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INFO-DIR-SECTION User Applications
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Ledger3: (ledger3).           Command-Line Accounting
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Introduction to Ledger,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

Overview
********

Ledger is a command-line accounting tool that provides double-entry
accounting based on a text journal.  It provides no bells or whistles,
and returns the user to the days before user interfaces were even a
twinkling in their fathers' CRTs.

* Menu:

* Introduction to Ledger::
* Ledger Tutorial::
* Principles of Accounting with Ledger::
* Keeping a Journal::
* Transactions::
* Building Reports::
* Reporting Commands::
* Command-Line Syntax::
* Budgeting and Forecasting::
* Time Keeping::
* Value Expressions::
* Format Strings::
* Extending with Python::
* Ledger for Developers::
* Major Changes from version 2.6::
* Example Journal File::
* Miscellaneous Notes::
* Concepts Index::
* Commands & Options Index::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Introduction to Ledger,  Next: Ledger Tutorial,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

1 Introduction to Ledger
************************

* Menu:

* Fat-free Accounting::
* Building the program::
* Getting help::
* Third-Party Ledger Tutorials::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Fat-free Accounting,  Next: Building the program,  Prev: Introduction to Ledger,  Up: Introduction to Ledger

1.1 Fat-free Accounting
=======================

Ledger is an accounting tool with the moxie to exist.  It provides no
bells or whistles, and returns the user to the days before user
interfaces were even a twinkling in their father's CRT.

   What it does offer is a double-entry accounting journal with all the
flexibility and muscle of its modern day cousins, without any of the
fat.  Think of it as the Bran Muffin of accounting tools.

   To use it, you need to start keeping a journal.  This is the basis of
all accounting, and if you haven't started yet, now is the time to
learn.  The little booklet that comes with your checkbook is a journal,
so we'll describe double-entry accounting in terms of that.

   A checkbook journal records debits (subtractions, or withdrawals) and
credits (additions, or deposits) with reference to a single account: the
checking account.  Where the money comes from, and where it goes to, are
described in the payee field, where you write the person or company's
name.  The ultimate aim of keeping a checkbook journal is to know how
much money is available to spend.  That's really the aim of all
journals.

   What computers add is the ability to walk through these postings, and
tell you things about your spending habits; to let you devise budgets
and get control over your spending; to squirrel away money into virtual
savings account without having to physically move money around; etc.  As
you keep your journal, you are recording information about your life and
habits, and sometimes that information can start telling you things you
aren't aware of.  Such is the aim of all good accounting tools.

   The next step up from a checkbook journal, is a journal that keeps
track of all your accounts, not just checking.  In such a journal, you
record not only who gets paid--in the case of a debit--but where the
money came from.  In a checkbook journal, it's assumed that all the
money comes from your checking account.  But in a general journal, you
write postings in two lines: the source account and target account.
_There must always be a debit from at least one account for every credit
made to another account_.  This is what is meant by "double-entry"
accounting: the journal must always balance to zero, with an equal
number of debits and credits.

   For example, let's say you have a checking account and a brokerage
account, and you can write checks from both of them.  Rather than keep
two checkbooks, you decide to use one journal for both.  In this general
journal you need to record a payment to Pacific Bell for your monthly
phone bill, and a transfer (via check) from your brokerage account to
your checking account.  The Pacific Bell bill is $23.00, let's say, and
you want to pay it from your checking account.  In the general journal
you need to say where the money came from, in addition to where it's
going to.  These transactions might look like this:

     9/29        Pacific Bell                $23.00     $23.00
                 Checking                   $-23.00          0
     9/30        Checking                   $100.00    $100.00
           (123) Brokerage                 $-100.00          0

   The posting must balance to $0: $23 went to Pacific Bell, $23 came
from Checking.  The next entry shows check number 123 written against
your brokerage account, transferring money to your checking account.
There is nothing left over to be accounted for, since the money has
simply moved from one account to another in both cases.  This is the
basis of double-entry accounting: money never pops in or out of
existence; it is always a posting from one account to another.

   Keeping a general journal is the same as keeping two separate
journals: One for Pacific Bell and one for Checking.  In that case, each
time a payment is written into one, you write a corresponding withdrawal
into the other.  This makes it easier to write in a "running balance",
since you don't have to look back at the last time the account was
referenced--but it also means having a lot of journal books, if you deal
with multiple accounts.

   Here is a good place for an aside on the use of the word "account".
Most private people consider an account to be something that holds money
at an institution for them.  Ledger uses a more general definition of
the word.  An account is anywhere money can go.  Other finance programs
use "categories", Ledger uses accounts.  So, for example, if you buy
some groceries at Trader Joe's, then more groceries at Whole Food
Market, you might assign the transactions like this

     2011/03/15   Trader Joe's
         Expenses:Groceries   $100.00
         Assets:Checking
     2011/03/15   Whole Food Market
         Expenses:Groceries   $75.00
         Assets:Checking

   In both cases the money goes to the ‘Groceries’ account, even though
the payees were different.  You can set up your accounts in any way you
choose.

   Enter the beauty of computerized accounting.  The purpose of the
Ledger program is to make general journal accounting simple, by keeping
track of the balances for you.  Your only job is to enter the postings.
If an individual posting does not balance, Ledger displays an error and
indicates the incorrect posting.(1)

   In summary, there are two aspects of Ledger use: updating the journal
data file, and using the Ledger tool to view the summarized result of
your transactions.

   And just for the sake of example--as a starting point for those who
want to dive in head-first--here are the journal transactions from
above, formatted as the Ledger program wishes to see them:

     2004/09/29 Pacific Bell
         Expenses:Pacific Bell              $23.00
         Assets:Checking

   The account balances and registers in this file, if saved as
‘ledger.dat’, could be reported using:

     $ ledger -f ledger.dat balance

                  $-23.00  Assets:Checking
                   $23.00  Expenses:Pacific Bell
     --------------------
                        0

   Or

     $ ledger -f ledger.dat register checking

     04-Sep-29 Pacific Bell          Assets:Checking             $-23.00      $-23.00

   And even:

     $ ledger -f ledger.dat register Bell

     04-Sep-29 Pacific Bell          Expenses:Pacific Bell        $23.00       $23.00

   An important difference between Ledger and other finance packages is
that Ledger will never alter your input file.  You can create and edit
that file in any way you prefer, but Ledger is only for analyzing the
data, not for altering it.

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) In some special cases, it automatically balances this transaction
for you.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Building the program,  Next: Getting help,  Prev: Fat-free Accounting,  Up: Introduction to Ledger

1.2 Building the program
========================

Ledger is written in ANSI C++, and should compile on any unix platform.
The easiest way to build and install ledger is to use the prepared
acprep script, that does a lot of the footwork:

         # to install missing dependencies
         ./acprep dependencies
         # building ledger
         ./acprep update
         # to run the actual installation
         make install

   See the 'help' subcommand to 'acprep', which explains some of its
many options.  You can run 'make check' to confirm the result, and 'make
install' to install.  If these instructions do not work for you, you can
check the 'INSTALL.md' in the source directory for more up to date build
instructions.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Getting help,  Next: Third-Party Ledger Tutorials,  Prev: Building the program,  Up: Introduction to Ledger

1.3 Getting help
================

Ledger has a complete online help system based on GNU Info.  This manual
can be searched directly from the command-line using ‘info ledger’,
which will bring up this entire manual in your TTY. Alternatively, the
shorter man page can be accessed from the command-line either via ‘man
ledger’ or ‘ledger --help’

   If you need help on how to use Ledger, or run into problems, you can
join the Ledger mailing list at
<http://groups.google.com/group/ledger-cli>.

   You can also find help in the ‘#ledger’ channel on the IRC server
‘irc.libera.chat’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Third-Party Ledger Tutorials,  Prev: Getting help,  Up: Introduction to Ledger

1.4 Third-Party Ledger Tutorials
================================

There are plenty of people using Ledger for accounting applications.
Some have documented how they use Ledger's features to solve their
accounting problems.

   One such tutorial, specifically designed for non-profit charities
that seek to use Ledger, can be found at
<https://k.sfconservancy.org/NPO-Accounting/npo-ledger-cli> (with a copy
on GitHub also available at
<https://github.com/conservancy/npo-ledger-cli/>).  If you're looking
for information about how to use Ledger's tagging system to handle
invoicing, track expenses by program targets, and other such concepts,
you might find the tutorial useful.  (Some of the auditor reporting
scripts that relate to the aforementioned Ledger setup can be found
CONTRIB/NON-PROFIT-AUDIT-REPORTS/ in Ledger's own source repository.)


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Ledger Tutorial,  Next: Principles of Accounting with Ledger,  Prev: Introduction to Ledger,  Up: Top

2 Ledger Tutorial
*****************

* Menu:

* Start a Journal File::
* Run a Few Reports::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Start a Journal File,  Next: Run a Few Reports,  Prev: Ledger Tutorial,  Up: Ledger Tutorial

2.1 Start a Journal File
========================

A journal is a record of your financial transactions and will be central
to using Ledger.  For now we just want to get a taste of what Ledger can
do.  An example journal is included with the source code distribution,
called ‘drewr3.dat’ (*note Example Journal File::).  Copy it someplace
convenient and open up a terminal window in that directory.

   If you would rather start with your own journal right away please
*note Keeping a Journal::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Run a Few Reports,  Prev: Start a Journal File,  Up: Ledger Tutorial

2.2 Run a Few Reports
=====================

* Menu:

* Balance Report::
* Register Report::
* Cleared Report::
* Using the Windows Command-Line::

Please note that as a command-line program, Ledger is controlled from
your shell.  There are several different command shells that all behave
slightly differently with respect to some special characters.  In
particular, the "bash" shell will interpret ‘$’ signs differently than
ledger and they must be escaped to reach the actual program.  Another
example is "zsh", which will interpret ‘^’ differently than ledger
expects.  In all cases that follow you should take that into account
when entering the command-line arguments as given.  There are too many
variations between shells to give concrete examples for each.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balance Report,  Next: Register Report,  Prev: Run a Few Reports,  Up: Run a Few Reports

2.2.1 Balance Report
--------------------

To find the balances of all of your accounts, run this command:

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat balance

   Ledger will generate:

              $ -3,804.00  Assets
               $ 1,396.00    Checking
                  $ 30.00      Business
              $ -5,200.00    Savings
              $ -1,000.00  Equity:Opening Balances
               $ 6,654.00  Expenses
               $ 5,500.00    Auto
                  $ 20.00    Books
                 $ 300.00    Escrow
                 $ 334.00    Food:Groceries
                 $ 500.00    Interest:Mortgage
              $ -2,030.00  Income
              $ -2,000.00    Salary
                 $ -30.00    Sales
                 $ -63.60  Liabilities
                 $ -20.00    MasterCard
                 $ 200.00    Mortgage:Principal
                $ -243.60    Tithe
     --------------------
                $ -243.60

Showing you the balance of all accounts.  Options and search terms can
pare this down to show only the accounts you want.

   A more useful report is to show only your Assets and Liabilities:

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat balance Assets Liabilities

              $ -3,804.00  Assets
               $ 1,396.00    Checking
                  $ 30.00      Business
              $ -5,200.00    Savings
                 $ -63.60  Liabilities
                 $ -20.00    MasterCard
                 $ 200.00    Mortgage:Principal
                $ -243.60    Tithe
     --------------------
              $ -3,867.60


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Register Report,  Next: Cleared Report,  Prev: Balance Report,  Up: Run a Few Reports

2.2.2 Register Report
---------------------

To show all transactions and a running total:

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat register

Ledger will generate:

     10-Dec-01 Checking balance      Assets:Checking          $ 1,000.00   $ 1,000.00
                                     Equit:Opening Balances  $ -1,000.00            0
     10-Dec-20 Organic Co-op         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 37.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 75.00
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 112.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 150.00
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 187.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 225.00
                                     Assets:Checking           $ -225.00            0
     10-Dec-28 Acme Mortgage         Lia:Mortgage:Principal     $ 200.00     $ 200.00
                                     Expe:Interest:Mortgage     $ 500.00     $ 700.00
                                     Expenses:Escrow            $ 300.00   $ 1,000.00
                                     Assets:Checking         $ -1,000.00            0
     11-Jan-02 Grocery Store         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 65.00      $ 65.00
                                     Assets:Checking            $ -65.00            0
     11-Jan-05 Employer              Assets:Checking          $ 2,000.00   $ 2,000.00
                                     Income:Salary           $ -2,000.00            0
                                     (Liabilities:Tithe)       $ -240.00    $ -240.00
     11-Jan-14 Bank                  Assets:Savings             $ 300.00      $ 60.00
                                     Assets:Checking           $ -300.00    $ -240.00
     11-Jan-19 Grocery Store         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 44.00    $ -196.00
                                     Assets:Checking            $ -44.00    $ -240.00
     11-Jan-25 Bank                  Assets:Checking          $ 5,500.00   $ 5,260.00
                                     Assets:Savings          $ -5,500.00    $ -240.00
     11-Jan-25 Tom's Used Cars       Expenses:Auto            $ 5,500.00   $ 5,260.00
                                     Assets:Checking         $ -5,500.00    $ -240.00
     11-Jan-27 Book Store            Expenses:Books              $ 20.00    $ -220.00
                                     Liabilities:MasterCard     $ -20.00    $ -240.00
     11-Dec-01 Sale                  Asse:Checking:Business      $ 30.00    $ -210.00
                                     Income:Sales               $ -30.00    $ -240.00
                                     (Liabilities:Tithe)         $ -3.60    $ -243.60

To limit this to a more useful subset, simply add the accounts you are
interested in seeing transactions for:

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat register Groceries

     10-Dec-20 Organic Co-op         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 37.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 75.00
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 112.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 150.00
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 187.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 225.00
     11-Jan-02 Grocery Store         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 65.00     $ 290.00
     11-Jan-19 Grocery Store         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 44.00     $ 334.00

Which matches the balance reported for the ‘Groceries’ account:

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat balance Groceries

                 $ 334.00  Expenses:Food:Groceries

If you would like to find transaction to only a certain payee use
‘payee’ or ‘@’:

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat register payee "Organic"

     10-Dec-20 Organic Co-op         Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 37.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 75.00
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 112.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 150.00
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 187.50
                                     Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 225.00
                                     Assets:Checking           $ -225.00            0


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Cleared Report,  Next: Using the Windows Command-Line,  Prev: Register Report,  Up: Run a Few Reports

2.2.3 Cleared Report
--------------------

A very useful report is to show what your obligations are versus what
expenditures have actually been recorded.  It can take several days for
a check to clear, but you should treat it as money spent.  The ‘cleared’
report shows just that (note that the ‘cleared’ report will not format
correctly for accounts that contain multiple commodities):

     $ ledger -f drewr3.dat cleared

          $ -3,804.00            $ 775.00                 Assets
           $ 1,396.00            $ 775.00    10-Dec-20      Checking
              $ 30.00                   0                     Business
          $ -5,200.00                   0                   Savings
          $ -1,000.00         $ -1,000.00    10-Dec-01    Equity:Opening Balances
           $ 6,654.00            $ 225.00                 Expenses
           $ 5,500.00                   0                   Auto
              $ 20.00                   0                   Books
             $ 300.00                   0                   Escrow
             $ 334.00            $ 225.00    10-Dec-20      Food:Groceries
             $ 500.00                   0                   Interest:Mortgage
          $ -2,030.00                   0                 Income
          $ -2,000.00                   0                   Salary
             $ -30.00                   0                   Sales
             $ -63.60                   0                 Liabilities
             $ -20.00                   0                   MasterCard
             $ 200.00                   0                   Mortgage:Principal
            $ -243.60                   0                   Tithe
     ----------------    ----------------    ---------
            $ -243.60                   0

The first column shows the outstanding balance, the second column shows
the "cleared" balance.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Using the Windows Command-Line,  Prev: Cleared Report,  Up: Run a Few Reports

2.2.4 Using the Windows Command-Line
------------------------------------

Using ledger under the windows command shell has one significant
limitation.  CMD.EXE is limited to standard ASCII characters and as such
cannot display any currency symbols other than dollar signs ‘$’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Principles of Accounting with Ledger,  Next: Keeping a Journal,  Prev: Ledger Tutorial,  Up: Top

3 Principles of Accounting with Ledger
**************************************

* Menu:

* Accounting with Ledger::
* Stating where money goes::
* Assets and Liabilities::
* Commodities and Currencies::
* Accounts and Inventories::
* Understanding Equity::
* Dealing with Petty Cash::
* Working with multiple funds and accounts::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Accounting with Ledger,  Next: Stating where money goes,  Prev: Principles of Accounting with Ledger,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.1 Accounting with Ledger
==========================

Accounting is simply tracking your money.  It can range from nothing,
and just waiting for automatic overdraft protection to kick in, or not,
to a full-blown double-entry accounting system.  Ledger accomplishes the
latter.  With ledger you can handle your personal finances or your
business's.  Double-entry accounting scales.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Stating where money goes,  Next: Assets and Liabilities,  Prev: Accounting with Ledger,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.2 Stating where money goes
============================

Accountants will talk of "credits" and "debits", but the meaning is
often different from the layman's understanding.  To avoid confusion,
Ledger uses only subtractions and additions, although the underlying
intent is the same as standard accounting principles.

   Recall that every posting will involve two or more accounts.  Money
is transferred from one or more accounts to one or more other accounts.
To record the posting, an amount is _subtracted_ from the source
accounts, and _added_ to the target accounts.

   In order to write a Ledger transaction correctly, you must determine
where the money comes from and where it goes to.  For example, when you
are paid a salary, you must add money to your bank account and also
subtract it from an income account:

     9/29  My Employer
         Assets:Checking                           $500.00
         Income:Salary                            $-500.00

   Why is the Income a negative figure?  When you look at the balance
totals for your ledger, you may be surprised to see that Expenses are a
positive figure, and Income is a negative figure.  It may take some
getting used to, but to properly use a general ledger you must think in
terms of how money moves.  Rather than Ledger "fixing" the minus signs,
let's understand why they are there.

   When you earn money, the money has to come from somewhere.  Let's
call that somewhere "society".  In order for society to give you an
income, you must take money away (withdraw) from society in order to put
it into (make a payment to) your bank.  When you then spend that money,
it leaves your bank account (a withdrawal) and goes back to society (a
payment).  This is why Income will appear negative--it reflects the
money you have drawn from society--and why Expenses will be positive--it
is the amount you've given back.  These additions and subtractions will
always cancel each other out in the end, because you don't have the
ability to create new money: it must always come from somewhere, and in
the end must always leave.  This is the beginning of economy, after
which the explanation gets terribly difficult.

   Based on that explanation, here's another way to look at your balance
report: every negative figure means that that account or person or place
has less money now than when you started your ledger; and every positive
figure means that that account or person or place has more money now
than when you started your ledger.  Make sense?


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Assets and Liabilities,  Next: Commodities and Currencies,  Prev: Stating where money goes,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.3 Assets and Liabilities
==========================

Assets are money that you have, and Liabilities are money that you owe.
"Liabilities" is just a more inclusive name for Debts.

   An Asset is typically increased by transferring money from an Income
account, such as when you get paid.  Here is a typical transaction:

     2004/09/29  My Employer
         Assets:Checking               $500.00
         Income:Salary

   Money, here, comes from an Income account belonging to ‘My Employer’,
and is transferred to your checking account.  The money is now yours,
which makes it an Asset.

   Liabilities track money owed to others.  This can happen when you
borrow money to buy something, or if you owe someone money.  Here is an
example of increasing a MasterCard liability by spending money with it:

     2004/09/30  Restaurant
         Expenses:Dining                $25.00
         Liabilities:MasterCard

   The Dining account balance now shows $25 spent on Dining, and a
corresponding $25 owed on the MasterCard--and therefore shown as
$-25.00.  The MasterCard liability shows up as negative because it
offsets the value of your assets.

   The combined total of your Assets and Liabilities is your net worth.
So to see your current net worth, use this command:

     $ ledger balance ^assets ^liabilities

                  $500.00  Assets:Checking
                  $-25.00  Liabilities:MasterCard
     --------------------
                  $475.00

   In a similar vein, your Income accounts show up negative, because
they transfer money _from_ an account in order to increase your assets.
Your Expenses show up positive because that is where the money went to.
The combined total of Income and Expenses is your cash flow.  A positive
cash flow means you are spending more than you make, since income is
always a negative figure.  To see your current cash flow, use this
command:

     $ ledger balance ^income ^expenses

                   $25.00  Expenses:Dining
                 $-500.00  Income:Salary
     --------------------
                 $-475.00

   Another common question to ask of your expenses is: How much do I
spend each month on X? Ledger provides a simple way of displaying
monthly totals for any account.  Here is an example that summarizes your
monthly automobile expenses:

     $ ledger -M register -f drewr3.dat expenses:auto

     11-Jan-01 - 11-Jan-31           Expenses:Auto            $ 5,500.00   $ 5,500.00

   This assumes, of course, that you use account names like
‘Expenses:Auto:Gas’ and ‘Expenses:Auto:Repair’.

* Menu:

* Tracking reimbursable expenses::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Tracking reimbursable expenses,  Prev: Assets and Liabilities,  Up: Assets and Liabilities

3.3.1 Tracking reimbursable expenses
------------------------------------

Sometimes you will want to spend money on behalf of someone else, which
will eventually get repaid.  Since the money is still _yours_, it is
really an asset.  And since the expenditure was for someone else, you
don't want it contaminating your Expenses reports.  You will need to
keep an account for tracking reimbursements.

   This is fairly easy to do in ledger.  When spending the money, spend
it _to_ your Assets:Reimbursements, using a different account for each
person or business that you spend money for.  For example:

     2004/09/29  Circuit City
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ     $100.00
         Liabilities:MasterCard

   This shows $100.00 spent on a MasterCard at Circuit City, with the
expense was made on behalf of Company XYZ. Later, when Company XYZ pays
the amount back, the money will transfer from that reimbursement account
back to a regular asset account:

     2004/09/29  Company XYZ
         Assets:Checking                       $100.00
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ

   This deposits the money owed from Company XYZ into a checking
account, presumably because they paid the amount back with a check.

   But what to do if you run your own business, and you want to keep
track of expenses made on your own behalf, while still tracking
everything in a single ledger file?  This is more complex, because you
need to track two separate things: 1) The fact that the money should be
reimbursed to you, and 2) What the expense account was, so that you can
later determine where your company is spending its money.

   This kind of posting is best handled with mirrored postings in two
different files, one for your personal accounts, and one for your
company accounts.  But keeping them in one file involves the same kinds
of postings, so those are what is shown here.  First, the personal
transaction, which shows the need for reimbursement:

     2004/09/29  Circuit City
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ     $100.00
         Liabilities:MasterCard

   This is the same as above, except that you own Company XYZ, and are
keeping track of its expenses in the same ledger file.  This transaction
should be immediately followed by an equivalent transaction, which shows
the kind of expense, and also notes the fact that $100.00 is now payable
to you:

     2004/09/29  Circuit City
         Company XYZ:Expenses:Computer:Software      $100.00
         Company XYZ:Accounts Payable:Your Name

   This second transaction shows that Company XYZ has just spent $100.00
on software, and that this $100.00 came from Your Name, which must be
paid back.

   These two transactions can also be merged, to make things a little
clearer.  Note that all amounts must be specified now:

     2004/09/29  Circuit City
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ         $100.00
         Liabilities:MasterCard                   $-100.00
         Company XYZ:Expenses:Computer:Software    $100.00
         Company XYZ:Accounts Payable:Your Name   $-100.00

   To "pay back" the reimbursement, just reverse the order of
everything, except this time drawing the money from a company asset,
paying it to accounts payable, and then drawing it again from the
reimbursement account, and paying it to your personal asset account.
It's easier shown than said:

     2004/10/15  Company XYZ
         Assets:Checking                           $100.00
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ        $-100.00
         Company XYZ:Accounts Payable:Your Name    $100.00
         Company XYZ:Assets:Checking              $-100.00

   And now the reimbursements account is paid off, accounts payable is
paid off, and $100.00 has been effectively transferred from the
company's checking account to your personal checking account.  The money
simply "waited"--in both ‘Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ’, and
‘Company XYZ:Accounts Payable:Your Name’--until such time as it could be
paid off.

   The value of tracking expenses from both sides like that is that you
do not contaminate your personal expense report with expenses made on
behalf of others, while at the same time making it possible to generate
accurate reports of your company's expenditures.  It is more verbose
than just paying for things with your personal assets, but it gives you
a very accurate information trail.

   The advantage to keep these doubled transactions together is that
they always stay in sync.  The advantage to keeping them apart is that
it clarifies the transfer's point of view.  To keep the postings in
separate files, just separate the two transactions that were joined
above.  For example, for both the expense and the pay-back shown above,
the following four transactions would be created.  Two in your personal
ledger file:

     2004/09/29  Circuit City
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ     $100.00
         Liabilities:MasterCard               $-100.00

     2004/10/15  Company XYZ
         Assets:Checking                       $100.00
         Assets:Reimbursements:Company XYZ    $-100.00

   And two in your company ledger file:

     apply account Company XYZ

     2004/09/29  Circuit City
         Expenses:Computer:Software            $100.00
         Accounts Payable:Your Name           $-100.00

     2004/10/15  Company XYZ
         Accounts Payable:Your Name            $100.00
         Assets:Checking                      $-100.00

     end apply account

   (Note: The ‘apply account’ above means that all accounts mentioned in
the file are children of that account.  In this case it means that all
activity in the file relates to Company XYZ).

   After creating these transactions, you will always know that $100.00
was spent using your MasterCard on behalf of Company XYZ, and that
Company XYZ spent the money on computer software and paid it back about
two weeks later.

     $ ledger balance --no-total

                  $100.00  Assets:Checking
                        0  Company XYZ
                 $-100.00    Assets:Checking
                  $100.00    Expenses:Computer:Software
                 $-100.00  Liabilities:MasterCard


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commodities and Currencies,  Next: Accounts and Inventories,  Prev: Assets and Liabilities,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.4 Commodities and Currencies
==============================

Ledger makes no assumptions about the commodities you use; it only
requires that you specify a commodity.  The commodity may be any
non-numeric string that does not contain a period, comma, forward slash
or at-sign.  It may appear before or after the amount, although it is
assumed that symbols appearing before the amount refer to currencies,
while non-joined symbols appearing after the amount refer to
commodities.  Here are some valid currency and commodity specifiers:

     $20.00         ; currency: twenty US dollars
     40 AAPL        ; commodity: 40 shares of Apple stock
     60 DM          ; currency: 60 Deutsche Mark
     £50            ; currency: 50 British pounds
     50 EUR         ; currency: 50 Euros (or use appropriate symbol)

   Ledger will examine the first use of any commodity to determine how
that commodity should be printed on reports.  It pays attention to
whether the name of commodity was separated from the amount, whether it
came before or after, the precision used in specifying the amount,
whether thousand marks were used, etc.  This is done so that printing
the commodity looks the same as the way you use it.

   An account may contain multiple commodities, in which case it will
have separate totals for each.  For example, if your brokerage account
contains both cash, gold, and several stock quantities, the balance
might look like:

       $200.00
     100.00 AU
       AAPL 40
      BORL 100
      FEQTX 50  Assets:Brokerage

   This balance report shows how much of each commodity is in your
brokerage account.

   Sometimes, you will want to know the current street value of your
balance, and not the commodity totals.  For this to happen, you must
specify what the current price is for each commodity.  The price can be
any commodity, in which case the balance will be computed in terms of
that commodity.  The usual way to specify prices is with a price history
file, which might look like this:

     P 2004/06/21 02:18:01 FEQTX $22.49
     P 2004/06/21 02:18:01 BORL $6.20
     P 2004/06/21 02:18:02 AAPL $32.91
     P 2004/06/21 02:18:02 AU $400.00

   Specify the price history to use with the ‘--price-db FILE’ option,
with the ‘--market (-V)’ option to report in terms of current market
value:

     $ ledger --price-db prices.db -V balance brokerage

   The balance for your brokerage account will be reported in US
dollars, since the prices database uses that currency.

     $40880.00  Assets:Brokerage

   You can convert from any commodity to any other commodity.  Let's say
you had $5000 in your checking account, and for whatever reason you
wanted to know how many ounces of gold that would buy, in terms of the
current price of gold:

     $ ledger -X AU balance checking

   The result of this command might be:

     12.50 AU  Assets:Checking

* Menu:

* Commodity price histories::
* Commodity equivalences::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commodity price histories,  Next: Commodity equivalences,  Prev: Commodities and Currencies,  Up: Commodities and Currencies

3.4.1 Commodity price histories
-------------------------------

Whenever a commodity is purchased using a different commodity (such as a
share of common stock using dollars), it establishes a price for that
commodity on that day.  It is also possible, by recording price details
in a ledger file, to specify other prices for commodities at any given
time.  Such price transactions might look like those below:

     P 2004/06/21 02:17:58 TWCUX $27.76
     P 2004/06/21 02:17:59 AGTHX $25.41
     P 2004/06/21 02:18:00 OPTFX $39.31
     P 2004/06/21 02:18:01 FEQTX $22.49
     P 2004/06/21 02:18:02 AAPL $32.91

   By default, ledger will not consider commodity prices when generating
its various reports.  It will always report balances in terms of the
commodity total, rather than the current value of those commodities.  To
enable pricing reports, use one of the commodity reporting options.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commodity equivalences,  Prev: Commodity price histories,  Up: Commodities and Currencies

3.4.2 Commodity equivalences
----------------------------

Sometimes a commodity has several forms which are all equivalent.  An
example of this is time.  Whether tracked in terms of minutes, hours or
days, it should be possible to convert between the various forms.  Doing
this requires the use of commodity equivalences.

   For example, you might have the following two postings, one which
transfers an hour of time into a ‘Billable’ account, and another which
decreases the same account by ten minutes.  The resulting report will
indicate that fifty minutes remain:

     2005/10/01 Work done for company
         Billable:Client                 1h
         Project:XYZ

     2005/10/02 Return ten minutes to the project
         Project:XYZ                    10m
         Billable:Client

   Reporting the balance for this ledger file produces:

     $ ledger --no-total balance Billable Project

                    50.0m  Billable:Client
                   -50.0m  Project:XYZ

   This example works because ledger already knows how to handle
seconds, minutes and hours, as part of its time tracking support.
Defining other equivalences is simple.  The following is an example that
creates data equivalences, helpful for tracking bytes, kilobytes,
megabytes, and more:

     C 1.00 Kb = 1024 b
     C 1.00 Mb = 1024 Kb
     C 1.00 Gb = 1024 Mb
     C 1.00 Tb = 1024 Gb

   Each of these definitions correlates a commodity (such as ‘Kb’) and a
default precision, with a certain quantity of another commodity.  In the
above example, kilobytes are reported with two decimal places of
precision and each kilobyte is equal to 1024 bytes.

   Equivalence chains can be as long as desired.  Whenever a commodity
would report as a decimal amount (less than ‘1.00’), the next smallest
commodity is used.  If a commodity could be reported in terms of a
higher commodity without resulting to a partial fraction, then the
larger commodity is used.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Accounts and Inventories,  Next: Understanding Equity,  Prev: Commodities and Currencies,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.5 Accounts and Inventories
============================

Since Ledger's accounts and commodity system is so flexible, you can
have accounts that don't really exist, and use commodities that no one
else recognizes.  For example, let's say you are buying and selling
various items in EverQuest, and want to keep track of them using a
ledger.  Just add items of whatever quantity you wish into your
EverQuest account:

     9/29  Get some stuff at the Inn
         Places:Black's Tavern                   -3 Apples
         Places:Black's Tavern                   -5 Steaks
         EverQuest:Inventory

   Now your EverQuest:Inventory has 3 apples and 5 steaks in it.  The
amounts are negative, because you are taking _from_ Black's Tavern in
order to add to your Inventory account.  Note that you don't have to use
‘Places:Black's Tavern’ as the source account.  You could use
‘EverQuest:System’ to represent the fact that you acquired them online.
The only purpose for choosing one kind of source account over another is
to generate more informative reports later on.  The more you know, the
better the analysis you can perform.

   If you later sell some of these items to another player, the
transaction would look like:

     10/2  Sturm Brightblade
         EverQuest:Inventory                     -2 Steaks
         EverQuest:Inventory                     15 Gold

   Now you've turned 2 steaks into 15 gold, courtesy of your customer,
Sturm Brightblade.

     $ ledger balance EverQuest

                 3 Apples
                  15 Gold
                 3 Steaks  EverQuest:Inventory


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Understanding Equity,  Next: Dealing with Petty Cash,  Prev: Accounts and Inventories,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.6 Understanding Equity
========================

The most confusing transaction in any ledger will be your equity
account--because starting balances can't come out of nowhere.

   When you first start your ledger, you will likely already have money
in some of your accounts.  Let's say there's $100 in your checking
account; then add a transaction to your ledger to reflect this amount.
Where will the money come from?  The answer: your equity.

     10/2  Opening Balance
         Assets:Checking                         $100.00
         Equity:Opening Balances

   But what is equity?  You may have heard of equity when people talked
about house mortgages, as "the part of the house that you own".
Basically, equity is like the value of something.  If you own a car
worth $5000, then you have $5000 in equity in that car.  In order to
turn that car (a commodity) into a cash flow, or a credit to your bank
account, you will have to debit the equity by selling it.

   When you start a ledger, you probably already have a net worth.  Your
net worth is your current equity.  By transferring the money in the
ledger from your equity to your bank accounts, you are crediting the
ledger account based on your prior equity.  That is why, when you look
at the balance report, you will see a large negative number for Equity
that never changes: Because that is what you were worth (what you
debited from yourself in order to start the ledger) before the money
started moving around.  If the total positive value of your assets is
greater than the absolute value of your starting equity, it means you
are making money.

   Clear as mud?  Keep thinking about it.  Until you figure it out, put
‘not Equity’ at the end of your balance command, to remove the confusing
figure from the total.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Dealing with Petty Cash,  Next: Working with multiple funds and accounts,  Prev: Understanding Equity,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.7 Dealing with Petty Cash
===========================

Something that stops many people from keeping a ledger at all is the
insanity of tracking small cash expenses.  They rarely generate a
receipt, and there are often a lot of small postings, rather than a few
large ones, as with checks.

   One solution is: don't bother.  Move your spending to a debit card,
but in general ignore cash.  Once you withdraw it from the ATM, mark it
as already spent to an ‘Expenses:Cash’ category:

     2004/03/15 ATM
         Expenses:Cash                      $100.00
         Assets:Checking

   If at some point you make a large cash expense that you want to
track, just _move_ the amount of the expense from ‘Expenses:Cash’ into
the target account:

     2004/03/20 Somebody
         Expenses:Food                       $65.00
         Expenses:Cash

   This way, you can still track large cash expenses, while ignoring all
of the smaller ones.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Working with multiple funds and accounts,  Prev: Dealing with Petty Cash,  Up: Principles of Accounting with Ledger

3.8 Working with multiple funds and accounts
============================================

There are situations when the accounts you're tracking are different
between your clients and the financial institutions where money is kept.
An example of this is working as the treasurer for a religious
institution.  From the secular point of view, you might be working with
three different accounts:

   • Checking
   • Savings
   • Credit Card

   From a religious point of view, the community expects to divide its
resources into multiple "funds", from which it makes purchases or
reserves resources for later:

   • School fund
   • Building fund
   • Community fund

   The problem with this kind of setup is that, when you spend money, it
comes from two or more places at once: the account and the fund.  And
yet, the correlation of amounts between funds and accounts is rarely
one-to-one.  What if the school fund has ‘$500.00’, but ‘$400.00’ of
that comes from Checking, and ‘$100.00’ from Savings?

   Traditional finance packages require that the money reside in only
one place.  But there are really two "views" of the data: from the
account point of view and from the fund point of view--yet both sets
should reflect the same overall expenses and cash flow.  It's simply
where the money resides that differs.

   This situation can be handled in one of two ways.  The first is using
virtual postings to represent the fact that money is moving to and from
two kind of accounts at the same time:

     2004/03/20 Contributions
         Assets:Checking                    $500.00
         Income:Donations

     2004/03/25 Distribution of donations
         [Funds:School]                     $300.00
         [Funds:Building]                   $200.00
         [Assets:Checking]                 $-500.00

   The use of square brackets in the second transaction ensures that the
virtual postings balance to zero.  Now money can be spent directly from
a fund at the same time as money is drawn from a physical account:

     2004/03/25 Payment for books (paid from Checking)
         Expenses:Books                    $100.00
         Assets:Checking                  $-100.00
         (Funds:School)                   $-100.00

   The use of round brackets creates a virtual posting without ensuring
a balance to zero.  When reports are generated, by default they'll
appear in terms of the funds.  In this case, you will likely want to
mask out your ‘Assets’ account, because otherwise the balance won't make
much sense:

     $ ledger --no-total bal not ^Assets

                  $100.00  Expenses:Books
                  $400.00  Funds
                  $200.00    Building
                  $200.00    School
                 $-500.00  Income:Donations

   If the ‘--real’ option is used, the report will be in terms of the
real accounts:

     $ ledger --real --no-total bal

                  $400.00  Assets:Checking
                  $100.00  Expenses:Books
                 $-500.00  Income:Donations

   If more asset accounts are needed as the source of a posting, just
list them as you would normally, for example:

     2004/03/25 Payment for books (paid from Checking)
         Expenses:Books                    $100.00
         Assets:Checking                   $-50.00
         Liabilities:Credit Card           $-50.00
         (Funds:School)                   $-100.00

   The second way of tracking funds is to use transaction codes.  In
this respect the codes become like virtual accounts that embrace the
entire set of postings.  Basically, we are associating a transaction
with a fund by setting its code.  Here are two transactions that deposit
money into, and spend money from, the ‘Funds:School’ fund:

     2004/03/25 (Funds:School) Donations
         Assets:Checking                   $100.00
         Income:Donations

     2004/03/25 (Funds:Building) Donations
         Assets:Checking                   $20.00
         Income:Donations

     2004/04/25 (Funds:School) Payment for books
         Expenses:Books                     $50.00
         Assets:Checking

   Note how the accounts now relate only to the real accounts, and any
balance or register reports will reflect this.  That the transactions
relate to a particular fund is kept only in the code.

   How does this become a fund report?  By using the ‘--payee=code’
option, you can generate a register report where the payee for each
posting shows the code.  Alone, this is not terribly interesting; but
when combined with the ‘--by-payee (-P)’ option, you will now see
account subtotals for any postings related to a specific fund.  So, to
see the current monetary balances of all funds, the command would be:

     $ ledger --payee=code -P reg ^Assets

     04-Mar-25 Funds:Building        Assets:Checking              $20.00       $20.00
     04-Mar-25 Funds:School          Assets:Checking              $50.00       $70.00

   Or to see a particular fund's expenses, the ‘School’ fund in this
case:

     $ ledger --payee=code -P reg ^Expenses and code School

     04-Apr-25 Funds:School          Expenses:Books               $50.00       $50.00

   Both approaches yield different kinds of flexibility, depending on
how you prefer to think of your funds: as virtual accounts, or as tags
associated with particular transactions.  Your own tastes will decide
which is best for your situation.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Keeping a Journal,  Next: Transactions,  Prev: Principles of Accounting with Ledger,  Up: Top

4 Keeping a Journal
*******************

The most important part of accounting is keeping a good journal.  If you
have a good journal, tools can be written to work whatever mathematical
tricks you need to better understand your spending patterns.  Without a
good journal, no tool, however smart, can help you.

   The Ledger program aims at making journal transactions as simple as
possible.  Since it is a command-line tool, it does not provide a user
interface for keeping a journal.  If you require a user interface to
maintain journal transactions GnuCash is a good alternative.

   If you are not using GnuCash, but a text editor to maintain your
journal, read on.  Ledger has been designed to make data transactions as
simple as possible, by keeping the journal format easy, and also by
automagically determining as much information as possible based on the
nature of your transactions.

   For example, you do not need to tell Ledger about the accounts you
use.  Any time Ledger sees a posting involving an account it knows
nothing about, it will create it(1).  If you use a commodity that is new
to Ledger, it will create that commodity, and determine its display
characteristics (placement of the symbol before or after the amount,
display precision, etc.)  based on how you used the commodity in the
posting.

