess-up ..
  • No auto offsite backup .. although Google Cloud is backed up .. if you ever lose your Google account or credentials you may be in trouble. I like to download an offsite copy to use as a local spreadsheet backup just in case. Easy! Click File > Download > OpenDocument or Excel and save the .ods or .xlsx file to your local computer
  • Not a double entry system .. so as a workaround I just use the Transfer category and TWO offsetting entries for bill payments and the like eg "100 expense for Bill Payment in Checking" and "100 income for Bill Payment in Credit Card 1" with same dates .. it seems to work.
  • You MAY have to learn how to use or just get around a spreadsheet - ouch
  • You MIGHT get addicted to knowing just where your money is going and how much you have left!
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Grandpa Davies Calendar Ideas

31/1/2023

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In the great covid shutdown, I was in quarantine and a bit bored .. so I asked myself:
  • What if there were 13 'months' in a year + 1 extra 'year day' each yearend plus 1 extra 'leap day' every leap year (about 1.25 days/year) Let's call the new 'months' a 'cycle' of 28 days and let's call the extra cycle/month 'newSol' at mid-year Why? Because the earth circles the sun every 365.25 days in a year. 13 'months' x 28 days is 364 .. only short those 1.25 days
  • Week numbers 1-52 will correspond to Cycles 1-13. Every few years a 'Week53' will occur, like a 'leap week' ..
  • Seasons simplified: A full-year is 52 weeks, half-year is 26 weeks, and a quarter-year (a season) is 13 weeks .. ignoring 'leap week's
  • So what would that look like? Say if my week started on Sunday .. like in USA/Canada
  • What would an automatic Calendar generating spreadsheet look like?
So glad you asked! My  answer was:see docs.google.com/spreadsheets
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Happy Three Years Since Trek

3/7/2017

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Monday 3 July 2017

My Good Trek Family Children,

Daughters: Hope, Faith, Charity, Grace, Mercy, Harmony and Felicity
and Sons: Lehi, Ammon, Mormon, Mosiah and Nephi

Again we trust this letter finds you each in good health and condition. It is now three years since our wonderful trek
experience with you. We rejoice in your achievements and enjoy seeing you progressing in your journeys. 
Three more of our trek family have now graduated from High School here in Magrath – our Grace, Ammon, and Lehi. Pa was released from High Council last fall so doesn’t get to see you much in all your various wards anymore. Ma and Pa are happy to be newly assigned to work together again, this time in ward nursery (most recently with 9 busy toddlers – all girls except one lone fellow). We also have been asked to assist as Ward Shepherding Couple to assist in transitioning graduating students from Grade 12 to YSA at home or at school or where ever they may end up (like you). May you continue to progress and make wise decisions.

We happen to be reading past Helaman chapter 5 again this year in our family scripture – the words of Helaman to his sons Lehi and Nephi. I realized that I had been somewhat mixing up the Book of Mormon family history somewhat – always something new to learn – with Alma (converted by Abinidi at time of wicked King Noah), his son Alma (the younger), his grandson Helaman, and great-grandson Helaman (in Helaman 5) and the great-great-grandsons Nephi and Lehi mentioned therein, not to mention some of their kids, great-great-great-grandsons Nephi and Timothy (called to be apostles under Jesus Christ). I commend his council to his children (and to us) to “remember the words of king Benjamin” .. stating “that there is no other way nor means whereby man can be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ” (Helaman 5:9). His love for us is constant and unending. It is reflected in the lives of those around us and felt most strongly through the power of the Holy Ghost – a gift which can grow and intensify if we but let it.

Over and over in the Book of Mormon is repeated the promise to Lehi – that if the commandments would be followed, they would “prosper in the land”. You will also only prosper in the long term if you also follow the commandments. If you make and keep covenants, you also will live long and prosper ..

I was also pondering the other day on just how we are guided and helped in all our decisions both great and small. If we could somehow comprehend all the work being done on our behalf. I do not believe we meet and marry by chance, that we find friends and investigators just when they are ready to learn more about The Church of Jesus Christ in our day, or that our family units are created by happenstance. I remember being surprised at Trek with discovering all the behind the scene helpers just over the hill or around the bend helping us with food, water, facilities, emergency services, moving supplies and tents, and more while we all trekked along our merry way. This life is probably much the same way, with countless interested angels (friends/family now passed on, certainly some living today – family, church leaders, others - and even some still on their way) who are doing all they can to encourage and guide us our our daily trek today, all orchestrated by the effects of the Holy Ghost. We recognize their influence most in places like temples and churches and at important events like marriages and funerals, but I would not be surprised to find they really they have assignments to help comfort and guide us minute by minute where ever we are and what ever we are trying to do.

