[ale] GNUCash "ecosystem?"

[Ken Cochran]

See interspersed...

> Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2014 13:28:23 -0400
> From: "Derek Atkins" <derek at ihtfp.com>
> To: "Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts" <ale at ale.org>
> Subject: Re: [ale] GNUCash "ecosystem?"
>
> 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/

Cool, thanks!

> > 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.

I'd just be doing something "simple" - most complicated part
would be calculating withholdings, just need a place to "hold"
them for later payment.

> 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.

Indeed; yup a massive can of worms.  :(  Guess that's why
I thought there might be some kind of plugin "market" a la
Photoshop - different add-ons/plugins depending on your payroll
locale.  In this case, not many employees; maybe could sorta
"simulate" PR with typical accounts, part I'd need to write
would be the calculations & I've done that before.

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

Oooo thanks (again)!  Don't know if I can (not subscribed)
but thanks for the pointer - at least a place to look & see
how things are laid-out...

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

Thanks, -kc