* Menu:

* The Most Basic Entry::
* Starting up::
* Structuring your Accounts::
* Commenting on your Journal::
* Currency and Commodities::
* Keeping it Consistent::
* Journal Format::
* Converting from other formats::
* Archiving Previous Years::

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) This also means if you misspell an account it will end up getting
counted separately from what you intended.  An Emacs major mode
ledger-mode (https://github.com/ledger/ledger-mode/) provides tab
completion for automatically filling in account names.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The Most Basic Entry,  Next: Starting up,  Prev: Keeping a Journal,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.1 The Most Basic Entry
========================

Here is the Pacific Bell example from above, given as a Ledger posting,
with the addition of a check number:

     9/29 (1023) Pacific Bell
         Expenses:Utilities:Phone                   $23.00
         Assets:Checking                           $-23.00

   As you can see, it is very similar to what would be written on paper,
minus the computed balance totals, and adding in account names that work
better with Ledger's scheme of things.  In fact, since Ledger is smart
about many things, you don't need to specify the balanced amount, if it
is the same as the first line:

     9/29 (1023) Pacific Bell
         Expenses:Utilities:Phone                   $23.00
         Assets:Checking

   For this transaction, Ledger will figure out that $-23.00 must come
from ‘Assets:Checking’ in order to balance the transaction.

   Also note the structure of the account entries.  There is an implied
hierarchy established by separating with colons (*note Structuring your
Accounts::).

   *The format is very flexible and it isn't necessary that you indent
and space out things exactly as shown.  The only requirements are that
the start of the transaction (the date typically) is at the beginning of
the first line of the transaction, and the accounts are indented by at
least one space.  If you omit the leading spaces in the account lines
Ledger will generate an error.  There must be at least two spaces, or a
tab, between the amount and the account.  If you do not have adequate
separation between the amount and the account Ledger will give an error
and stop calculating.*


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Starting up,  Next: Structuring your Accounts,  Prev: The Most Basic Entry,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.2 Starting up
===============

Unless you have recently arrived from another planet, you already have a
financial state.  You need to capture that financial state so that
Ledger has a starting point.

   At some convenient point in time you knew the balances and
outstanding obligation of every financial account you have.  Those
amounts form the basis of the opening entry for ledger.  For example if
you chose the beginning of 2011 as the date to start tracking finances
with ledger, your opening balance entry could look like this:

     2011/01/01 * Opening Balance
         Assets:Joint Checking                   $800.14
         Assets:Other Checking                    $63.44
         Assets:Savings                         $2805.54
         Assets:Investments:401K:Deferred         100.0000 VIFSX @ $80.5227
         Assets:Investments:401K:Matching          50.0000 VIFSX @ $83.7015
         Assets:Investments:IRA                   250.0000 VTHRX @ $20.5324
         Liabilities:Mortgage                $-175634.88
         Liabilities:Car Loan                  $-3494.26
         Liabilities:Visa                      -$1762.44
         Equity:Opening Balances

   There is nothing special about the name "Opening Balances" as the
payee of the account name, anything convenient that you understand will
work.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Structuring your Accounts,  Next: Commenting on your Journal,  Prev: Starting up,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.3 Structuring your Accounts
=============================

There really are no requirements for how you do this, but to preserve
your sanity we suggest some very basic structure to your accounting
system.

   At the highest level you have five sorts of accounts:

  1. Expenses: where money goes,
  2. Assets: where money sits,
  3. Income: where money comes from,
  4. Liabilities: money you owe,
  5. Equity: the real value of your property.

   Starting the structure off this way will make it simpler for you to
get answers to the questions you really need to ask about your finances.

   Beneath these top level accounts you can have any level of detail you
desire.  For example, if you want to keep specific track of how much you
spend on burgers and fries, you could have the following:

     Expenses:Food:Hamburgers and Fries


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commenting on your Journal,  Next: Currency and Commodities,  Prev: Structuring your Accounts,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.4 Commenting on your Journal
==============================

Comments are generally started using a ‘;’.  However, in order to
increase compatibility with other text manipulation programs and
methods, four additional comment characters are valid if used at the
beginning of a line: ‘#’, ‘|’, and ‘*’ and ‘%’.

   Block comments can be made by use ‘comment’ ...  ‘end comment’.

     ; This is a single line comment,
     #  and this,
     %   and this,
     |    and this,
     *     and this.

     comment
         This is a block comment with
         multiple lines
     end comment

   There are several forms of comments within a transaction, for
example:

     ; this is a global comment that is not applied to a specific transaction
     ; it can start with any of the five characters but is not included in the
     ; output from 'print' or 'output'

     2011/12/11  Something Sweet
         ; German Chocolate Cake
         ; :Broke Diet:
         Expenses:Food                  $10.00 ; Friends: The gang
         Assets:Credit Union:Checking

The first comment is global and Ledger will not attach it to any
specific transactions.  The comments within the transaction must all
start with ‘;’ and are preserved as part of the transaction.  The ‘:’
indicates meta-data and tags (*note Metadata::).


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Currency and Commodities,  Next: Keeping it Consistent,  Prev: Commenting on your Journal,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.5 Currency and Commodities
============================

Ledger is agnostic when it comes to how you value your accounts.
Dollars, Euros, Pounds, Francs, Shares etc.  are all just "commodities".
Holdings in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other financial instruments
can be labeled using whatever is convenient for you (stock ticker
symbols are suggested for publicly traded assets).(1)

   For the rest of this manual, we will only use the word "commodities"
when referring to the units on a transaction value.

   This is fundamentally different than many common accounting packages,
which assume the same currency throughout all of your accounts.  This
means if you typically operate in Euros, but travel to the US and have
some expenses, you would have to do the currency conversion _before_ you
made the entry into your financial system.  With ledger this is not
required.  In the same journal you can have entries in any or all
commodities you actually hold.  You can use the reporting capabilities
to convert all commodities to a single commodity for reporting purposes
without ever changing the underlying entry.

   For example, the following entries reflect transactions made for a
business trip to Europe from the US:

     2011/09/23 Cash in Munich
         Assets:Cash                               €50.00
         Assets:Checking                          $-66.00

     2011/09/24 Dinner in Munich
         Expenses:Business:Travel                  €35.00
         Assets:Cash

   This says that $66.00 came out of checking and turned into 50 Euros.
The implied exchange rate was $1.32.  Then 35.00 Euros were spent on
Dinner in Munich.

   Running a ledger balance report shows:

     $ ledger -f example.dat bal

                  $-66.00
                   €15.00  Assets
                   €15.00    Cash
                  $-66.00    Checking
                   €35.00  Expenses:Business:Travel
     --------------------
                  $-66.00
                   €50.00

   The top two lines show my current assets as $-66.00 in checking (in
this very short example I didn't establish opening an opening balance
for the checking account) and €15.00.  After spending on dinner I have
€15.00 in my wallet.  The bottom line balances to zero, but is shown in
two lines since we haven't told ledger to convert commodities.

* Menu:

* Naming Commodities::
* Buying and Selling Stock::
* Fixing Lot Prices::
* Complete control over commodity pricing::

   ---------- Footnotes ----------

   (1) You can track _anything_, even time or distance traveled.  As
long as it cannot be created or destroyed inside your accounting system.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Naming Commodities,  Next: Buying and Selling Stock,  Prev: Currency and Commodities,  Up: Currency and Commodities

4.5.1 Naming Commodities
------------------------

Commodity names can have any character, including white-space.  However,
if you include white-space or numeric characters, the commodity name
must be enclosed in double quotes ‘"’:

     1999/06/09 ! Achat
         Actif:SG PEE STK         49.957 "Arcancia Équilibre 454"
         Actif:SG PEE STK      $-234.90

     2000/12/08 ! Achat
         Actif:SG PEE STK        215.796 "Arcancia Équilibre 455"
         Actif:SG PEE STK    $-10742.54

   Please note that, for querying quoted commodities, the quotes need to
be escaped, as follows:

     $ ledger -f d reg -l 'commodity == "\"Arcancia Équilibre 454\""'


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Buying and Selling Stock,  Next: Fixing Lot Prices,  Prev: Naming Commodities,  Up: Currency and Commodities

4.5.2 Buying and Selling Stock
------------------------------

Buying stock is a typical example that many will use that involves
multiple commodities in the same transaction.  The type of the share
(AAPL for Apple Inc.)  and the share purchase price in the currency unit
you made the purchase in ($ for AAPL). Yes, the typical convention is as
follows:

     2004/05/01 Stock purchase
         Assets:Broker                     50 AAPL @ $30.00
         Expenses:Broker:Commissions        $19.95
         Assets:Broker                  $-1,519.95

   This assumes you have a brokerage account that is capable of managing
both liquid and commodity assets.  Now, on the day of the sale:

     2005/08/01 Stock sale
         Assets:Broker                    -50 AAPL {$30.00} @ $50.00
         Expenses:Broker:Commissions        $19.95
         Income:Capital Gains           $-1,000.00
         Assets:Broker                   $2,480.05

You can, of course, elide the amount of the last posting.  It is there
for clarity's sake.

   The ‘{$30.00}’ is a lot price.  You can also use a lot date,
‘[2004/05/01]’, or both, in case you have several lots of the same
price/date and your taxation model is based on longest-held-first.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Fixing Lot Prices,  Next: Complete control over commodity pricing,  Prev: Buying and Selling Stock,  Up: Currency and Commodities

4.5.3 Fixing Lot Prices
-----------------------

Commodities that you keep in order to sell at a later time have a
variable value that fluctuates with the market prices.  Commodities that
you consume should not fluctuate in value, but stay at the lot price
they were purchased at.  As an extension of "lot pricing", you can fix
the per-unit price of a commodity.

   For example, say you buy 10 gallons of gas at $1.20.  In future
"value" reports, you don't want these gallons reported in terms of
today's price, but rather the price when you bought it.  At the same
time, you also want other kinds of commodities--like stocks-- reported
in terms of today's price.

   This is supported as follows:

     2009/01/01 Shell
         Expenses:Gasoline             11 GAL {=$2.299}
         Assets:Checking

   This transaction actually introduces a new commodity, ‘GAL {=$2.29}’,
whose market value disregards any future changes in the price of
gasoline.

   If you do not want price fixing, you can specify this same
transaction in one of two ways, both equivalent (note the lack of the
equal sign compared to the transaction above):

     2009/01/01 Shell
         Expenses:Gasoline             11 GAL {$2.299}
         Assets:Checking

     2009/01/01 Shell
         Expenses:Gasoline             11 GAL @ $2.299
         Assets:Checking

   There is no difference in meaning between these two forms.  Why do
both exist, you ask?  To support things like this:

     2009/01/01 Shell
         Expenses:Gasoline             11 GAL {=$2.299} @ $2.30
         Assets:Checking

   This transaction says that you bought 11 gallons priced at $2.299 per
gallon at a _cost to you_ of $2.30 per gallon.  Ledger auto-generates a
balance posting in this case to Equity:Capital Losses to reflect the 1.1
cent difference, which is then balanced by Assets:Checking because its
amount is null.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Complete control over commodity pricing,  Prev: Fixing Lot Prices,  Up: Currency and Commodities

4.5.4 Complete control over commodity pricing
---------------------------------------------

Ledger allows you to have very detailed control over how your
commodities are valued.  You can fine tune the results given using the
‘--market’ or ‘--exchange COMMODITY’ options.  There are now several
points of interception; you can specify the valuation method:

  1. on a commodity itself,
  2. on a posting, via metadata (effect is largely the same as #1),
  3. on an xact, which then applies to all postings in that xact,
  4. on any posting via an automated transaction,
  5. on a per-account basis,
  6. on a per-commodity basis,
  7. by changing the journal default of ‘market’.

   Fixated pricing (such as ‘{=$20}’) still plays a role in this scheme.
As far as valuation goes, it's shorthand for writing ‘((s,d,t ->
market($20,d,t)))’.

   A valuation function receives three arguments:

‘source’
     A string identifying the commodity whose price is being asked for
     (example: ‘EUR’).

‘date’
     The reference date the price should be relative.

‘target’
     A string identifying the "target" commodity, or the commodity the
     returned price should be in.  This argument is null if ‘--market’
     was used instead of ‘--exchange COMMODITY’.

   The valuation function should return an amount.  If you've written
your function in Python, you can return something like ‘Amount("$100")’.
If the function returns an explicit value, that value is always used,
regardless of the commodity, the date, or the desired target commodity.
For example,

     define myfunc_seven(s, d, t) = 7 EUR

   In order to specify a fixed price, but still valuate that price into
the target commodity, use something like this:

     define myfunc_five(s, d, t) = market(5 EUR, d, t)

   The ‘value’ directive sets the valuation used for all commodities
used in the rest of the data stream.  This is the fallback, if nothing
more specific is found.

     value myfunc_seven

   You can set a specific valuation function on a per-commodity basis.
Instead of defining a function, you can also pass a lambda.

     commodity $
         value s, d, t -> 6 EUR

   Each account can also provide a default valuation function for any
commodities transferred to that account.

     account Expenses:Food5
         value myfunc_five

   The metadata field ‘Value’, if found, overrides the valuation
function on a transaction-wide or per-posting basis.

     = @XACT and Food
         ; Value:: 8 EUR
         (Equity)                     $1

     = @POST and Dining
         (Expenses:Food9)             $1
             ; Value:: 9 EUR

   Lastly, you can specify the valuation function/value for any specific
amount using the ‘(( ))’ commodity annotation.

     2012-03-02 KFC
         Expenses:Food2               $1 ((2 EUR))
         Assets:Cash2

     2012-03-03 KFC
         Expenses:Food3               $1
             ; Value:: 3 EUR
         Assets:Cash3

     2012-03-04 KFC
         ; Value:: 4 EUR
         Expenses:Food4               $1
         Assets:Cash4

     2012-03-05 KFC
         Expenses:Food5               $1
         Assets:Cash5

     2012-03-06 KFC
         Expenses:Food6               $1
         Assets:Cash6

     2012-03-07 KFC
         Expenses:Food7                1 CAD
         Assets:Cash7

     2012-03-08 XACT
         Expenses:Food8               $1
         Assets:Cash8

     2012-03-09 POST
         Expenses:Dining9             $1
         Assets:Cash9

     $ ledger reg -V food

     12-Mar-02 KFC                   Expenses:Food2                2 EUR        2 EUR
     12-Mar-03 KFC                   Expenses:Food3                3 EUR        5 EUR
     12-Mar-04 KFC                   Expenses:Food4                4 EUR        9 EUR
     12-Mar-05 KFC                   Expenses:Food5                   $1           $1
                                                                                9 EUR
     12-Mar-06 KFC                   Expenses:Food6                   $1           $2
                                                                                9 EUR
     12-Mar-07 KFC                   Expenses:Food7                1 CAD           $2
                                                                                1 CAD
                                                                                9 EUR
     12-Mar-08 XACT                  Expenses:Food8                   $1           $3
                                                                                1 CAD
                                                                                9 EUR


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Keeping it Consistent,  Next: Journal Format,  Prev: Currency and Commodities,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.6 Keeping it Consistent
=========================

Sometimes Ledger's flexibility can lead to difficulties.  Using a
freeform text editor to enter transactions makes it easy to keep the
data, but also easy to enter accounts or payees inconsistently or with
spelling errors.

   In order to combat inconsistency you can define allowable accounts
and payees.  For simplicity, create a separate text file and define
accounts and payees like

     account Expenses
     account Expenses:Utilities

   Using the ‘--strict’ option will cause Ledger to complain if any
accounts are not previously defined:

     $ ledger bal --strict
     Warning: "FinanceData/Master.dat", line 6: Unknown account 'Liabilities:Tithe Owed'
     Warning: "FinanceData/Master.dat", line 8: Unknown account 'Liabilities:Tithe Owed'
     Warning: "FinanceData/Master.dat", line 15: Unknown account 'Allocation:Equities:Domestic'

   If you have a large Ledger register already created use the
‘accounts’ command to get started:

     $ ledger accounts >> Accounts.dat

You will have to edit this file to add the ‘account’ directive in front
of every line.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Journal Format,  Next: Converting from other formats,  Prev: Keeping it Consistent,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.7 Journal Format
==================

The ledger file format is quite simple, but also very flexible.  It
supports many options, though typically the user can ignore most of
them.  They are summarized below.

* Menu:

* Transactions and Comments::
* Command Directives::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Transactions and Comments,  Next: Command Directives,  Prev: Journal Format,  Up: Journal Format

4.7.1 Transactions and Comments
-------------------------------

The initial character of each line determines what the line means, and
how it should be interpreted.  Allowable initial characters are:

‘NUMBER’
     A line beginning with a number denotes a transaction.  It may be
     followed by any number of lines, each beginning with white-space,
     to denote the transaction's account postings.  The format of the
     first line is:

          DATE[=EDATE] [*|!] [(CODE)] DESC

     If ‘*’ appears after the date (with optional effective date), it
     indicates the transaction is "cleared", which can mean whatever the
     user wants it to mean.  If ‘!’ appears after the date, it indicates
     the transaction is "pending"; i.e., tentatively cleared from the
     user's point of view, but not yet actually cleared.  If a ‘CODE’
     appears in parentheses, it may be used to indicate a check number,
     or the type of the posting.  Following these is the payee, or a
     description of the posting.

     The format of each following posting is:

            ACCOUNT  AMOUNT  [; NOTE]

     The ‘ACCOUNT’ may be surrounded by parentheses if it is a virtual
     posting, or square brackets if it is a virtual posting that must
     balance.  The ‘AMOUNT’ can be followed by a per-unit posting cost,
     by specifying ‘@ AMOUNT’, or a complete posting cost with ‘@@
     AMOUNT’.  Lastly, the ‘NOTE’ may specify an actual and/or effective
     date for the posting by using the syntax ‘[ACTUAL_DATE]’ or
     ‘[=EFFECTIVE_DATE]’ or ‘[ACTUAL_DATE=EFFECTIVE_DATE]’ (*note
     Virtual postings::).

‘P’
     Specifies a historical price for a commodity.  These are usually
     found in a pricing history file (see the ‘--download (-Q)’ option).
     The syntax is:

          P DATE SYMBOL PRICE

‘=’
     An automated transaction.  A value expression must appear after the
     equal sign.

     After this initial line there should be a set of one or more
     postings, just as if it were a normal transaction.  If the amounts
     of the postings have no commodity, they will be applied as
     multipliers to whichever real posting is matched by the value
     expression (*note Automated Transactions::).

‘~’
     A periodic transaction.  A period expression must appear after the
     tilde.

     After this initial line there should be a set of one or more
     postings, just as if it were a normal transaction.

‘; # % | *’
     A line beginning with a semicolon, pound, percent, bar or asterisk
     indicates a comment, and is ignored.  Comments will not be returned
     in a "print" response.

‘indented ;’
     If the semicolon is indented and occurs inside a transaction, it is
     parsed as a persistent note for its preceding category.  These
     notes or tags can be used to augment the reporting and filtering
     capabilities of Ledger.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Command Directives,  Prev: Transactions and Comments,  Up: Journal Format

4.7.2 Command Directives
------------------------

‘beginning of line’
     Command directives must occur at the beginning of a line.  Use of
     ‘!’ and ‘@’ is deprecated.

‘account’
     Pre-declare valid account names.  This only has an effect if
     ‘--strict’ or ‘--pedantic’ is used (see below).  The ‘account’
     directive supports several optional sub-directives, if they
     immediately follow the account directive and if they begin with
     whitespace:

          account Expenses:Food
              note This account is all about the chicken!
              alias food
              payee ^(KFC|Popeyes)$
              check commodity == "$"
              assert commodity == "$"
              eval print("Hello!")
              default

     The ‘note’ sub-directive associates a textual note with the
     account.  This can be accessed later using the ‘note’ value
     expression function in any account context.

     The ‘alias’ sub-directive, which can occur multiple times, allows
     the alias to be used in place of the full account name anywhere
     that account names are allowed.

     The ‘payee’ sub-directive, which can occur multiple times, provides
     regexes that identify the account if that payee is encountered and
     an account within its transaction ends in the name "Unknown".
     Example:

          2012-02-27 KFC
              Expenses:Unknown      $10.00  ; Read now as "Expenses:Food"
              Assets:Cash

     The ‘check’ and ‘assert’ directives warn or raise an error
     (respectively) if the given value expression evaluates to false
     within the context of any posting.

     The ‘eval’ directive evaluates the value expression in the context
     of the account at the time of definition.  At the moment this has
     little value.

     The ‘default’ directive specifies that this account should be used
     as the "balancing account" for any future transactions that contain
     only a single posting.

‘apply account’
     Sets the root for all accounts following this directive.  Ledger
     supports a hierarchical tree of accounts.  It may be convenient to
     keep two "root accounts".  For example you may be tracking your
     personal finances and your business finances.  In order to keep
     them separate you could preface all personal accounts with
     ‘personal:’ and all business accounts with ‘business:’.  You can
     easily split out large groups of transactions without manually
     editing them using the account directive.  For example:

          apply account Personal
          2011/11/15  Supermarket
              Expenses:Groceries      $ 50.00
              Assets:Checking

     Would result in all postings going into
     ‘Personal:Expenses:Groceries’ and ‘Personal:Assets:Checking’ until
     an ‘end apply account’ directive was found.

‘apply fixed’

     A fixed block is used to set fixated prices (*note Fixated prices
     and costs::) for a series of transactions.  It's purely a typing
     saver, for use when entering many transactions with fixated prices.

     Thus, the following:

          apply fixed CAD $0.90
          2012-04-10 Lunch in Canada
              Assets:Wallet            -15.50 CAD
              Expenses:Food            15.50 CAD

          2012-04-11 Second day Dinner in Canada
              Assets:Wallet            -25.75 CAD
              Expenses:Food            25.75 CAD
          end apply fixed

     is equivalent to this:

          2012-04-10 Lunch in Canada
              Assets:Wallet            -15.50 CAD {=$0.90}
              Expenses:Food            15.50 CAD  {=$0.90}

          2012-04-11 Second day Dinner in Canada
              Assets:Wallet            -25.75 CAD  {=$0.90}
              Expenses:Food            25.75 CAD   {=$0.90}

‘alias’
     Define an alias for an account name.  If you have a deeply nested
     tree of accounts, it may be convenient to define an alias, for
     example:

          alias Dining=Expenses:Entertainment:Dining
          alias Checking=Assets:Credit Union:Joint Checking Account

          2011/11/28 YummyPalace
              Dining        $10.00
              Checking

     The aliases are only in effect for transactions read in after the
     alias is defined and are affected by ‘account’ directives that
     precede them.

          $ ledger bal --no-total ^Exp

                        $10.00  Expenses:Entertainment:Dining

     With the option ‘--recursive-aliases’, aliases can refer to other
     aliases, the following example produces exactly the same
     transactions and account names as the preceding one:

          alias Entertainment=Expenses:Entertainment
          alias Dining=Entertainment:Dining
          alias Checking=Assets:Credit Union:Joint Checking Account

          2011/11/30 ChopChop
            Dining          $10.00
            Checking

          $ ledger balance --no-total --recursive-aliases ^Exp

                        $10.00  Expenses:Entertainment:Dining

     The option ‘--no-aliases’ completely disables alias expansion.  All
     accounts are read verbatim as they are in the ledger file.

‘assert’
     An assertion can throw an error if a condition is not met during
     Ledger's run.

          assert <VALUE EXPRESSION BOOLEAN RESULT>

‘bucket’
     Defines the default account to use for balancing transactions.
     Normally, each transaction has at least two postings, which must
     balance to zero.  Ledger allows you to leave one posting with no
     amount and automatically balance the transaction in the posting.
     The ‘bucket’ allows you to fill in all postings and automatically
     generate an additional posting to the bucket account balancing the
     transaction.  If any transaction is unbalanced, it will
     automatically be balanced against the ‘bucket’ account.  The
     following example sets ‘Assets:Checking’ as the bucket:

          bucket Assets:Checking
          2011/01/25 Tom's Used Cars
              Expenses:Auto                    $ 5,500.00

          2011/01/27 Book Store
              Expenses:Books                       $20.00

          2011/12/01 Sale
              Assets:Checking:Business            $ 30.00

‘capture’

     Directs Ledger to replace any account matching a regex with the
     given account.  For example:

          capture  Expenses:Deductible:Medical  Medical

     Would cause any posting with ‘Medical’ in its name to be replaced
     with ‘Expenses:Deductible:Medical’.

     Ledger will display the mapped payees in ‘print’ and ‘register’
     reports.

‘check’
     A check issues a warning if a condition is not met during Ledger's
     run.

          check <VALUE EXPRESSION BOOLEAN RESULT>

‘comment’
     Start a block comment, closed by ‘end comment’.

‘commodity’
     Pre-declare commodity names.  This only has an effect if ‘--strict’
     or ‘--pedantic’ is used (see below).

          commodity $
          commodity CAD

     The ‘commodity’ directive supports several optional sub-directives,
     if they immediately follow the commodity directive and--if they are
     on successive lines--begin with whitespace:

          commodity $
             note American Dollars
             format $1,000.00
             nomarket
             alias USD
             default

     The ‘note’ sub-directive associates a textual note with the
     commodity.  At present this has no value other than documentation.

     The ‘format’ sub-directive gives you a way to tell Ledger how to
     format this commodity.  In the future, using this directive will
     disable Ledger's observation of other ways that commodity is used,
     and will provide the "canonical" representation.

     The ‘nomarket’ sub-directive states that the commodity's price
     should never be auto-downloaded.

     The ‘alias’ sub-directive states that any commodity matching this
     symbol is to use the commodity declared in this block.

     The ‘default’ sub-directive marks this as the "default" commodity.

‘define’
     Allows you to define value expressions for future use.  For
     example:

          define var_name=$100

          2011/12/01 Test
              Expenses  (var_name*4)
              Assets

     The posting will have a cost of $400.

‘end’
     Closes block commands like ‘apply’ or ‘comment’.

‘expr’
     Same as ‘eval’.

‘include’
     Include the stated file as if it were part of the current file.
     The file name can contain a wildcard (‘*’) to refer to multiple
     files (e.g.  ‘bank/*.ledger’).

‘payee’

     The ‘payee’ directive supports two optional sub-directives, if they
     immediately follow the payee directive and--if it is on a
     successive line--begins with whitespace:

          payee KFC
              alias KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN
              uuid 2a2e21d434356f886c84371eebac6e44f1337fda

     The ‘alias’ sub-directive provides a regex which, if it matches a
     parsed payee, the declared payee name is substituted:

          2012-02-27 KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN  ; will be read as being 'KFC'

     The ‘uuid’ sub-directive specifies that a transaction with exactly
     the uuid given should have the declared payee name substituted:

          2014-05-13 UNHELPFUL PAYEE  ; will be read as being 'KFC'
              ; UUID: 2a2e21d434356f886c84371eebac6e44f1337fda

     Ledger will display the mapped payees in ‘print’ and ‘register’
     reports.

‘apply tag’
     Allows you to designate a block of transactions and assign the same
     tag to all.  Tags can have values and may be nested.

          apply tag hastag
          apply tag nestedtag: true

          2011/01/25 Tom's Used Cars
              Expenses:Auto                    $ 5,500.00
              ; :nobudget:
              Assets:Checking

          2011/01/27 Book Store
              Expenses:Books                       $20.00
              Liabilities:MasterCard

          end apply tag

          2011/12/01 Sale
              Assets:Checking:Business            $ 30.00
              Income:Sales

          end apply tag

     is the equivalent of:

          2011/01/25 Tom's Used Cars
              ; :hastag:
              ; nestedtag: true
              Expenses:Auto                    $ 5,500.00
              ; :nobudget:
              Assets:Checking

          2011/01/27 Book Store
              ; :hastag:
              ; nestedtag: true
              Expenses:Books                       $20.00
              Liabilities:MasterCard

          2011/12/01 Sale
              ; :hastag:
              Assets:Checking:Business            $ 30.00
              Income:Sales

‘tag’
     Pre-declares tag names.  This only has an effect if ‘--strict’ or
     ‘--pedantic’ is used (see below).

          tag Receipt
          tag CSV

     The ‘tag’ directive supports two optional sub-directives, if they
     immediately follow the tag directive and--if on a successive
     line--begin with whitespace:

          tag Receipt
            check value =~ /pattern/
            assert value != "foobar"

     The ‘check’ and ‘assert’ sub-directives warn or error
     (respectively) if the given value expression evaluates to false
     within the context of any use of the related tag.  In such a
     context, "value" is bound to the value of the tag (which may be
     something else but a string if typed metadata is used!).  Such
     checks or assertions are not called if no value is given.

‘test’
     This is a synonym for ‘comment’ and must be closed by an ‘end’ tag.

‘year’
     Denotes the year used for all subsequent transactions that give a
     date without a year.  The year should appear immediately after the
     directive, for example: ‘year 2004’.  This is useful at the
     beginning of a file, to specify the year for that file.  If all
     transactions specify a year, however, this command has no effect.

   The following single letter commands may be at the beginning of a
line alone, for backwards compatibility with older Ledger versions.

‘A’
     *Note bucket::.

‘Y’
     *Note year::.

‘N SYMBOL’
     Indicates that pricing information is to be ignored for a given
     symbol, nor will quotes ever be downloaded for that symbol.  Useful
     with a home currency, such as the dollar ‘$’.  It is recommended
     that these pricing options be set in the price database file, which
     defaults to ‘~/.pricedb’.  The syntax for this command is:

          N SYMBOL

‘D AMOUNT’
     Specifies the default commodity to use, by specifying an amount in
     the expected format.  The ‘xact’ command will use this commodity as
     the default when none other can be determined.  This command may be
     used multiple times, to set the default flags for different
     commodities; whichever is seen last is used as the default
     commodity.  For example, to set US dollars as the default
     commodity, while also setting the thousands flag and decimal flag
     for that commodity, use:

          D $1,000.00

‘C AMOUNT1 = AMOUNT2’
     Specifies a commodity conversion, where the first amount is given
     to be equivalent to the second amount.  The first amount should use
     the decimal precision desired during reporting:

          C 1.00 Kb = 1024 bytes

‘I, i, O, o, b, h’
     These four relate to timeclock support, which permits Ledger to
     read timelog files.  See timeclock's documentation for more info on
     the syntax of its timelog files.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Converting from other formats,  Next: Archiving Previous Years,  Prev: Journal Format,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.8 Converting from other formats
=================================

There are numerous tools to help convert various formats to a Ledger
file.  Most banks will generate a comma separated values file that can
easily be parsed into Ledger format using one of those tools.  Some of
the most popular tools are:

   • ‘ledger convert download.csv’
   • ‘hledger -f checking.csv print’
   • ‘icsv2ledger’ (https://github.com/quentinsf/icsv2ledger)
   • ‘csvToLedger’ (https://github.com/tazzben/csvToLedger)
   • ‘CSV2Ledger’ (https://launchpad.net/csv2ledger)

Directly pulling information from banks is outside the scope of Ledger's
function.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Archiving Previous Years,  Prev: Converting from other formats,  Up: Keeping a Journal

4.9 Archiving Previous Years
============================

After a while, your journal can get to be pretty large.  While this will
not slow down Ledger--it's designed to process journals very
quickly--things can start to feel "messy"; and it's a universal
complaint that when finances feel messy, people avoid them.

   Thus, archiving the data from previous years into their own files can
offer a sense of completion, and freedom from the past.  But how to best
accomplish this with the ledger program?  There are two commands that
make it very simple: ‘print’, and ‘equity’.

   Let's take an example file, with data ranging from year 2000 until
2004.  We want to archive years 2000 and 2001 to their own file, leaving
2002-2004 in the current file.  So, use ‘print’ to output all the
earlier transactions to a file called ‘ledger-old.dat’:

     $ ledger -f ledger.dat -b 2000 -e 2002 print > ledger-old.dat

   Note that ‘-e’ limits output to transactions _before_ the date
specified.

   To delete older data from the current ledger file, use ‘print’ again,
this time specifying year 2002 as the starting date:

     $ ledger -f ledger.dat -b 2002 print > x
     $ mv x ledger.dat

   However, now the current file contains _only_ postings from 2002
onward, which will not yield accurate present-day balances, because the
net income from previous years is no longer being tallied.  To
compensate for this, we must append an equity report for the old ledger
at the beginning of the new one:

     $ ledger -f ledger-old.dat equity > equity.dat
     $ cat equity.dat ledger.dat > x
     $ mv x ledger.dat
     $ rm equity.dat

   Now the balances reported from ‘ledger.dat’ are identical to what
they were before the data was split.

   How often should you split your ledger?  You never need to, if you
don't want to.  Even eighty years of data will not slow down ledger
much, and that's just using present day hardware!  Or, you can keep the
previous and current year in one file, and each year before that in its
own file.  It's really up to you, and how you want to organize your
finances.  For those who also keep an accurate paper trail, it might be
useful to archive the older years to their own files, then burn those
files to a CD to keep with the paper records--along with any electronic
statements received during the year.  In the arena of organization, just
keep in mind this maxim: Do whatever keeps you doing it.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Transactions,  Next: Building Reports,  Prev: Keeping a Journal,  Up: Top

5 Transactions
**************

* Menu:

* Basic format::
* Eliding amounts::
* Auxiliary dates::
* Codes::
* Transaction state::
* Transaction notes::
* Metadata::
* Virtual postings::
* Expression amounts::
* Balance verification::
* Posting cost::
* Explicit posting costs::
* Posting cost expressions::
* Total posting costs::
* Virtual posting costs::
* Commodity prices::
* Prices versus costs::
* Fixated prices and costs::
* Lot dates::
* Lot notes::
* Lot value expressions::
* Automated Transactions::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Basic format,  Next: Eliding amounts,  Prev: Transactions,  Up: Transactions

5.1 Basic format
================

The most basic form of transaction is:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00

   This transaction has a date, a payee or description, a target account
(the first posting), and a source account (the second posting).  Each
posting specifies what action is taken related to that account.

   A transaction can have any number of postings:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-10.00
         Liabilities:Credit          $-10.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Eliding amounts,  Next: Auxiliary dates,  Prev: Basic format,  Up: Transactions

5.2 Eliding amounts
===================

The first thing you can do to make things easier is elide amounts.  That
is, if exactly one posting has no amount specified, Ledger will infer
the inverse of the other postings' amounts:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-10.00
         Liabilities:Credit                   ; same as specifying $-10

If the other postings use multiple commodities, Ledger will copy the
empty posting N times and fill in the negated values of the various
commodities:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Expenses:Tips                 $2.00
         Assets:Cash              EUR -10.00
         Assets:Cash              GBP -10.00
         Liabilities:Credit

This transaction is identical to writing:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Expenses:Tips                 $2.00
         Assets:Cash              EUR -10.00
         Assets:Cash              GBP -10.00
         Liabilities:Credit          $-22.00
         Liabilities:Credit        EUR 10.00
         Liabilities:Credit        GBP 10.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Auxiliary dates,  Next: Codes,  Prev: Eliding amounts,  Up: Transactions

5.3 Auxiliary dates
===================

You can associate a second date with a transaction by following the
primary date with an equals sign:

     2012-03-10=2012-03-08 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00

   What this auxiliary date means is entirely up to you.  The only use
Ledger has for it is that if you specify ‘--aux-date’ (or
‘--effective’), then all reports and calculations (including pricing)
will use the auxiliary date as if it were the primary date.

   Note that the ‘--aux-date’ option is an alias for ‘--effective’; for
more details on effective dates *note Effective Dates::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Codes,  Next: Transaction state,  Prev: Auxiliary dates,  Up: Transactions

5.4 Codes
=========

A transaction can have a textual "code".  This has no meaning and is
only displayed by the print command.  Checking accounts often use codes
like DEP, XFER, etc., as well as check numbers.  This is to give you a
place to put those codes:

     2012-03-10 (#100) KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Checking


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Transaction state,  Next: Transaction notes,  Prev: Codes,  Up: Transactions

5.5 Transaction state
=====================

A transaction can have a "state": cleared, pending, or uncleared.  The
default is uncleared.  To mark a transaction cleared, put an asterisk
‘*’ after the date, before the code or payee:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

To mark it pending, use a ‘!’:

     2012-03-10 ! KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   What these mean is entirely up to you.  The ‘--cleared’ option limits
reports to only cleared items, while ‘--uncleared’ shows both uncleared
and pending items, and ‘--pending’ shows only pending items.

   I use cleared to mean that I've reconciled the transaction with my
bank statement, and pending to mean that I'm in the middle of a
reconciliation.

   When you clear a transaction, that's really just shorthand for
clearing all of its postings.  That is:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

Is the same as writing:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         * Expenses:Food                $20.00
         * Assets:Cash

You can mark individual postings as cleared or pending, in case one
"side" of the transaction has cleared, but the other hasn't yet:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Liabilities:Credit            $100.00
         * Assets:Checking


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Transaction notes,  Next: Metadata,  Prev: Transaction state,  Up: Transactions

5.6 Transaction notes
=====================

After the payee, and after at least one tab or two spaces (or a space
and a tab), which Ledger calls a "hard separator", you may introduce a
note about the transaction using the ‘;’ character:

     2012-03-10 * KFC                ; yum, chicken...
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

Notes can also appear on the next line, so long as that line begins with
whitespace:

     2012-03-10 * KFC                ; yum, chicken...
         ; and more notes...
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         ; just these notes...
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   A transaction's note is shared by all its postings.  This becomes
significant when querying for metadata (see below).  To specify that a
note belongs only to one posting, place it after a hard separator after
the amount, or on its own line preceded by whitespace:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00  ; posting #1 note
         Assets:Cash
           ; posting #2 note, extra indentation is optional


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Metadata,  Next: Virtual postings,  Prev: Transaction notes,  Up: Transactions

5.7 Metadata
============

One of Ledger's more powerful features is the ability to associate typed
metadata with postings and transactions (by which I mean all of a
transaction's postings).  This metadata can be queried, displayed, and
used in calculations.

   The are two forms of metadata: plain tags, and tag/value pairs.

* Menu:

* Metadata tags::
* Metadata values::
* Typed metadata::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Metadata tags,  Next: Metadata values,  Prev: Metadata,  Up: Metadata

5.7.1 Metadata tags
-------------------

To tag an item, put any word not containing whitespace between two
colons inside a comment:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
           ; :TAG:

   You can gang up multiple tags by sharing colons:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
           ; :TAG1:TAG2:TAG3:


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Metadata values,  Next: Typed metadata,  Prev: Metadata tags,  Up: Metadata

5.7.2 Metadata values
---------------------

To associate a value with a tag, use the syntax "Key: Value", where the
value can be any string of characters.  Whitespace is needed after the
colon, and cannot appear in the Key:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
           ; MyTag: This is just a bogus value for MyTag


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Typed metadata,  Prev: Metadata values,  Up: Metadata

5.7.3 Typed metadata
--------------------

If a metadata tag ends in ::, its value will be parsed as a value
expression and stored internally as a value rather than as a string.
For example, although I can specify a date textually like so:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
           ; AuxDate: 2012/02/30

This date is just a string, and won't be parsed as a date unless its
value is used in a date-context (at which time the string is parsed into
a date automatically every time it is needed as a date).  If on the
other hand I write this:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
           ; AuxDate:: [2012/02/30]

Then it is parsed as a date only once, and during parsing of the journal
file, which would let me know right away that it is an invalid date.

* Menu:

* Payee metadata::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Payee metadata,  Prev: Typed metadata,  Up: Metadata

5.7.4 Payee metadata
--------------------

"Payee" is a special metadata field.  If set on a posting, it will be
used as the payee name for that posting.  This affects the ‘register’
report, the ‘payees’ report, and the ‘--by-payee’ option.

   This is useful when for example you deposit 4 checks at a time to the
bank.  On the bank statement, there is just one amount ‘$400’, but you
can specify from whom each check came, as shown by example below:

     2010-06-17 Sample
         Assets:Bank        $400.00
         Income:Check1     $-100.00  ; Payee: Person One
         Income:Check2     $-100.00  ; Payee: Person Two
         Income:Check3     $-100.00  ; Payee: Person Three
         Income:Check4     $-100.00  ; Payee: Person Four

   When reporting with

     $ ledger reg

   it appears as:

     10-Jun-17 Sample                Assets:Bank                 $400.00      $400.00
               Person One            Income:Check1              $-100.00      $300.00
               Person Two            Income:Check2              $-100.00      $200.00
               Person Three          Income:Check3              $-100.00      $100.00
               Person Four           Income:Check4              $-100.00            0

   This shows that they are all in the same transaction (which is why
the date is not repeated), but they have different payees now.

