[ale] GNUCash "ecosystem?"

[Derek Atkins]

Hi,

On Mon, April 14, 2014 10:54 am, Ken Cochran wrote:
> Is/are there the likes of "apps" or "plugins" for GNUCash?
> Gosh I wish I could run it, but I need payroll.  Might could
> do that myself but I don't know how to "hook" into GNUCash.
> Any FAQs/docs?

GnuCash has a plugin mechanism and even sorta-kinda has an API, but it's
more an internal API and not meant for "third-party" apps or plugins.  If
you wanted to write something it's best to integrate it, instead of having
it separate.  The GnuCash devs don't guarantee API stability.

FAQS/Docs are available at http://www.gnucash.org/ and
http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/

> I might even be willing to pay for something/someone - beats
> spending what we're spending with Big-I/QB.  I'm sooo tired of
> being Part of the Wailing Masses suffering under Big-I bondage
> - they're worse IMO than M$ by far; I'm sure there's a Special
> Place In Hell just for them.

Unfortunately Payroll is a perfect example of a very complicated system. 
You have so many deductions, withholdings, limits, etc that all interact
with each other, and each locale has its own rules for how each item gets
handled.  Doing that in a general way is nearly impossible, and keeping it
up to date for every locale even moreso.

Yes, Payroll is an oft-desired feature in GnuCash, but I don't see it
happening.  It hasn't happened in the past decade, and I don't see anyone
stepping up to the plate to implement and donate it.  Personally if I were
going to write it, I would ask for a subscription payment model if I were
being expected to keep it up to date.

> Thanks, -kc

-derek

PS: I'm not sure why you're asking this on ALE instead of, oh, gnucash-user

-- 
       Derek Atkins                 617-623-3745
       derek at ihtfp.com             www.ihtfp.com
       Computer and Internet Security Consultant