Safe journeys and be Good!

​With much love from your trek Ma and Pa.

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Talk: Family Councils M6 Jun 2016

26/6/2016

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 “Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, to teach them to love and serve one another, to observe the commandments of God and to be law-abiding citizens wherever they live.” ('The Family: A Proclamation to the World,' Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102)

D&C 50:10 “And now come, saith the Lord, [..] and let us reason together, that ye may understand.”

Alma 37:37 “Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.”

Matt 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

I have been asked to discuss the topic of Family Councils today. “Councils in the Church follow a divine pattern at every level, from the Council of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to stake, ward, branch, quorum, and other leadership councils. “The most basic council of the Church,” said President Spencer W. Kimball (1895–1985), is the family council.”i

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Talk: Enduring to the End M6 M2 Oct 2015

18/10/2015

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“Enduring to the end means being faithful to the end. This is not an easy task. It is intended to be difficult, challenging, and, ultimately, refining as we prepare to return to live with our Father in Heaven and receive eternal blessings.” Elder L. Tom Perry (“The Gospel of Jesus Christ” Apr 2008)

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Talk: Why Love our Neighbors? DB Nov 2014 

16/11/2014

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Luke 10:25-29 “And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” 


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Trio of Winners Improvement Era Oct 1954

29/10/2014

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Over the years I heard this story from time to time, about how my Mom and her brothers received awards for 100% attendance over several years at church meetings (and at school as well). Uncle Lloyd mentioned a picture submitted to the Improvement Era to that effect. I never came close to any such attendance record, but I do have some talent in wasting time finding stuff on the internet, so .. it took a little time reading some very interesting back issues, but eventually found this ..

In the Oct 1954 issue of the Improvement Era page 768 it reads, "A Trio of Winners. Elizabeth Spencer with her brothers (l. to r.) Campbell and Lloyd. All who know them are very proud of this family and the record they have established.


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Transcription: Faith Promoting Incident

24/10/2014

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PictureA Faith Promoting Incident in my life. Clyde C. Spencer
This letter is a copy given to me in Sep 2014 by Rulon Taylor. His father (Paul Taylor) and my grandfather (then Bishop Clyde C Spencer) were next door neighbours and served together in Magrath Ward Bishopric for many years. I had seen this letter before, but now have a copy to transcribe .. 

"A Faith Promoting Incident in my life. 

This incident has been one of the outstanding faith promoting experiences of my life, because it taught me that the Lord speaks through the priesthood and that we must not allow our feelings to influence us. 


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Trek: Recap Video

31/7/2014

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The Magrath Trek Recap video was produced and premièred at the Magrath Stake Sat 25 Oct 2014 evening conference session ..

Magrath Sun 26 Oct 2014: "Stayed up to 1am last night telling Ma (because she had to work at DW till 11pm) all about the great talks at the Sat night [conference] session .. Adrien had played her flute as part of the youth choir final number (great job, eh) and Pa was quoted a few times in the Trek video (Ma was too shy to go on camera). Even saw a bunch of our treklings there in the audience and in the choir and in the video! Sweet

Video is posted on the facebook.com/magrathtrek site already at facebook.com/video.php?v=791644410893530&set=vb.558231247568182&&theater

Ma was surprised they got a good shot of the old guitelele .. and of us holding hands on the final walk out of the valley .. and what a great bunch of kids! As Bro Evans said as he started his talk last night, "my trek family was the best" .. I concur - ours was too! No wonder all my talks in July and thereafter reference trek somehow .."


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    Roger Davies

    My mom (and my grandkids) couldn't be at all my public speaking assignments, so I post them here for them/her and you to read ..

    Disclaimer: These thoughts are not official church policy and in the end are but my own current ideas on the subject(s) 'mingled with scripture'. Regardless, I hope they are of some value to you, dear internet browser.

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