   If using the ‘--strict’ or ‘--pedantic’ options, you must declare
this tag to avoid warnings and errors.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Virtual postings,  Next: Expression amounts,  Prev: Metadata,  Up: Transactions

5.8 Virtual postings
====================

Ordinarily, the amounts of all postings in a transaction must balance to
zero.  This is non-negotiable.  It's what double-entry accounting is all
about!  But there are some tricks up Ledger's sleeve...

   You can use virtual accounts to transfer amounts to an account on the
sly, bypassing the balancing requirement.  The trick is that these
postings are not considered "real", and can be removed from all reports
using ‘--real’.

   To specify a virtual account, surround the account name with
parentheses:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
         (Budget:Food)               $-20.00

   If you want, you can state that virtual postings _should_ balance
against one or more other virtual postings by using brackets (which look
"harder") rather than parentheses:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash
         [Budget:Food]               $-20.00
         [Equity:Budgets]             $20.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Expression amounts,  Next: Balance verification,  Prev: Virtual postings,  Up: Transactions

5.9 Expression amounts
======================

An amount is a numerical figure with a commodity, but it can also be any
value expression.  To indicate this, surround the amount expression with
parentheses:

     2012-03-10 * KFC
         Expenses:Food      ($10.00 + $20.00)  ; Ledger adds it up for you
         Assets:Cash


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balance verification,  Next: Posting cost,  Prev: Expression amounts,  Up: Transactions

5.10 Balance verification
=========================

* Menu:

* Balance assertions::
* Balance assignments::
* Resetting a balance::
* Balancing transactions::

If at the end of a posting's amount (and after the cost too, if there is
one) there is an equals sign, then Ledger will verify that the total
value for that account as of that posting matches the amount specified.
See ‘--permissive’ option to relax the balance assertions checks.

   There are two forms of this features: balance assertions, and balance
assignments.  Note that both of these are processed while parsing the
given ledger files.  Hence the order in which these are evaluated is the
order in which they appear in the ledger file.  The date or effective
date of the transactions and postings that contain the balance
assertions or balance assignments is therefore irrelevant for the the
evaluation of the balance assertions and balance assignments.  This may
be confusing to people for whom a date order is more intuitive.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balance assertions,  Next: Balance assignments,  Prev: Balance verification,  Up: Balance verification

5.10.1 Balance assertions
-------------------------

A balance assertion has this general form:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00 = $500.00

   This simply asserts that after subtracting $20.00 from Assets:Cash,
that the resulting total matches $500.00.  If not, it is an error.

   The assertion has an effect only on the specified commodity.  If an
account has multiple commodities, then only the one asserted is
verified:

     2012-03-10 KFC New York
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00 = $500.00

     2012-03-11 KFC Montreal
         Expenses:Food                 15.00 CAD
         Assets:Cash                  -15.00 CAD = $500.00

   In this case, the amount in USD of cash (which has not changed) is
validated.  Nothing is asserted about the current amount of Canadian
dollars in ‘Asset:Cash’.

5.10.1.1 Special assertion value 0
..................................

The only value that can be asserted without a commodity is ‘0’.  This
results in a cross-commodities assertion, which makes it possible to
assert that an account is totally empty.

     2012-03-09 Fill Wallet
         Revenue                      $20.00
         Revenue                       15.00 CAD
         Assets:Cash

     2012-03-10 KFC New York
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00

     2012-03-11 KFC Montreal
         Expenses:Food                 15.00 CAD
         Assets:Cash                  -15.00 CAD = 0

   The last transaction will assert that we are out of cash of any sort.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balance assignments,  Next: Resetting a balance,  Prev: Balance assertions,  Up: Balance verification

5.10.2 Balance assignments
--------------------------

A balance assignment has this form:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash                         = $500.00

   This sets the amount of the second posting to whatever it would need
to be for the total in ‘Assets:Cash’ to be $500.00 after the posting.
If the resulting amount is not $-20.00 in this case, it is an error.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Resetting a balance,  Next: Balancing transactions,  Prev: Balance assignments,  Up: Balance verification

5.10.3 Resetting a balance
--------------------------

Say your book-keeping has gotten a bit out of date, and your Ledger
balance no longer matches your bank balance.  You can create an
adjustment transaction using balance assignments:

     2012-03-10 Adjustment
         Assets:Cash                         = $500.00
         Equity:Adjustments

   Since the second posting is also null, its value will become the
inverse of whatever amount is generated for the first posting.

   This is the only time in ledger when more than one posting's amount
may be empty--and then only because it's not truly empty, it is
indirectly provided by the balance assignment's value.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balancing transactions,  Prev: Resetting a balance,  Up: Balance verification

5.10.4 Balancing transactions
-----------------------------

As a consequence of all the above, consider the following transaction:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         [Assets:Brokerage]            = 10 AAPL

   What this says is: set the amount of the posting to whatever value is
needed so that ‘Assets:Brokerage’ contains 10 AAPL. Then, because this
posting must balance, ensure that its value is zero.  This can only be
true if Assets:Brokerage does indeed contain 10 AAPL at that point in
the input file.

   A balanced virtual transaction is used simply to indicate to Ledger
that this is not a "real" transaction.  It won't appear in any reports
anyway (unless you use a register report with ‘--empty’).


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Posting cost,  Next: Explicit posting costs,  Prev: Balance verification,  Up: Transactions

5.11 Posting cost
=================

When you transfer a commodity from one account to another, sometimes it
gets transformed during the transaction.  This happens when you spend
money on gas, for example, which transforms dollars into gallons of
gasoline, or dollars into stocks in a company.

   In those cases, Ledger will remember the "cost" of that transaction
for you, and can use it during reporting in various ways.  Here's an
example of a stock purchase:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $-500.00

   This is different from transferring 10 AAPL shares from one account
to another, in this case you are _exchanging_ one commodity for another.
The resulting posting's cost is $50.00 per share.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Explicit posting costs,  Next: Posting cost expressions,  Prev: Posting cost,  Up: Transactions

5.12 Explicit posting costs
===========================

You can make any posting's cost explicit using the ‘@’ symbol after the
amount or amount expression:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL @ $50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $-500.00

   When you do this, since Ledger can now figure out the balancing
amount from the first posting's cost, you can elide the other amount:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL @ $50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash

* Menu:

* Primary and secondary commodities::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Primary and secondary commodities,  Prev: Explicit posting costs,  Up: Explicit posting costs

5.12.1 Primary and secondary commodities
----------------------------------------

It is a general convention within Ledger that the "top" postings in a
transaction contain the target accounts, while the final posting
contains the source account.  Whenever a commodity is exchanged like
this, the commodity moved to the target account is considered
"secondary", while the commodity used for purchasing and tracked in the
cost is "primary".

   Said another way, whenever Ledger sees a posting cost of the form
"AMOUNT @ AMOUNT", the commodity used in the second amount is marked
"primary".

   The only meaning a primary commodity has is that the ‘--market (-V)’
flag will never convert a primary commodity into any other commodity.
‘--exchange COMMODITY (-X)’ still will, however.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Posting cost expressions,  Next: Total posting costs,  Prev: Explicit posting costs,  Up: Transactions

5.13 Posting cost expressions
=============================

Just as you can have amount expressions, you can have posting
expressions:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL @ ($500.00 / 10)
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash

   You can even have both:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             (5 AAPL * 2) @ ($500.00 / 10)
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Total posting costs,  Next: Virtual posting costs,  Prev: Posting cost expressions,  Up: Transactions

5.14 Total posting costs
========================

The cost figure following the ‘@’ character specifies the _per-unit_
price for the commodity being transferred.  If you'd like to specify the
total cost instead, use ‘@@’:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL @@ $500.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash

   Ledger reads this as if you had written:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL @ ($500.00 / 10)
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Virtual posting costs,  Next: Commodity prices,  Prev: Total posting costs,  Up: Transactions

5.15 Virtual posting costs
==========================

Normally whenever a commodity exchange like this happens, the price of
the exchange (such as $50 per share of AAPL, above) is recorded in
Ledger's internal price history database.  To prevent this from
happening in the case of an exceptional transaction, surround the ‘@’ or
‘@@’ with parentheses:

     2012-03-10 My Brother
         Assets:Brokerage            1000 AAPL (@) $1
         Income:Gifts Received


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commodity prices,  Next: Prices versus costs,  Prev: Virtual posting costs,  Up: Transactions

5.16 Commodity prices
=====================

When a transaction occurs that exchanges one commodity for another,
Ledger records that commodity price not only within its internal price
database, but also attached to the commodity itself.  Usually this fact
remains invisible to the user, unless you turn on ‘--lot-prices’ to show
these hidden price figures.

   For example, consider the stock sale given above:

     2012-03-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage             10 AAPL @ $50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash

   The commodity transferred into ‘Assets:Brokerage’ is not actually 10
AAPL, but rather 10 AAPL {$50.00}.  The figure in braces after the
amount is called the "lot price".  It's Ledger's way of remembering that
this commodity was transferred through an exchange, and that $50.00 was
the price of that exchange.

   This becomes significant if you later sell that commodity again.  For
example, you might write this:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash
         Assets:Brokerage            -10 AAPL @ $75.00

   And that would be perfectly fine, but how do you track the capital
gains on the sale?  It could be done with a virtual posting:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash
         Assets:Brokerage            -10 AAPL @ $75.00
         (Income:Capital Gains)      $-250.00

   But this gets messy since capital gains income is very real, and not
quite appropriate for a virtual posting.

   Instead, if you reference that same hidden price annotation, Ledger
will figure out that the price of the shares you're selling, and the
cost you're selling them at, don't balance:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $750.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -10 AAPL {$50.00} @ $75.00

   This transaction will fail because the $250.00 price difference
between the price you bought those shares at, and the cost you're
selling them for, does not match.  The lot price also identifies which
shares you purchased on that prior date.

* Menu:

* Total commodity prices::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Total commodity prices,  Prev: Commodity prices,  Up: Commodity prices

5.16.1 Total commodity prices
-----------------------------

As a shorthand, you can specify the total price instead of the per-share
price in doubled braces.  This goes well with total costs, but is not
required to be used with them:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $750.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -10 AAPL {{$500.00}} @@ $750.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-250.00

   It should be noted that this is a convenience only for cases where
you buy and sell whole lots.  The {{$500.00}} is _not_ an attribute of
the commodity, whereas {$50.00} is.  In fact, when you write
{{$500.00}}, Ledger just divides that value by 10 and sees {$50.00}.  So
if you use the print command to look at this transaction, you'll see the
single braces form in the output.  The double braces price form is a
shorthand only.

   Plus, it comes with dangers.  This works fine:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage            10 AAPL @ $50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash      $-500.00

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {$50.00} @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {$50.00} @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

But this does not do what you might expect:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage            10 AAPL @ $50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash      $-500.00

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {{$500.00}} @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {{$500.00}} @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

   And in cases where the amounts do not divide into whole figures and
must be rounded, the capital gains figure could be off by a cent.  Use
with caution.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Prices versus costs,  Next: Fixated prices and costs,  Prev: Commodity prices,  Up: Transactions

5.17 Prices versus costs
========================

Because lot pricing provides enough information to infer the cost, the
following two transactions are equivalent:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage            10 AAPL @ $50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash      $-500.00

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage            10 AAPL {$50.00}
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash      $-500.00

   However, note that what you see in some reports may differ, for
example in the print report.  Functionally, however, there is no
difference, and neither the register nor the balance report are
sensitive to this difference.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Fixated prices and costs,  Next: Lot dates,  Prev: Prices versus costs,  Up: Transactions

5.18 Fixated prices and costs
=============================

If you bought a stock last year, and ask for its value today, Ledger
will consult its price database to see what the most recent price for
that stock is.  You can short-circuit this lookup by "fixing" the price
at the time of a transaction.  This is done using ‘{=AMOUNT}’:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage            10 AAPL {=$50.00}
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash      $-500.00

   These 10 AAPL will now always be reported as being worth $50, no
matter what else happens to the stock in the meantime.

   Fixated prices are a special case of using lot valuation expressions
(see below) to fix the value of a commodity lot.

   Since price annotations and costs are largely interchangeable and a
matter of preference, there is an equivalent syntax for specified
fixated prices by way of the cost:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage            10 AAPL @ =$50.00
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash      $-500.00

   This is the same as the previous transaction, with the same caveats
found in *note Prices versus costs::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Lot dates,  Next: Lot notes,  Prev: Fixated prices and costs,  Up: Transactions

5.19 Lot dates
==============

In addition to lot prices, you can specify lot dates and reveal them
with ‘--lot-dates’.  Other than that, however, they have no special
meaning to Ledger.  They are specified after the amount in square
brackets (the same way that dates are parsed in value expressions):

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {$50.00} [2012-04-10] @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Lot notes,  Next: Lot value expressions,  Prev: Lot dates,  Up: Transactions

5.20 Lot notes
==============

You can also associate arbitrary notes for your own record keeping in
parentheses, and reveal them with ‘--lot-notes’.  One caveat is that the
note cannot begin with an ‘@’ character, as that would indicate a
virtual cost:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {$50.00} [2012-04-10] (Oh my!) @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

   You can specify any combination of lot prices, dates or notes, in any
order.  They are all optional.

   To show all lot information in a report, use ‘--lots’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Lot value expressions,  Next: Automated Transactions,  Prev: Lot notes,  Up: Transactions

5.21 Lot value expressions
==========================

Normally when you ask Ledger to display the values of commodities held,
it uses a value expression called "market" to determine the most recent
value from its price database--even downloading prices from the
Internet, if ‘--download (-Q)’ was specified and a suitable ‘getquote’
script is found on your system.

   However, you can override this valuation logic by providing a
commodity valuation expression in doubled parentheses.  This expression
must result in one of two values: either an amount to always be used as
the per-share price for that commodity; or a function taking three
arguments, which is called to determine that price.

   If you use the functional form, you can either specify a function
name, or a lambda expression.  Here's a function that yields the price
as $10 in whatever commodity is being requested:

     define ten_dollars(s, date, t) = market($10, date, t)

   I can now use that in a lot value expression as follows:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         Assets:Brokerage:Cash       $375.00
         Assets:Brokerage            -5 AAPL {$50.00} ((ten_dollars)) @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

   Alternatively, I could do the same thing without pre-defining a
function by using a lambda expression taking three arguments:

     2012-04-10 My Broker
         A:B:Cash       $375.00
         A:B     -5 AAPL {$50.00} ((s, d, t -> market($10, date, t))) @@ $375.00
         Income:Capital Gains       $-125.00

   The arguments passed to these functions have the following meaning:

   • source The source commodity string, or an amount object.  If it is
     a string, the return value must be an amount representing the price
     of the commodity identified by that string (example: ‘$’).  If it
     is an amount, return the value of that amount as a new amount
     (usually calculated as commodity price times source amount).

   • date The date to use for determining the value.  If null, it means
     no date was specified, which can mean whatever you want it to mean.

   • target If not null, a string representing the desired target
     commodity that the commodity price, or repriced amount, should be
     valued in.  Note that this string can be a comma-separated list,
     and that some or all of the commodities in that list may be
     suffixed with an exclamation mark, to indicate what is being
     desired.

   In most cases, it is simplest to either use explicit amounts in your
valuation expressions, or just pass the arguments down to ‘market’ after
modifying them to suit your needs.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Automated Transactions,  Prev: Lot value expressions,  Up: Transactions

5.22 Automated Transactions
===========================

An automated transaction is a special kind of transaction which adds its
postings to other transactions any time one of that other transactions'
postings matches its predicate.  The predicate uses the same query
syntax as the Ledger command-line.

   Consider this posting:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   If I write this automated transaction before it in the file:

     = expr true
         Foo                          $50.00
         Bar                         $-50.00

   Then the first transaction will be modified during parsing as if I'd
written this:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Foo                          $50.00
         Bar                         $-50.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00
         Foo                          $50.00
         Bar                         $-50.00

   Despite this fancy logic, automated transactions themselves follow
most of the same rules as regular transactions: their postings must
balance (unless you use a virtual posting), you can have metadata, etc.

   One thing you cannot do, however, is elide amounts in an automated
transaction.

* Menu:

* Amount multipliers::
* Accessing the matching posting's amount::
* Referring to the matching posting's account::
* Applying metadata to every matched posting::
* Applying metadata to the generated posting::
* State flags::
* Effective Dates::
* Periodic Transactions::
* Concrete Example of Automated Transactions::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Amount multipliers,  Next: Accessing the matching posting's amount,  Prev: Automated Transactions,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.1 Amount multipliers
-------------------------

As a special case, if an automated transaction's posting's amount (phew)
has no commodity, it is taken as a multiplier upon the matching
posting's cost.  For example:

     = expr true
         Foo                           50.00
         Bar                          -50.00

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   Then the latter transaction turns into this during parsing:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Foo                        $1000.00
         Bar                       $-1000.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00
         Foo                        $1000.00
         Bar                       $-1000.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Accessing the matching posting's amount,  Next: Referring to the matching posting's account,  Prev: Amount multipliers,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.2 Accessing the matching posting's amount
----------------------------------------------

If you use an amount expression for an automated transaction's posting,
that expression has access to all the details of the matched posting.
For example, you can refer to that posting's amount using the "amount"
value expression variable:

     = expr true
         (Foo)                  (amount * 2)  ; same as just "2" in this case

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   This becomes:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         (Foo)                        $40.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00
         (Foo)                       $-40.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Referring to the matching posting's account,  Next: Applying metadata to every matched posting,  Prev: Accessing the matching posting's amount,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.3 Referring to the matching posting's account
--------------------------------------------------

Sometimes you want to refer to the account that was matched in some way
within the automated transaction itself.  This is done by using the
string ‘$account’, anywhere within the account part of the automated
posting:

     = food
         (Budget:$account)                10

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   Becomes:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         (Budget:Expenses:Food)      $200.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00

   Keep in mind that if you are using ‘--strict’ or ‘--pedantic’ you
will have to explicitly define an account ‘$account’ to avoid errors.

     account $account


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Applying metadata to every matched posting,  Next: Applying metadata to the generated posting,  Prev: Referring to the matching posting's account,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.4 Applying metadata to every matched posting
-------------------------------------------------

If the automated transaction has a transaction note, that note is copied
(along with any metadata) to every posting that matches the predicate:

     = food
         ; Foo: Bar
         (Budget:$account)                10

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   Becomes:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
           ; Foo: Bar
         (Budget:Expenses:Food)      $200.00
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Applying metadata to the generated posting,  Next: State flags,  Prev: Applying metadata to every matched posting,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.5 Applying metadata to the generated posting
-------------------------------------------------

If the automated transaction's posting has a note, that note is carried
to the generated posting within the matched transaction:

     = food
         (Budget:$account)                10
           ; Foo: Bar

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         Assets:Cash

   Becomes:

     2012-03-10 KFC
         Expenses:Food                $20.00
         (Budget:Expenses:Food)      $200.00
           ; Foo: Bar
         Assets:Cash                 $-20.00

   This is slightly different from the rules for regular transaction
notes, in that an automated transaction's note does not apply to every
posting within the automated transaction itself, but rather to every
posting it matches.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: State flags,  Next: Effective Dates,  Prev: Applying metadata to the generated posting,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.6 State flags
------------------

Although you cannot mark an automated transaction as a whole as cleared
or pending, you can mark its postings with a ‘*’ or ‘!’ before the
account name, and that state flag gets carried to the generated posting.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Effective Dates,  Next: Periodic Transactions,  Prev: State flags,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.7 Effective Dates
----------------------

In the real world, transactions do not take place instantaneously.
Purchases can take several days to post to a bank account.  And you may
pay ahead for something for which you want to distribute costs.  With
Ledger you can control every aspect of the timing of a transaction.

   Say you're in business.  If you bill a customer, you can enter
something like

     2008/01/01=2008/01/14 Client invoice  ;  estimated date you'll be paid
         Assets:Accounts Receivable            $100.00
         Income: Client name

   Then, when you receive the payment, you change it to

     2008/01/01=2008/01/15 Client invoice ;  actual date money received
         Assets:Accounts Receivable            $100.00
         Income: Client name

and add something like

     2008/01/15 Client payment
         Assets:Checking                       $100.00
         Assets:Accounts Receivable

   Now

     $ ledger --begin 2008/01/01 --end 2008/01/14 bal Income

gives you your accrued income in the first two weeks of the year, and

     $ ledger --effective --begin 2008/01/01 --end 2008/01/14 bal Income

gives you your cash basis income in the same two weeks.

   Another use is distributing costs out in time.  As an example,
suppose you just prepaid into a local vegetable co-op that sustains you
through the winter.  It costs $225 to join the program, so you write a
check.  You don't want your October grocery budget to be blown because
you bought food ahead, however.  What you really want is for the money
to be evenly distributed over the next six months so that your monthly
budgets gradually take a hit for the vegetables you'll pick up from the
co-op, even though you've already paid for them.

     2008/10/16 * (2090) Bountiful Blessings Farm
         Expenses:Food:Groceries                  $ 37.50  ; [=2008/10/01]
         Expenses:Food:Groceries                  $ 37.50  ; [=2008/11/01]
         Expenses:Food:Groceries                  $ 37.50  ; [=2008/12/01]
         Expenses:Food:Groceries                  $ 37.50  ; [=2009/01/01]
         Expenses:Food:Groceries                  $ 37.50  ; [=2009/02/01]
         Expenses:Food:Groceries                  $ 37.50  ; [=2009/03/01]
         Assets:Checking

   This entry accomplishes this.  Every month you'll see an automatic
$37.50 deficit like you should, while your checking account really knows
that it debited $225 this month.

   And using the ‘--effective’ (or ‘--aux-date’) option, the initial
date will be overridden by the effective dates.

     $ ledger --effective register Groceries

     08-Oct-01 Bountiful Blessings.. Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 37.50
     08-Nov-01 Bountiful Blessings.. Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50      $ 75.00
     08-Dec-01 Bountiful Blessings.. Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 112.50
     09-Jan-01 Bountiful Blessings.. Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 150.00
     09-Feb-01 Bountiful Blessings.. Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 187.50
     09-Mar-01 Bountiful Blessings.. Expense:Food:Groceries      $ 37.50     $ 225.00

   Note that the ‘--aux-date’ option is an alias for ‘--effective’; for
a brief explanation of auxiliary date *note Auxiliary dates::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Periodic Transactions,  Next: Concrete Example of Automated Transactions,  Prev: Effective Dates,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.8 Periodic Transactions
----------------------------

A periodic transaction starts with a tilde ‘~’ followed by a period
expression (see *note Period Expressions::).  Periodic transactions are
used for budgeting and forecasting only, they have no effect without the
‘--budget’ option specified.  For examples and details, *note Budgeting
and Forecasting::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Concrete Example of Automated Transactions,  Prev: Periodic Transactions,  Up: Automated Transactions

5.22.9 Concrete Example of Automated Transactions
-------------------------------------------------

As a Bahá'í, I need to compute Huqúqu'lláh whenever I acquire assets.
It is similar to tithing for Jews and Christians, or to Zakát for
Muslims.  The exact details of computing Huqúqu'lláh are somewhat
complex, but if you have further interest, please consult the Web.

   Ledger makes this otherwise difficult law very easy.  Just set up an
automated posting at the top of your ledger file:

     ; This automated transaction will compute Huqúqu'lláh based on this
     ; journal's postings.  Any accounts that match will affect the
     ; Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh account by 19% of the value of that posting.

     = /^(?:Income:|Expenses:(?:Business|Rent$|Furnishings|Taxes|Insurance))/
       (Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh)               0.19

   This automated posting works by looking at each posting in the ledger
file.  If any match the given value expression, 19% of the posting's
value is applied to the ‘Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh’ account.  So, if $1000
is earned from ‘Income:Salary’, $190 is added to
‘Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh’; if $1000 is spent on Rent, $190 is
subtracted.

     2003/01/01 (99) Salary
       Income:Salary  -$1000
       Assets:Checking

     2003/01/01 (100) Rent
       Expenses:Rent  $500
       Assets:Checking

   The ultimate balance of Huqúqu'lláh reflects how much is owed in
order to fulfill one's obligation to Huqúqu'lláh.  When ready to pay,
just write a check to cover the amount shown in
‘Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh’.  That transaction would look like:

     2003/01/01 (101) Bahá'í Huqúqu'lláh Trust
         Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh          $1,000.00
         Assets:Checking

   That's it.  To see how much Huqúq is currently owed based on your
ledger transactions, use:

     $ ledger balance Liabilities:Huqúq

                     $-95  Liabilities:Huqúqu'lláh

   This works fine, but omits one aspect of the law: that Huqúq is only
due once the liability exceeds the value of 19 mithqáls of gold (which
is roughly 2.22 ounces).  So what we want is for the liability to appear
in the balance report only when it exceeds the present day value of 2.22
ounces of gold.  This can be accomplished using the command:

     $ ledger -Q -t "/Liab.*Huquq/?(a/P{2.22 AU}<={-1.0}&a):a" bal liab

   With this command, the current price for gold is downloaded, and the
Huqúqu'lláh is reported only if its value exceeds that of 2.22 ounces of
gold.  If you wish the liability to be reflected in the parent subtotal
either way, use this instead:

     $ ledger -Q -T "/Liab.*Huquq/?(O/P{2.22 AU}<={-1.0}&O):O" bal liab

   In some cases, you may wish to refer to the account of whichever
posting matched your automated transaction's value expression.  To do
this, use the special account name ‘$account’:

     = /^Some:Long:Account:Name/
         [$account]  -0.10
         [Savings]    0.10

   This example causes 10% of the matching account's total to be
deferred to the ‘Savings’ account--as a balanced virtual posting, which
may be excluded from reports by using ‘--real’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Building Reports,  Next: Reporting Commands,  Prev: Transactions,  Up: Top

6 Building Reports
******************

* Menu:

* Introduction::
* Balance Reports::
* Typical queries::
* Advanced Reports::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Introduction,  Next: Balance Reports,  Prev: Building Reports,  Up: Building Reports

6.1 Introduction
================

The power of Ledger comes from the incredible flexibility in its
reporting commands, combined with formatting commands.  Some options
control what is included in the calculations, and formatting controls
how it is displayed.  The combinations are infinite.  This chapter will
show you the basics of combining various options and commands.  In the
next chapters you will find details about the specific commands and
options.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balance Reports,  Next: Typical queries,  Prev: Introduction,  Up: Building Reports

6.2 Balance Reports
===================

* Menu:

* Controlling the Accounts and Payees::
* Controlling Formatting::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Controlling the Accounts and Payees,  Next: Controlling Formatting,  Prev: Balance Reports,  Up: Balance Reports

6.2.1 Controlling the Accounts and Payees
-----------------------------------------

The balance report is the most commonly used report.  The simplest
invocation is:

     $ ledger balance -f drewr3.dat

which will print the balances of every account in your journal.

              $ -3,804.00  Assets
               $ 1,396.00    Checking
                  $ 30.00      Business
              $ -5,200.00    Savings
              $ -1,000.00  Equity:Opening Balances
               $ 6,654.00  Expenses
               $ 5,500.00    Auto
                  $ 20.00    Books
                 $ 300.00    Escrow
                 $ 334.00    Food:Groceries
                 $ 500.00    Interest:Mortgage
              $ -2,030.00  Income
              $ -2,000.00    Salary
                 $ -30.00    Sales
                 $ -63.60  Liabilities
                 $ -20.00    MasterCard
                 $ 200.00    Mortgage:Principal
                $ -243.60    Tithe
     --------------------
                $ -243.60

   Most times, this is more than you want.  Limiting the results to
specific accounts is as easy as entering the names of the accounts after
the command:

     $ ledger balance -f drewr3.dat Auto MasterCard

               $ 5,500.00  Expenses:Auto
                 $ -20.00  Liabilities:MasterCard
     --------------------
               $ 5,480.00

Note the implicit logical or between ‘Auto’ and ‘Mastercard’.

   If you want the entire contents of a branch of your account tree, use
the highest common name in the branch:

     $ ledger balance -f drewr3.dat Income

              $ -2,030.00  Income
              $ -2,000.00    Salary
                 $ -30.00    Sales
     --------------------
              $ -2,030.00

   You can use general regular expressions (PCRE) in nearly any place
Ledger needs a string:

     $ ledger balance -f drewr3.dat ^Bo

   This first example looks for any account starting with ‘Bo’, of which
there are none.

     $ ledger balance -f drewr3.dat Bo

                  $ 20.00  Expenses:Books

   This second example looks for any account containing ‘Bo’, which is
‘Expenses:Books’.

   If you want to know exactly how much you have spent in a particular
account on a particular payee, the following are equivalent:

     $ ledger balance Auto:Fuel and Chevron

     $ ledger balance --limit 'account=~/Fuel/' and 'payee=~/Chev/'

will show you the amount expended on gasoline at Chevron.  The second
example is the first example of the very powerful expression language
available to shape reports.  The first example may be easier to
remember, but learning to use the second will open up far more
possibilities.

   If you want to exclude specific accounts from the report, you can
exclude multiple accounts with parentheses:

     $ ledger bal Expenses and not (Expenses:Drinks or Expenses:Candy or Expenses:Gifts)


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Controlling Formatting,  Prev: Controlling the Accounts and Payees,  Up: Balance Reports

6.2.2 Controlling Formatting
----------------------------

These examples all use the default formatting for the balance report.
Customizing the formatting allows you to see only what you want, or
interface Ledger with other programs.  For examples and details, *note
Format Strings:: and *note Asset Allocation::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Typical queries,  Next: Advanced Reports,  Prev: Balance Reports,  Up: Building Reports

6.3 Typical queries
===================

A query such as the following shows all expenses since last October,
sorted by total:

     $ ledger -b "last oct" -S T bal ^expenses

   From left to right the options mean: Show transactions since last
October; sort by the absolute value of the total; and report the balance
for all accounts that begin with ‘expenses’.

* Menu:

* Reporting monthly expenses::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Reporting monthly expenses,  Prev: Typical queries,  Up: Typical queries

6.3.1 Reporting monthly expenses
--------------------------------

The following query makes it easy to see monthly expenses, with each
month's expenses sorted by the amount:

     $ ledger -M --period-sort "(amount)" reg ^expenses

   Now, you might wonder where the money came from to pay for these
things.  To see that report, add ‘--related (-r)’, which shows the
"related account" postings:

     $ ledger -M --period-sort "(amount)" -r reg ^expenses

   But maybe this prints too much information.  You might just want to
see how much you're spending with your MasterCard.  That kind of query
requires the use of a display predicate, since the postings calculated
must match ‘^expenses’, while the postings displayed must match
‘mastercard’.  The command would be:

     $ ledger -M -r --display 'account=~/mastercard/' reg ^expenses

   This query says: Report monthly subtotals; report the "related
account" postings; display only related postings whose account matches
‘mastercard’, and base the calculation on postings matching ‘^expenses’.

   This works just as well for reporting the overall total, too:

     $ ledger -s -r --display "account=~/mastercard/" reg ^expenses

   The ‘--subtotal (-s)’ option subtotals all postings, just as
‘--monthly (-M)’ subtotaled by the month.  The running total in both
cases is off, however, since a display expression is being used.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Advanced Reports,  Prev: Typical queries,  Up: Building Reports

6.4 Advanced Reports
====================

* Menu:

* Asset Allocation::
* Visualizing with Gnuplot::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Asset Allocation,  Next: Visualizing with Gnuplot,  Prev: Advanced Reports,  Up: Advanced Reports

6.4.1 Asset Allocation
----------------------

A very popular method of managing portfolios is to control the percent
allocation of assets by certain categories.  The mix of categories and
the weights applied to them vary by investing philosophy, but most
follow a similar pattern.  Tracking asset allocation in ledger is not
difficult but does require some additional effort to describe how the
various assets you own contribute to the asset classes you want to
track.

   In our simple example we assume you want to apportion your assets
into the general categories of domestic and international equities
(stocks) and a combined category of bonds and cash.  For illustrative
purposes, we will use several publicly available mutual funds from
Vanguard.  The three funds we will track are the Vanguard 500 IDX FD
Signal (VIFSX), the Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 (VTHRX), and the
Vanguard Short Term Federal Fund (VSGBX). Each of these funds allocates
assets to different categories of the investment universe and in
different proportions.  When you buy a share of VTHRX, that share is
partially invested in equities, and partially invested in bonds and
cash.  Below is the asset allocation for each of the instruments listed
above:

               Domestic       Global
Symbol         Equity         Equity                 bonds/cash
VIFSX          100%
VTHRX          24.0%          56.3%                  19.7%
VSGBX                                                100%

   These numbers are available from the prospectus of any publicly
available mutual fund.  Of course a single stock issue is 100% equity
and a single bond issue is 100% bonds.

   We track purchases of specific investments using the symbol of that
investment as its commodity.  How do we tell Ledger that a share of
VTHRX is 24% Domestic equity?  Enter automatic transactions and virtual
accounts.

   At the top of our ledger we enter automatic transactions that
describe these proportions to Ledger.  In the same entries we set up
virtual accounts that let us separate these abstract calculations from
our actual balances.

   For the three instruments listed above, those automatic transactions
would look like:

     = expr ( commodity == 'VIFSX' )
         (Allocation:Equities:Domestic)             1.000

     = expr ( commodity == 'VTHRX' )
         (Allocation:Equities:Global)               0.240
         (Allocation:Equities:Domestic)             0.563
         (Allocation:Bonds/Cash)                    0.197

     = expr ( commodity == 'VBMFX')
         (Allocation:Bonds/Cash)                    1.000

     2015-01-01 Buy VIFSX
         Assets:Broker                                100 VIFSX
         Assets:Cash                              $-10000

     2015-01-01 Buy VTHRX
         Assets:Broker                                 10 VTHRX
         Assets:Cash                              $-10000

     2015-01-01 Buy VBMFX
         Assets:Broker                                  1 VBMFX
         Assets:Cash                              $-10000

   How do these work?  First the ‘=’ sign at the beginning of the line
tells ledger this is an automatic transaction to be applied when the
condition following the ‘=’ is true.  After the ‘=’ sign is a value
expression (*note Value Expressions::) that returns true any time a
posting contains the commodity of interest.

   The following line gives the proportions (not percentages) of each
unit of commodity that belongs to each asset class.  Whenever Ledger
sees a buy or sell of a particular commodity it will credit or debit
these virtual accounts with that proportion of the number of shares
moved.

   Now that Ledger understands how to distribute the commodities amongst
the various asset classes how do we get a report that tells us our
current allocation?  Using the balance command and some tricky
formatting!

     ledger bal Allocation --current --format "\
             %-17((depth_spacer)+(partial_account))\
             %10(percent(market(display_total), market(parent.total)))\
             %16(market(display_total))\n%/"

   Which yields:

             Allocation                  100.00%                  $30000
               Bonds/Cash                 39.90%                  $11970
               Equities                   60.10%                  $18030
                 Domestic                 86.69%                  $15630
                 Global                   13.31%                   $2400

   Let's look at the Ledger invocation a bit closer.  The command above
is split into lines for clarity.  The first line is very vanilla Ledger
asking for the current balances of the account in the "Allocation" tree,
using a special formatter.

   The magic is in the formatter.  The second line simply tells Ledger
to print the partial account name indented by its depth in the tree.
The third line is where we calculate and display the percentages.  The
‘display_total’ command gives the values of the total calculated for the
account in this line.  The ‘parent.total’ command gives the total for
the next level up in the tree.  ‘percent’ formats their ratio as a
percentage.  The fourth line tells ledger to display the current market
value of the line.  The last two characters ‘%/’ tell Ledger what to do
for the last line, in this case, nothing.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Visualizing with Gnuplot,  Prev: Asset Allocation,  Up: Advanced Reports

6.4.2 Visualizing with Gnuplot
------------------------------

If you have the "Gnuplot" program installed, you can graph any of the
above register reports.  The script to do this is included in the ledger
distribution, and is named ‘contrib/report’.  Install ‘report’ anywhere
along your ‘PATH’, and then use ‘report’ instead of ‘ledger’ when doing
a register report.  The only thing to keep in mind is that you must
specify ‘--amount-data (-j)’ or ‘--total-data (-J)’ to indicate whether
"Gnuplot" should plot the amount, or the running total.  For example,
this command plots total monthly expenses made on your MasterCard.

     $ report -j -M -r --display "account =~ /mastercard/" reg ^expenses

   The ‘report’ script is a very simple Bourne shell script, that passes
a set of scripted commands to "Gnuplot".  Feel free to modify the script
to your liking, since you may prefer histograms to line plots, for
example.

   Here are some useful plots:

     report -j -M reg ^expenses         # monthly expenses
     report -J reg checking             # checking account balance
     report -J reg ^income ^expenses    # cash flow report

     # net worth report, ignoring non-$ postings

     report -J -l "Ua>={\$0.01}" reg ^assets ^liab

     # net worth report starting last February. the use of a display
     # predicate (-d) is needed, otherwise the balance will start at
     # zero, and thus the y-axis will not reflect the true balance

     report -J -l "Ua>={\$0.01}" -d "d>=[last feb]" reg ^assets ^liab

   The last report uses both a calculation predicate ‘--limit EXPR (-l)’
and a display predicate ‘--display EXPR (-d)’.  The calculation
predicate limits the report to postings whose amount is greater than or
equal to $0.01 (which can only happen if the posting amount is in
dollars).  The display predicate limits the transactions _displayed_ to
just those since last February, even though those transactions from
before will be computed as part of the balance.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Reporting Commands,  Next: Command-Line Syntax,  Prev: Building Reports,  Up: Top

7 Reporting Commands
********************

* Menu:

* Primary Financial Reports::   Reports in other formats:: Reports about
* Reports in other Formats::
* Reports about your Journals::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Primary Financial Reports,  Next: Reports in other Formats,  Prev: Reporting Commands,  Up: Reporting Commands

7.1 Primary Financial Reports
=============================

* Menu:

* The balance command::
* The equity command::
* The register command::
* The print command::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The balance command,  Next: The equity command,  Prev: Primary Financial Reports,  Up: Primary Financial Reports

7.1.1 The ‘balance’ command
---------------------------

The ‘balance’ command reports the current balance of all accounts.  It
accepts a list of optional regexes, which confine the balance report to
the matching accounts.  If an account contains multiple types of
commodities, each commodity's total is reported separately.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The equity command,  Next: The register command,  Prev: The balance command,  Up: Primary Financial Reports

7.1.2 The ‘equity’ command
--------------------------

The ‘equity’ command prints out account balances as if they were
transactions.  This makes it easy to establish the starting balances for
an account, such as when *note Archiving Previous Years::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The register command,  Next: The print command,  Prev: The equity command,  Up: Primary Financial Reports

7.1.3 The ‘register’ command
----------------------------

The ‘register’ command displays all the postings occurring in a single
account, line by line.  The account regex must be specified as the only
argument to this command.  If any regexes occur after the required
account name, the register will contain only those postings that match,
which makes it very useful for hunting down a particular posting.

   The output from ‘register’ is very close to what a typical checkbook,
or single-account ledger, would look like.  It also shows a running
balance.  The final running balance of any register should always be the
same as the current balance of that account.

   If you have "Gnuplot" installed, you may plot the amount or running
total of any register by using the script ‘report’, which is included in
the Ledger distribution.  The only requirement is that you add either
‘--amount-data (-j)’ or ‘--total-data (-J)’ to your ‘register’ command,
in order to plot either the amount or total column, respectively.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The print command,  Prev: The register command,  Up: Primary Financial Reports

7.1.4 The ‘print’ command
-------------------------

The ‘print’ command prints out ledger transactions in a textual format
that can be parsed by Ledger.  They will be properly formatted, and
output in the most economic form possible.  The ‘print’ command also
takes a list of optional regexes, which will cause only those postings
which match in some way to be printed.

