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Quick Reference for the Ledger-Likes
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Quick Reference for the Ledger-Likes
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Some information about the major Plain Text Accounting implementations, drawn from existing docs and informal testing, that I needed to see in one place. Currently, it compares the main journal syntax for Ledger, hledger and Beancount. For more, see the manuals and cheatsheets linked below, or - - + + plaintextaccounting.org @@ -40,143 +40,143 @@ plaintextaccounting.org I hope you find it useful.
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First draft, created 2016/03, corrections to: sm on - - + + #hledger or - - + + #ledger or - - + + #beancount , or the - - + + google doc
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- - -Quick Reference for the Ledger-Likes - -
-- - -Journal Format - -
-- - -Basic example - -
-- - -Comments - -
-- - -Basic transactions - -
-- - -Dates - -
-- - -Account names - -
-- - -Amounts - -
-- - -More transaction features - -
-- - -Prices - -
-- - -Balance assertions - -
-- - -Balance assignments - -
- - + + +Quick Reference for the Ledger-Likes + +
++ + +Journal Format + +
++ + +Basic example + +
++ + +Comments + +
++ + +Basic transactions + +
++ + +Dates + +
++ + +Account names + +
++ + +Amounts + +
++ + +More transaction features + +
++ + +Prices + +
++ + +Balance assertions + +
++ + +Balance assignments + +
++ + Directives
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account, open
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close
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commodity
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market price
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-
-
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-Ledger
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-hledger
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+
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+Ledger
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+hledger
Beancount
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+
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; a comment
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; a comment
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; a comment
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; comment
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; comment
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; comment
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DATE [DESCRIPTION]
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DATE [DESCRIPTION]
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DATE txn ["DESCRIPTION"]
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YYYY-MM-DD
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YYYY-MM-DD
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YYYY-MM-DD
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TOPACCT[:SUBACCT[:...]]
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TOPACCT[:SUBACCT[:...]]
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TOPACCT[:SUBACCT[:...]]
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One of
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One of
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QUANTITY COMMODITY
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DATE [FLAG] [(CODE)] DESCRIPTION
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DATE [FLAG] [(CODE)] DESCRIPTION
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DATE [txn|FLAG] [["PAYEE"] "DESCRIPTION"]
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One of
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One of
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{LOTUNITPRICE[ / LOTDATE]}
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= AMOUNT (after posting amount & price)
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= AMOUNT (after posting amount & price)
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DATE balance ACCOUNT AMOUNT
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= AMOUNT (no preceding posting amount)
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-
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+KEYWORD ARGS...
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+alias
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+payee
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+KEYWORD ARGS...
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+[DATE] KEYWORD ARGS...
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account ACCOUNT
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[SUBDIRECTIVES]
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DATE open ACCOUNT [COMMODITY[,...]] [METHOD]
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DATE close ACCOUNT
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commodity COMMODITY
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DATE commodity COMMODITY
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P DATE TIME COMMODITY UNITPRICE
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P DATE [TIME] COMMODITY UNITPRICE
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DATE price COMMODITY AMOUNT
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diff --git a/quickref/quickref.css b/quickref/quickref.css
index b378472..8f4677c 100644
--- a/quickref/quickref.css
+++ b/quickref/quickref.css
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ tr {
/* TOC */
/* update these class ids on each save */
p { margin:0; }
-p.c25 { visibility:hidden; }
-p.c34 { margin-left:1em; }
-p.c1 { margin-left:3em; }
-p.c36 { margin-left:2em; }
+p.c36 { visibility:hidden; }
+p.c32 { margin-left:1em; }
+p.c5 { margin-left:3em; }
+p.c31 { margin-left:2em; }
/* heading cells */
tr:first-child {
font-weight:bold;
+
:
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Journal Format
@@ -186,7 +186,7 @@ Legend
Things in
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[ ]
are
@@ -197,81 +197,81 @@ Some notes in the Ledger column are common to all.