   The ‘print’ command can be a handy way to clean up a ledger file
whose formatting has gotten out of hand.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Reports in other Formats,  Next: Reports about your Journals,  Prev: Primary Financial Reports,  Up: Reporting Commands

7.2 Reports in other Formats
============================

* Menu:

* Comma Separated Values files::
* The lisp command::
* Emacs org Mode::
* Org mode with Babel::
* The pricemap command::
* The xml command::
* prices and pricedb commands::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Comma Separated Values files,  Next: The lisp command,  Prev: Reports in other Formats,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.1 Comma Separated Values files
----------------------------------

* Menu:

* The csv command::
* The convert command::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The csv command,  Next: The convert command,  Prev: Comma Separated Values files,  Up: Comma Separated Values files

7.2.1.1 The ‘csv’ command
.........................

The ‘csv’ command prints the desired ledger transactions in a csv format
suitable for importing into other programs.  You can specify the
transactions to print using all the normal limiting and searching
functions.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The convert command,  Prev: The csv command,  Up: Comma Separated Values files

7.2.1.2 The ‘convert’ command
.............................

The ‘convert’ command parses a comma separated value (csv) file and
prints Ledger transactions.  Many banks offer csv file downloads.
Unfortunately, the file formats, aside from the commas, are all
different.  The ledger ‘convert’ command tries to help as much as it
can.

   Your bank's csv files will have fields in different orders from other
banks, so there must be a way to tell Ledger what to expect.  Insert a
line at the beginning of the csv file that describes the fields to
Ledger.

   For example, this is a portion of a csv file downloaded from a credit
union in the United States:

     Account Name: VALUFIRST CHECKING
     Account Number: 71
     Date Range: 11/13/2011 - 12/13/2011

     Transaction Number,Date,Description,Memo,Amount Debit,Amount Credit,Balance,Check Number,Fees
     767406,12/13/2011,"Deposit","CASH DEPOSIT",,45.00,00001646.89,,
     767718,12/13/2011,"Withdrawal","ACE HARDWARE 16335 S HOUGHTON RD",8.80,,00001640.04,,
     767406,12/13/2011,"Withdrawal","ACE HARDWARE 16335 S HOUGHTON RD",1.03,,00001648.84,,
     683342,12/13/2011,"Visa Checking","NetFlix Date 12/12/11 000326585896 5968",21.85,,00001649.87,,
     639668,12/13/2011,"Withdrawal","ID: 1741472662 CO: XXAA.COM PAYMNT",236.65,,00001671.72,,
     1113648,12/12/2011,"Withdrawal","Tuscan IT #00037657",29.73,,00001908.37,,

   Unfortunately, as it stands Ledger cannot read it, but you can.
Ledger expects the first line to contain a description of the fields on
each line of the file.  The fields ledger can recognize contain these
case-insensitive strings ‘date’, ‘posted’, ‘code’, ‘payee’ or ‘desc’ or
‘description’, ‘amount’ or ‘credit’, ‘debit’, ‘cost’, ‘total’, and
‘note’.

   Delete the account description lines at the top, and replace the
first line in the data above with:

     ,date,payee,note,debit,credit,,code,

   Then execute ledger like this:

     $ ledger convert download.csv --input-date-format "%m/%d/%Y"

   Where the ‘--input-date-format DATE_FORMAT’ option tells ledger how
to interpret the dates.

   Importing csv files is a lot of work, but is very amenable to
scripting.

   If your csv has only one amount column with opposite signs for
credits and debits, this is also supported.  For example, the first fiew
lines of the above account could also be in the following format:

     ,date,payee,note,credit,,code,
     767406,12/13/2011,"Deposit","CASH DEPOSIT",45.00,00001646.89,,
     767718,12/13/2011,"Withdrawal","ACE HARDWARE 16335 S HOUGHTON RD",-8.80,00001640.04,,

   If there are columns in the bank data you would like to keep in your
ledger data, besides the primary fields described above, you can name
them in the field descriptor list and Ledger will include them in the
transaction as meta data if it doesn't recognize the field name.  For
example, if you want to capture the bank transaction number and it
occurs in the first column of the data use:

     transid,date,payee,note,debit,credit,,code,

   Ledger will include ‘; transid: 767718’ in the first transaction from
the file above.

   The ‘convert’ command accepts four options.  They are ‘--invert’
which inverts the amount, ‘--auto-match’ which automatically matches an
account from the Ledger journal for every CSV line, ‘--account STR’
which you can use to specify the account to balance against, and
‘--rich-data’ which stores additional tag/value pairs.

   Using the two first lines of the above csv file,

     ,date,payee,note,debit,credit,balance,code,
     767406,12/13/2011,"Deposit","CASH DEPOSIT",,45.00,00001646.89,,
     767718,12/13/2011,"Withdrawal","ACE HARDWARE 16335 S HOUGHTON RD",8.80,,00001640.04,,

   and launching the below command,

     $ ledger convert download.csv --input-date-format "%m/%d/%Y" \
       --invert --account Assets:MyBank --rich-data \
       --file sample.dat --now=2012/01/13

   you will get the result:

     2011/12/13 * Deposit  ;CASH DEPOSIT
         ; balance: 00001646.89
         ; CSV: 767406,12/13/2011,"Deposit","CASH DEPOSIT",,45.00,00001646.89,,
         ; Imported: 2012/01/13
         ; UUID: ce0b7d42b02ce5eaf0d828c3b1028041fd09494c
         Expenses:Unknown                             -45
         Assets:MyBank

     2011/12/13 * Withdrawal  ;ACE HARDWARE 16335 S HOUGHTON RD
         ; balance: 00001640.04
         ; CSV: 767718,12/13/2011,"Withdrawal","ACE HARDWARE 16335 S HOUGHTON RD",8.80,,00001640.04,,
         ; Imported: 2012/01/13
         ; UUID: 0aaf85911adc447ea2d5377ff6a60d6b2940047f
         Expenses:Unknown                             8.8
         Assets:MyBank

   The three added metadata are: ‘CSV’ as the original line from csv
file, ‘Imported’ as the date when the csv file was imported into Ledger,
and ‘UUID’ as a checksum of original csv line.

   If an entry with the same ‘UUID’ tag is already included in the
normal ledger file (specified via ‘--file FILE (-f)’ or via the
environment variable ‘LEDGER_FILE’) this entry will not be printed
again.

   In the output above, the account is ‘Expenses:Unknown’ for CSV lines.
You can use the ‘--auto-match’ option to automatically match an account
from your Ledger journal.

   You can also use ‘convert’ with ‘payee’ and ‘account’ directives.
First, you can use the ‘payee’ and ‘alias’ directive to rewrite the
‘payee’ field based on some rules.  Then you can use the account and its
‘payee’ directive to specify the account.  I use it like this, for
example:

     payee Aldi
         alias ^ALDI SUED SAGT DANKE
     account Aufwand:Einkauf:Lebensmittel
         payee ^(Aldi|Alnatura|Kaufland|REWE)$

   Note that it may be necessary for the output of ‘ledger convert’ to
be passed through ‘ledger print’ a second time if you want to match on
the new payee field.  During the ‘ledger convert’ run, only the original
payee name as specified in the csv data seems to be used.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The lisp command,  Next: Emacs org Mode,  Prev: Comma Separated Values files,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.2 The ‘lisp’ command
------------------------

The ‘lisp’ command prints results in a form that can be read directly by
Emacs Lisp.  The format of the ‘sexp’ is:

     ((BEG-POS CLEARED DATE CODE PAYEE
       (ACCOUNT AMOUNT)...)  ; list of postings
      ...)                   ; list of transactions

‘emacs’ can also be used as a synonym for ‘lisp’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Emacs org Mode,  Next: Org mode with Babel,  Prev: The lisp command,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.3 Emacs ‘org’ Mode
----------------------

Org mode has a sub-system known as Babel which allows for literate
programming.  This allows you to mix text and code within the same
document and automatically execute code which may generate results which
will then appear in the text.

   One of the languages supported by Babel is Ledger, so that you can
have ledger commands embedded in a text file and have the output of
ledger commands also appear in the text file.  The output can be updated
whenever any new ledger entries are added.

   For instance, the following Org mode text document snippet
illustrates a very naive but still useful application of the Babel
system:

     * A simple test of ledger in an org file
     The following are some entries and I have requested that ledger be run
     to generate a balance on the accounts.  I could have asked for
     a register or, in fact, anything at all the ledger can do through
     command-line options.

     #+begin_src ledger :cmdline bal :results value
     2010/01/01 * Starting balance
       assets:bank:savings       £1300.00
       income:starting balances
     2010/07/22 * Got paid
       assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00
       income:salary
     2010/07/23 Rent
       expenses:rent              £500.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     #+end_src

     #+results:
     :            £1800.00  assets:bank
     :             £500.00    chequing
     :            £1300.00    savings
     :             £500.00  expenses:rent
     :           £-2300.00  income
     :           £-1000.00    salary
     :           £-1300.00    starting balances

   Typing ‘C-c C-c’ anywhere in the "ledger source code block" will
invoke ledger on the contents of that block and generate a "results"
block.  The results block can appear anywhere in the file but, by
default, will appear immediately below the source code block.

   You can combine multiple source code blocks before executing ledger
and do all kinds of other wonderful things with Babel (and Org mode).


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Org mode with Babel,  Next: The pricemap command,  Prev: Emacs org Mode,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.4 Org mode with Babel
-------------------------

Using Babel, it is possible to record financial transactions
conveniently in an org file and subsequently generate the financial
reports required.

   As of Org mode 7.01, Ledger support is provided.  Check the Babel
documentation on Worg (https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/) for
instructions on how to achieve this but I currently do this directly as
follows:

     (org-babel-do-load-languages
      'org-babel-load-languages
      '((ledger . t)         ;this is the important one for this tutorial
       ))

   Once Ledger support in Babel has been enabled, we can proceed to
include Ledger entries within an org file.  There are three ways (at
least) in which these can be included:

  1. place all Ledger entries within one single source block and execute
     this block with different arguments to generate the appropriate
     reports,

  2. place Ledger entries in more than one source block and use the
     ‘noweb’ literary programming approach, supported by Babel, to
     combine these into one block elsewhere in the file for processing
     by Ledger,

  3. place Ledger entries in different source blocks and use ‘tangle’ to
     generate a Ledger file which you can subsequently process using
     Ledger directly.

   The first two are described in more detail in this short tutorial.

* Menu:

* Embedded Ledger example with single source block::
* Multiple Ledger source blocks with noweb::
* Income Entries::
* Expenses::
* Financial Summaries::
* An overall balance summary::
* Generating a monthly register::
* Summary::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Embedded Ledger example with single source block,  Next: Multiple Ledger source blocks with noweb,  Prev: Org mode with Babel,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.1 Embedded Ledger example with single source block
........................................................

The easiest, albeit possibly least useful, way in which to use Ledger
within an org file is to use a single source block to record all Ledger
entries.  The following is an example source block:

     #+name: allinone
     #+begin_src ledger
     2010/01/01 * Starting balance
       assets:bank:savings       £1300.00
       income:starting balances
     2010/07/22 * Got paid
       assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00
       income:salary
     2010/07/23 Rent
       expenses:rent              £500.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     2010/07/24 Food
       expenses:food              £150.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     2010/07/31 * Interest on bank savings
       assets:bank:savings          £3.53
       income:interest
     2010/07/31 * Transfer savings
       assets:bank:savings        £250.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     2010/08/01 got paid again
       assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00
       income:salary
     #+end_src

   In this example, we have combined both expenses and income into one
set of Ledger entries.  We can now generate register and balance reports
(as well as many other types of reports) using Babel to invoke Ledger
with specific arguments.  The arguments are passed to Ledger using the
‘:cmdline’ header argument.  In the code block above, there is no such
argument so the system takes the default.  For Ledger code blocks, the
default ‘:cmdline’ argument is ‘bal’ and the result of evaluating this
code block (‘C-c C-c’) would be:

     #+results: allinone()
     :            £2653.53  assets:bank
     :            £1100.00    chequing
     :            £1553.53    savings
     :             £650.00  expenses
     :             £150.00    food
     :             £500.00    rent
     :           £-3303.53  income
     :              £-3.53    interest
     :           £-2000.00    salary
     :           £-1300.00    starting balances

   If, instead, you wished to generate a register of all the
transactions, you would change the ‘#+begin_src’ line for the code block
to include the required command-line option:

     #+begin_src ledger :cmdline reg

   Evaluating the code block again would generate a different report.

   Having to change the actual directive on the code block and
re-evaluate makes it difficult to have more than one view of your
transactions and financial state.  Eventually, Babel will support
passing arguments to ‘#+call’ evaluations of code blocks but this
support is missing currently.  Instead, we can use the concepts of
literary programming, as implemented by the ‘noweb’ features of Babel,
to help us.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Multiple Ledger source blocks with noweb,  Next: Income Entries,  Prev: Embedded Ledger example with single source block,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.2 Multiple Ledger source blocks with ‘noweb’
..................................................

The ‘noweb’ feature of Babel allows us to expand references to other
code blocks within a code block.  For Ledger, this can be used to group
transactions according to type, say, and then bring various sets of
transactions together to generate reports.

   Using the same transactions used above, we could consider splitting
these into expenses and income, as follows:


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Income Entries,  Next: Expenses,  Prev: Multiple Ledger source blocks with noweb,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.3 Income Entries
......................

The first set of entries relates to income, either monthly pay or
interest, all typically going into one of my bank accounts.  Here, I
have placed several entries, but we could have had each entry in a
separate ‘src’ block.  Note that all code blocks you wish to refer to
later must have the ‘:noweb yes’ header argument specified.

     #+name: income
     #+begin_src ledger :noweb yes
     2010/01/01 * Starting balance
       assets:bank:savings       £1300.00
       income:starting balances
     2010/07/22 * Got paid
       assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00
       income:salary
     2010/07/31 * Interest on bank savings
       assets:bank:savings          £3.53
       income:interest
     2010/07/31 * Transfer savings
       assets:bank:savings        £250.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     2010/08/01 got paid again
       assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00
       income:salary
     #+end_src


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Expenses,  Next: Financial Summaries,  Prev: Income Entries,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.4 Expenses
................

The following entries relate to personal expenses, such as rent and
food.  Again, these have all been placed in a single ‘src’ block but
could have been done individually.

     #+name: expenses
     #+begin_src ledger :noweb yes
     2010/07/23 Rent
       expenses:rent              £500.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     2010/07/24 Food
       expenses:food              £150.00
       assets:bank:chequing
     #+end_src


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Financial Summaries,  Next: An overall balance summary,  Prev: Expenses,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.5 Financial Summaries
...........................

Given the ledger entries defined above in the income and expenses code
blocks, we can now refer to these using the noweb expansion directives,
‘<<name>>’.  We can now define different code blocks to generate
specific reports for those transactions.  Below are two examples, one to
generate a balance report and one to generate a register report of all
transactions.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: An overall balance summary,  Next: Generating a monthly register,  Prev: Financial Summaries,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.6 An overall balance summary
..................................

The overall balance of your account and expenditure with a breakdown
according to category is specified by passing the ‘:cmdline bal’
argument to Ledger.  This code block can now be evaluated (‘C-c C-c’)
and the results generated by incorporating the transactions referred to
by the ‘<<income>>’ and ‘<<expenses>>’ lines.

     #+name: balance
     #+begin_src ledger :cmdline bal :noweb yes
     <<income>>
     <<expenses>>
     #+end_src

     #+results: balance
     :            £2653.53  assets:bank
     :            £1100.00    chequing
     :            £1553.53    savings
     :             £650.00  expenses
     :             £150.00    food
     :             £500.00    rent
     :           £-3303.53  income
     :              £-3.53    interest
     :           £-2000.00    salary
     :           £-1300.00    starting balances

   If you want a less detailed breakdown of where your money is, you can
specify the ‘--collapse (-n)’ flag (i.e.  ‘:cmdline -n bal’) to tell
Ledger to exclude sub-accounts in the report.

     #+begin_src ledger :cmdline -n bal :noweb yes
     <<income>>
     <<expenses>>
     #+end_src

     #+results:
     :            £2653.53  assets
     :             £650.00  expenses
     :           £-3303.53  income


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Generating a monthly register,  Next: Summary,  Prev: An overall balance summary,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.7 Generating a monthly register
.....................................

You can also generate a monthly register (the ‘reg’ command) by
executing the following ‘src’ block.  This presents a summary of
transactions for each monthly period (the ‘--monthly (-M)’ argument)
with a running total in the final column (which should be 0 at the end
if all the entries are correct).

     #+name: monthlyregister
     #+begin_src ledger :cmdline -M reg :noweb yes
     <<income>>
     <<expenses>>
     #+end_src

     #+results: monthlyregister
     :2010/01/01 - 2010/01/31         assets:bank:savings       £1300.00    £1300.00
     :                                in:starting balances     £-1300.00           0
     :2010/07/01 - 2010/07/31         assets:bank:chequing       £100.00     £100.00
     :                                assets:bank:savings        £253.53     £353.53
     :                                expenses:food              £150.00     £503.53
     :                                expenses:rent              £500.00    £1003.53
     :                                income:interest             £-3.53    £1000.00
     :                                income:salary            £-1000.00           0
     :2010/08/01 - 2010/08/01         assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00    £1000.00
     :                                income:salary            £-1000.00           0

   We could also generate a monthly report on our assets showing how
these are increasing (or decreasing!).  In this case, the final column
will be the running total of the assets in our ledger.

     #+name: monthlyassetsregister
     #+begin_src ledger :cmdline -M reg assets :noweb yes
     <<income>>
     <<expenses>>
     #+end_src

     #+results: monthlyassetsregister
     : 2010/01/01 - 2010/01/31         assets:bank:savings       £1300.00    £1300.00
     : 2010/07/01 - 2010/07/31         assets:bank:chequing       £100.00    £1400.00
     :                                 assets:bank:savings        £253.53    £1653.53
     : 2010/08/01 - 2010/08/01         assets:bank:chequing      £1000.00    £2653.53


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Summary,  Prev: Generating a monthly register,  Up: Org mode with Babel

7.2.4.8 Summary
...............

This short tutorial shows how Ledger entries can be embedded in an org
file and manipulated using Babel.  However, only simple Ledger features
have been illustrated; please refer to the Ledger documentation for
examples of more complex operations on a ledger.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The pricemap command,  Next: The xml command,  Prev: Org mode with Babel,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.5 The ‘pricemap’ command
----------------------------

If you have the ‘graphviz’ graph visualization package installed, ledger
can generate a graph of the relationship between your various
commodities.  The output file is in the "dot" format.

   This is probably not very interesting, unless you have many different
commodities valued in terms of each other.  For example, multiple
currencies and multiple investments valued in those currencies.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: The xml command,  Next: prices and pricedb commands,  Prev: The pricemap command,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.6 The ‘xml’ command
-----------------------

By default, Ledger uses a human-readable data format, and displays its
reports in a manner meant to be read on screen.  For the purpose of
writing tools which use Ledger, however, it is possible to read and
display data using XML. This section documents that format.

   The general format used for Ledger data is:

     <?xml version="1.0"?>
     <ledger>
       <xact>...</xact>
       <xact>...</xact>
       <xact>...</xact>...
     </ledger>

   The data stream is enclosed in a ‘ledger’ tag, which contains a
series of one or more transactions.  Each ‘xact’ describes one
transaction and contains a series of one or more postings:

     <xact>
       <en:date>2004/03/01</en:date>
       <en:cleared/>
       <en:code>100</en:code>
       <en:payee>John Wiegley</en:payee>
       <en:postings>
         <posting>...</posting>
         <posting>...</posting>
         <posting>...</posting>...
       </en:postings>
     </xact>

   The date format for ‘en:date’ is always ‘YYYY/MM/DD’.  The
‘en:cleared’ tag is optional, and indicates whether the posting has been
cleared or not.  There is also an ‘en:pending’ tag, for marking pending
postings.  The ‘en:code’ and ‘en:payee’ tags both contain whatever text
the user wishes.

   After the initial transaction data, there must follow a set of
postings marked with ‘en:postings’.  Typically these postings will all
balance each other, but if not they will be automatically balanced into
an account named ‘Unknown’.

   Within the ‘en:postings’ tag is a series of one or more ‘posting’'s,
which have the following form:

     <posting>
       <tr:account>Expenses:Computer:Hardware</tr:account>
       <tr:amount>
         <value type="amount">
           <amount>
             <commodity flags="PT">$</commodity>
             <quantity>90.00</quantity>
           </amount>
         </value>
       </tr:amount>
     </posting>

   This is a basic posting.  It may also begin with ‘tr:virtual’ and/or
‘tr:generated’ tags, to indicate virtual and auto-generated postings.
Then follows the ‘tr:account’ tag, which contains the full name of the
account the posting is related to.  Colons separate parent from child in
an account name.

   Lastly follows the amount of the posting, indicated by ‘tr:amount’.
Within this tag is a ‘value’ tag, of which there are four different
kinds, each with its own format:

  1. Boolean,
  2. integer,
  3. amount,
  4. balance.

   The format of a Boolean value is ‘true’ or ‘false’ surrounded by a
‘boolean’ tag, for example:

     <boolean>true</boolean>

   The format of an integer value is the numerical value surrounded by
an ‘integer’ tag, for example:

     <integer>12036</integer>

   The format of an amount contains two members, the commodity and the
quantity.  The commodity can have a set of flags that indicate how to
display it.  The meaning of the flags (all of which are optional) are:

‘P’
     The commodity is prefixed to the value.

‘S’
     The commodity is separated from the value by a space.

‘T’
     Thousands markers are used to display the amount.

‘E’
     The format of the amount is European, with period used as a
     thousands marker, and comma used as the decimal point.

   The actual quantity for an amount is an integer of arbitrary size.
Ledger uses the GNU multiple precision arithmetic library to handle such
values.  The XML format assumes the reader to be equally capable.  Here
is an example amount:

     <value type="amount">
       <amount>
         <commodity flags="PT">$</commodity>
         <quantity>90.00</quantity>
       </amount>
     </value>

   Lastly, a balance value contains a series of amounts, each with a
different commodity.  Unlike the name, such a value does need to
balance.  It is called a balance because it sums several amounts.  For
example:

     <value type="balance">
       <balance>
         <amount>
           <commodity flags="PT">$</commodity>
           <quantity>90.00</quantity>
         </amount>
         <amount>
           <commodity flags="TE">DM</commodity>
           <quantity>200.00</quantity>
         </amount>
       </balance>
     </value>

   That is the extent of the XML data format used by Ledger.  It will
output such data if the ‘xml’ command is used, and can read the same
data.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: prices and pricedb commands,  Prev: The xml command,  Up: Reports in other Formats

7.2.7 ‘prices’ and ‘pricedb’ commands
-------------------------------------

The ‘prices’ command displays the price history for matching
commodities.  The ‘--average (-A)’ option is useful with this report, to
display the running average price, or ‘--deviation (-D)’ to show each
price's deviation from that average.

   There is also a ‘pricedb’ command which outputs the same information
as ‘prices’, but does so in a format that can be parsed by Ledger.  This
is useful for generating and tidying up pricedb database files.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Reports about your Journals,  Prev: Reports in other Formats,  Up: Reporting Commands

7.3 Reports about your Journals
===============================

* Menu:

* accounts::
* payees::
* commodities::
* tags::
* xact::
* stats::
* select::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: accounts,  Next: payees,  Prev: Reports about your Journals,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.1 ‘accounts’
----------------

The ‘accounts’ command reports all of the accounts in the journal.
Following the command with a regular expression will limit the output to
accounts matching the regex.  The output is sorted by name.  Using the
‘--count’ option will tell you how many entries use each account.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: payees,  Next: commodities,  Prev: accounts,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.2 ‘payees’
--------------

The ‘payees’ command reports all of the unique payees in the journal.
Using the ‘--count’ option will tell you how many entries use each
payee.  To filter the payees displayed you must use the prefix @:

     $ ledger payees @Nic
     Nicolas
     Nicolas BOILABUS
     Oudtshoorn Municipality
     Vaca Veronica


File: ledger3.info,  Node: commodities,  Next: tags,  Prev: payees,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.3 ‘commodities’
-------------------

Report all commodities present in the journals under consideration.  The
output is sorted by name.  Using the ‘--count’ option will tell you how
many entries use each commodity.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: tags,  Next: xact,  Prev: commodities,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.4 ‘tags’
------------

The ‘tags’ command reports all of the tags in the journal.  The output
is sorted by name.  Using the ‘--count’ option will tell you how many
entries use each tag.  Using the ‘--values’ option will report the
values used by each tag.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: xact,  Next: stats,  Prev: tags,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.5 ‘xact’
------------

The ‘xact’ command simplifies the creation of new transactions.  It
works on the principle that 80% of all postings are variants of earlier
postings.  Here's how it works:

   Say you currently have this posting in your ledger file:

     2004/03/15 * Viva Italiano
         Expenses:Food                       $12.45
         Expenses:Tips                        $2.55
         Liabilities:MasterCard             $-15.00

   Now it's ‘2004/4/9’, and you've just eaten at ‘Viva Italiano’ again.
The exact amounts are different, but the overall form is the same.  With
the ‘xact’ command you can type:

     $ ledger xact 2004/4/9 viva food 11 tips 2.50

   This produces the following output:

     2004/04/09 Viva Italiano
         Expenses:Food                             $11.00
         Expenses:Tips                              $2.50
         Liabilities:MasterCard

   It works by finding a past posting matching the regular expression
‘viva’, and assuming that any accounts or amounts specified will be
similar to that earlier posting.  If Ledger does not succeed in
generating a new transaction, an error is printed and the exit code is
set to ‘1’.

   Here are a few more examples of the ‘xact’ command, assuming the
above journal transaction:

     $ ledger xact 4/9 viva 11.50
     $ ledger xact 4/9 viva 11.50 checking # (from `checking')
     $ ledger xact 4/9 viva food 11.50 tips 8
     $ ledger xact 4/9 viva food 11.50 tips 8 cash
     $ ledger xact 4/9 viva food $11.50 tips $8 cash
     $ ledger xact 4/9 viva dining "DM 11.50"

   ‘draft’ and ‘entry’ are both synonyms of ‘xact’.  ‘entry’ is provided
for backwards compatibility with Ledger 2.X.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: stats,  Next: select,  Prev: xact,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.6 ‘stats’
-------------

UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
feature.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: select,  Prev: stats,  Up: Reports about your Journals

7.3.7 ‘select’
--------------

UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
feature.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Command-Line Syntax,  Next: Budgeting and Forecasting,  Prev: Reporting Commands,  Up: Top

8 Command-Line Syntax
*********************

* Menu:

* Basic Usage::
* Command-Line Quick Reference::
* Detailed Option Description::
* Period Expressions::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Basic Usage,  Next: Command-Line Quick Reference,  Prev: Command-Line Syntax,  Up: Command-Line Syntax

8.1 Basic Usage
===============

This chapter describes Ledger's features and options.  You may wish to
survey this to get an overview before diving into the *note Ledger
Tutorial:: and more detailed examples that follow.

   Ledger has a very simple command-line interface, named--enticingly
enough--‘ledger’.  It supports a few reporting commands, and a large
number of options for refining the output from those commands.  The
basic syntax of any ledger command is:

     $ ledger [OPTIONS...] COMMAND [ARGS...]

   After the command word there may appear any number of arguments.  For
most commands, these arguments are regular expressions that cause the
output to relate only to postings matching those regular expressions.
For the ‘xact’ command, the arguments have a special meaning, described
below.

   The regular expressions arguments always match the account name that
a posting refers to.  To match on the payee of the transaction instead,
precede the regular expression with ‘payee’ or ‘@’.  For example, the
following balance command reports account totals for rent, food and
movies, but only those whose payee matches Freddie:

     $ ledger bal rent food movies payee freddie

or

     $ ledger bal rent food movies @freddie

   There are many, many command options available with the ‘ledger’
program, and it takes a while to master them.  However, none of them are
required to use the basic reporting commands.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Command-Line Quick Reference,  Next: Detailed Option Description,  Prev: Basic Usage,  Up: Command-Line Syntax

8.2 Command-Line Quick Reference
================================

* Menu:

* Basic Reporting Commands::
* Basic Options::
* Report Filtering::
* Error Checking and Calculation Options::
* Output Customization::
* Grouping Options::
* Commodity Reporting::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Basic Reporting Commands,  Next: Basic Options,  Prev: Command-Line Quick Reference,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.1 Basic Reporting Commands
------------------------------

‘balance’
‘bal’
     Show account balances.

‘register’
‘reg’
     Show all transactions with running total.

‘csv’
     Show transactions in csv format, for exporting to other programs.

‘print’
     Print transactions in a format readable by ledger.

‘xml’
     Produce XML output of the register command.

‘lisp’
‘emacs’
     Produce s-expression output, suitable for Emacs.

‘equity’
     Print account balances as transactions.

‘prices’
     Print price history for matching commodities.

‘pricedb’
     Print price history for matching commodities in a format readable
     by ledger.

‘xact’
     Generate transactions based on previous postings.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Basic Options,  Next: Report Filtering,  Prev: Basic Reporting Commands,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.2 Basic Options
-------------------

‘--help’
‘-h’
     Display the man page for ‘ledger’.

‘--version’
     Print version information and exit.

‘--file FILE’
‘-f FILE’
     Read ‘FILE’ as a ledger file.

‘--output FILE’
‘-o FILE’
     Redirect output to ‘FILE’.

‘--init-file FILE’
‘-i FILE’
     Specify an options file.

‘--import FILE’
     Import FILE as Python module.

‘--account STR’
‘-a STR’
     Specify default account STR for QIF file postings.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Report Filtering,  Next: Error Checking and Calculation Options,  Prev: Basic Options,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.3 Report Filtering
----------------------

‘--current’
‘-c’
     Display only transactions on or before the current date.

‘--begin DATE’
‘-b DATE’
     Limit the processing to transactions on or after DATE.

‘--end DATE’
‘-e DATE’
     Limit the processing to transactions before DATE.

‘--period PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
‘-p PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
     Limit the processing to transactions in PERIOD_EXPRESSION (see
     *note Period Expressions::).

‘--period-sort VEXPR’
     Sort postings within each period according to VEXPR.

‘--cleared’
‘-C’
     Display only cleared postings.

‘--dc’
     Display register or balance in debit/credit format.

‘--uncleared’
‘-U’
     Display only uncleared postings.

‘--real’
‘-R’
     Display only real postings.

‘--actual’
‘-L’
     Display only actual postings, not automated ones.

‘--related’
‘-r’
     Display related postings.

‘--budget’
     Display how close your postings meet your budget.

‘--add-budget’
     Show unbudgeted postings.

‘--unbudgeted’
     Show only unbudgeted postings.

‘--forecast-while VEXPR’
‘--forecast VEXPR’
     Project balances into the future.

‘--limit EXPR’
‘-l EXPR’
     Limit which postings are used in calculations by EXPR.

‘--amount EXPR’
‘-t EXPR’
     Change value expression reported in ‘register’ report.

‘--total VEXPR’
‘-T VEXPR’
     Change the value expression used for "totals" column in ‘register’
     and ‘balance’ reports.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Error Checking and Calculation Options,  Next: Output Customization,  Prev: Report Filtering,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.4 Error Checking and Calculation Options
--------------------------------------------

‘--strict’
     Accounts, tags or commodities not previously declared will cause
     warnings.

‘--pedantic’
     Accounts, tags or commodities not previously declared will cause
     errors.

‘--check-payees’
     Enable strict and pedantic checking for payees as well as accounts,
     commodities and tags.  This only works in conjunction with
     ‘--strict’ or ‘--pedantic’.

‘--immediate’
     Instruct ledger to evaluate calculations immediately rather than
     lazily.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Output Customization,  Next: Grouping Options,  Prev: Error Checking and Calculation Options,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.5 Output Customization
--------------------------

‘--collapse’
‘-n’
     Collapse transactions with multiple postings.

‘--subtotal’
‘-s’
     Report register as a single subtotal.

‘--by-payee’
‘-P’
     Report subtotals by payee.

‘--empty’
‘-E’
     Include empty accounts in the report.

‘--weekly’
‘-W’
     Report posting totals by week.

‘--quarterly’
     Report posting totals by quarter.

‘--yearly’
‘-Y’
     Report posting totals by year.

‘--dow’
     Report posting totals by day of week.

‘--sort VEXPR’
‘-S VEXPR’
     Sort a report using VEXPR.

‘--wide’
‘-w’
     Assume 132 columns instead of 80.

‘--head INT’
     Report the first INT postings.

‘--tail INT’
     Report the last INT postings.

‘--pager FILE’
     Direct output to FILE pager program.

‘--no-pager’
     Direct output to stdout, avoiding pager program.

‘--average’
‘-A’
     Report the average posting value.

‘--deviation’
‘-D’
     Report each posting's deviation from the average.

‘--percent’
‘-%’
     Show subtotals in the balance report as percentages.

‘--pivot TAG’
     Produce a pivot table of the TAG type specified.

‘--amount-data’
‘-j’
     Show only the date and value columns to format the output for
     plots.

‘--plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Specify the format for the plot output.

‘--total-data’
‘-J’
     Show only the date and total columns to format the output for
     plots.

‘--plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Specify the format for the plot output.

‘--display EXPR’
‘-d EXPR’
     Display only postings that meet the criteria in the EXPR.

‘--date-format DATE_FORMAT’
‘-y DATE_FORMAT’
     Change the basic date format used in reports.

‘--format FORMAT_STRING’
‘--balance-format FORMAT_STRING’
‘--register-format FORMAT_STRING’
‘--prices-format FORMAT_STRING’
‘-F FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the reporting format for various reports.

‘--anon’
     Print the ledger register with anonymized accounts and payees,
     useful for filing bug reports.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Grouping Options,  Next: Commodity Reporting,  Prev: Output Customization,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.6 Grouping Options
----------------------

‘--by-payee’
‘-P’
     Group postings by common payee names.

‘--daily’
‘-D’
     Group postings by day.

‘--weekly’
‘-W’
     Group postings by week.

‘--monthly’
‘-M’
     Group postings by month.

‘--quarterly’
     Group postings by quarter.

‘--yearly’
‘-Y’
     Group postings by year.

‘--dow’
     Group by day of weeks.

‘--subtotal’
‘-s’
     Group postings together, similar to the balance report.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commodity Reporting,  Prev: Grouping Options,  Up: Command-Line Quick Reference

8.2.7 Commodity Reporting
-------------------------

‘--price-db FILE’
     Use ‘FILE’ for retrieving stored commodity prices.

‘--price-exp INT’
‘--leeway INT’
‘-Z INT’
     Set expected freshness of prices in INT minutes.

‘--download’
‘-Q’
     Download quotes using the script named ‘getquote’.

‘--quantity’
‘-O’
     Report commodity totals without conversion.

‘--basis’
‘-B’
     Report cost basis.

‘--market’
‘-V’
     Report last known market value.

‘--gain’
‘-G’
     Report net gain or loss for commodities that have a price history.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Detailed Option Description,  Next: Period Expressions,  Prev: Command-Line Quick Reference,  Up: Command-Line Syntax

8.3 Detailed Option Description
===============================

* Menu:

* Global Options::
* Session Options::
* Report Options::
* Basic options::
* Report filtering::
* Output customization::
* Commodity reporting::
* Environment variables::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Global Options,  Next: Session Options,  Prev: Detailed Option Description,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.1 Global Options
--------------------

Options for Ledger reports affect three separate scopes of operation:
Global, Session, and Report.  In practice there is very little
difference between these scopes.  Ledger 3.0 contains provisions for
GUIs, which would make use of the different scopes by keeping an
instance of Ledger running in the background and running multiple
sessions with multiple reports per session.

‘--args-only’
     Ignore all environment and init-file settings and use only
     command-line arguments to control Ledger.  Useful for debugging or
     testing small journal files not associated with your main financial
     database.

‘--debug CODE’
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.  If ledger has been built with debug options this will
     provide extra data during the run.

‘--help’
‘-h’
     Display the man page for ‘ledger’.

‘--init-file FILE’
     Specify the location of the init file.  By default,
     ‘$XDG_CONFIG_HOME’, ‘~/.config/ledger/lederrc’, ‘~/.ledgerrc’ and
     ‘./.ledgerrc’ are tried in order.

‘--options’
     Display the options in effect for this Ledger invocation, along
     with their values and the source of those values, for example:

          $ ledger --options bal --cleared

          ===============================================================================
          [Global scope options]
                       --args-only                                             --args-only

          [Session scope options]
                            --file = A9349E4.dat                               --file

          [Report scope options]
                         --cleared                                             --cleared
                         --columns = 80                                        --columns
                           --limit = cleared                                   --cleared
          ===============================================================================
                        $15.00  Expenses
                        $12.45    Food
                         $2.55    Tips
                       $-15.00  Liabilities:MasterCard
          --------------------
                             0

     For the source column, a value starting with a ‘-’ or ‘--’
     indicated the source was a command-line argument.  If the entry
     starts with a ‘$’, the source was an environment variable.  If the
     source is ‘?normalize’ the value was set internally by ledger, in a
     function called ‘normalize_options’.

‘--script FILE’
     Execute a ledger script.

‘--trace INT’
     Enable tracing.  The INT specifies the level of trace desired.

‘--verbose’
‘-v’
     Print detailed information on the execution of Ledger.

‘--verify’
     Enable additional assertions during run-time.  This causes a
     significant slowdown.  When combined with ‘--debug CODE’ ledger
     will produce memory trace information.

‘--verify-memory’
     Verify that every constructed object is properly destructed.  This
     is for debugging purposes only.

‘--version’
     Print version information and exit.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Session Options,  Next: Report Options,  Prev: Global Options,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.2 Session Options
---------------------

Options for Ledger reports affect three separate scopes of operation:
Global, Session, and Report.  In practice there is very little
difference between these scopes.  Ledger 3.0 contains provisions for
GUIs, which would make use of the different scopes by keeping an
instance of Ledger running in the background and running multiple
sessions with multiple reports per session.

‘--check-payees’
     Enable strict and pedantic checking for payees as well as accounts,
     commodities and tags.  This only works in conjunction with
     ‘--strict’ or ‘--pedantic’.

‘--day-break’
     Break up ‘register’ report of *note timelog:: entries that span
     multiple days by day.

‘--decimal-comma’
     Direct Ledger to parse journals using the European standard comma
     as a decimal separator, not the usual period.

‘--download’
‘-Q’
     Direct Ledger to download prices.

‘--file FILE’
‘-f FILE’
     Specify the input ‘FILE’ for this invocation.

‘--input-date-format DATE_FORMAT’
     Specify the input date format for journal entries.  For example,

          $ ledger convert Export.csv --input-date-format "%m/%d/%Y"

     Would convert the ‘Export.csv’ file to ledger format, assuming the
     dates in the CSV file are like 12/23/2009 (*note Date and Time
     Format Codes::).

‘--master-account STR’
     Prepend all account names with the argument.

          $ ledger -f drewr3.dat bal --no-total --master-account HUMBUG

                             0  HUMBUG
                   $ -3,804.00    Assets
                    $ 1,396.00      Checking
                       $ 30.00        Business
                   $ -5,200.00      Savings
                   $ -1,000.00    Equity:Opening Balances
                    $ 6,654.00    Expenses
                    $ 5,500.00      Auto
                       $ 20.00      Books
                      $ 300.00      Escrow
                      $ 334.00      Food:Groceries
                      $ 500.00      Interest:Mortgage
                   $ -2,030.00    Income
                   $ -2,000.00      Salary
                      $ -30.00      Sales
                      $ 180.00    Liabilities
                      $ -20.00      MasterCard
                      $ 200.00      Mortgage:Principal

‘--no-aliases’
     Ledger does not expand any aliases if this option is specified.

‘--pedantic’
     Accounts, tags or commodities not previously declared will cause
     errors.

‘--permissive’
     Quiet balance assertions.

‘--price-db FILE’
     Specify the location of the price entry data file.

‘--price-exp INT’
‘--leeway INT’
‘-Z INT’
     Set the expected freshness of price quotes, in INT minutes.  That
     is, if the last known quote for any commodity is older than this
     value, and if ‘--download’ is being used, then the Internet will be
     consulted again for a newer price.  Otherwise, the old price is
     still considered to be fresh enough.

‘--strict’
     Ledger normally silently accepts any account or commodity in a
     posting, even if you have misspelled a commonly used one.  The
     option ‘--strict’ changes that behavior.  While running with
     ‘--strict’, Ledger interprets all cleared transactions as correct,
     and if it encounters a new account or commodity (same as a
     misspelled commodity or account) it will issue a warning giving you
     the file and line number of the problem.

‘--recursive-aliases’
     Normally, ledger only expands aliases once.  With this option,
     ledger tries to expand the result of alias expansion recursively,
     until no more expansions apply.

‘--time-colon’
     The ‘--time-colon’ option will display the value for a seconds
     based commodity as real hours and minutes.

     For example 8100 seconds by default will be displayed as 2.25
     whereas with the ‘--time-colon’ option they will be displayed as
     2:15.

‘--value-expr VEXPR’
     Set a global value expression annotation.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Report Options,  Next: Basic options,  Prev: Session Options,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.3 Report Options
--------------------

Options for Ledger reports affect three separate scopes of operation:
Global, Session, and Report.  In practice there is very little
difference between these scopes.  Ledger 3.0 contains provisions for
GUIs, which would make use of the different scopes by keeping an
instance of Ledger running in the background and running multiple
sessions with multiple reports per session.

‘--abbrev-len INT’
     Set the minimum length an account can be abbreviated to if it
     doesn't fit inside the ‘account-width’.  If INT is zero, then the
     account name will be truncated on the right.  If INT is greater
     than ‘account-width’ then the account will be truncated on the
     left, with no shortening of the account names in order to fit into
     the desired width.

‘--account STR’
     Prepend STR to all accounts reported.  That is, the option
     ‘--account Personal’ would tack ‘Personal:’ to the beginning of
     every account reported in a balance report or register report.

‘--account-width INT’
     Set the width of the account column in the ‘register’ report to INT
     characters.

‘--actual’
‘-L’
     Report only real transactions, ignoring all automated or virtual
     transactions.

‘--add-budget’
     Show only unbudgeted postings.

‘--amount EXPR’
‘-t EXPR’
     Apply the given value expression to the posting amount (*note Value
     Expressions::).  Using ‘--amount EXPR’ you can apply an arbitrary
     transformation to the postings.

‘--amount-data’
‘-j’
     On a register report print only the date and amount of postings.
     Useful for graphing and spreadsheet applications.

‘--amount-width INT’
     Set the width in characters of the amount column in the ‘register’
     report.

‘--anon’
     Anonymize registry output, mostly for sending in bug reports.

‘--auto-match’
     When generating a ledger transaction from a CSV file using the
     ‘convert’ command, automatically match an account from the Ledger
     journal.

‘--aux-date’
‘--effective’
     Show auxiliary dates for all calculations (*note Effective
     Dates::).

‘--average’
‘-A’
     Print average values over the number of transactions instead of
     running totals.

‘--average-lot-prices’
     Report the average price at which each commodity was purchased in a
     balance report.

‘--balance-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Specify the format to use for the ‘balance’ report (*note Format
     Strings::).  The default is:

          "%(justify(scrub(display_total), 20, -1, true, color))"
          "  %(!options.flat ? depth_spacer : \"\")"
          "%-(ansify_if(partial_account(options.flat), blue if color))\n%/"
          "%$1\n%/"
          "--------------------\n"

‘--base’
     Reduce convertible commodities down the bottom of the conversion,
     e.g.  display time in seconds.  This also applies to custom
     commodity conversions (*note Commodity equivalences::).

‘--basis’
‘-B’
‘--cost’
     Report the cost basis on all posting.

‘--begin DATE’
     Specify the start DATE of all calculations.  Transactions before
     that date will be ignored.

‘--bold-if VEXPR’
     Print the entire line in bold if the given value expression is true
     (*note Value Expressions::).

          $ ledger reg Expenses --begin Dec --bold-if "amount>100"

     list all transactions since the beginning of December and print in
     bold any posting greater than $100.

‘--budget’
     Only display budgeted items.  In a register report this displays
     transactions in the budget, in a balance report this displays
     accounts in the budget (*note Budgeting and Forecasting::).

‘--budget-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Specify the format to use for the ‘budget’ report (*note Format
     Strings::).  The default is:

          "%(justify(scrub(get_at(display_total, 0)), 12, -1, true, color))"
          " %(justify(-scrub(get_at(display_total, 1)), 12, "
          "           12 + 1 + 12, true, color))"
          " %(justify(scrub(get_at(display_total, 1) + "
          "                 get_at(display_total, 0)), 12, "
          "           12 + 1 + 12 + 1 + 12, true, color))"
          " %(ansify_if("
          "   justify((get_at(display_total, 1) ? "
          "            (100% * quantity(scrub(get_at(display_total, 0)))) / "
          "             -quantity(scrub(get_at(display_total, 1))) : 0), "
          "           5, -1, true, false),"
          "   magenta if (color and get_at(display_total, 1) and "
          "               (abs(quantity(scrub(get_at(display_total, 0))) / "
          "                    quantity(scrub(get_at(display_total, 1)))) >= 1))))"
          "  %(!options.flat ? depth_spacer : \"\")"
          "%-(ansify_if(partial_account(options.flat), blue if color))\n"
          "%/%$1 %$2 %$3 %$4\n%/"
          "%(prepend_width ? \" \" * int(prepend_width) : \"\")"
          "------------ ------------ ------------ -----\n"

‘--by-payee’
‘-P’
     Group the register report by payee.

‘--cleared’
‘-C’
     Consider only transactions that have been cleared for display and
     calculation.

‘--cleared-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Specify the format to use for the ‘cleared’ report (*note Format
     Strings::).  The default is:

          "%(justify(scrub(get_at(total_expr, 0)), 16, 16 + prepend_width, "
          " true, color))  %(justify(scrub(get_at(total_expr, 1)), 18, "
          " 36 + prepend_width, true, color))"
          "    %(latest_cleared ? format_date(latest_cleared) : \"         \")"
          "    %(!options.flat ? depth_spacer : \"\")"
          "%-(ansify_if(partial_account(options.flat), blue if color))\n%/"
          "%$1  %$2    %$3\n%/"
          "%(prepend_width ? \" \" * prepend_width : \"\")"
          "----------------    ----------------    ---------\n"

‘--collapse’
‘-n’
     By default ledger prints all accounts in an account tree.  With
     ‘--collapse’ it prints only the top level account specified.

‘--collapse-if-zero’
     Collapse the account display only if it has a zero balance.

‘--color’
‘--ansi’
     Use color if the terminal supports it.

‘--columns INT’
     Specify the width of the ‘register’ report in characters.

‘--count’
     Direct ledger to report the number of items when appended to the
     ‘commodities’, ‘accounts’ or ‘payees’ command.

‘--csv-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Specify the format to use for the ‘csv’ report (*note Format
     Strings::).  The default is:

          "%(quoted(date)),"
          "%(quoted(code)),"
          "%(quoted(payee)),"
          "%(quoted(display_account)),"
          "%(quoted(commodity(scrub(display_amount)))),"
          "%(quoted(quantity(scrub(display_amount)))),"
          "%(quoted(cleared ? \"*\" : (pending ? \"!\" : \"\"))),"
          "%(quoted(join(note | xact.note)))\n"

‘--current’
     Shorthand for ‘--limit "date <= today"’.

‘--daily’
‘-D’
     Shorthand for ‘--period "daily"’.

‘--date EXPR’
     Transform the date of the transaction using EXPR.

‘--date-format DATE_FORMAT’
‘-y DATE_FORMAT’
     Specify the format ledger should use to read and print dates (*note
     Date and Time Format Codes::).

‘--date-width INT’
     Specify the width, in characters, of the date column in the
     ‘register’ report.

‘--datetime-format DATETIME_FORMAT’
     Specify the format ledger should use to print datetimes.

‘--dc’
     Display register or balance in debit/credit format If you use
     ‘--dc’ with either the ‘register’ (reg) or ‘balance’ (bal)
     commands, you will now get extra columns.  The register goes from
     this:

          12-Mar-10 Employer           Assets:Cash                $100        $100
                                       Income:Employer           $-100           0
          12-Mar-10 KFC                Expenses:Food               $20         $20
                                       Assets:Cash                $-20           0
          12-Mar-10 KFC - Rebate       Assets:Cash                  $5          $5
                                       Expenses:Food               $-5           0
          12-Mar-10 KFC - Food & Reb.. Expenses:Food               $20         $20
                                       Expenses:Food               $-5         $15
                                       Assets:Cash                $-15           0

     To this:

          12-Mar-10 Employer       Assets:Cash        $100           0        $100
                                   In:Employer           0        $100           0
          12-Mar-10 KFC            Expens:Food         $20           0         $20
                                   Assets:Cash           0         $20           0
          12-Mar-10 KFC - Rebate   Assets:Cash          $5           0          $5
                                   Expens:Food           0          $5           0
          12-Mar-10 KFC - Food &.. Expens:Food         $20           0         $20
                                   Expens:Food           0          $5         $15
                                   Assets:Cash           0         $15           0

     Where the first column is debits, the second is credits, and the
     third is the running total.  Only the running total may contain
     negative values.

     For the balance report without ‘--dc’:

                           $70  Assets:Cash
                           $30  Expenses:Food
                         $-100  Income:Employer
          --------------------
                             0

     And with ‘--dc’ it becomes this:

                    $105            $35            $70  Assets:Cash
                     $40            $10            $30  Expenses:Food
                       0           $100          $-100  Income:Employer
          --------------------------------------------
                    $145           $145              0

‘--depth INT’
     Limit the depth of displayed accounts in balance and register
     reports.  Any accounts of greater depth are folded into their
     parent at the specified level.  For example with ‘--depth 2’ the
     account ‘Expenses:Entertainment’ would be folded into
     ‘Expenses:Entertainment:Dining’ for display.  Importantly, this is
     a display predicate, which means it only affects display, not the
     total calculations.

‘--deviation’
     Report each posting’s deviation from the average.  It is only
     meaningful in the register and prices reports.

‘--display EXPR’
     Display only lines that satisfy the expression EXPR.

‘--display-amount EXPR’
     Apply a transformation to the _displayed_ amount.  This happens
     after calculations occur.

‘--display-total EXPR’
     Apply a transformation to the _displayed_ total.  This happens
     after calculations occur.

‘--dow’
‘--days-of-week’
     Group transactions by the day of the week.

          $ ledger reg Expenses --dow --collapse

     Will print all Expenses totaled for each day of the week.

‘--empty’
‘-E’
     Include empty accounts in the report and in average calculations.

‘--end DATE’
     Specify the end DATE for a transaction to be considered in the
     report.  All transactions on or after this date are ignored.

‘--equity’
     Related to the ‘equity’ command (*note The equity command::).
     Gives current account balances in the form of a register report.

‘--exact’
     Report beginning and ending of periods by the date of the first and
     last posting occurring in that period.

‘--exchange "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]"’
‘-X "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]"’
     Display values in terms of the given COMMODITY.  If multiple
     commodities are given, values in a listed commodity will remain
     as-is, and others will be displayed in the first listed commodity
     they can be converted to.

          $ ledger balance assets
                       100 EUR
                       100 PHP
                       100 USD  Assets
                       100 EUR    EUR Bank
                       100 PHP    PHP Bank
                       100 USD    USD Bank
          --------------------
                       100 EUR
                       100 PHP
                       100 USD
          $ ledger balance assets --exchange PHP
                     11382 PHP  Assets
                      5801 PHP    EUR Bank
                       100 PHP    PHP Bank
                      5481 PHP    USD Bank
          --------------------
                     11382 PHP
          $ ledger balance assets --exchange "PHP, EUR"
                       100 EUR
                      5581 PHP  Assets
                       100 EUR    EUR Bank
                       100 PHP    PHP Bank
                      5481 PHP    USD Bank
          --------------------
                       100 EUR
                      5581 PHP

     The latest available price is used.  The syntax ‘-X
     COMMODITY1:COMMODITY2’ displays values in COMMODITY1 in terms of
     COMMODITY2 using the latest available price, but will not
     automatically convert any other commodities to COMMODITY2.
     Multiple ‘-X’ arguments may be used on a single command-line (as in
     ‘-X COMMODITY1:COMMODITY2 -X COMMODITY3:COMMODITY2’), which is
     particularly useful for situations where many prices are available
     for reporting in terms of COMMODITY2, but only a few should be
     displayed that way.

‘--flat’
     Force the full names of accounts to be used in the balance report.
     The balance report will not use an indented tree.

‘--force-color’
     Output TTY color codes even if the TTY doesn't support them.
     Useful for TTYs that don't advertise their capabilities correctly.

‘--force-pager’
     Force Ledger to paginate its output.

‘--forecast-while VEXPR’
‘--forecast VEXPR’
     Continue forecasting while VEXPR is true.

‘--forecast-years INT’
     Forecast at most INT years into the future.

‘--format FORMAT_STRING’
‘-F FORMAT_STRING’
     Use the given format string to print output.

‘--gain’
‘-G’
‘--change’
     Report on gains using the latest available prices.

‘--generated’
     Include auto-generated postings (such as those from automated
     transactions) in the report, in cases where you normally wouldn't
     want them.

‘--group-by EXPR’
     Group transactions together in the ‘register’ report.  EXPR can be
     anything, although most common would be ‘payee’ or ‘commodity’.
     The ‘tags()’ function is also useful here.

‘--group-title-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format for the headers that separates the report sections
     of a grouped report.  Only has an effect with a ‘--group-by EXPR’
     register report.

          $ ledger reg Expenses --group-by "payee" --group-title-format "------------------------ %-20(value) ---------------------\n"
          ------------------------ 7-Eleven             ---------------------
          2011/08/13 7-Eleven              Expenses:Auto:Misc          $ 5.80       $ 5.80

          ------------------------ AAA Dues             ---------------------
          2011/06/02 AAA Dues              Expenses:Auto:Misc        $ 215.00     $ 215.00

          ------------------------ ABC Towing and Wrecking ---------------------
          2011/03/17 ABC Towing and Wrec..  Expenses:Auto:Hobbies      $ 48.20      $ 48.20
          ...

‘--head INT’
‘--first INT’
     Print the first INT entries.  Opposite of ‘--tail INT’.

‘--historical’
‘-H’
     Value commodities at the time of their acquisition.

‘--immediate’
     Evaluate calculations immediately rather than lazily.

‘--inject’
     Use ‘Expected’ amounts in calculations.  In case you know what
     amount a transaction should be, but the actual transaction has the
     wrong value you can use metadata to specify the expected amount:

          2012-03-12  Paycheck
              Income  $-990;  Expected:: $-1000.00
              Checking

     Then using the command ‘ledger reg --inject=Expected Income’ would
     treat the transaction as if the "Expected Value" was actual.

‘--invert’
     Change the sign of all reported values.

‘--limit EXPR’
‘-l EXPR’
     Only transactions that satisfy EXPR are considered in calculations
     and for display.

‘--lot-dates’
     Report the date on which each commodity in a balance report was
     purchased.

‘--lot-notes’
‘--lot-tags’
     Report the tag attached to each commodity in a balance report.

‘--lot-prices’
     Report the price at which each commodity in a balance report was
     purchased.

‘--lots’
     Report the date and price at which each commodity was purchased in
     a balance report.

‘--lots-actual’
     Preserve the uniqueness of commodities so they aren't merged during
     reporting without printing the lot annotations.

‘--market’
‘-V’
     Use the latest market value for all commodities.

‘--meta TAG’
     In the register report, prepend the transaction with the value of
     the given TAG.

‘--meta-width INT’
     Specify the width of the Meta column used for the ‘--meta TAG’
     options.

‘--monthly’
‘-M’
     Synonym for ‘--period "monthly"’.

‘--no-aliases’
     Aliases are completely ignored.

‘--no-color’
     Suppress any color TTY output.

‘--no-pager’
     Direct output to stdout, avoiding pager program.

‘--no-revalued’
     Stop Ledger from showing ‘<Revalued>’ postings.  This option is
     useful in combination with the ‘--exchange’ or ‘--market’ option.

‘--no-rounding’
     Don't output ‘<Adjustment>’ postings.  Note that this will cause
     the running total to often not add up!  Its main use is for
     ‘--amount-data (-j)’ and ‘--total-data (-J)’ reports.

‘--no-titles’
     Suppress the output of group titles.

‘--no-total’
     Suppress printing the final total line in a balance report.

‘--now DATE’
     Define the current date in case you want to calculate in the past
     or future using ‘--current’.

‘--only FIXME’
     This is a postings predicate that applies after certain transforms
     have been executed, such as periodic gathering.

‘--output FILE’
     Redirect the output of ledger to the file defined in ‘FILE’.

‘--pager FILE’
     Direct output to FILE pager program.

‘--payee VEXPR’
     Sets a value expression for formatting the payee.  In the
     ‘register’ report this prevents the second entry from having a date
     and payee for each transaction.

‘--payee-width INT’
     Set the number of columns dedicated to the payee in the register
     report to INT.

‘--pending’
     Use only postings that are marked pending.

‘--percent’
‘-%’
     Calculate the percentage value of each account in balance reports.
     Only works for accounts that have a single commodity.

‘--period PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
     Define a period expression that sets the time period during which
     transactions are to be accounted.  For a ‘register’ report only the
     transactions that satisfy the period expression with be displayed.
     For a ‘balance’ report only those transactions will be accounted in
     the final balances.

‘--pivot TAG’
     Produce a balance pivot report _around_ the given TAG.  For
     example, if you have multiple cars and track each fuel purchase in
     ‘Expenses:Auto:Fuel’ and tag each fuel purchase with a tag
     identifying which car the purchase was for ‘; Car: Prius’, then the
     command:

          $ ledger bal Fuel --pivot "Car" --period "this year"
                     $ 3491.26  Car
                     $ 1084.22    M3:Expenses:Auto:Fuel
                      $ 149.65    MG V11:Expenses:Auto:Fuel
                      $ 621.89    Prius:Expenses:Auto:Fuel
                     $ 1635.50    Sienna:Expenses:Auto:Fuel
                       $ 42.69  Expenses:Auto:Fuel
          --------------------
                     $ 3533.95

     *Note Metadata values::.

‘--plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Define the output format for an amount data plot.  *Note
     Visualizing with Gnuplot::.

‘--plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Define the output format for a total data plot.  *Note Visualizing
     with Gnuplot::.

‘--prepend-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Prepend STR to every line of the output.

‘--prepend-width INT’
     Reserve INT spaces at the beginning of each line of the output.

‘--price’
‘-I’
     Use the price of the commodity purchase for performing
     calculations.

‘--pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format expected for the historical price file.

‘--prices-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format for the ‘prices’ report.

‘--primary-date’
‘--actual-dates’
     Show primary dates for all calculations (*note Effective Dates::).

‘--quantity’
‘-O’
     Report commodity totals (this is the default).

‘--quarterly’
     Synonym for ‘--period "quarterly"’.

‘--raw’
     In the ‘print’ report, show transactions using the exact same
     syntax as specified by the user in their data file.  Don't do any
     massaging or interpreting.  This can be useful for minor cleanups,
     like just aligning amounts.

‘--real’
‘-R’
     Account using only real transactions ignoring virtual and automatic
     transactions.

‘--register-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Define the output format for the ‘register’ report.

‘--related’
     In a ‘register’ report show the related account.  This is the other
     _side_ of the transaction.

‘--related-all’
     Show all postings in a transaction, similar to ‘--related’ but show
     both _sides_ of each transaction.

‘--revalued’
     Report discrepancy in values for manual reports by inserting
     ‘<Revalued>’ postings.  This is implied when using the ‘--exchange’
     or ‘--market’ option.

‘--revalued-only’
     Show only ‘<Revalued>’ postings.

‘--revalued-total FIXME’
     Display the sum of the revalued postings as the running total,
     which serves to show unrealized capital in a gain/losses report.

‘--rich-data’
‘--detail’
     When generating a ledger transaction from a CSV file using the
     ‘convert’ command, add CSV, Imported, and UUID metadata.

‘--seed INT’
     Set the random seed to INT for the ‘generate’ command.  Used as
     part of development testing.

‘--sort VEXPR’
‘-S VEXPR’
     Sort the ‘register’ report based on the value expression given to
     sort.

‘--sort-all FIXME’
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

‘--sort-xacts VEXPR’
‘--period-sort VEXPR’
     Sort the postings within transactions using the given value
     expression.

‘--start-of-week INT’
     Tell ledger to use a particular day of the week to start its
     "weekly" summary.  ‘--start-of-week=1’ specifies Monday as the
     start of the week.

‘--subtotal’
‘-s’
     Cause all transactions in a ‘register’ report to be collapsed into
     a single, subtotaled transaction.

‘--tail INT’
‘--last INT’
     Report only the last INT entries.  Only useful in a ‘register’
     report.

‘--time-report’
     Add two columns to the balance report to show the earliest checkin
     and checkout times for timelog entries.

‘--total VEXPR’
‘-T VEXPR’
     Define a value expression used to calculate the total in reports.

‘--total-data’
‘-J’
     Show only dates and totals to format the output for plots.

‘--total-width INT’
     Set the width of the total field in the register report.

‘--truncate CODE’
     Indicates how truncation should happen when the contents of columns
     exceed their width.  Valid arguments are ‘leading’, ‘middle’, and
     ‘trailing’.  The default is smarter than any of these three, as it
     considers sub-names within the account name (that style is called
     "abbreviate").

‘--unbudgeted’
     Show only unbudgeted postings.

‘--uncleared’
‘-U’
     Use only uncleared transactions in calculations and reports.

‘--unrealized’
     Show generated unrealized gain and loss accounts in the balance
     report.

‘--unrealized-gains STR’
     Allow the user to specify what account name should be used for
     unrealized gains.  Defaults to ‘"Equity:Unrealized Gains"’.  Often
     set in one's init file to change the default.

‘--unrealized-losses STR’
     Allow the user to specify what account name should be used for
     unrealized losses.  Defaults to ‘"Equity:Unrealized Losses"’.
     Often set in one's init file to change the default.

‘--unround’
     Perform all calculations without rounding and display results to
     full precision.

‘--values’
     Shows the values used by each tag when used in combination with the
     ‘tags’ command.

‘--weekly’
‘-W’
     Synonym for ‘--period "weekly"’.

‘--wide’
     Let the register report use 132 columns instead of 80 (the
     default).  Identical to ‘--columns "132"’.

‘--yearly’
‘-Y’
     Synonym for ‘--period "yearly"’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Basic options,  Next: Report filtering,  Prev: Report Options,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.4 Basic options
-------------------

These are the most basic command options.  Most likely, the user will
want to set them using environment variables (see *note Environment
variables::), instead of using actual command-line options:

‘--help’
‘-h’
     Display the man page for ‘ledger’.

‘--version’
     Print the current version of ledger and exits.  This is useful for
     sending bug reports, to let the author know which version of ledger
     you are using.

‘--file FILE’
‘-f FILE’
     Read ‘FILE’ as a ledger file.  FILE can be ‘-’ which is a synonym
     for ‘/dev/stdin’.  This command may be used multiple times.
     Typically, the environment variable ‘LEDGER_FILE’ is set, rather
     than using this command-line option.

‘--output FILE’
‘-o FILE’
     Redirect output from any command to ‘FILE’.  By default, all output
     goes to standard output.

‘--init-file FILE’
‘-i FILE’
     Causes ‘FILE’ to be read by ledger before any other ledger file.
     This file may not contain any postings, but it may contain option
     settings.  To specify options in the init file, use the same syntax
     as on the command-line, but put each option on its own line.  Here
     is an example init file:

          --price-db ~/finance/.pricedb
          --wide
          ; ~/.ledgerrc ends here

     Option settings on the command-line or in the environment always
     take precedence over settings in the init file.

‘--account STR’
‘-a STR’
     Specify the default account which QIF file postings are assumed to
     relate to.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Report filtering,  Next: Output customization,  Prev: Basic options,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.5 Report filtering
----------------------

These options change which postings affect the outcome of a report, in
ways other than just using regular expressions:

‘--current’
‘-c’
     Display only transactions occurring on or before the current date.

‘--begin DATE’
‘-b DATE’
     Constrain the report to transactions on or after DATE.  Only
     transactions after that date will be calculated, which means that
     the running total in the balance report will always start at zero
     with the first matching transaction.  (Note: This is different from
     using ‘--display EXPR’ to constrain what is displayed).

‘--end DATE’
‘-e DATE’
     Constrain the report so that transactions on or after DATE are not
     considered.

‘--period PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
‘-p PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
     Set the reporting period to STR.  This will subtotal all matching
     transactions within each period separately, making it easy to see
     weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc., posting totals.  A period string
     can even specify the beginning and end of the report range, using
     simple terms like ‘last June’ or ‘next month’.  For more details on
     period expressions, see *note Period Expressions::.

‘--period-sort VEXPR’
     Sort the postings within each reporting period using the value
     expression EXPR.  This is most often useful when reporting monthly
     expenses, in order to view the highest expense categories at the
     top of each month:

          $ ledger -M --period-sort total reg ^Expenses

‘--cleared’
‘-C’
     Display only postings whose transaction has been marked "cleared"
     (by placing an asterisk to the right of the date).

‘--uncleared’
‘-U’
     Display only postings whose transaction has not been marked
     "cleared" (i.e., if there is no asterisk to the right of the date).

‘--real’
‘-R’
     Display only real postings, not virtual.  (A virtual posting is
     indicated by surrounding the account name with parentheses or
     brackets; see *note Virtual postings:: for more information).

‘--actual’
‘-L’
     Display only actual postings, and not those created by automated
     transactions.

‘--related’
‘-r’
     Display postings that are related to whichever postings would
     otherwise have matched the filtering criteria.  In the register
     report, this shows where money went to, or the account it came
     from.  In the balance report, it shows all the accounts affected by
     transactions having a related posting.  For example, if a file had
     this transaction:

          2004/03/20 Safeway
              Expenses:Food                       $65.00
              Expenses:Cash                       $20.00
              Assets:Checking                    $-85.00

     And the register command was:

          $ ledger -f example.dat -r register food

     The following would be printed, showing the postings related to the
     posting that matched:

          04-Mar-20 Safeway               Expenses:Cash                $20.00       $20.00
                                          Assets:Checking             $-85.00      $-65.00

‘--budget’
     Useful for displaying how close your postings meet your budget.
     ‘--add-budget’ also shows unbudgeted postings, while ‘--unbudgeted’
     shows only those.  ‘--forecast VEXPR’ is a related option that
     projects your budget into the future, showing how it will affect
     future balances.  *Note Budgeting and Forecasting::.

‘--limit EXPR’
‘-l EXPR’
     Limit which postings take part in the calculations of a report.

‘--amount EXPR’
‘-t EXPR’
     Change the value expression used to calculate the "value" column in
     the ‘register’ report, the amount used to calculate account totals
     in the ‘balance’ report, and the values printed in the ‘equity’
     report.  *Note Value Expressions::.

‘--total VEXPR’
‘-T VEXPR’
     Set the value expression used for the "totals" column in the
     ‘register’ and ‘balance’ reports.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Output customization,  Next: Commodity reporting,  Prev: Report filtering,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.6 Output customization
--------------------------

These options affect only the output, but not which postings are used to
create it:

‘--collapse’
‘-n’
     Cause transactions in a ‘register’ report with multiple postings to
     be collapsed into a single, subtotaled transaction.

‘--subtotal’
‘-s’
     Cause all transactions in a ‘register’ report to be collapsed into
     a single, subtotaled transaction.

‘--by-payee’
‘-P’
     Report subtotals by payee.

‘--empty’
‘-E’
     Include even empty accounts in the ‘balance’ report.

‘--weekly’
‘-W’
     Report posting totals by the week.  The week begins on whichever
     day of the week begins the month containing that posting.  To set a
     specific begin date, use a period string, such as ‘weekly from
     DATE’.

‘--monthly’
‘-M’
     Report posting totals by month.

‘--yearly’
‘-Y’
     Report posting totals by year.  For more complex periods, use
     ‘--period’.

‘--period PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
     Option described above.

‘--dow’
     Report posting totals for each day of the week.  This is an easy
     way to see if weekend spending is more than on weekdays.

‘--sort VEXPR’
‘-S VEXPR’
     Sort a report by comparing the values determined using the value
     expression VEXPR.  For example, using ‘-S "-abs(total)"’ in the
     ‘balance’ report will sort account balances from greatest to least,
     using the absolute value of the total.  For more on how to use
     value expressions, see *note Value Expressions::.

‘--pivot TAG’
     Produce a pivot table around the TAG provided.  This requires meta
     data using valued tags.

‘--wide’
‘-w’
     Cause the default ‘register’ report to assume 132 columns instead
     of 80.

‘--head INT’
     Cause only the first INT transactions to be printed.  This is
     different from using the command-line utility ‘head’, which would
     limit to the first INT postings.  ‘--tail INT’ outputs only the
     last INT transactions.  Both options may be used simultaneously.
     If a negative amount is given, it will invert the meaning of the
     flag (instead of the first five transactions being printed, for
     example, it would print all but the first five).

‘--pager FILE’
     Tell Ledger to pass its output to the given FILE pager program;
     very useful when the output is especially long.  This behavior can
     be made the default by setting the ‘LEDGER_PAGER’ environment
     variable.

‘--no-pager’
     Tell Ledger to _not_ pass its output to a pager program; useful
     when a pager is set by default.

‘--average’
‘-A’
     Report the average posting value.

‘--deviation’
‘-D’
     Report each posting's deviation from the average.  It is only
     meaningful in the ‘register’ and ‘prices’ reports.

‘--percent’
‘-%’
     Show account subtotals in the ‘balance’ report as percentages of
     the parent account.

‘--amount-data’
‘-j’
     Change the ‘register’ report so that it prints nothing but the date
     and the value column, and the latter without commodities.  This is
     only meaningful if the report uses a single commodity.  This data
     can then be fed to other programs, which could plot the date,
     analyze it, etc.

‘--total-data’
‘-J’
     Change the ‘register’ report so that it prints nothing but the date
     and total columns, without commodities.

‘--display EXPR’
‘-d EXPR’
     Limit which postings or accounts are actually displayed in a
     report.  They might still be calculated, and be part of the running
     total of a register report, for example, but they will not be
     displayed.  This is useful for seeing last month's checking
     postings, against a running balance which includes all posting
     values:

          $ ledger -d "d>=[last month]" reg checking

     The output from this command is very different from the following,
     whose running total includes only postings from the last month
     onward:

          $ ledger -p "last month" reg checking

     Which is more useful depends on what you're looking to know: the
     total amount for the reporting range (using ‘--period
     PERIOD_EXPRESSION (-p)’), or simply a display restricted to the
     reporting range (using ‘--display EXPR (-d)’).

‘--date-format DATE_FORMAT’
‘-y DATE_FORMAT’
     Change the basic date format used by reports.  The default uses a
     date like ‘2004/08/01’, which represents the default date format of
     ‘%Y/%m/%d’.  To change the way dates are printed in general, the
     easiest way is to put ‘--date-format DATE_FORMAT’ in the Ledger
     init file (or the file referred to by ‘LEDGER_INIT’).

‘--format FORMAT_STRING’
‘-F FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the reporting format for whatever report ledger is about to
     make.  *Note Format Strings::.  There are also specific format
     commands for each report type:

‘--balance-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Define the output format for the ‘balance’ report.  The default
     (defined in ‘report.h’ is:

          "%(ansify_if(
                  justify(scrub(display_total), 20,
                          20 + int(prepend_width), true, color),
                            bold if should_bold))
                  %(!options.flat ? depth_spacer : \"\")
                %-(ansify_if(
                   ansify_if(partial_account(options.flat), blue if color),
                             bold if should_bold))\n%/
                %$1\n%/
                %(prepend_width ? \" \" * int(prepend_width) : \"\")
                --------------------\n"

‘--cleared-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Define the format for the cleared report.  The default is:

          "%(justify(scrub(get_at(display_total, 0)), 16, 16 + int(prepend_width),
                 true, color))  %(justify(scrub(get_at(display_total, 1)), 18,
                 36 + int(prepend_width), true, color))
                    %(latest_cleared ? format_date(latest_cleared) : \"         \")
                    %(!options.flat ? depth_spacer : \"\")
                %-(ansify_if(partial_account(options.flat), blue if color))\n%/
                %$1  %$2    %$3\n%/
                %(prepend_width ? \" \" * int(prepend_width) : \"\")
                ----------------    ----------------    ---------\n"

‘--register-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Define the output format for the ‘register’ report.  The default
     (defined in ‘report.h’ is:

          "%(ansify_if(
                  ansify_if(justify(format_date(date), int(date_width)),
                            green if color and date > today),
                            bold if should_bold))
                 %(ansify_if(
                   ansify_if(justify(truncated(payee, int(payee_width)), int(payee_width)),
                             bold if color and !cleared and actual),
                             bold if should_bold))
                 %(ansify_if(
                   ansify_if(justify(truncated(display_account, int(account_width),
                                               int(abbrev_len)), int(account_width)),
                             blue if color),
                             bold if should_bold))
                 %(ansify_if(
                   justify(scrub(display_amount), int(amount_width),
                           3 + int(meta_width) + int(date_width) + int(payee_width)
                             + int(account_width) + int(amount_width) + int(prepend_width),
                           true, color),
                           bold if should_bold))
                 %(ansify_if(
                   justify(scrub(display_total), int(total_width),
                           4 + int(meta_width) + int(date_width) + int(payee_width)
                             + int(account_width) + int(amount_width) + int(total_width)
                             + int(prepend_width), true, color),
                           bold if should_bold))\n%/
                %(justify(\" \", int(date_width)))
                 %(ansify_if(
                   justify(truncated(has_tag(\"Payee\") ? payee : \" \",
                                     int(payee_width)), int(payee_width)),
                             bold if should_bold))
                 %$3 %$4 %$5\n"

‘--csv-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format for ‘csv’ reports.  The default is:

          "%(quoted(date)),
           %(quoted(code)),
           %(quoted(payee)),
           %(quoted(display_account)),
           %(quoted(commodity(scrub(display_amount)))),
           %(quoted(quantity(scrub(display_amount)))),
           %(quoted(cleared ? \"*\" : (pending ? \"!\" : \"\"))),
           %(quoted(join(note | xact.note)))\n"

‘--plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format for amount plots, using the ‘--amount-data (-j)’
     option.  The default is:

          "%(format_date(date, \"%Y-%m-%d\")) %(quantity(scrub(display_amount)))\n"

‘--plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format for total plots, using the ‘--total-data (-J)’
     option.  The default is:

          "%(format_date(date, \"%Y-%m-%d\")) %(quantity(scrub(display_total)))\n"

‘--pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format expected for the historical price file.  The default
     is:

          "P %(datetime) %(display_account) %(scrub(display_amount))\n"

‘--prices-format FORMAT_STRING’
     Set the format for the ‘prices’ report.  The default is:

          "%(date) %-8(display_account) %(justify(scrub(display_amount), 12,
                     2 + 9 + 8 + 12, true, color))\n"


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commodity reporting,  Next: Environment variables,  Prev: Output customization,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.7 Commodity reporting
-------------------------

These options affect how commodity values are displayed:

‘--price-db FILE’
     Set the file that is used for recording downloaded commodity
     prices.  It is always read on startup, to determine historical
     prices.  Other settings can be placed in this file manually, to
     prevent downloading quotes for a specific commodity, for example.
     This is done by adding a line like the following:

          ; Don't download quotes for the dollar, or timelog values
          N $
          N h

     Note: Ledger NEVER writes output to files.  You are responsible for
     updating the price-db file.  The best way is to have your price
     download script maintain this file.

     The format of the file can be changed by telling ledger to use the
     ‘--pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING’ you define.

‘--price-exp INT’
‘--leeway INT’
‘-Z INT’
     Set the expected freshness of price quotes, in INT minutes.  That
     is, if the last known quote for any commodity is older than this
     value, and if ‘--download’ is being used, then the Internet will be
     consulted again for a newer price.  Otherwise, the old price is
     still considered to be fresh enough.

‘--download’
‘-Q’
     Cause quotes to be automagically downloaded, as needed, by running
     a script named ‘getquote’ and expecting that script to return a
     value understood by ledger.  A sample implementation of a
     ‘getquote’ script, implemented in Perl, is provided in the
     distribution.  Downloaded quote price are then appended to the
     price database, usually specified using the environment variable
     ‘LEDGER_PRICE_DB’.

   There are several different ways that ledger can report the totals it
displays.  The most flexible way to adjust them is by using value
expressions, and the ‘--amount EXPR (-t)’ and ‘--total VEXPR (-T)’
options.  However, there are also several "default" reports, which will
satisfy most users' basic reporting needs:

‘--quantity’
‘-O’
     Report commodity totals (this is the default).

‘--basis’
‘-B’
     Report the cost basis for all postings.

‘--market’
‘-V’
     Use the last known value for commodities to calculate final values.

‘--gain’
‘-G’
     Report the net gain/loss for all commodities in the report that
     have a price history.

   Often you will be more interested in the value of your entire
holdings, in your preferred currency.  It might be nice to know you hold
10,000 shares of PENNY, but you are more interested in whether or not
that is worth $1000.00 or $10,000.00.  However, the current day value of
a commodity can mean different things to different people, depending on
the accounts involved, the commodities, the nature of the transactions,
etc.

   When you specify ‘--market (-V)’, or ‘--exchange COMMODITY (-X)’, you
are requesting that some or all of the commodities be valuated as of
today (or whatever ‘--now DATE’ is set to).  But what does such a
valuation mean?  This meaning is governed by the presence of a VALUE
meta-data property, whose content is an expression used to compute that
value.

   If no VALUE property is specified, each posting is assumed to have a
default, as if you'd specified a global, automated transaction as
follows:

     = expr true
         ; VALUE:: market(amount, date, exchange)

   This definition emulates the present day behavior of ‘--market (-V)’
and ‘--exchange COMMODITY (-X)’ (in the case of ‘-X’, the requested
commodity is passed via the string ‘exchange’ above).

   One thing many people have wanted to do is to fixate the valuation of
old European currencies in terms of the Euro after a certain date:

     = expr commodity == "DM"
         ; VALUE:: date < [Jun 2008] ? market(amount, date, exchange) : 1.44 EUR

   This says: If ‘--now DATE’ is some old date, use market prices as
they were at that time; but if ‘--now DATE’ is past June 2008, use a
fixed price for converting Deutsche Mark to Euro.

   Or how about never re-valuating commodities used in Expenses, since
they cannot have a different future value:

     = /^Expenses:/
         ; VALUE:: market(amount, post.date, exchange)

   This says the future valuation is the same as the valuation at the
time of posting.  ‘post.date’ equals the posting's date, while just
'date' is the value of ‘--now DATE’ (defaults to today).

   Or how about valuating miles based on a reimbursement rate during a
specific time period:

     = expr commodity == "miles" and date >= [2007] and date < [2008]
         ; VALUE:: market($1.05, date, exchange)

   In this case, miles driven in 2007 will always be valuated at $1.05
each.  If you use ‘-X EUR’ to expressly request all amounts in Euro,
Ledger shall convert $1.05 to Euro by whatever means are appropriate for
dollars.

   Note that you can have a valuation expression specific to a
particular posting or transaction, by overriding these general defaults
using specific meta-data:

     2010-12-26 Example
         Expenses:Food                $20
         ; Just to be silly, always valuate *these* $20 as 30 DM, no matter what
         ; the user asks for with -V or -X
         ; VALUE:: 30 DM
         Assets:Cash

   This example demonstrates that your value expression should be as
symbolic as possible, using terms like 'amount' and 'date', rather than
specific amounts and dates.  Also, you should pass the amount along to
the function 'market' so it can be further revalued if the user has
asked for a specific currency.

   Or, if it better suits your accounting, you can be less symbolic,
which allows you to report most everything in EUR if you use ‘-X EUR’,
except for certain accounts or postings which should always be valuated
in another currency.  For example:

     = /^Assets:Brokerage:CAD$/
         ; Always report the value of commodities in this account in
         ; terms of present day dollars, despite what was asked for
         ; on the command-line VALUE:: market(amount, date, ‘$’)

   Ledger presently has no way of handling such things as FIFO and LIFO.

   If you specify an unadorned commodity name, like AAPL, it will
balance against itself.  If ‘--lots’ are not being displayed, then it
will appear to balance against any lot of AAPL.

   If you specify an adorned commodity, like AAPL {$10.00}, it will also
balance against itself, and against any AAPL if ‘--lots’ is not
specified.  But if you do specify ‘--lot-prices’, for example, then it
will balance against that specific price for AAPL.

   Normally when you use ‘--exchange COMMODITY (-X)’ to request that
amounts be reported in a specific commodity, Ledger uses these values:

   • Register Report For the ‘register’ report, use the value of that
     commodity on the date of the posting being reported, with a
     ‘<Revalued>’ posting added at the end if today's value is different
     from the value of the last posting.

   • Balance Report For the ‘balance’ report, use the value of that
     commodity as of today.

   You can now specify ‘--historical (-H)’ to ask that all valuations
for any amount be done relative to the date that amount was encountered.

   You can also now use ‘--exchange COMMODITY (-X)’ (and ‘--historical
(-H)’) in conjunction with ‘--basis (-B)’ and ‘--price (-I)’, to see
valuation reports of just your basis costs or lot prices.

   Finally, sometimes, you may seek to only report one (or some subset)
of the commodities in terms of another commodity.  In this situation,
you can use the syntax ‘--exchange COMMODITY1:COMMODITY2’ to request
that ledger always display COMMODITY1 in terms of COMMODITY2, but you
want no other commodities to be automatically displayed in terms of
COMMODITY2 without additional ‘--exchange’ options.  For example, if you
wanted to report EUR and BTC in terms of USD, but report all other
commodities without conversion to USD, you could use: ‘--exchange
EUR:USD --exchange BTC:USD’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Environment variables,  Prev: Commodity reporting,  Up: Detailed Option Description

8.3.8 Environment variables
---------------------------

Every option to ledger may be set using an environment variable if the
option has a long name.  For example setting the environment variable
‘‘LEDGER_DATE_FORMAT’="%d.%m.%Y"’ will have the same effect as
specifying ‘‘--date-format’ '%d.%m.%Y'’ on the command-line.  Options on
the command-line always take precedence over environment variable
settings, however.

   Note that you may also permanently specify option values by placing
option settings in the file ‘~/.ledgerrc’ one option per line, for
example:

     --pager /bin/cat
     --date-format %d.%m.%Y


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Period Expressions,  Prev: Detailed Option Description,  Up: Command-Line Syntax

8.4 Period Expressions
======================

A period expression indicates a span of time, or a reporting interval,
or both.  Ledger's end dates are always exclusive, imagine the date is
followed by 00:00:00 time.  They are instants in time not entire days.
The full syntax is:

     [INTERVAL] [BEGIN] [END]

   The optional INTERVAL part may be any one of:

     every day
     every week
     every month
     every quarter
     every year
     every N days     # N is any integer
     every N weeks
     every N months
     every N quarters
     every N years
     daily
     weekly
     biweekly
     monthly
     bimonthly
     quarterly
     yearly

   After the interval, a begin time, end time, both or neither may be
specified.  As for the begin time, it can be either of:

     from <SPEC>
     since <SPEC>

   The end time can be either of:

     to <SPEC>
     until <SPEC>

   Where SPEC can be any of:

     2004
     2004/10
     2004/10/1
     10/1
     october
     oct
     this week  # or day, month, quarter, year
     next week
     last week

   The beginning and ending can be given at the same time, if it spans a
single period.  In that case, just use SPEC by itself.  In that case,
the period ‘oct’, for example, will cover all the days in October.  The
possible forms are:

     <SPEC>
     in <SPEC>

   Here are a few examples of period expressions:

     monthly
     monthly in 2004
     weekly from oct
     weekly from last month
     from sep to oct
     from 10/1 to 10/5
     monthly until 2005
     from apr
     until nov
     last oct
     weekly last august


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Budgeting and Forecasting,  Next: Time Keeping,  Prev: Command-Line Syntax,  Up: Top

9 Budgeting and Forecasting
***************************

* Menu:

* Budgeting::
* Forecasting::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Budgeting,  Next: Forecasting,  Prev: Budgeting and Forecasting,  Up: Budgeting and Forecasting

9.1 Budgeting
=============

Keeping a budget allows you to pay closer attention to your income and
expenses, by reporting how far your actual financial activity is from
your expectations.

   To start keeping a budget, put some periodic transactions (*note
Periodic Transactions::) at the top of your ledger file.  A periodic
transaction is almost identical to a regular transaction, except that it
begins with a tilde and has a period expression in place of a payee.
For example:

     ~ Monthly
         Expenses:Rent               $500.00
         Expenses:Food               $450.00
         Expenses:Auto:Gas           $120.00
         Expenses:Insurance          $150.00
         Expenses:Phone              $125.00
         Expenses:Utilities          $100.00
         Expenses:Movies              $50.00
         Expenses                    $200.00  ; all other expenses
         Assets

     ~ Yearly
         Expenses:Auto:Repair        $500.00
         Assets

   These two periodic transactions give the usual monthly expenses, as
well as one typical yearly expense.  For help on finding out what your
average monthly expenses are for any category, use a command like:

     $ ledger -p "this year" --monthly --average register ^expenses

   The reported totals are the current year's average for each account.

   Once these periodic transactions are defined, creating a budget
report is as easy as adding ‘--budget’ to the command-line.  For
example, a typical monthly expense report would be:

     $ ledger --monthly register ^expenses

   To see the same report balanced against your budget, use:

     $ ledger --budget --monthly register ^expenses

   A budget report includes only those accounts that appear in the
budget.  To see all expenses balanced against the budget, use
‘--add-budget’.  You can even see only the unbudgeted expenses using
‘--unbudgeted’:

     $ ledger --unbudgeted --monthly register ^expenses

   You can also use these flags with the ‘balance’ command.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Forecasting,  Prev: Budgeting,  Up: Budgeting and Forecasting

9.2 Forecasting
===============

Sometimes it's useful to know what your finances will look like in the
future, such as determining when an account will reach zero.  Ledger
makes this easy to do, using the same periodic transactions as are used
for budgeting.  An example forecast report can be generated with:

     $ ledger --file drewr3.dat --forecast "T>{\$-500.00}" register ^assets ^liabilities

   This report continues outputting postings until the running total is
greater than $-500.00.  A final posting is always shown, to inform you
what the total afterwards would be.

   Forecasting can also be used with the ‘balance’ report, but by date
only, and not against the running total:

     $ ledger --forecast "d<[2010]" bal ^assets ^liabilities


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Time Keeping,  Next: Value Expressions,  Prev: Budgeting and Forecasting,  Up: Top

10 Time Keeping
***************

Ledger directly supports "timelog" entries, which have this form:

     i 2013/03/28 22:13:00 ACCOUNT[  PAYEE]
     o 2013/03/29 03:39:00

   This records a check-in to the given ACCOUNT, and a check-out.  You
can be checked-in to multiple accounts at a time, if you wish, and they
can span multiple days (use ‘--day-break’ to break them up in the
report).  The number of seconds between check-in and check-out is
accumulated as time to that ACCOUNT. If the checkout uses a capital ‘O’,
the transaction is marked "cleared".  You can use an optional PAYEE for
whatever meaning you like.

   Now, there are a few ways to generate this information.  You can use
the ‘timeclock.el’ package, which is part of Emacs.  Or you can write a
simple script in whichever language you prefer to emit similar
information.  Or you can use Org mode's time-clocking abilities and the
‘org2tc’ script developed by John Wiegley.

   These timelog entries can appear in a separate file, or directly in
your main ledger file.  The initial ‘i’ and ‘o’ characters count as
Ledger "directives", and are accepted anywhere that ordinary
transactions are valid.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Value Expressions,  Next: Format Strings,  Prev: Time Keeping,  Up: Top

11 Value Expressions
********************

Ledger uses value expressions to make calculations for many different
purposes:

  1. The values displayed in reports.

  2. For predicates (where truth is anything non-zero), to determine
     which postings are calculated (option ‘--limit EXPR (-l)’) or
     displayed (option ‘--display EXPR (-d)’).

  3. For sorting criteria, to yield the sort key.

  4. In the matching criteria used by automated postings.

   Value expressions support most simple math and logic operators, in
addition to a set of functions and variables.

   Display predicates are also very handy with register reports, to
constrain which transactions are printed.  For example, the following
command shows only transactions from the beginning of the current month,
while still calculating the running balance based on all transactions:

     $ ledger -d "d>[this month]" register checking

   The advantage of this command's complexity is that it prints the
running total in terms of all transactions in the register.  The
following, simpler command is similar, but totals only the displayed
postings:

     $ ledger -b "this month" register checking

* Menu:

* Variables::
* Functions::
* Operators::
* Complex expressions::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Variables,  Next: Functions,  Prev: Value Expressions,  Up: Value Expressions

11.1 Variables
==============

Below are the one letter variables available in any value expression.
For the ‘register’ and ‘print’ commands, these variables relate to
individual postings, and sometimes the account affected by a posting.
For the ‘balance’ command, these variables relate to accounts, often
with a subtle difference in meaning.  The use of each variable for both
is specified.

‘t’
     This maps to whatever the user specified with ‘--amount EXPR (-t)’.
     In a ‘register’ report, ‘--amount EXPR (-t)’ changes the value
     column; in a ‘balance’ report, it has no meaning by default.  If
     ‘--amount EXPR (-t)’ was not specified, the current report style's
     value expression is used.

‘T’
     This maps to whatever the user specified with ‘--total VEXPR (-T)’.
     In a register report, ‘--total VEXPR (-T)’ changes the totals
     column; in a balance report, this is the value given for each
     account.  If ‘--total VEXPR (-T)’ was not specified, the current
     report style's value expression is used.

‘m’
     This is always the present moment/date.

* Menu:

* Posting/account details::
* Calculated totals::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Posting/account details,  Next: Calculated totals,  Prev: Variables,  Up: Variables

11.1.1 Posting/account details
------------------------------

‘d’
‘date’
     A posting's date, as the number of seconds past the epoch.  This is
     always "today" for an account.

‘aux_date’
     A posting's aux date

‘a’
‘amount’
     The posting's amount; the balance of an account, without
     considering children.

‘b’
     The cost of a posting; the cost of an account, without its
     children.

‘v’
     The market value of a posting or an account, without its children.

‘g’
     The net gain (market value minus cost basis), for a posting or an
     account, without its children.  It is the same as ‘v-b’.

‘depth’
     The depth ("level") of an account.  If an account has one parent,
     its depth is one.

‘n’
     The index of a posting, or the count of postings affecting an
     account.

‘X’
‘cleared’
     ‘1’ if a posting's transaction has been cleared, ‘0’ otherwise.

‘uncleared’
     ‘1’ if a posting's transaction state is uncleared, ‘0’ otherwise.

‘pending’
     ‘1’ if a posting's transaction state is pending, ‘0’ otherwise.

‘R’
     ‘1’ if a posting is not virtual, ‘0’ otherwise.

‘Z’
     ‘1’ if a posting is not automated, ‘0’ otherwise.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Calculated totals,  Prev: Posting/account details,  Up: Variables

11.1.2 Calculated totals
------------------------

‘O’
     The total of all postings seen so far, or the total of an account
     and all its children.

‘N’
     The total count of postings affecting an account and all its
     children.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Functions,  Next: Operators,  Prev: Variables,  Up: Value Expressions

11.2 Functions
==============

The available one letter functions are:

‘-’
     Negates the argument.

‘U’
     The absolute (unsigned) value of the argument.

‘S’
     Strips the commodity from the argument.

‘P’
     The present market value of the argument.  The syntax ‘P(x,d)’ is
     supported, which yields the market value at time ‘d’.  If no date
     is given, then the current moment is used.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Operators,  Next: Complex expressions,  Prev: Functions,  Up: Value Expressions

11.3 Operators
==============

The operators, in order of precedence, are:

  1. ‘* /’
  2. ‘+ -’
  3. ‘! < > =’
  4. ‘& | ?:’

* Menu:

* Unary Operators::
* Binary Operators::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Unary Operators,  Next: Binary Operators,  Prev: Operators,  Up: Operators

11.3.1 Unary Operators
----------------------

‘not’ (‘!’) ‘neg’


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Binary Operators,  Prev: Unary Operators,  Up: Operators

11.3.2 Binary Operators
-----------------------

‘==’ ‘<’ ‘<=’ ‘>’ ‘>=’ ‘and’ ‘or’ ‘+’ ‘-’ ‘*’ ‘/’ ‘QUERY’ ‘COLON’ ‘CONS’
‘SEQ’ ‘DEFINE’ ‘LOOKUP’ ‘LAMBDA’ ‘CALL’ ‘MATCH’


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Complex expressions,  Prev: Operators,  Up: Value Expressions

11.4 Complex expressions
========================

More complicated expressions are possible using:

‘expr "amount == COMMODITY AMOUNT"’
     The amount can be any kind of amount supported by ledger, with or
     without a commodity.  Use this for decimal values.

‘/REGEX/’
‘expr account =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches against an account's full name.
     If a posting, this will match against the account affected by the
     posting.

‘@/REGEX/’
‘expr payee =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches against a transaction's payee
     name.

‘%/REGEX/’
‘expr has_tag(/REGEX/)’
‘expr has_tag('TAG')’
     A regular expression (REGEX) or string (TAG) that checks for the
     tags of a transaction.

‘expr has_meta(/REGEX/)’
‘expr has_meta('TAG')’
     A regular expression (REGEX) or string (TAG) that checks for the
     metadata key of a transaction.

‘expr tag(REGEX) =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches a transaction's tags against its
     values.

‘expr date =~ /REGEX/’
     Useful for specifying a date in plain terms.  For example, you
     could say ‘expr date =~ /2014/’.

‘expr comment =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches against a posting's comment
     field.  This searches only a posting's field, not the transaction's
     note or comment field.  For example, ‘ledger reg "expr" "comment =~
     /landline/"’ will match:

          2014/1/29  Phone bill
              Assets:Checking                           $50.00
              Expenses:Phone                           $-50.00  ; landline bill

     but will not match:

          2014/1/29  Phone bill  ; landline bill
              ; landline bill
              Assets:Checking                           $50.00
              Expenses:Phone                           $-50.00

     To match the latter, use ‘ledger reg "expr" "note =~ /landline/"’
     instead.

‘expr note =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches against a transaction's note
     field.  This searches all comments in the transaction, including
     comments on individual postings.  Thus, ‘ledger reg "expr" "note =~
     /landline/"’ will match all the three examples below:

          2014/1/29  Phone bill
              Assets:Checking                           $50.00
              Expenses:Phone                           $-50.00  ; landline bill

          2014/1/29  Phone bill  ; landline bill
              Assets:Checking                           $50.00
              Expenses:Phone                           $-50.00

          2014/1/29  Phone bill
              ; landline bill
              Assets:Checking                           $50.00
              Expenses:Phone                           $-50.00

‘(EXPR)’
     A sub-expression is nested in parenthesis.  This can be useful
     passing more complicated arguments to functions, or for overriding
     the natural precedence order of operators.

‘expr base =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches against an account's base name.
     If a posting, this will match against the account affected by the
     posting.

‘expr code =~ /REGEX/’
     A regular expression that matches against the transaction code (the
     text that occurs between parentheses before the payee).

‘expr any(KEYWORD =~ /REGEX/)’
     The ‘any’ keyword is used to specify that at least one posting of
     the transaction must match the expression in brackets.  For
     example, ‘ledger -f d reg expr "any(account =~ /Assets:/)"’ can be
     used to display all transactions which involve at least one
     ‘Assets:’ account.

‘expr all(KEYWORD =~ /REGEX/)’
     The ‘all’ keyword is used to specify that all postings of a
     transactions must match the expression in brackets.  For example,
     ‘ledger -f d reg expr "all(account =~ /Assets:/)"’ can be used to
     display all transactions where all accounts are ‘Assets:’.

   The ‘query’ command can be used to see how Ledger interprets your
query.  This can be useful if you are not getting the results you expect
(*note Pre-Commands::).

* Menu:

* Miscellaneous::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Miscellaneous,  Prev: Complex expressions,  Up: Complex expressions

11.4.1 Miscellaneous
--------------------

The following Ledger journal data (saved as ‘expr.dat’) is used to
explain the behaviour of the functions and variables below:
     2015/01/16 * (C0D3) Payee
       Assets:Cash                 ¤ -123,45
         ; Payee: PiggyBank
       Expenses:Office Supplies

 -- Function: abs value
 -- Function: U value
     Return the absolute value of the given VALUE, e.g.  AMOUNT.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(account) %(abs(amount))\n" reg assets
          Assets:Cash ¤ 123,45

 -- Function: amount_expr
     Return the calculated amount of the posting according to the
     ‘--amount’ option.

 -- Function: ansify_if value color bool
     Render the given EXPRESSION as a string, applying the proper ANSI
     escape codes to display it in the given COLOR if BOOL is true.  It
     typically checks the value of the option ‘--color’.  Since ANSI
     escape codes include non-printable character sequences, such as
     escape ‘^[’ the following example may not appear as the final
     result on the command-line.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(ansify_if(account, blue, options.color))\n" reg
          [34mAssets:Cash[0m
          [34mExpenses:Office Supplies[0m

 -- Function: ceiling value
     Return the next integer of VALUE toward +infinity.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(account) %(ceiling(amount))\n" reg
          Assets:Cash ¤ -123,00
          Expenses:Office Supplies ¤ 124,00

 -- Variable: code
     Return the transaction code, the string between the parenthesis
     after the date.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(account) %(code)\n" reg assets
          Assets:Cash C0D3

 -- Variable: commodity
     Return the commodity of the posting amount.
     $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(account) %(commodity)\n" reg
     Assets:Cash ¤
     Expenses:Office Supplies ¤

 -- Variable: date
 -- Variable: d
     Return the date of the posting.
     $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(date) %(account)\n" reg assets
     2015/01/16 Assets:Cash

 -- Variable: display_amount
 -- Variable: t
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Variable: display_total
 -- Variable: T
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Function: floor value
     Return the next integer of VALUE toward -infinity.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(account) %(floor(amount))\n" reg
          Assets:Cash ¤ -124,00
          Expenses:Office Supplies ¤ 123,00

 -- Function: format string
     Evaluate STRING as format just like the ‘--format’ option.

 -- Function: format_date date format
     Return the DATE as a string using FORMAT.  See ‘strftime (3)’ for
     format string details.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(format_date(date, '%A, %B %d. %Y'))\n" reg assets
          Friday, January 16. 2015

 -- Function: format_datetime datetime format
     Return the DATETIME as a string using FORMAT.  Refer to ‘strftime
     (3)’ for format string details.

 -- Function: get_at sequence index
     Return the value in SEQUENCE at INDEX.  The first element is INDEX
     0.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: is_seq value
     Return true if VALUE is a sequence.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: join value
     Replace all newlines in VALUE with ‘\n’.

 -- Function: justify value first_width latter_width right_justify
          colorize
     Right or left justify the string representing VALUE.  The width of
     the field in the first line is given by FIRST_WIDTH.  For
     subsequent lines the width is given by LATTER_WIDTH.  If
     LATTER_WIDTH=-1, then FIRST_WIDTH is used for all lines.  If
     RIGHT_JUSTIFY=TRUE then the field is right justified within the
     width of the field.  If it is FALSE, then the field is left
     justified and padded to the full width of the field.  If COLORIZE
     is true, then ledger will honor color settings.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "»%(justify(account, 30, 30, true))«\n" reg
          »                   Assets:Cash«
          »      Expenses:Office Supplies«

 -- Function: market value datetime
 -- Function: P
     Return the price of VALUE at DATETIME.  Note that DATETIME must be
     surrounded by brackets in order to be parsed correctly, e.g.
     ‘[2012/03/23]’.

 -- Function: nail_down
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Variable: now
 -- Variable: m
     Return the current datetime.

 -- Variable: options
     A variable that allows access to the values of the given
     command-line options using the long option names, e.g.  to see
     whether ‘--daily’ or ‘-D’ was given use ‘option.daily’.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat -X $ -D --format "%(options.daily) %(options.exchange)\n" reg assets
          true $

 -- Function: percent value_a value_b
     Return the percentage of VALUE_A in relation to VALUE_B (used as
     100%)
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(percent(amount, 200))\n" reg
          -61.73%
          61.73%

 -- Function: print value
     Print VALUE to stdout.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: quantity value
     Return the quantity of VALUE for values that have a per-unit cost.

 -- Function: quoted expression
     Surround EXPRESSION with double quotes.  If expression contains a
     double quote, it will be escaped with a backslash.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(quoted(account)) %(quoted(amount))\n" reg
          "Assets:Cash" "¤ -123,45"
          "Expenses:Office Supplies" "¤ 123,45"

 -- Function: quoted_rfc expression
     Similar, except an embedded double quote would be escaped by
     preceding it with another double quote, as prescribed by RFC 4180.

 -- Function: round
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Function: rounded
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Function: roundto value n
     Return VALUE rounded to N digits.  Does not affect formatting.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(account) %(roundto(amount, 1))\n" reg
          Assets:Cash ¤ -123,40
          Expenses:Office Supplies ¤ 123,50

 -- Function: scrub value
     Clean VALUE using various transformations such as ‘round’,
     stripping value annotations, and more.

 -- Function: should_bold
     Return true if expression given to ‘--bold-if’ evaluates to true.
     For internal use only.

 -- Function: strip value
 -- Function: S
     Strip value annotation from VALUE.

 -- Function: to_amount value
     Convert VALUE to an amount.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_balance value
     Convert VALUE to a balance.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_boolean value
     Convert VALUE to a boolean.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_date value
     Convert VALUE to a date.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_datetime value
     Convert VALUE to a datetime.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_int value
 -- Function: int value
     Return the integer value for VALUE.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%(1 + to_int('1'))\n%(2,5 + int(2,5))\n" reg assets
          2
          4.5

 -- Function: to_mask value
     Convert VALUE to a mask.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_sequence value
     Convert VALUE to a sequence.  For internal use only.

 -- Function: to_string value
 -- Function: str value
     Convert VALUE to a character string.

 -- Variable: today
     Return today's date.
     $ ledger -f expr.dat --now 2015/01/01 --format "%(today)\n" reg assets
     2015/01/01

 -- Function: top_amount
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Function: total_expr
     Return the calculated total of the posting according to the
     ‘--total’ option.

 -- Function: trim value
     Trim leading and trailing whitespace from VALUE.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "»%(trim(' 	Trimmed	 '))«\n" reg assets
          »Trimmed«

 -- Function: truncated string total_len account_len
     Truncate STRING to TOTAL_LEN ensuring that each account is at least
     ACCOUNT_LEN long.

 -- Function: unround
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Function: unrounded
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

 -- Function: value_date
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Format Strings,  Next: Extending with Python,  Prev: Value Expressions,  Up: Top

12 Format Strings
*****************

* Menu:

* Format String Basics::
* Format String Structure::
* Format Expressions::
* Balance format::
* Formatting Functions and Codes::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Format String Basics,  Next: Format String Structure,  Prev: Format Strings,  Up: Format Strings

12.1 Format String Basics
=========================

Format strings may be used to change the output format of reports.  They
are specified by passing a formatting string to the ‘--format
FORMAT_STRING (-F)’ option.  Within that string, constructs are allowed
which make it possible to display the various parts of an account or
posting in custom ways.

   There are several additional flags that allow you to define formats
for specific reports.  These are useful to define in your configuration
file and will allow you to run ledger reports from the command-line
without having to enter a new format for each command.

   • ‘--balance-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--budget-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--cleared-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--csv-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--prices-format FORMAT_STRING’
   • ‘--register-format FORMAT_STRING’


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Format String Structure,  Next: Format Expressions,  Prev: Format String Basics,  Up: Format Strings

12.2 Format String Structure
============================

Within a format string, a substitution is specified using a percent ‘%’
character.  The basic format of all substitutions is:

     %[-][MIN WIDTH][.MAX WIDTH](VALEXPR)

   If the optional minus sign ‘-’ follows the percent character ‘%’,
whatever is substituted will be left justified.  The default is right
justified.  If a minimum width is given next, the substituted text will
be at least that wide, perhaps wider.  If a period and a maximum width
is given, the substituted text will never be wider than this, and will
be truncated to fit.  Here are some examples:

‘%-20P’
     A transaction's payee, left justified and padded to 20 characters
     wide.

‘%20P’
     The same, right justified, at least 20 chars wide.

‘%.20P’
     The same, no more than 20 chars wide.

   The expression following the format constraints can be a single
letter, or an expression enclosed in parentheses or brackets.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Format Expressions,  Next: Balance format,  Prev: Format String Structure,  Up: Format Strings

12.3 Format Expressions
=======================

For demonstration purposes the journal data from *note expr.dat:: is
used.  The allowable expressions are:

‘%’
     Inserts a percent sign.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%%\n" reg assets
          %

‘t’
     Inserts the results of the value expression specified by ‘--amount
     EXPR (-t)’.  If ‘--amount EXPR (-t)’ was not specified, the current
     report style's value expression is used.

‘T’
     Inserts the results of the value expression specified by ‘--total
     VEXPR (-T)’.  If ‘--total VEXPR (-T)’ was not specified, the
     current report style's value expression is used.

‘(EXPR)’
     Inserts the amount resulting from the value expression given in
     parentheses.  To insert five times the total value of an account,
     for example, one could say ‘%12(5*O)’.  Note: It's important to put
     the five first in that expression, so that the commodity doesn't
     get stripped from the total.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%12(5*O)\n" reg assets
             ¤ -617,25

‘[DATEFMT]’
     Inserts the result of formatting a posting's date with a date
     format string, exactly like those supported by ‘strftime (3)’.  For
     example: ‘%[%Y/%m/%d %H:%M:%S]’.

‘S’
     Insert the path name of the file from which the transaction's data
     was read.  Only sensible in a ‘register’ report.
          $ ledger -f ~/journal.dat --format "%S\n" reg assets
          /home/jwiegley/journal.dat

‘B’
     Inserts the beginning character position of that transaction within
     the file.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%B\n" reg assets
          26

‘b’
     Inserts the beginning line of that transaction within the file.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%b\n" reg assets
          2

‘E’
     Inserts the ending character position of that transaction within
     the file.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%E\n" reg assets
          90

‘e’
     Inserts the ending line of that transaction within the file.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%e\n" reg assets
          3

‘D’
     Returns the date according to the default format.

‘d’
     Returns the date according to the default format.  If the
     transaction has an effective date, it prints
     ‘ACTUAL_DATE=EFFECTIVE_DATE’.

‘X’
     If a posting has been cleared, this returns a 1, otherwise returns
     0.

‘Y’
     This is the same as ‘%X’, except that it only displays a state
     character if all of the member postings have the same state.

‘C’
     Inserts the transaction code.  This is the value specified between
     parentheses on the first line of the transaction.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%C\n" reg assets
          (C0D3)

‘P’
     Inserts the payee related to a posting.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%P\n" reg assets
          PiggyBank

‘A’
     Inserts the full name of an account.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%A\n" reg
          Assets:Cash
          Expenses:Office Supplies

‘N’
     Inserts the note associated with a posting, if one exists.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%N\n" reg assets
           Payee: PiggyBank

‘/’
     The ‘%/’ construct is special.  It separates a format string
     between what is printed for the first posting of a transaction, and
     what is printed for all subsequent postings.  If not used, the same
     format string is used for all postings.
          $ ledger -f expr.dat --format "%P\n%/%A\n" reg
          PiggyBank
          Expenses:Office Supplies


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Balance format,  Next: Formatting Functions and Codes,  Prev: Format Expressions,  Up: Format Strings

12.4 Balance format
===================

As an example of how flexible the ‘--format FORMAT_STRING’ strings can
be, the default balance format looks like this (the various functions
are described later):

     "%(justify(scrub(display_total), 20, -1, true, color))"
     "  %(!options.flat ? depth_spacer : \"\")"
     "%-(ansify_if(partial_account(options.flat), blue if color))\n%/"
     "%$1\n%/"
     "--------------------\n"


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Formatting Functions and Codes,  Prev: Balance format,  Up: Format Strings

12.5 Formatting Functions and Codes
===================================

* Menu:

* Field Widths::
* Colors::
* Quantities and Calculations::
* Date Functions::
* Date and Time Format Codes::
* Text Formatting::
* Data File Parsing Information::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Field Widths,  Next: Colors,  Prev: Formatting Functions and Codes,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.1 Field Widths
-------------------

The following codes return the width allocated for the specific fields.
The defaults can be changed using the corresponding command-line
options:

   • ‘date_width’
   • ‘payee_width’
   • ‘account_width’
   • ‘amount_width’
   • ‘total_width’


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Colors,  Next: Quantities and Calculations,  Prev: Field Widths,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.2 Colors
-------------

The character-based formatting ledger can do is limited to the ANSI
terminal character colors and font highlights in a normal TTY session.

‘red’                  ‘magenta’              ‘bold’
‘green’                ‘cyan’                 ‘underline’
‘yellow’               ‘white’                ‘blink’
‘blue’                 ‘black’


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Quantities and Calculations,  Next: Date Functions,  Prev: Colors,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.3 Quantities and Calculations
----------------------------------

‘amount_expr’
‘abs’
‘commodity’
‘display_amount’
‘display_total’
‘floor’
‘get_at’
‘is_seq’
‘market’
‘percent’
‘price’
‘quantity’
‘rounded’
‘truncated’
‘total_expr’
‘top_amount’
‘to_boolean’
‘to_int’
‘to_amount’
‘to_balance’
‘unrounded’


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Date Functions,  Next: Date and Time Format Codes,  Prev: Quantities and Calculations,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.4 Date Functions
---------------------

The following functions allow you to manipulate and format dates.

‘date’
     Return the date of the current transaction.

‘format_date(date, "FORMAT_STRING")’
     Format the date using the given format string.

‘now’
     Return the current date and time.  If the ‘--now DATE’ option is
     defined it will return that value.

‘today’
     Return the current date.  If the ‘--now DATE’ option is defined it
     will return that value.

‘to_datetime’
     Convert a string to a date-time value.

‘to_date’
     Convert a string to date value.

‘value_date’

* Menu:

* Date and Time Format Codes::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Date and Time Format Codes,  Next: Text Formatting,  Prev: Date Functions,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.5 Date and Time Format Codes
---------------------------------

Date and time format are specified as strings of single letter codes
preceded by percent signs.  Any separator, or no separator can be
specified.

* Menu:

* Days::
* Weekdays::
* Month::
* Miscellaneous Date Codes::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Days,  Next: Weekdays,  Prev: Date and Time Format Codes,  Up: Date and Time Format Codes

12.5.5.1 Days
.............

Dates are formed from a combination of day, month and year codes, in
whatever order you prefer:

‘%Y’
     Four digit year.

‘%y’
     Two digit year.

‘%m’
     Two digit month.

‘%d’
     Two digit date.

So ‘"%Y%m%d"’ yields ‘20111214’ which provides a date that is simple to
sort on.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Weekdays,  Next: Month,  Prev: Days,  Up: Date and Time Format Codes

12.5.5.2 Weekdays
.................

You can have additional weekday information in your date with ‘%A’ as

‘%m-%d-%Y %A’
     yields ‘02-10-2010 Wednesday’.

‘%A %m-%d-%Y’
     yields ‘Wednesday 02-10-2010’.

These are options you can select for weekday

‘%a’
     weekday, abbreviated Wed.

‘%A’
     weekday, full Wednesday.

‘%d’
     day of the month (dd), zero padded up to 10.

‘%e’
     day of the month (dd), no leading zero up to 10.

‘%j’
     day of year, zero padded 000-366.

‘%u’
     day of week starting with Monday (1), i.e.  ‘mtwtfss’ 3.

‘%w’
     day of week starting with Sunday (0), i.e.  ‘smtwtfs’ 3.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Month,  Next: Miscellaneous Date Codes,  Prev: Weekdays,  Up: Date and Time Format Codes

12.5.5.3 Month
..............

You can have additional month information in your date with ‘%B’ as

‘%m-%d-%Y %B’
     yields ‘02-10-2010 February’.

‘%B %m-%d-%Y’
     yields ‘February 02-10-2010’.

These are options you can select for month

‘%m’
     ‘mm’ month as two digits.

‘%b’
     Locale’s abbreviated month, for example ‘02’ might be abbreviated
     as ‘Feb’.

‘%B’
     Locale’s full month, variable length, e.g.  February.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Miscellaneous Date Codes,  Prev: Month,  Up: Date and Time Format Codes

12.5.5.4 Miscellaneous Date Codes
.................................

Additional date format parameters which can be used:

‘%U’
     week number Sunday as first day of week, ranging 01-53.

‘%W’
     week number Monday as first day of week, ranging 01-53.

‘%V’
     week of the year, ranging 01-53.

‘%C’
     century, ranging 00-99.

‘%D’
     yields ‘%m/%d/%y’ as in ‘02/10/10’.

‘%x’
     locale’s date representation, as ‘02/10/2010’ for the U.S.

‘%F’
     yields ‘%Y-%m-%d’ as in ‘2010-02-10’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Text Formatting,  Next: Data File Parsing Information,  Prev: Date and Time Format Codes,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.6 Text Formatting
----------------------

The following format functions allow you limited formatting of text:

‘ansify_if(value, color)’
     Surrounds the string representing value with ANSI codes to give it
     ‘color’ on a TTY display.  Has no effect if directed to a file.

‘justify(value, first_width, latter_width, right_justify, colorize)’
     Right or left justify the string representing ‘value’.  The width
     of the field in the first line is given by ‘first_width’.  For
     subsequent lines the width is given by ‘latter_width’.  If
     ‘latter_width=-1’, then ‘first_width’ is use for all lines.  If
     ‘right_justify=true’ then the field is right justify within the
     width of the field.  If it is ‘false’, then the field is left
     justified and padded to the full width of the field.  If ‘colorize’
     is true, then ledger will honor color settings.

‘join(STR)’
     Replaces line feeds in ‘STR’ with ‘\n’.

‘quoted(STR)’
     Return ‘STR’ surrounded by double quotes, ‘"STR"’.

‘strip(value)’
     Values can have numerous annotations, such as effective dates and
     lot prices.  ‘strip’ removes these annotations.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Data File Parsing Information,  Prev: Text Formatting,  Up: Formatting Functions and Codes

12.5.7 Data File Parsing Information
------------------------------------

The following format strings provide locational metadata regarding the
coordinates of entries in the source data file(s) that generated the
posting.

‘filename’
     the name of the ledger data file from whence the posting came,
     abbreviated ‘S’.

‘beg_pos’
     character position in ‘filename’ where entry for posting begins,
     abbreviated ‘B’.

‘end_pos’
     character position in ‘filename’ where entry for posting ends,
     abbreviated ‘E’.

‘beg_line’
     line number in ‘filename’ where entry for posting begins,
     abbreviated ‘b’.

‘end_line’
     line number in ‘filename’ where entry for posting ends, abbreviated
     ‘e’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Extending with Python,  Next: Ledger for Developers,  Prev: Format Strings,  Up: Top

13 Extending with Python
************************

Python can be used to extend your Ledger experience.  But first, a word
must be said about Ledger's data model, so that other things make sense
later.

* Menu:

* Basic data traversal::
* Raw versus Cooked::
* Queries::
* Embedded Python::
* Amounts::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Basic data traversal,  Next: Raw versus Cooked,  Prev: Extending with Python,  Up: Extending with Python

13.1 Basic data traversal
=========================

Every interaction with Ledger happens in the context of a Session.  Even
if you don't create a session manually, one is created for you by the
top-level interface functions.  The Session is where objects live like
the Commodities that Amounts refer to.

   To make a Session useful, you must read a Journal into it, using the
function '‘read_journal’'.  This reads Ledger data from the given file,
populates a Journal object within the current Session, and returns a
reference to that Journal object.

   Within the Journal live all the Transactions, Postings, and other
objects related to your data.  There are also AutomatedTransactions and
PeriodicTransactions, etc.

   Here is how you would traverse all the postings in your data file:

     import ledger

     for xact in ledger.read_journal("sample.dat").xacts():
         for post in xact.posts():
             print "Transferring %s to/from %s" % (post.amount, post.account)


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Raw versus Cooked,  Next: Queries,  Prev: Basic data traversal,  Up: Extending with Python

13.2 Raw versus Cooked
======================

Ledger data exists in one of two forms: raw and cooked.  Raw objects are
what you get from a traversal like the above, and represent exactly what
was seen in the data file.  Consider this journal:

     = true
         (Assets:Cash)    $100

     2012-03-01 KFC
         Expenses:Food    $100
         Assets:Credit

   In this case, the _raw_ regular transaction in this file is:

     2012-03-01 KFC
         Expenses:Food    $100
         Assets:Credit

   While the _cooked_ form is:

     2012-03-01 KFC
         Expenses:Food    $100
         Assets:Credit   $-100
         (Assets:Cash)    $100

   So the easy way to think about raw vs.  cooked is that raw is the
unprocessed data, and cooked has had all considerations applied.

   When you traverse a Journal by iterating over its transactions, you
are generally looking at raw data.  In order to look at cooked data, you
must generate a report of some kind by querying the journal:

     for post in ledger.read_journal("sample.dat").query("food"):
         print "Transferring %s to/from %s" % (post.amount, post.account)

   The reason why queries iterate over postings instead of transactions
is that queries often return only a "slice" of the transactions they
apply to.  You can always get at a matching posting's transaction by
looking at its ‘xact’ member:

     last_xact = None
     for post in ledger.read_journal("sample.dat").query(""):
         if post.xact != last_xact:
             for post in post.xact.posts():
                 print "Transferring %s to/from %s" % (post.amount,
                 post.account)
             last_xact = post.xact

   This query ends up reporting every cooked posting in the Journal, but
does it transaction-wise.  It relies on the fact that an unsorted report
returns postings in the exact order they were parsed from the journal
file.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Queries,  Next: Embedded Python,  Prev: Raw versus Cooked,  Up: Extending with Python

13.3 Queries
============

The Journal.query() method accepts every argument you can specify on the
command-line, including ‘--options’.

   Since a query "cooks" the journal it applies to, only one query may
be active for that journal at a given time.  Once the query object is
gone (after the for loop), then the data reverts back to its raw state.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Embedded Python,  Next: Amounts,  Prev: Queries,  Up: Extending with Python

13.4 Embedded Python
====================

You can embed Python into your data files using the 'python' directive:

     python
         import os
         def check_path(path_value):
             print "%s => %s" % (str(path_value), os.path.isfile(str(path_value)))
             return os.path.isfile(str(path_value))

     tag PATH
         assert check_path(value)

     2012-02-29 KFC
         ; PATH: somebogusfile.dat
         Expenses:Food                $20
         Assets:Cash

   Any Python functions you define this way become immediately available
as valexpr functions.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Amounts,  Prev: Embedded Python,  Up: Extending with Python

13.5 Amounts
============

When numbers come from Ledger, like post.amount, the type of the value
is Amount.  It can be used just like an ordinary number, except that
addition and subtraction are restricted to amounts with the same
commodity.  If you need to create sums of multiple commodities, use a
Balance.  For example:

     total = Balance()
     for post in ledger.read_journal("sample.dat").query(""):
         total += post.amount
     print total


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Ledger for Developers,  Next: Major Changes from version 2.6,  Prev: Extending with Python,  Up: Top

14 Ledger for Developers
************************

* Menu:

* Internal Design::
* Journal File Format for Developers::
* Developer Commands::
* Ledger Development Environment::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Internal Design,  Next: Journal File Format for Developers,  Prev: Ledger for Developers,  Up: Ledger for Developers

14.1 Internal Design
====================

Ledger is developed as a tiered set of functionality, where lower tiers
know nothing about the higher tiers.  In fact, multiple libraries are
built during the development the process, and link unit tests to these
libraries, so that it is a link error for a lower tier to violate this
modularity.

   Those tiers are:

   • Utility code

     There's lots of general utility in Ledger for doing time parsing,
     using Boost.Regex, error handling, etc.  It's all done in a way
     that can be reused in other projects as needed.

   • Commoditized Amounts (amount_t, commodity_t and friends)

     A numerical abstraction combining multi-precision rational numbers
     (via GMP) with commodities.  These structures can be manipulated
     like regular numbers in either C++ or Python (as Amount objects).

   • Commodity Pool

     Commodities are all owned by a commodity pool, so that future
     parsing of amounts can link to the same commodity and established a
     consistent price history and record of formatting details.

   • Balances

     Adds the concept of multiple amounts with varying commodities.
     Supports simple arithmetic, and multiplication and division with
     non-commoditized values.

   • Price history

     Amounts have prices, and these are kept in a data graph which the
     amount code itself is only dimly aware of (there's three points of
     access so an amount can query its revalued price on a given date).

   • Values

     Often the higher layers in Ledger don't care if something is an
     amount or a balance, they just want to add stuff to it or print it.
     For this, I created a type-erasure class, value_t/Value, into which
     many things can be stuffed and then operated on.  They can contain
     amounts, balances, dates, strings, etc.  If you try to apply an
     operation between two values that makes no sense (like dividing an
     amount by a balance), an error occurs at runtime, rather than at
     compile-time (as would happen if you actually tried to divide an
     ‘amount_t’ by a ‘balance_t’).

     This is the core data type for the value expression language.

   • Value expressions

     The next layer up adds functions and operators around the Value
     concept.  This lets you apply transformations and tests to Values
     at runtime without having to bake it into C++.  The set of
     functions available is defined by each object type in Ledger
     (posts, accounts, transactions, etc.), though the core engine knows
     nothing about these.  At its base, it only knows how to apply
     operators to values, and how to pass them to and receive them from
     functions.

   • Query expressions

     Expressions can be onerous to type at the command-line, so there's
     a shorthand for reporting called "query expressions".  These add no
     functionality of their own, but are purely translated from the
     input string down to the corresponding value expression, for
     example the input string ‘cash’ is translated to ‘(account =~
     /cash/)’.  This is a convenience layer.

   • Format strings

     Format strings let you interpolate value expressions into strings,
     with the requirement that any interpolated value have a string
     representation.  Really all this does is calculate the value
     expression in the current report context, call the resulting
     value's ‘to_string()’ method, and stuffs the result into the output
     string.  It also provides printf-like behavior, such as min/max
     width, right/left justification, etc.

   • Journal items

     Next is a base type shared by anything that can appear in a
     journal: an item_t.  It contains details common to all such parsed
     entities, like what file and line it was found on, etc.

   • Journal posts

     The most numerous object found in a Journal, postings are a type of
     item that contain an account, an amount, a cost, and metadata.
     There are some other complications, like the account can be marked
     virtual, the amount could be an expression, etc.

   • Journal transactions

     Postings are owned by transactions, always.  This subclass of
     ‘item_t’ knows about the date, the payee, etc.  If a date or
     metadata tag is requested from a posting and it doesn't have that
     information, the transaction is queried to see if it can provide
     it.

   • Journal accounts

     Postings are also shared by accounts, though the actual memory is
     managed by the transaction.  Each account knows all the postings
     within it, but contains relatively little information of its own.

   • The Journal object

     Finally, all transactions with their postings, and all accounts,
     are owned by a ‘journal_t’ object.  This is the go-to object for
     querying and reporting on your data.

   • Textual journal parser

     There is a textual parser, wholly contained in ‘textual.cc’, which
     knows how to parse text into journal objects, which then get
     "finalized" and added to the journal.  Finalization is the step
     that enforces the double-entry guarantee.

   • Iterators

     Every journal object is "iterable", and these iterators are defined
     in ‘iterators.h’ and ‘iterators.cc’.  This iteration logic is kept
     out of the basic journal objects themselves for the sake of
     modularity.

   • Comparators

     Another abstraction isolated to its own layer, this class
     encapsulating the comparison of journal objects, based on whatever
     value expression the user passed to ‘--sort VEXPR’.

   • Temporaries

     Many reports bring pseudo-journal objects into existence, like
     postings which report totals in a ‘Total’ account.  These objects
     are created and managed by a ‘temporaries_t’ object, which gets
     used in many places by the reporting filters.

   • Option handling

     There is an option handling subsystem used by many of the layers
     further down.  It makes it relatively easy for me to add new
     options, and to have those option settings immediately accessible
     to value expressions.

   • Session objects

     Every journal object is owned by a session, with the session
     providing support for that object.  In GUI terms, this is the
     Controller object for the journal Data object, where every document
     window would be a separate session.  They are all owned by the
     global scope.

   • Report objects

     Every time you create any report output, a report object is created
     to determine what you want to see.  In the Ledger REPL, a new
     report object is created every time a command is executed.  In CLI
     mode, only one report object ever comes into being, as Ledger
     immediately exits after displaying the results.

   • Reporting filters

     The way Ledger generates data is this: it asks the session for the
     current journal, and then creates an iterator applied to that
     journal.  The kind of iterator depends on the type of report.

     This iterator is then walked, and every object yielded from the
     iterator is passed to an "item handler", whose type is directly
     related to the type of the iterator.

     There are many, many item handlers, which can be chained together.
     Each one receives an item (post, account, xact, etc.), performs
     some action on it, and then passes it down to the next handler in
     the chain.  There are filters which compute the running totals;
     that queue and sort all the input items before playing them back
     out in a new order; that filter out items which fail to match a
     predicate, etc.  Almost every reporting feature in Ledger is
     related to one or more filters.  Looking at ‘filters.h’, there are
     over 25 of them defined currently.

   • The filter chain

     How filters get wired up, and in what order, is a complex process
     based on all the various options specified by the user.  This is
     the job of the chain logic, found entirely in ‘chain.cc’.  It took
     a really long time to get this logic exactly right, which is why I
     haven't exposed this layer to the Python bridge yet.

   • Output modules

     Although filters are great and all, in the end you want to see
     stuff.  This is the job of special "leaf" filters called output
     modules.  They are implemented just like a regular filter, but they
     don't have a "next" filter to pass the data on down to.  Instead,
     they are the end of the line and must do something with the item
     that results in the user seeing something on their screen or in a
     file.

   • Select queries

     Select queries know a lot about everything, even though they
     implement their logic by implementing the user's query in terms of
     all the other features thus presented.  Select queries have no
     functionality of their own, they are simple a shorthand to provide
     access to much of Ledger's functionality via a cleaner, more
     consistent syntax.

   • The Global Scope

     There is a master object which owns every other objects, and this
     is Ledger's global scope.  It creates the other objects, provides
     REPL behavior for the command-line utility, etc.  In GUI terms,
     this is the Application object.

   • The Main Driver

     This creates the global scope object, performs error reporting, and
     handles command-line options which must precede even the creation
     of the global scope, such as ‘--debug CODE’.

   And that's Ledger in a nutshell.  All the rest are details, such as
which value expressions each journal item exposes, how many filters
currently exist, which options the report and session scopes define,
etc.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Journal File Format for Developers,  Next: Developer Commands,  Prev: Internal Design,  Up: Ledger for Developers

14.2 Journal File Format for Developers
=======================================

This chapter offers a complete description of the journal data format,
suitable for implementers in other languages to follow.  For users, the
chapter on keeping a journal is less extensive, but more typical of
common usage (*note Keeping a Journal::).

   Data is collected in the form of “transactions” which occur in one or
more “journal files”.  Each transaction, in turn, is made up of one or
more “postings”, which describe how “amounts” flow from one “account” to
another.  Here is an example of the simplest of journal files:

     2010/05/31 Just an example
         Expenses:Some:Account                $100.00
         Income:Another:Account

   In this example, there is a transaction date, a payee, or description
of the transaction, and two postings.  The postings show movement of one
hundred dollars from an account within the Income hierarchy, to the
specified expense account.  The name and meaning of these accounts is
arbitrary, with no preferences implied, although you will find it useful
to follow standard accounting practices (*note Principles of Accounting
with Ledger::).

   Since an amount is missing from the second posting, it is assumed to
be the inverse of the first.  This guarantees the cardinal rule of
double-entry accounting: the sum of every transaction must balance to
zero, or it is in error.  Whenever Ledger encounters a “null posting” in
a transaction, it uses it to balance the remainder.

   It is also typical, though not enforced, to think of the first
posting as the destination, and the final as the source.  Thus, the
amount of the first posting is typically positive.  Consider:

     2010/05/31 An income transaction
         Assets:Checking       $1,000.00
         Income:Salary

     2010/05/31 An expense transaction
         Expenses:Dining         $100.00
         Assets:Checking

* Menu:

* Comments and meta-data::
* Specifying Amounts::
* Posting costs::
* Primary commodities::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Comments and meta-data,  Next: Specifying Amounts,  Prev: Journal File Format for Developers,  Up: Journal File Format for Developers

14.2.1 Comments and meta-data
-----------------------------

Comments are generally started using a ‘;’.  However, in order to
increase compatibility with other text manipulation programs and methods
three additional comment characters are valid if used at the beginning
of a line: ‘#’, ‘|’, and ‘*’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Specifying Amounts,  Next: Posting costs,  Prev: Comments and meta-data,  Up: Journal File Format for Developers

14.2.2 Specifying Amounts
-------------------------

The heart of a journal is the amounts it records, and this fact is
reflected in the diversity of amount expressions allowed.  All of them
are covered here, though it must be said that sometimes, there are
multiple ways to achieve a desired result.

   _Note:_ It is important to note that there must be at least two
spaces between the end of the account and the beginning of the amount
(including a commodity designator).

* Menu:

* Integer Amounts::
* Commoditized Amounts::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Integer Amounts,  Next: Commoditized Amounts,  Prev: Specifying Amounts,  Up: Specifying Amounts

14.2.2.1 Integer Amounts
........................

In the simplest form, bare decimal numbers are accepted:

     2010/05/31 An income transaction
         Assets:Checking        1000.00
         Income:Salary

   Such amounts may only use an optional period for a decimal point.
These are referred to as “integer amounts” or “uncommoditized amounts”.
In most ways they are similar to “commoditized amounts”, but for one
significant difference: They always display in reports with “full
precision”.  More on this in a moment.  For now, a word must be said
about how Ledger stores numbers.

   Every number parsed by Ledger is stored internally as an
infinite-precision rational value.  Floating-point math is never used,
as it cannot be trusted to maintain precision of values.  So, in the
case of ‘1000.00’ above, the internal value is ‘100000/100’.

   While rational numbers are great at not losing precision, the
question arises: How should they be displayed?  A number like
‘100000/100’ is no problem, since it represents a clean decimal
fraction.  But what about when the number ‘1/1’ is divided by three?
How should one print ‘1/3’, an infinitely repeating decimal?

   Ledger gets around this problem by rendering rationals into decimal
at the last possible moment, and only for display.  As such, some
rounding must, at times, occur.  If this rounding would affect the
calculation of a running total, special accommodation postings are
generated to make you aware it has happened.  In practice, it happens
rarely, but even then it does not reflect adjustment of the _internal
amount_, only the displayed amount.

   What has still not been answered is how Ledger rounds values.  Should
‘1/3’ be printed as ‘0.33’ or ‘0.33333’?  For commoditized amounts, the
number of decimal places is decided by observing how each commodity is
used; but in the case of integer amounts, an arbitrary factor must be
chosen.  Initially, this factor is six.  Thus, ‘1/3’ is printed back as
‘0.333333’.  Further, this rounding factor becomes associated with each
particular value, and is carried through mathematical operations.  For
example, if that particular number were multiplied by itself, the
decimal precision of the result would be twelve.  Addition and
subtraction do not affect precision.

   Since each integer amount retains its own display precision, this is
called “full precision”, as opposed to commoditized amounts, which
always look to their commodity to know what precision they should round
to, and so use “commodity precision”.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commoditized Amounts,  Prev: Integer Amounts,  Up: Specifying Amounts

14.2.2.2 Commoditized Amounts
.............................

A “commoditized amount” is an integer amount which has an associated
commodity.  This commodity can appear before or after the amount, and
may or may not be separated from it by a space.  Most characters are
allowed in a commodity name, except for the following:

   • Any kind of white-space
   • Numerical digits
   • Punctuation: ‘.,;:?!’
   • Mathematical and logical operators: ‘-+*/^&|=’
   • Bracketing characters: ‘<>[]()’{}
   • The at symbol: ‘@’

   And yet, any of these may appear in a commodity name if it is
surrounded by double quotes, for example:

     100 "EUN+133"

   If a “quoted commodity” is found, it is displayed in quotes as well,
to avoid any confusion as to which part is the amount, and which part is
the commodity.

   Another feature of commoditized amounts is that they are reported
back in the same form as parsed.  If you specify dollar amounts using
‘$100’, they will print the same; likewise with ‘100 $’ or ‘$100.000’.
You may even use decimal commas, such as ‘$100,00’, or thousand-marks,
as in ‘$10,000.00’.

   These display characteristics become associated with the commodity,
with the result being that all amounts of the same commodity are
reported consistently.  Where this is most noticeable is the “display
precision”, which is determined by the most precise value seen for a
given commodity--in most cases.

   Ledger makes a distinction between “observed amounts” and unobserved
amounts.  An observed amount is critiqued by Ledger to determine how
amounts using that commodity should be displayed; unobserved amounts are
significant in their value only--no matter how they are specified, it
does not change how other amounts in that commodity will be displayed.

   An example of this is found in cost expressions, covered next.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Posting costs,  Next: Primary commodities,  Prev: Specifying Amounts,  Up: Journal File Format for Developers

14.2.3 Posting costs
--------------------

You have seen how to specify either a commoditized or an integer amount
for a posting.  But what if the amount you paid for something was in one
commodity, and the amount received was another?  There are two main ways
to express this:

     2010/05/31 Farmer's Market
         Assets:My Larder           100 apples
         Assets:Checking                -$20.00

   In this example, you have paid twenty dollars for one hundred apples.
The cost to you is twenty cents per apple, and Ledger calculates this
implied cost for you.  You can also make the cost explicit using a “cost
amount”:

     2010/05/31 Farmer's Market
         Assets:My Larder           100 apples @ $0.200000
         Assets:Checking

   Here the “per-unit cost” is given explicitly in the form of a cost
amount; and since cost amounts are _unobserved_, the use of six decimal
places has no effect on how dollar amounts are displayed in the final
report.  You can also specify the “total cost”:

     2010/05/31 Farmer's Market
         Assets:My Larder           100 apples @@ $20
         Assets:Checking

   These three forms have identical meaning.  In most cases the first is
preferred, but the second two are necessary when more than two postings
are involved:

     2010/05/31 Farmer's Market
         Assets:My Larder           100 apples        @ $0.200000
         Assets:My Larder           100 pineapples    @ $0.33
         Assets:My Larder           100 "crab apples" @ $0.04
         Assets:Checking

   Here the implied cost is ‘$57.00’, which is entered into the null
posting automatically so that the transaction balances.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Primary commodities,  Prev: Posting costs,  Up: Journal File Format for Developers

14.2.4 Primary commodities
--------------------------

In every transaction involving more than one commodity, there is always
one which is the “primary commodity”.  This commodity should be thought
of as the exchange commodity, or the commodity used to buy and sell
units of the other commodity.  In the fruit examples above, dollars are
the primary commodity.  This is decided by Ledger based on the placement
of the commodity in the transaction:

     2010/05/31 Sample Transaction
         Expenses               100 secondary
         Assets                  -50 primary

     2010/05/31 Sample Transaction
         Expenses               100 secondary @ 0.5 primary
         Assets

     2010/05/31 Sample Transaction
         Expenses               100 secondary @@ 50 primary
         Assets

   The only case where knowledge of primary versus secondary comes into
play is in reports that use the ‘--market (-V)’ or ‘--basis (-B)’
options.  With these, only primary commodities are shown.

   If a transaction uses only one commodity, this commodity is also
considered a primary.  In fact, when Ledger goes about ensuring that all
transactions balance to zero, it only ever asks this of primary
commodities.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Developer Commands,  Next: Ledger Development Environment,  Prev: Journal File Format for Developers,  Up: Ledger for Developers

14.3 Developer Commands
=======================

* Menu:

* echo::
* reload::
* source::
* Debug Options::
* Pre-Commands::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: echo,  Next: reload,  Prev: Developer Commands,  Up: Developer Commands

14.3.1 ‘echo’
-------------

This command simply echoes its argument back to the output.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: reload,  Next: source,  Prev: echo,  Up: Developer Commands

14.3.2 ‘reload’
---------------

Forces ledger to reload any journal files.  This function exists to
support external programs controlling a running ledger process and does
nothing for a command-line user.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: source,  Next: Debug Options,  Prev: reload,  Up: Developer Commands

14.3.3 ‘source’
---------------

The ‘source’ command takes a journal file as an argument and parses it
checking for errors; no other reports are generated, and no other
arguments are necessary.  Ledger will return success if no errors are
found.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Debug Options,  Next: Pre-Commands,  Prev: source,  Up: Developer Commands

14.3.4 Debug Options
--------------------

These options are primarily for Ledger developers, but may be of some
use to a user trying something new.

‘--args-only’
     Ignore init files and environment variables for the ledger run.

‘--debug CODE’
     If Ledger has been built with debug options this will provide extra
     data during the run.  Listed below are the available CODES to
     debug.  You can provide multiple using a regex expression like
     "‘(account.display|expr.calc)’".

     ‘account.display’       ‘draft.xact’                    ‘option.names’
     ‘account.sorted’        ‘expr.calc’                     ‘org.next_amount’
     ‘amount.commodities’    ‘expr.compile’                  ‘org.next_total’
     ‘amount.convert’        ‘expr.merged.compile’           ‘parser.error’
     ‘amount.is_zero’        ‘filters.changed_value’         ‘pool.commodities’
     ‘amount.parse’          ‘filters.changed_value.rounding’‘post.assign’
     ‘amount.price’          ‘filters.collapse’              ‘python.init’
     ‘amount.refs’           ‘filters.forecast’              ‘python.interp’
     ‘amount.roundto’        ‘filters.interval’              ‘query.mask’
     ‘amount.truncate’       ‘filters.revalued’              ‘report.predicate’
     ‘amount.unround’        ‘format.abbrev’                 ‘scope.search’
     ‘annotate.less’         ‘format.expr’                   ‘scope.symbols’
     ‘archive.journal’       ‘generate.post’                 ‘select.parse’
     ‘auto.columns’          ‘generate.post.string’          ‘textual.include’
     ‘budget.generate’       ‘history.find’                  ‘textual.parse’
     ‘commodity.annotated.strip’‘history.map’                ‘timelog’
     ‘commodity.annotations’ ‘item.meta’                     ‘times.epoch’
     ‘commodity.compare’     ‘ledger.read’                   ‘times.interval’
     ‘commodity.download’    ‘ledger.validate’               ‘times.parse’
     ‘commodity.exchange’    ‘lookup’                        ‘value.sort’
     ‘commodity.price.find’  ‘lookup.account’                ‘value.storage.refcount’
     ‘commodity.prices.add’  ‘mask.match’                    ‘xact.extend’
     ‘commodity.prices.find’ ‘memory.debug’                  ‘xact.extend.cleared’
     ‘csv.mappings’          ‘op.memory’                     ‘xact.extend.fail’
     ‘csv.parse’             ‘option.args’                   ‘xact.finalize’
      

‘--trace INT’
     Enable tracing.  The INT specifies the level of trace desired:

     ‘LOG_OFF’              0
     ‘LOG_CRIT’             1
     ‘LOG_FATAL’            2
     ‘LOG_ASSERT’           3
     ‘LOG_ERROR’            4
     ‘LOG_VERIFY’           5
     ‘LOG_WARN’             6
     ‘LOG_INFO’             7
     ‘LOG_EXCEPT’           8
     ‘LOG_DEBUG’            9
     ‘LOG_TRACE’            10
     ‘LOG_ALL’              11
      

‘--verbose’
‘-v’
     Print detailed information on the execution of Ledger.

‘--verify’
     Enable additional assertions during run-time.  This causes a
     significant slowdown.  When combined with ‘--debug CODE’ ledger
     will produce memory trace information.

‘--verify-memory’
     Verify that every constructed object is properly destructed.  This
     is for debugging purposes only.

‘--version’
     Print version information and exit.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Pre-Commands,  Prev: Debug Options,  Up: Developer Commands

14.3.5 Pre-Commands
-------------------

Pre-commands are useful when you aren't sure how a command or option
will work.  The difference between a pre-command and a regular command
is that pre-commands ignore the journal data file completely, nor is the
user's init file read.

‘eval VEXPR’
     Evaluate the given value expression against the model transaction.

‘format FORMAT_STRING’
     Print details of how ledger uses the given formatting description
     and apply it against a model transaction.

‘generate’
     Randomly generates syntactically valid Ledger data from a seed.
     Used by the ‘GenerateTests’ harness for development testing.

‘parse VEXPR’
‘expr VEXPR’
     Print details of how ledger uses the given value expression
     description and apply it against a model transaction.

‘period PERIOD_EXPRESSION’
     Evaluate the given period and report how Ledger interprets it:

          $ ledger period "this year"  --now 2011-01-01
          --- Period expression tokens ---
          TOK_THIS: this
          TOK_YEAR: year
          END_REACHED: <EOF>

          --- Before stabilization ---
             range: in year 2011

          --- After stabilization ---
             range: in year 2011
             start: 11-Jan-01
            finish: 12-Jan-01

          --- Sample dates in range (max. 20) ---
           1: 11-Jan-01

‘query’
‘args’
     Evaluate the given arguments and report how Ledger interprets it
     against the following model transaction:

          $ ledger query "/Book/"
          --- Input arguments ---
          ("/Book/")

          --- Context is first posting of the following transaction ---
          2004/05/27 Book Store
              ; This note applies to all postings. :SecondTag:
              Expenses:Books                 20 BOOK @ $10
              ; Metadata: Some Value
              ; Typed:: $100 + $200
              ; :ExampleTag:
              ; Here follows a note describing the posting.
              Liabilities:MasterCard        $-200.00

          --- Input expression ---
          (account =~ /Book/)

          --- Text as parsed ---
          (account =~ /Book/)

          --- Expression tree ---
          0x7fd639c0da40    O_MATCH (1)
          0x7fd639c10170     IDENT: account (1)
          0x7fd639c10780     VALUE: /Book/ (1)

          --- Compiled tree ---
          0x7fd639c10520    O_MATCH (1)
          0x7fd639c0d6c0     IDENT: account (1)
          0x7fd639c0d680      FUNCTION (1)
          0x7fd639c10780     VALUE: /Book/ (1)

          --- Calculated value ---
          true

‘script’
     UNDOCUMENTED!  Please help by contributing documentation for this
     feature.

‘template’
     Shows the insertion template that the ‘xact’ sub-command generates.
     This is a debugging command.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Ledger Development Environment,  Prev: Developer Commands,  Up: Ledger for Developers

14.4 Ledger Development Environment
===================================

* Menu:

* acprep build configuration tool::
* Testing Framework::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: acprep build configuration tool,  Next: Testing Framework,  Prev: Ledger Development Environment,  Up: Ledger Development Environment

14.4.1 ‘acprep’ build configuration tool
----------------------------------------


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Testing Framework,  Prev: acprep build configuration tool,  Up: Ledger Development Environment

14.4.2 Testing Framework
------------------------

Ledger source ships with a fairly complete set of tests to verify that
all is well, and no old errors have resurfaced.  Tests are run
individually with ‘ctest’.  All tests can be run using ‘make check’ or
‘ninja check’ depending on which build tool you prefer.

   Once built, the ledger executable resides under the ‘build’
subdirectory in the source tree.  Tests are built and stored in the
‘test’ subdirectory for the build.  For example,
‘~/ledger/build/ledger/opt/test’.

* Menu:

* Running Tests::
* Writing Tests::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Running Tests,  Next: Writing Tests,  Prev: Testing Framework,  Up: Testing Framework

14.4.2.1 Running Tests
......................

The complete test suite can be run from the build directory using the
check option for the build tool you use.  For example, ‘make check’.
The entire test suit lasts around a minute for the optimized built and
many times longer for the debug version.  While developing and
debugging, running individual tests can save a great deal of time.

   Individual tests can be run from the ‘test’ subdirectory of the build
location.  To execute a single test use ‘ctest -V -R regex’, where the
regex matches the name of the test you want to build.

   There are nearly 300 tests stored under the ‘test’ subdirectory in
the main source distribution.  They are broken into two broad
categories, baseline and regression.  To run the ‘5FBF2ED8’ test, for
example, issue ‘ctest -V -R "5FB"’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Writing Tests,  Prev: Running Tests,  Up: Testing Framework

14.4.2.2 Writing Tests
......................

To write a new test first decide to which broad category the test
belongs: baseline or regression.  Depending on the category tests are
named differently baseline tests are prefixed with their type, e.g.
‘cmd’ (*note Baseline Test Types:: for valid types), whereas regressions
are either named after the bug id, e.g.  ‘1234.test’ or uuid
‘91416D62.test’.  In case several test files belong to the same bug
number the files by appending ‘_X’ where ‘X’ is the number of the test,
e.g.  ‘1234_1.test’, ‘1234_2.test’.

   Baseline Test Types:
‘cmd’
     Ledger commands like ‘register’ or ‘balance’
‘dir’
     Ledger directives like ‘account’ or ‘alias’
‘feat’
     Ledger features such as balance assertions in journal file
‘opt’
     Ledger options such as ‘--period’ or ‘--format’

   A ledger test file contains three sections:

  1. the journal data used for the test, this can be empty in certain
     scenarios
  2. the ledger command-line options used for the test
  3. the expected output

   Ledger has a special command directive for tests, everything between
‘test’ and ‘end test’ is treated like a comment, so every Ledger test is
automatically a valid Ledger file.  The test scripts take the remainder
of the ‘test’ line and use it as command-line arguments for ledger, the
text enclosed in ‘test’ and ‘end test’ is expected output, for example:

     ; This is the journal data
     year 2014
     12/24 (C0d3) Santa Claus
       Assets:Bank         ¤ -150,00
       Expenses:Presents

     ; The following line specifies the ledger command-line options for this test and
     ; everything between the next line and `end test` specifies the expected output
     test reg --payee=code
     14-Dec-24 C0d3                  Assets:Bank               ¤ -150,00    ¤ -150,00
     14-Dec-24 C0d3                  Expenses:Presents          ¤ 150,00            0
     end test

   When it is necessary to test for errors printed to ‘stderr’ redirect
the test output by adding ‘->’ to the ‘test’ line and match the expected
error text in an ‘__ERROR__’ section:

     2014/01/01 * Acme Corporation
       Assets:Bank:Checking      ¤  1.000,00
       [Fund:Vacation]           ¤    300,00
       [Fund:Studies]            ¤    600,00
       Income:Salary             ¤ -2.000,00

     test reg ->
     __ERROR__
     While parsing file "$FILE", line 5:
     While balancing transaction from "$FILE", lines 1-5:
     > 2014/01/01 * Acme Corporation
     >   Assets:Bank:Checking      ¤  1.000,00
     >   [Fund:Vacation]           ¤    300,00
     >   [Fund:Studies]            ¤    600,00
     >   Income:Salary             ¤ -2.000,00
     Unbalanced remainder is:
                ¤ -100,00
     Amount to balance against:
               ¤ 1.900,00
     Error: Transaction does not balance
     end test

   A special ‘$FILE’ variable can be used to match the journal filename
used during the test.

   To add new tests to the test suite use the rebuild_cache option for
the build tool you use, for example ‘make rebuild_cache’, now the new
tests can be run as documented in *note Running Tests::.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Major Changes from version 2.6,  Next: Example Journal File,  Prev: Ledger for Developers,  Up: Top

15 Major Changes from version 2.6
*********************************

The following have been removed from Ledger 3.0:

   • OFX support.

   • GnuCash file import.

   • The option ‘--performance (-g)’.

   • The balance report now defaults to showing all relevant accounts.
     This is the opposite of 2.x.  That is, ‘bal’ in 3.0 does what ‘-s
     bal’ did in 2.x.  To see 2.6 behavior, use ‘--collapse (-n)’ option
     in 3.0, like ‘bal -n’.  The ‘--subtotal (-s)’ option no longer has
     any effect on balance reports.

The following are deprecated in Ledger 3.0:

   • Single character value expressions are deprecated and should be
     changed to the new value expressions available in 3.0

   • The following environment variables have been renamed in Ledger
     3.0:
     ‘LEDGER’
          is now ‘LEDGER_FILE’,
     ‘LEDGER_INIT’
          is now ‘LEDGER_INIT_FILE’,
     ‘PRICE_HIST’
          is now ‘LEDGER_PRICE_DB’,
     ‘PRICE_EXP’
          is now ‘LEDGER_PRICE_EXP’.


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Example Journal File,  Next: Miscellaneous Notes,  Prev: Major Changes from version 2.6,  Up: Top

Appendix A Example Journal File
*******************************

The following journal file is included with the source distribution of
ledger.  It is called ‘drewr3.dat’ and exhibits many ledger features,
include automatic and virtual transactions,

     ; -*- ledger -*-

     = /^Income/
       (Liabilities:Tithe)                    0.12

     ;~ Monthly
     ;  Assets:Checking                     $500.00
     ;  Income:Salary

     ;~ Monthly
     ;   Expenses:Food  $100
     ;   Assets

     2010/12/01 * Checking balance
       Assets:Checking                   $1,000.00
       Equity:Opening Balances

     2010/12/20 * Organic Co-op
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 37.50  ; [=2011/01/01]
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 37.50  ; [=2011/02/01]
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 37.50  ; [=2011/03/01]
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 37.50  ; [=2011/04/01]
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 37.50  ; [=2011/05/01]
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 37.50  ; [=2011/06/01]
       Assets:Checking                   $ -225.00

     2010/12/28=2011/01/01 Acme Mortgage
       Liabilities:Mortgage:Principal    $  200.00
       Expenses:Interest:Mortgage        $  500.00
       Expenses:Escrow                   $  300.00
       Assets:Checking                  $ -1000.00

     2011/01/02 Grocery Store
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 65.00
       Assets:Checking

     2011/01/05 Employer
       Assets:Checking                   $ 2000.00
       Income:Salary

     2011/01/14 Bank
       ; Regular monthly savings transfer
       Assets:Savings                     $ 300.00
       Assets:Checking

     2011/01/19 Grocery Store
       Expenses:Food:Groceries             $ 44.00 ; hastag: not block
       Assets:Checking

     2011/01/25 Bank
       ; Transfer to cover car purchase
       Assets:Checking                  $ 5,500.00
       Assets:Savings
       ; :nobudget:

     apply tag hastag: true
     apply tag nestedtag: true
     2011/01/25 Tom's Used Cars
       Expenses:Auto                    $ 5,500.00
       ; :nobudget:
       Assets:Checking

     2011/01/27 Book Store
       Expenses:Books                       $20.00
       Liabilities:MasterCard
     end tag
     2011/12/01 Sale
       Assets:Checking:Business            $ 30.00
       Income:Sales
     end tag


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Miscellaneous Notes,  Next: Concepts Index,  Prev: Example Journal File,  Up: Top

Appendix B Miscellaneous Notes
******************************

Various notes from the discussion list that I haven't incorporated in to
the main body of the documentation.

* Menu:

* Cookbook::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Cookbook,  Prev: Miscellaneous Notes,  Up: Miscellaneous Notes

B.1 Cookbook
============

* Menu:

* Invoking Ledger::
* Ledger Files::


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Invoking Ledger,  Next: Ledger Files,  Prev: Cookbook,  Up: Cookbook

B.1.1 Invoking Ledger
---------------------

     $ ledger --group-by "tag('trip')" bal
     $ ledger cleared VWCU NFCU Tithe Misentry
     $ ledger register Joint --uncleared
     $ ledger register Checking --sort d -d 'd>[2011/04/01]' until 2011/05/25


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Ledger Files,  Prev: Invoking Ledger,  Up: Cookbook

B.1.2 Ledger Files
------------------

     = /^Income:Taxable/
       (Liabilities:Tithe Owed)    -0.1
     = /Noah/
       (Liabilities:Tithe Owed)    -0.1
     = /Jonah/
       (Liabilities:Tithe Owed)    -0.1
     = /Tithe/
       (Liabilities:Tithe Owed)    -1.0


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Concepts Index,  Next: Commands & Options Index,  Prev: Miscellaneous Notes,  Up: Top

Concepts Index
**************

[index]
* Menu:

* account, alias:                        Command Directives.  (line 103)
* account, meaning of:                   Fat-free Accounting. (line  77)
* accounts, limiting by:                 Register Report.     (line  47)
* accounts, naming:                      Structuring your Accounts.
                                                              (line   6)
* adorned commodity:                     Commodity reporting. (line 158)
* amounts:                               Specifying Amounts.  (line   6)
* assertions:                            Command Directives.  (line 142)
* assertions <1>:                        Command Directives.  (line 182)
* assets and liabilities:                Assets and Liabilities.
                                                              (line   6)
* automated transaction:                 Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  47)
* balance report:                        Balance Report.      (line   6)
* beginning ledger:                      Starting up.         (line   6)
* block comments:                        Commenting on your Journal.
                                                              (line   6)
* bucket:                                Command Directives.  (line 148)
* buying stock:                          Buying and Selling Stock.
                                                              (line   6)
* cleared report:                        Cleared Report.      (line   6)
* comma separated variable file reading: The convert command. (line   6)
* comments:                              Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  64)
* comments <1>:                          Command Directives.  (line 188)
* comments <2>:                          Command Directives.  (line 338)
* comments, block:                       Commenting on your Journal.
                                                              (line   6)
* comments, characters:                  Commenting on your Journal.
                                                              (line   6)
* commodity:                             Currency and Commodities.
                                                              (line   6)
* consumable commodity pricing:          Fixing Lot Prices.   (line   6)
* credits and debits:                    Stating where money goes.
                                                              (line   6)
* csv exporting:                         Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  15)
* csv importing:                         Converting from other formats.
                                                              (line   6)
* csv importing <1>:                     The convert command. (line   6)
* currency:                              Currency and Commodities.
                                                              (line   6)
* currency symbol display on windows:    Using the Windows Command-Line.
                                                              (line   6)
* debts are liabilities:                 Assets and Liabilities.
                                                              (line   6)
* depth_spacer:                          Asset Allocation.    (line 108)
* display_total:                         Asset Allocation.    (line 108)
* double-entry accounting:               Accounting with Ledger.
                                                              (line   6)
* effective date of invoice:             Effective Dates.     (line  14)
* effective dates:                       Effective Dates.     (line   6)
* Euro conversion:                       Commodity reporting. (line  94)
* FIFO/LIFO:                             Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* fixated prices:                        Command Directives.  (line  75)
* fixing lot prices:                     Fixing Lot Prices.   (line   6)
* Gnuplot:                               Visualizing with Gnuplot.
                                                              (line   6)
* historical prices:                     Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  40)
* income is negative:                    Stating where money goes.
                                                              (line  25)
* initial equity:                        Starting up.         (line   6)
* journals:                              Start a Journal File.
                                                              (line   6)
* LIFO/FIFO:                             Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* limit by payees:                       Controlling the Accounts and Payees.
                                                              (line  73)
* limiting by accounts:                  Register Report.     (line  47)
* meaning of account:                    Fat-free Accounting. (line  77)
* naming accounts:                       Structuring your Accounts.
                                                              (line   6)
* opening balance:                       Starting up.         (line   6)
* parent.total:                          Asset Allocation.    (line 108)
* Payee metadata:                        Payee metadata.      (line   6)
* periodic transaction:                  Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  57)
* plotting:                              Visualizing with Gnuplot.
                                                              (line   6)
* posting format details:                The Most Basic Entry.
                                                              (line  30)
* postings:                              Fat-free Accounting. (line  27)
* pre-commands:                          Pre-Commands.        (line   6)
* pre-declare account:                   Command Directives.  (line  11)
* pre-declare commodity:                 Command Directives.  (line 191)
* pre-declare tag:                       Command Directives.  (line 316)
* register report:                       Register Report.     (line   6)
* reimbursable expense tracking:         Tracking reimbursable expenses.
                                                              (line   6)
* spaces in postings:                    The Most Basic Entry.
                                                              (line  30)
* tags:                                  Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  69)
* transaction, automated:                Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  47)
* transaction, periodic:                 Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  57)
* tutorial:                              Ledger Tutorial.     (line   6)
* uncommoditized amounts:                Integer Amounts.     (line  12)
* why is income negative:                Stating where money goes.
                                                              (line  25)
* windows cmd.exe:                       Using the Windows Command-Line.
                                                              (line   6)


File: ledger3.info,  Node: Commands & Options Index,  Prev: Concepts Index,  Up: Top

Commands & Options Index
************************

[index]
* Menu:

* --abbrev-len INT:                      Report Options.      (line  13)
* --account STR:                         The convert command. (line  74)
* --account STR <1>:                     Basic Options.       (line  28)
* --account STR <2>:                     Report Options.      (line  21)
* --account STR <3>:                     Basic options.       (line  46)
* --account-width INT:                   Report Options.      (line  26)
* --actual:                              Report Filtering.    (line  41)
* --actual <1>:                          Report Options.      (line  30)
* --actual <2>:                          Report filtering.    (line  59)
* --actual-dates:                        Report Options.      (line 582)
* --add-budget:                          Report Filtering.    (line  52)
* --add-budget <1>:                      Report Options.      (line  35)
* --add-budget <2>:                      Budgeting.           (line   6)
* --amount EXPR:                         Report Filtering.    (line  66)
* --amount EXPR <1>:                     Report Options.      (line  38)
* --amount EXPR <2>:                     Report filtering.    (line  99)
* --amount EXPR <3>:                     Variables.           (line   6)
* --amount EXPR <4>:                     Format Expressions.  (line   6)
* --amount-data:                         Visualizing with Gnuplot.
                                                              (line   6)
* --amount-data <1>:                     The register command.
                                                              (line   6)
* --amount-data <2>:                     Output Customization.
                                                              (line  71)
* --amount-data <3>:                     Report Options.      (line  44)
* --amount-data <4>:                     Output customization.
                                                              (line 100)
* --amount-width INT:                    Report Options.      (line  49)
* --anon:                                Output Customization.
                                                              (line 102)
* --anon <1>:                            Report Options.      (line  53)
* --ansi:                                Report Options.      (line 169)
* --args-only:                           Global Options.      (line  13)
* --args-only <1>:                       Debug Options.       (line   9)
* --auto-match:                          The convert command. (line  74)
* --auto-match <1>:                      Report Options.      (line  56)
* --aux-date:                            Auxiliary dates.     (line   6)
* --aux-date <1>:                        Report Options.      (line  61)
* --average:                             prices and pricedb commands.
                                                              (line   6)
* --average <1>:                         Output Customization.
                                                              (line  56)
* --average <2>:                         Report Options.      (line  66)
* --average <3>:                         Output customization.
                                                              (line  86)
* --average-lot-prices:                  Report Options.      (line  71)
* --balance-format FORMAT_STRING:        Output Customization.
                                                              (line  96)
* --balance-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:    Report Options.      (line  75)
* --balance-format FORMAT_STRING <2>:    Output customization.
                                                              (line 149)
* --balance-format FORMAT_STRING <3>:    Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --balance-format FORMAT_STRING <4>:    Balance format.      (line   6)
* --base:                                Report Options.      (line  85)
* --basis:                               Commodity Reporting. (line  22)
* --basis <1>:                           Report Options.      (line  90)
* --basis <2>:                           Commodity reporting. (line  55)
* --basis <3>:                           Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* --basis <4>:                           Primary commodities. (line   6)
* --begin DATE:                          Report Filtering.    (line  10)
* --begin DATE <1>:                      Report Options.      (line  95)
* --begin DATE <2>:                      Report filtering.    (line  13)
* --bold-if VEXPR:                       Report Options.      (line  99)
* --budget:                              Periodic Transactions.
                                                              (line   6)
* --budget <1>:                          Report Filtering.    (line  49)
* --budget <2>:                          Report Options.      (line 108)
* --budget <3>:                          Report filtering.    (line  88)
* --budget <4>:                          Budgeting.           (line   6)
* --budget-format FORMAT_STRING:         Report Options.      (line 113)
* --budget-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:     Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --by-payee:                            Working with multiple funds and accounts.
                                                              (line 112)
* --by-payee <1>:                        Payee metadata.      (line   6)
* --by-payee <2>:                        Output Customization.
                                                              (line  14)
* --by-payee <3>:                        Grouping Options.    (line   6)
* --by-payee <4>:                        Report Options.      (line 137)
* --by-payee <5>:                        Output customization.
                                                              (line  19)
* --change:                              Report Options.      (line 379)
* --check-payees:                        Error Checking and Calculation Options.
                                                              (line  14)
* --check-payees <1>:                    Session Options.     (line  13)
* --cleared:                             Transaction state.   (line   6)
* --cleared <1>:                         Report Filtering.    (line  26)
* --cleared <2>:                         Report Options.      (line 141)
* --cleared <3>:                         Report filtering.    (line  43)
* --cleared-format FORMAT_STRING:        Report Options.      (line 146)
* --cleared-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:    Output customization.
                                                              (line 165)
* --cleared-format FORMAT_STRING <2>:    Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --collapse:                            Output Customization.
                                                              (line   6)
* --collapse <1>:                        Report Options.      (line 160)
* --collapse <2>:                        Output customization.
                                                              (line   9)
* --collapse-if-zero:                    Report Options.      (line 165)
* --color:                               Report Options.      (line 168)
* --columns INT:                         Report Options.      (line 172)
* --cost:                                Report Options.      (line  92)
* --count:                               Reports about your Journals.
                                                              (line   6)
* --count <1>:                           Report Options.      (line 175)
* --csv-format FORMAT_STRING:            Report Options.      (line 179)
* --csv-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:        Output customization.
                                                              (line 214)
* --csv-format FORMAT_STRING <2>:        Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --current:                             Report Filtering.    (line   6)
* --current <1>:                         Report Options.      (line 192)
* --current <2>:                         Report filtering.    (line   9)
* --daily:                               Grouping Options.    (line  10)
* --daily <1>:                           Report Options.      (line 195)
* --date EXPR:                           Report Options.      (line 199)
* --date-format DATE_FORMAT:             Output Customization.
                                                              (line  91)
* --date-format DATE_FORMAT <1>:         Report Options.      (line 202)
* --date-format DATE_FORMAT <2>:         Output customization.
                                                              (line 135)
* --date-width INT:                      Report Options.      (line 207)
* --datetime-format DATETIME_FORMAT:     Report Options.      (line 211)
* --day-break:                           Session Options.     (line  18)
* --day-break <1>:                       Time Keeping.        (line   6)
* --days-of-week:                        Report Options.      (line 287)
* --dc:                                  Report Filtering.    (line  30)
* --dc <1>:                              Report Options.      (line 214)
* --debug CODE:                          Global Options.      (line  19)
* --debug CODE <1>:                      Debug Options.       (line  12)
* --decimal-comma:                       Session Options.     (line  22)
* --depth INT:                           Report Options.      (line 262)
* --detail:                              Report Options.      (line 627)
* --deviation:                           Output Customization.
                                                              (line  60)
* --deviation <1>:                       Report Options.      (line 271)
* --deviation <2>:                       Output customization.
                                                              (line  90)
* --display EXPR:                        Reporting monthly expenses.
                                                              (line   6)
* --display EXPR <1>:                    Visualizing with Gnuplot.
                                                              (line   6)
* --display EXPR <2>:                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  87)
* --display EXPR <3>:                    Report Options.      (line 275)
* --display EXPR <4>:                    Output customization.
                                                              (line 113)
* --display EXPR <5>:                    Value Expressions.   (line   6)
* --display-amount EXPR:                 Report Options.      (line 278)
* --display-total EXPR:                  Report Options.      (line 282)
* --dow:                                 Output Customization.
                                                              (line  33)
* --dow <1>:                             Grouping Options.    (line  29)
* --dow <2>:                             Report Options.      (line 286)
* --dow <3>:                             Output customization.
                                                              (line  46)
* --download:                            Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  40)
* --download <1>:                        Commodity Reporting. (line  14)
* --download <2>:                        Session Options.     (line  26)
* --download <3>:                        Commodity reporting. (line  35)
* --effective:                           Effective Dates.     (line   6)
* --effective <1>:                       Report Options.      (line  62)
* --empty:                               Balancing transactions.
                                                              (line   6)
* --empty <1>:                           Output Customization.
                                                              (line  18)
* --empty <2>:                           Report Options.      (line 294)
* --empty <3>:                           Output customization.
                                                              (line  23)
* --end DATE:                            Report Filtering.    (line  14)
* --end DATE <1>:                        Report Options.      (line 298)
* --end DATE <2>:                        Report filtering.    (line  21)
* --equity:                              Report Options.      (line 302)
* --exact:                               Report Options.      (line 306)
* --exchange "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]": Complete control over commodity pricing.
                                                              (line   6)
* --exchange "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]" <1>: Primary and secondary commodities.
                                                              (line   6)
* --exchange "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]" <2>: Report Options.
                                                              (line 310)
* --exchange "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]" <3>: Commodity reporting.
                                                              (line  76)
* --exchange "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]" <4>: Commodity reporting.
                                                              (line 152)
* --file FILE:                           Basic Options.       (line  13)
* --file FILE <1>:                       Session Options.     (line  30)
* --file FILE <2>:                       Basic options.       (line  19)
* --first INT:                           Report Options.      (line 409)
* --flat:                                Report Options.      (line 355)
* --force-color:                         Report Options.      (line 359)
* --force-pager:                         Report Options.      (line 363)
* --forecast VEXPR:                      Report Filtering.    (line  59)
* --forecast VEXPR <1>:                  Report Options.      (line 367)
* --forecast VEXPR <2>:                  Forecasting.         (line   6)
* --forecast-while VEXPR:                Report Filtering.    (line  58)
* --forecast-while VEXPR <1>:            Report Options.      (line 366)
* --forecast-years INT:                  Report Options.      (line 370)
* --format FORMAT_STRING:                Output Customization.
                                                              (line  95)
* --format FORMAT_STRING <1>:            Report Options.      (line 373)
* --format FORMAT_STRING <2>:            Output customization.
                                                              (line 143)
* --format FORMAT_STRING <3>:            Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --format FORMAT_STRING <4>:            Balance format.      (line   6)
* --gain:                                Commodity Reporting. (line  30)
* --gain <1>:                            Report Options.      (line 377)
* --gain <2>:                            Commodity reporting. (line  63)
* --generated:                           Report Options.      (line 382)
* --group-by EXPR:                       Report Options.      (line 387)
* --group-title-format FORMAT_STRING:    Report Options.      (line 392)
* --head INT:                            Output Customization.
                                                              (line  44)
* --head INT <1>:                        Report Options.      (line 408)
* --head INT <2>:                        Output customization.
                                                              (line  67)
* --help:                                Basic Options.       (line   6)
* --help <1>:                            Global Options.      (line  24)
* --help <2>:                            Basic options.       (line  10)
* --historical:                          Report Options.      (line 412)
* --historical <1>:                      Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* --immediate:                           Error Checking and Calculation Options.
                                                              (line  19)
* --immediate <1>:                       Report Options.      (line 416)
* --import FILE:                         Basic Options.       (line  25)
* --init-file FILE:                      Basic Options.       (line  21)
* --init-file FILE <1>:                  Global Options.      (line  28)
* --init-file FILE <2>:                  Basic options.       (line  31)
* --inject:                              Report Options.      (line 419)
* --input-date-format DATE_FORMAT:       The convert command. (line   6)
* --input-date-format DATE_FORMAT <1>:   Session Options.     (line  34)
* --invert:                              The convert command. (line  74)
* --invert <1>:                          Report Options.      (line 431)
* --last INT:                            Report Options.      (line 660)
* --leeway INT:                          Commodity Reporting. (line  10)
* --leeway INT <1>:                      Session Options.     (line  81)
* --leeway INT <2>:                      Commodity reporting. (line  27)
* --limit EXPR:                          Controlling the Accounts and Payees.
                                                              (line  73)
* --limit EXPR <1>:                      Visualizing with Gnuplot.
                                                              (line   6)
* --limit EXPR <2>:                      Report Filtering.    (line  62)
* --limit EXPR <3>:                      Report Options.      (line 434)
* --limit EXPR <4>:                      Report filtering.    (line  95)
* --limit EXPR <5>:                      Value Expressions.   (line   6)
* --lot-dates:                           Lot dates.           (line   6)
* --lot-dates <1>:                       Report Options.      (line 439)
* --lot-notes:                           Lot notes.           (line   6)
* --lot-notes <1>:                       Report Options.      (line 443)
* --lot-prices:                          Commodity prices.    (line   6)
* --lot-prices <1>:                      Report Options.      (line 447)
* --lot-prices <2>:                      Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* --lot-prices <3>:                      Commodity reporting. (line 158)
* --lot-tags:                            Report Options.      (line 444)
* --lots:                                Lot notes.           (line   6)
* --lots <1>:                            Report Options.      (line 451)
* --lots <2>:                            Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* --lots-actual:                         Report Options.      (line 455)
* --market:                              Commodities and Currencies.
                                                              (line  53)
* --market <1>:                          Complete control over commodity pricing.
                                                              (line   6)
* --market <2>:                          Primary and secondary commodities.
                                                              (line   6)
* --market <3>:                          Commodity Reporting. (line  26)
* --market <4>:                          Report Options.      (line 459)
* --market <5>:                          Commodity reporting. (line  59)
* --market <6>:                          Commodity reporting. (line  76)
* --market <7>:                          Primary commodities. (line   6)
* --master-account STR:                  Session Options.     (line  43)
* --meta TAG:                            Report Options.      (line 463)
* --meta-width INT:                      Report Options.      (line 467)
* --monthly:                             Reporting monthly expenses.
                                                              (line   6)
* --monthly <1>:                         Generating a monthly register.
                                                              (line   6)
* --monthly <2>:                         Grouping Options.    (line  18)
* --monthly <3>:                         Report Options.      (line 471)
* --monthly <4>:                         Output customization.
                                                              (line  34)
* --monthly <5>:                         Budgeting.           (line   6)
* --no-aliases:                          Session Options.     (line  67)
* --no-aliases <1>:                      Report Options.      (line 475)
* --no-color:                            Report Options.      (line 478)
* --no-pager:                            Output Customization.
                                                              (line  53)
* --no-pager <1>:                        Report Options.      (line 481)
* --no-pager <2>:                        Output customization.
                                                              (line  82)
* --no-revalued:                         Report Options.      (line 484)
* --no-rounding:                         Report Options.      (line 488)
* --no-titles:                           Report Options.      (line 493)
* --no-total:                            Report Options.      (line 496)
* --now DATE:                            Report Options.      (line 499)
* --now DATE <1>:                        Commodity reporting. (line  76)
* --now DATE <2>:                        Date Functions.      (line   6)
* --only FIXME:                          Report Options.      (line 503)
* --options:                             Global Options.      (line  33)
* --output FILE:                         Basic Options.       (line  17)
* --output FILE <1>:                     Report Options.      (line 507)
* --output FILE <2>:                     Basic options.       (line  26)
* --pager FILE:                          Output Customization.
                                                              (line  50)
* --pager FILE <1>:                      Report Options.      (line 510)
* --pager FILE <2>:                      Output customization.
                                                              (line  76)
* --payee VEXPR:                         Report Options.      (line 513)
* --payee-width INT:                     Report Options.      (line 518)
* --payee=code:                          Working with multiple funds and accounts.
                                                              (line 112)
* --pedantic:                            Command Directives.  (line   6)
* --pedantic <1>:                        Error Checking and Calculation Options.
                                                              (line  10)
* --pedantic <2>:                        Session Options.     (line  70)
* --pending:                             Transaction state.   (line   6)
* --pending <1>:                         Report Options.      (line 522)
* --percent:                             Output Customization.
                                                              (line  64)
* --percent <1>:                         Report Options.      (line 525)
* --percent <2>:                         Output customization.
                                                              (line  95)
* --period PERIOD_EXPRESSION:            Report Filtering.    (line  18)
* --period PERIOD_EXPRESSION <1>:        Report Options.      (line 530)
* --period PERIOD_EXPRESSION <2>:        Report filtering.    (line  26)
* --period PERIOD_EXPRESSION <3>:        Output customization.
                                                              (line  43)
* --period-sort VEXPR:                   Reporting monthly expenses.
                                                              (line   6)
* --period-sort VEXPR <1>:               Report Filtering.    (line  23)
* --period-sort VEXPR <2>:               Report Options.      (line 645)
* --period-sort VEXPR <3>:               Report filtering.    (line  35)
* --permissive:                          Balance verification.
                                                              (line   6)
* --permissive <1>:                      Session Options.     (line  74)
* --pivot TAG:                           Output Customization.
                                                              (line  68)
* --pivot TAG <1>:                       Report Options.      (line 537)
* --pivot TAG <2>:                       Output customization.
                                                              (line  58)
* --plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING:    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  76)
* --plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING <1>: Report Options.     (line 556)
* --plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING <2>: Output customization.
                                                              (line 226)
* --plot-amount-format FORMAT_STRING <3>: Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING:     Output Customization.
                                                              (line  84)
* --plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING <1>: Report Options.      (line 560)
* --plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING <2>: Output customization.
                                                              (line 232)
* --plot-total-format FORMAT_STRING <3>: Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --prepend-format FORMAT_STRING:        Report Options.      (line 564)
* --prepend-width INT:                   Report Options.      (line 567)
* --price:                               Report Options.      (line 570)
* --price <1>:                           Commodity reporting. (line 152)
* --price-db FILE:                       Commodities and Currencies.
                                                              (line  53)
* --price-db FILE <1>:                   Commodity Reporting. (line   6)
* --price-db FILE <2>:                   Session Options.     (line  77)
* --price-db FILE <3>:                   Commodity reporting. (line   8)
* --price-exp INT:                       Commodity Reporting. (line   9)
* --price-exp INT <1>:                   Session Options.     (line  80)
* --price-exp INT <2>:                   Commodity reporting. (line  26)
* --pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING:        Report Options.      (line 575)
* --pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:    Output customization.
                                                              (line 238)
* --pricedb-format FORMAT_STRING <2>:    Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --prices-format FORMAT_STRING:         Output Customization.
                                                              (line  98)
* --prices-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:     Report Options.      (line 578)
* --prices-format FORMAT_STRING <2>:     Output customization.
                                                              (line 244)
* --prices-format FORMAT_STRING <3>:     Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --primary-date:                        Report Options.      (line 581)
* --quantity:                            Commodity Reporting. (line  18)
* --quantity <1>:                        Report Options.      (line 585)
* --quantity <2>:                        Commodity reporting. (line  51)
* --quarterly:                           Output Customization.
                                                              (line  26)
* --quarterly <1>:                       Grouping Options.    (line  22)
* --quarterly <2>:                       Report Options.      (line 589)
* --raw:                                 Report Options.      (line 592)
* --real:                                Working with multiple funds and accounts.
                                                              (line  72)
* --real <1>:                            Virtual postings.    (line   6)
* --real <2>:                            Report Filtering.    (line  37)
* --real <3>:                            Report Options.      (line 598)
* --real <4>:                            Report filtering.    (line  53)
* --recursive-aliases:                   Session Options.     (line  98)
* --register-format FORMAT_STRING:       Output Customization.
                                                              (line  97)
* --register-format FORMAT_STRING <1>:   Report Options.      (line 603)
* --register-format FORMAT_STRING <2>:   Output customization.
                                                              (line 178)
* --register-format FORMAT_STRING <3>:   Format String Basics.
                                                              (line   6)
* --related:                             Reporting monthly expenses.
                                                              (line   6)
* --related <1>:                         Report Filtering.    (line  45)
* --related <2>:                         Report Options.      (line 606)
* --related <3>:                         Report filtering.    (line  64)
* --related-all:                         Report Options.      (line 610)
* --revalued:                            Report Options.      (line 614)
* --revalued-only:                       Report Options.      (line 619)
* --revalued-total FIXME:                Report Options.      (line 622)
* --rich-data:                           The convert command. (line  74)
* --rich-data <1>:                       Report Options.      (line 626)
* --script FILE:                         Global Options.      (line  64)
* --seed INT:                            Report Options.      (line 631)
* --sort VEXPR:                          Output Customization.
                                                              (line  36)
* --sort VEXPR <1>:                      Report Options.      (line 635)
* --sort VEXPR <2>:                      Output customization.
                                                              (line  50)
* --sort-all FIXME:                      Report Options.      (line 640)
* --sort-xacts VEXPR:                    Report Options.      (line 644)
* --start-of-week INT:                   Report Options.      (line 649)
* --strict:                              Keeping it Consistent.
                                                              (line   6)
* --strict <1>:                          Command Directives.  (line   6)
* --strict <2>:                          Error Checking and Calculation Options.
                                                              (line   6)
* --strict <3>:                          Session Options.     (line  89)
* --subtotal:                            Reporting monthly expenses.
                                                              (line   6)
* --subtotal <1>:                        An overall balance summary.
                                                              (line   6)
* --subtotal <2>:                        Output Customization.
                                                              (line  10)
* --subtotal <3>:                        Grouping Options.    (line  32)
* --subtotal <4>:                        Report Options.      (line 654)
* --subtotal <5>:                        Output customization.
                                                              (line  14)
* --tail INT:                            Output Customization.
                                                              (line  47)
* --tail INT <1>:                        Report Options.      (line 659)
* --time-colon:                          Session Options.     (line 103)
* --time-report:                         Report Options.      (line 664)
* --total VEXPR:                         Report Filtering.    (line  70)
* --total VEXPR <1>:                     Report Options.      (line 668)
* --total VEXPR <2>:                     Report filtering.    (line 106)
* --total VEXPR <3>:                     Variables.           (line   6)
* --total VEXPR <4>:                     Format Expressions.  (line   6)
* --total-data:                          Visualizing with Gnuplot.
                                                              (line   6)
* --total-data <1>:                      The register command.
                                                              (line   6)
* --total-data <2>:                      Output Customization.
                                                              (line  79)
* --total-data <3>:                      Report Options.      (line 672)
* --total-data <4>:                      Output customization.
                                                              (line 108)
* --total-width INT:                     Report Options.      (line 676)
* --trace INT:                           Global Options.      (line  67)
* --trace INT <1>:                       Debug Options.       (line  45)
* --truncate CODE:                       Report Options.      (line 679)
* --unbudgeted:                          Report Filtering.    (line  55)
* --unbudgeted <1>:                      Report Options.      (line 686)
* --unbudgeted <2>:                      Budgeting.           (line   6)
* --uncleared:                           Transaction state.   (line   6)
* --uncleared <1>:                       Report Filtering.    (line  33)
* --uncleared <2>:                       Report Options.      (line 689)
* --uncleared <3>:                       Report filtering.    (line  48)
* --unrealized:                          Report Options.      (line 693)
* --unrealized-gains STR:                Report Options.      (line 697)
* --unrealized-losses STR:               Report Options.      (line 702)
* --unround:                             Report Options.      (line 707)
* --value-expr VEXPR:                    Session Options.     (line 111)
* --values:                              tags.                (line   6)
* --values <1>:                          Report Options.      (line 711)
* --verbose:                             Global Options.      (line  70)
* --verbose <1>:                         Debug Options.       (line  62)
* --verify:                              Global Options.      (line  74)
* --verify <1>:                          Debug Options.       (line  66)
* --verify-memory:                       Global Options.      (line  79)
* --verify-memory <1>:                   Debug Options.       (line  71)
* --version:                             Basic Options.       (line  10)
* --version <1>:                         Global Options.      (line  83)
* --version <2>:                         Basic options.       (line  14)
* --version <3>:                         Debug Options.       (line  75)
* --weekly:                              Output Customization.
                                                              (line  22)
* --weekly <1>:                          Grouping Options.    (line  14)
* --weekly <2>:                          Report Options.      (line 715)
* --weekly <3>:                          Output customization.
                                                              (line  27)
* --wide:                                Output Customization.
                                                              (line  40)
* --wide <1>:                            Report Options.      (line 719)
* --wide <2>:                            Output customization.
                                                              (line  62)
* --yearly:                              Output Customization.
                                                              (line  29)
* --yearly <1>:                          Grouping Options.    (line  25)
* --yearly <2>:                          Report Options.      (line 723)
* --yearly <3>:                          Output customization.
                                                              (line  38)
* -%:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  65)
* -% <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 526)
* -% <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  96)
* -A:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  57)
* -A <1>:                                Report Options.      (line  67)
* -A <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  87)
* -a STR:                                Basic Options.       (line  29)
* -a STR <1>:                            Basic options.       (line  47)
* -B:                                    Commodity Reporting. (line  23)
* -B <1>:                                Report Options.      (line  91)
* -B <2>:                                Commodity reporting. (line  56)
* -b DATE:                               Report Filtering.    (line  11)
* -b DATE <1>:                           Report filtering.    (line  14)
* -c:                                    Report Filtering.    (line   7)
* -C:                                    Report Filtering.    (line  27)
* -C <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 142)
* -c <1>:                                Report filtering.    (line  10)
* -C <2>:                                Report filtering.    (line  44)
* -D:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  61)
* -D <1>:                                Grouping Options.    (line  11)
* -D <2>:                                Report Options.      (line 196)
* -D <3>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  91)
* -d EXPR:                               Output Customization.
                                                              (line  88)
* -d EXPR <1>:                           Output customization.
                                                              (line 114)
* -E:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  19)
* -E <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 295)
* -E <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  24)
* -e DATE:                               Report Filtering.    (line  15)
* -e DATE <1>:                           Report filtering.    (line  22)
* -f FILE:                               Basic Options.       (line  14)
* -f FILE <1>:                           Session Options.     (line  31)
* -f FILE <2>:                           Basic options.       (line  20)
* -F FORMAT_STRING:                      Output Customization.
                                                              (line  99)
* -F FORMAT_STRING <1>:                  Report Options.      (line 374)
* -F FORMAT_STRING <2>:                  Output customization.
                                                              (line 144)
* -G:                                    Commodity Reporting. (line  31)
* -G <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 378)
* -G <2>:                                Commodity reporting. (line  64)
* -h:                                    Basic Options.       (line   7)
* -h <1>:                                Global Options.      (line  25)
* -H:                                    Report Options.      (line 413)
* -h <2>:                                Basic options.       (line  11)
* -I:                                    Report Options.      (line 571)
* -i FILE:                               Basic Options.       (line  22)
* -i FILE <1>:                           Basic options.       (line  32)
* -j:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  72)
* -J:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  80)
* -j <1>:                                Report Options.      (line  45)
* -J <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 673)
* -j <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line 101)
* -J <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line 109)
* -L:                                    Report Filtering.    (line  42)
* -L <1>:                                Report Options.      (line  31)
* -L <2>:                                Report filtering.    (line  60)
* -l EXPR:                               Report Filtering.    (line  63)
* -l EXPR <1>:                           Report Options.      (line 435)
* -l EXPR <2>:                           Report filtering.    (line  96)
* -M:                                    Grouping Options.    (line  19)
* -M <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 472)
* -M <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  35)
* -n:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line   7)
* -n <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 161)
* -n <2>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  10)
* -O:                                    Commodity Reporting. (line  19)
* -O <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 586)
* -O <2>:                                Commodity reporting. (line  52)
* -o FILE:                               Basic Options.       (line  18)
* -o FILE <1>:                           Basic options.       (line  27)
* -P:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  15)
* -P <1>:                                Grouping Options.    (line   7)
* -P <2>:                                Report Options.      (line 138)
* -P <3>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  20)
* -p PERIOD_EXPRESSION:                  Report Filtering.    (line  19)
* -p PERIOD_EXPRESSION <1>:              Report filtering.    (line  27)
* -Q:                                    Commodity Reporting. (line  15)
* -Q <1>:                                Session Options.     (line  27)
* -Q <2>:                                Commodity reporting. (line  36)
* -R:                                    Report Filtering.    (line  38)
* -r:                                    Report Filtering.    (line  46)
* -R <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 599)
* -R <2>:                                Report filtering.    (line  54)
* -r <1>:                                Report filtering.    (line  65)
* -s:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  11)
* -s <1>:                                Grouping Options.    (line  33)
* -s <2>:                                Report Options.      (line 655)
* -s <3>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  15)
* -S VEXPR:                              Output Customization.
                                                              (line  37)
* -S VEXPR <1>:                          Report Options.      (line 636)
* -S VEXPR <2>:                          Output customization.
                                                              (line  51)
* -t EXPR:                               Report Filtering.    (line  67)
* -t EXPR <1>:                           Report Options.      (line  39)
* -t EXPR <2>:                           Report filtering.    (line 100)
* -T VEXPR:                              Report Filtering.    (line  71)
* -T VEXPR <1>:                          Report Options.      (line 669)
* -T VEXPR <2>:                          Report filtering.    (line 107)
* -U:                                    Report Filtering.    (line  34)
* -U <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 690)
* -U <2>:                                Report filtering.    (line  49)
* -V:                                    Commodity Reporting. (line  27)
* -v:                                    Global Options.      (line  71)
* -V <1>:                                Report Options.      (line 460)
* -V <2>:                                Commodity reporting. (line  60)
* -v <1>:                                Debug Options.       (line  63)
* -W:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  23)
* -w:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  41)
* -W <1>:                                Grouping Options.    (line  15)
* -W <2>:                                Report Options.      (line 716)
* -W <3>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  28)
* -w <1>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  63)
* -X "COMMODITY [, COMMODITY, ...]":     Report Options.      (line 311)
* -Y:                                    Output Customization.
                                                              (line  30)
* -Y <1>:                                Grouping Options.    (line  26)
* -Y <2>:                                Report Options.      (line 724)
* -Y <3>:                                Output customization.
                                                              (line  39)
* -y DATE_FORMAT:                        Output Customization.
                                                              (line  92)
* -y DATE_FORMAT <1>:                    Report Options.      (line 203)
* -y DATE_FORMAT <2>:                    Output customization.
                                                              (line 136)
* -Z INT:                                Commodity Reporting. (line  11)
* -Z INT <1>:                            Session Options.     (line  82)
* -Z INT <2>:                            Commodity reporting. (line  28)
* =:                                     Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  47)
* ~:                                     Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  57)
* A:                                     Command Directives.  (line 351)
* abs:                                   Miscellaneous.       (line  13)
* account:                               Command Directives.  (line  11)
* accounts:                              Keeping it Consistent.
                                                              (line   6)
* accounts <1>:                          accounts.            (line   6)
* alias:                                 Command Directives.  (line 103)
* amount_expr:                           Miscellaneous.       (line  19)
* ansify_if:                             Miscellaneous.       (line  23)
* apply account:                         Command Directives.  (line  56)
* apply tag:                             Command Directives.  (line 272)
* args:                                  Pre-Commands.        (line  48)
* assert:                                Command Directives.  (line 142)
* b:                                     Command Directives.  (line 385)
* bal:                                   Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line   7)
* balance:                               Balance Report.      (line   6)
* balance <1>:                           The balance command. (line   6)
* balance <2>:                           Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line   6)
* bucket:                                Command Directives.  (line 148)
* bucket <1>:                            Command Directives.  (line 351)
* C:                                     Commodity equivalences.
                                                              (line  31)
* C <1>:                                 Command Directives.  (line 378)
* capture:                               Command Directives.  (line 169)
* ceiling:                               Miscellaneous.       (line  34)
* check:                                 Command Directives.  (line 182)
* cleared:                               Cleared Report.      (line   6)
* comment:                               Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  64)
* comment <1>:                           Command Directives.  (line 188)
* commodities:                           commodities.         (line   6)
* commodity:                             Command Directives.  (line 191)
* convert:                               The convert command. (line   6)
* csv:                                   The csv command.     (line   6)
* csv <1>:                               Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  14)
* D:                                     Command Directives.  (line 366)
* define:                                Command Directives.  (line 225)
* draft:                                 xact.                (line   6)
* echo:                                  echo.                (line   6)
* emacs:                                 The lisp command.    (line   6)
* emacs <1>:                             Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  24)
* end:                                   Command Directives.  (line 237)
* entry:                                 xact.                (line   6)
* equity:                                Archiving Previous Years.
                                                              (line   6)
* equity <1>:                            The equity command.  (line   6)
* equity <2>:                            Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  27)
* eval VEXPR:                            Pre-Commands.        (line  11)
* expr:                                  Command Directives.  (line 240)
* expr VEXPR:                            Pre-Commands.        (line  23)
* fixed:                                 Command Directives.  (line  75)
* floor:                                 Miscellaneous.       (line  68)
* format:                                Miscellaneous.       (line  74)
* format FORMAT_STRING:                  Pre-Commands.        (line  14)
* format_date:                           Miscellaneous.       (line  77)
* format_datetime:                       Miscellaneous.       (line  83)
* generate:                              Pre-Commands.        (line  18)
* get_at:                                Miscellaneous.       (line  87)
* h:                                     Command Directives.  (line 385)
* help:                                  Getting help.        (line   6)
* I:                                     Command Directives.  (line 385)
* i:                                     Command Directives.  (line 385)
* include:                               Command Directives.  (line 243)
* int:                                   Miscellaneous.       (line 198)
* is_seq:                                Miscellaneous.       (line  91)
* join:                                  Miscellaneous.       (line  94)
* justify:                               Miscellaneous.       (line  97)
* lisp:                                  The lisp command.    (line   6)
* lisp <1>:                              Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  23)
* market:                                Miscellaneous.       (line 111)
* N:                                     Command Directives.  (line 357)
* nail_down:                             Miscellaneous.       (line 117)
* O:                                     Command Directives.  (line 385)
* o:                                     Command Directives.  (line 385)
* org:                                   Emacs org Mode.      (line   6)
* P:                                     Transactions and Comments.
                                                              (line  40)
* P <1>:                                 Miscellaneous.       (line 112)
* parse VEXPR:                           Pre-Commands.        (line  22)
* payee:                                 Command Directives.  (line 248)
* payees:                                Payee metadata.      (line   6)
* payees <1>:                            payees.              (line   6)
* percent:                               Miscellaneous.       (line 132)
* period PERIOD_EXPRESSION:              Pre-Commands.        (line  27)
* pricedb:                               prices and pricedb commands.
                                                              (line   6)
* pricedb <1>:                           Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  33)
* pricemap:                              The pricemap command.
                                                              (line   6)
* prices:                                prices and pricedb commands.
                                                              (line   6)
* prices <1>:                            Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  30)
* print:                                 Command Directives.  (line 169)
* print <1>:                             Command Directives.  (line 248)
* print <2>:                             Archiving Previous Years.
                                                              (line   6)
* print <3>:                             The print command.   (line   6)
* print <4>:                             Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  17)
* print <5>:                             Miscellaneous.       (line 139)
* quantity:                              Miscellaneous.       (line 142)
* query:                                 Pre-Commands.        (line  47)
* quoted:                                Miscellaneous.       (line 145)
* quoted_rfc:                            Miscellaneous.       (line 152)
* reg:                                   Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  11)
* register:                              Register Report.     (line   6)
* register <1>:                          Command Directives.  (line 169)
* register <2>:                          Command Directives.  (line 248)
* register <3>:                          Payee metadata.      (line   6)
* register <4>:                          The register command.
                                                              (line   6)
* register <5>:                          Generating a monthly register.
                                                              (line   6)
* register <6>:                          Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  10)
* reload:                                reload.              (line   6)
* round:                                 Miscellaneous.       (line 156)
* rounded:                               Miscellaneous.       (line 160)
* roundto:                               Miscellaneous.       (line 164)
* S:                                     Miscellaneous.       (line 179)
* script:                                Pre-Commands.        (line  86)
* scrub:                                 Miscellaneous.       (line 170)
* select:                                select.              (line   6)
* should_bold:                           Miscellaneous.       (line 174)
* source:                                source.              (line   6)
* stat:                                  stats.               (line   6)
* stats:                                 stats.               (line   6)
* str:                                   Miscellaneous.       (line 211)
* strip:                                 Miscellaneous.       (line 178)
* tag:                                   Command Directives.  (line 316)
* tags:                                  tags.                (line   6)
* template:                              Pre-Commands.        (line  90)
* test:                                  Command Directives.  (line 338)
* to_amount:                             Miscellaneous.       (line 182)
* to_balance:                            Miscellaneous.       (line 185)
* to_boolean:                            Miscellaneous.       (line 188)
* to_date:                               Miscellaneous.       (line 191)
* to_datetime:                           Miscellaneous.       (line 194)
* to_int:                                Miscellaneous.       (line 197)
* to_mask:                               Miscellaneous.       (line 204)
* to_sequence:                           Miscellaneous.       (line 207)
* to_string:                             Miscellaneous.       (line 210)
* top_amount:                            Miscellaneous.       (line 219)
* total_expr:                            Miscellaneous.       (line 223)
* trim:                                  Miscellaneous.       (line 227)
* truncated:                             Miscellaneous.       (line 232)
* U:                                     Miscellaneous.       (line  14)
* unround:                               Miscellaneous.       (line 236)
* unrounded:                             Miscellaneous.       (line 240)
* value_date:                            Miscellaneous.       (line 244)
* xact:                                  Command Directives.  (line 366)
* xact <1>:                              xact.                (line   6)
* xact <2>:                              Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  37)
* xml:                                   The xml command.     (line   6)
* xml <1>:                               Basic Reporting Commands.
                                                              (line  20)
* Y:                                     Command Directives.  (line 354)
* year:                                  Command Directives.  (line 341)
* year <1>:                              Command Directives.  (line 354)



Tag Table:
Node: Top1741
Node: Introduction to Ledger2570
Node: Fat-free Accounting2829
Ref: Fat-free Accounting-Footnote-19525
Node: Building the program9608
Node: Getting help10470
Node: Third-Party Ledger Tutorials11213
Node: Ledger Tutorial12173
Node: Start a Journal File12399
Node: Run a Few Reports13023
Node: Balance Report13897
Node: Register Report15552
Node: Cleared Report20252
Node: Using the Windows Command-Line22269
Node: Principles of Accounting with Ledger22660
Node: Accounting with Ledger23117
Node: Stating where money goes23674
Node: Assets and Liabilities26352
Node: Tracking reimbursable expenses29136
Node: Commodities and Currencies35435
Node: Commodity price histories38549
Node: Commodity equivalences39600
Node: Accounts and Inventories41677
Node: Understanding Equity43443
Node: Dealing with Petty Cash45390
Node: Working with multiple funds and accounts46512
Node: Keeping a Journal52097
Ref: Keeping a Journal-Footnote-153826
Node: The Most Basic Entry54085
Node: Starting up55840
Node: Structuring your Accounts57293
Node: Commenting on your Journal58266
Node: Currency and Commodities59762
Ref: Currency and Commodities-Footnote-162427
Node: Naming Commodities62570
Node: Buying and Selling Stock63387
Node: Fixing Lot Prices64762
Node: Complete control over commodity pricing66805
Node: Keeping it Consistent71620
Node: Journal Format72895
Node: Transactions and Comments73305
Node: Command Directives76385
Ref: bucket81913
Ref: year88356
Node: Converting from other formats90314
Node: Archiving Previous Years91125
Node: Transactions93703
Node: Basic format94319
Node: Eliding amounts95027
Node: Auxiliary dates96308
Node: Codes97083
Node: Transaction state97546
Node: Transaction notes99015
Node: Metadata100283
Node: Metadata tags100787
Node: Metadata values101301
Node: Typed metadata101779
Node: Payee metadata102759
Node: Virtual postings104346
Node: Expression amounts105504
Node: Balance verification105952
Node: Balance assertions107072
Node: Balance assignments108871
Node: Resetting a balance109432
Node: Balancing transactions110240
Node: Posting cost111068
Node: Explicit posting costs111969
Node: Primary and secondary commodities112685
Node: Posting cost expressions113600
Node: Total posting costs114145
Node: Virtual posting costs114790
Node: Commodity prices115389
Node: Total commodity prices117586
Node: Prices versus costs119782
Node: Fixated prices and costs120554
Node: Lot dates121797
Node: Lot notes122409
Node: Lot value expressions123151
Node: Automated Transactions125915
Node: Amount multipliers127610
Node: Accessing the matching posting's amount128538
Node: Referring to the matching posting's account129454
Node: Applying metadata to every matched posting130471
Node: Applying metadata to the generated posting131278
Node: State flags132270
Node: Effective Dates132676
Node: Periodic Transactions136082
Node: Concrete Example of Automated Transactions136610
Node: Building Reports139916
Node: Introduction140148
Node: Balance Reports140723
Node: Controlling the Accounts and Payees140955
Node: Controlling Formatting144002
Node: Typical queries144437
Node: Reporting monthly expenses144964
Node: Advanced Reports146481
Node: Asset Allocation146678
Node: Visualizing with Gnuplot152153
Node: Reporting Commands154282
Node: Primary Financial Reports154581
Node: The balance command154887
Node: The equity command155364
Node: The register command155763
Node: The print command156948
Node: Reports in other Formats157555
Node: Comma Separated Values files157948
Node: The csv command158221
Node: The convert command158644
Node: The lisp command164806
Node: Emacs org Mode165322
Node: Org mode with Babel167498
Node: Embedded Ledger example with single source block169248
Node: Multiple Ledger source blocks with noweb172179
Node: Income Entries172836
Node: Expenses173943
Node: Financial Summaries174528
Node: An overall balance summary175084
Node: Generating a monthly register176605
Node: Summary178894
Node: The pricemap command179290
Node: The xml command179885
Node: prices and pricedb commands184459
Node: Reports about your Journals185129
Node: accounts185399
Node: payees185848
Node: commodities186313
Node: tags186645
Node: xact187024
Node: stats188863
Node: select189070
Node: Command-Line Syntax189266
Node: Basic Usage189546
Node: Command-Line Quick Reference191130
Node: Basic Reporting Commands191529
Node: Basic Options192449
Node: Report Filtering193109
Node: Error Checking and Calculation Options194821
Node: Output Customization195574
Node: Grouping Options197899
Node: Commodity Reporting198551
Node: Detailed Option Description199274
Node: Global Options199669
Node: Session Options203061
Node: Report Options207302
Node: Basic options233113
Node: Report filtering234863
Node: Output customization239113
Node: Commodity reporting249029
Node: Environment variables257305
Node: Period Expressions258058
Node: Budgeting and Forecasting259776
Node: Budgeting259988
Node: Forecasting262132
Node: Time Keeping262985
Ref: timelog263131
Node: Value Expressions264290
Node: Variables265648
Node: Posting/account details266963
Node: Calculated totals268364
Node: Functions268708
Node: Operators269238
Node: Unary Operators269543
Node: Binary Operators269726
Node: Complex expressions270064
Node: Miscellaneous274368
Ref: expr.dat274639
Node: Format Strings283085
Node: Format String Basics283373
Node: Format String Structure284524
Node: Format Expressions285645
Node: Balance format289446
Node: Formatting Functions and Codes290013
Node: Field Widths290365
Node: Colors290815
Node: Quantities and Calculations291356
Node: Date Functions291881
Node: Date and Time Format Codes292718
Node: Days293146
Node: Weekdays293608
Node: Month294389
Node: Miscellaneous Date Codes294994
Node: Text Formatting295648
Node: Data File Parsing Information297038
Node: Extending with Python297938
Node: Basic data traversal298357
Node: Raw versus Cooked299485
Node: Queries301505
Node: Embedded Python301977
Node: Amounts302667
Node: Ledger for Developers303216
Node: Internal Design303525
Node: Journal File Format for Developers313522
Node: Comments and meta-data315714
Node: Specifying Amounts316196
Node: Integer Amounts316870
Node: Commoditized Amounts319601
Node: Posting costs321606
Node: Primary commodities323419
Node: Developer Commands324761
Node: echo325045
Node: reload325241
Node: source325542
Node: Debug Options325897
Node: Pre-Commands329727
Node: Ledger Development Environment332665
Node: acprep build configuration tool332922
Node: Testing Framework333173
Node: Running Tests333896
Node: Writing Tests334862
Ref: Baseline Test Types335565
Node: Major Changes from version 2.6338227
Node: Example Journal File339417
Node: Miscellaneous Notes341935
Node: Cookbook342243
Node: Invoking Ledger342410
Node: Ledger Files342764
Node: Concepts Index343115
Node: Commands & Options Index350642

End Tag Table


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