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-http://ledger-cli.org/3.0/doc/ledger3.html#Journal-Format
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-http://ricostacruz.com/cheatsheets/ledger.html
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-http://hledger.org/manual.html#journal
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+
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+http://ledger-cli.org/3.0/doc/ledger3.html#Journal-Format
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+http://ricostacruz.com/cheatsheets/ledger.html
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+
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+http://hledger.org/manual.html#journal
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+
+
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http://furius.ca/beancount/doc/syntax
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http://furius.ca/beancount/doc/cheatsheet
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Basic example
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2016/1/1 set opening balance
@@ -287,13 +287,13 @@ Basic example
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Comments, directives, and/or transactions in any order
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2016/1/1 set opening balance
@@ -305,9 +305,9 @@ Comments, directives, and/or transactions in any order
assets:checking
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2016-01-01 open Assets:Checking
@@ -323,21 +323,21 @@ Comments, directives, and/or transactions in any order
Assets:Checking
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All referenced accounts must have an open directive
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Comments
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# comment
% comment
@@ -345,23 +345,23 @@ Comments
* comment and org-mode outline node
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Non-comment lines may end with a comment
Indented comments are attached to the preceding transaction or posting
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# comment
* comment and org-mode outline node
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Any unrecognised line is also a comment
@@ -372,68 +372,68 @@ Any unrecognised line is also a comment
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Basic transactions
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ACCOUNT AMOUNT
ACCOUNT [AMOUNT]
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A transaction contains any number of indented postings (usually two), whose amounts must sum to zero
At least two spaces required between account and amount
The final amount is optional
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ACCOUNT AMOUNT
ACCOUNT [AMOUNT]
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Same
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ACCOUNT AMOUNT
ACCOUNT [AMOUNT]
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DESCRIPTION must be in double quotes, can be multiline
No need for two spaces between account and amount
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Dates
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YYYY/MM/DD
YYYY.MM.DD
@@ -442,15 +442,15 @@ MM/DD
MM.DD
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Other formats specified with
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--input-date-format
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YYYY/MM/DD
YYYY.MM.DD
@@ -459,9 +459,9 @@ MM/DD
MM.DD
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YYYY/MM/DD
YYYY.MM.DD
@@ -470,21 +470,21 @@ YYYY.MM.DD
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Only YYYY-MM-DD with 8 digits is officially supported
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Account names
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Revenues:Salary
@@ -492,15 +492,15 @@ liabilities:credit card:CITI 1234
other assets:house
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Account names begin with a letter
May contain single spaces
May contain subaccounts separated by :
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@@ -508,13 +508,13 @@ TOPACCT[:SUBACCT[:...]]
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Same
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Income:Salary
@@ -522,25 +522,25 @@ Liabilities:CreditCard:CITI-1234
Assets:House
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Top level account must be one of Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Income, Expenses
Each subaccount must be capitalised
Letters, digits and hyphen are allowed (no spaces)
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Amounts
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COMMODITY QUANTITY
QUANTITY COMMODITY
@@ -554,30 +554,30 @@ $10.00
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COMMODITY is a symbol, word or phrase; if it contains spaces or numbers, it must be in double quotes
It can be on the left or right, with or without a separating space
QUANTITY is a number with 0 or more decimal places
Decimal point is
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.
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Digits can be grouped into thousands by
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,
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Amount styles influence the standard display style for each commodity
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COMMODITY QUANTITY
QUANTITY COMMODITY
@@ -591,35 +591,35 @@ $10.00
12,34,567.89
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Decimal point is
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.
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or
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,
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Digit group separator is
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,
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or
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.
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Any digit grouping can be used, not just thousands
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@@ -633,88 +633,88 @@ QUANTITY COMMODITY
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COMMODITY is all capital letters, on the right, and required
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Decimal point is
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.
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Digit group separator
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,
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is allowed and ignored
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More transaction
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features
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[FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICE] [=BAL]
...
[FLAG] ACCOUNT [AMOUNT [PRICE] [=BAL]]
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FLAG (aka STATE) is empty, ! or * meaning uncleared, pending or cleared
CODE is any string, in parentheses
DESCRIPTION can be a payee name, narration, or both
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[FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICE] [=BAL]
...
[FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICE] [=BAL]
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- [FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICES]
+ [FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICE]
...
- [FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICES]
+ [FLAG] ACCOUNT AMOUNT [PRICE]
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The txn keyword may be replaced by a FLAG
For just a payee, use "PAYEE" ""
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Prices
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@ UNITPRICE
@@ TOTALPRICE
@@ -725,14 +725,14 @@ and/or
[LOTDATE]
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A UNITPRICE or TOTALPRICE also records a market price on this date
A LOTDATE is written in square brackets
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@ FIXEDUNITPRICE
@@ FIXEDTOTALPRICE
@@ -743,14 +743,14 @@ and/or
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These do not record market prices
The lot price syntax is ignored
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and/or one of
@ UNITPRICE
@@ -760,22 +760,22 @@ and/or one of
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Lot prices are remembered and form distinct commodities, other prices are not
If there is both a lot price and a regular price, the latter records a market price
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Balance assertions
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2016-03-10
@@ -783,15 +783,15 @@ Balance assertions
Assets:Cash $-20 = $80
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Asserts the balance in this commodity
in this account, excluding subaccounts
at this point in the parse order
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@@ -799,38 +799,39 @@ at this point in the parse order
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Asserts the balance in this commodity
in this account, excluding subaccounts
on this day. Same day events are processed in parse order
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2014-08-09 balance Assets:Cash 562.00 USD
2014-08-09 balance Assets:Cash 210.00 CAD
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Asserts the balance in this commodity
in this account, including subaccounts
at the start of this day
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+
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Balance assignments
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2012-03-10 Adjustment
@@ -838,66 +839,150 @@ Balance assignments
Expenses:Misc
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Sets the posting amount so as to make the balance assertion true. (The other amountless posting allows the transaction to balance)
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Directives
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+ [SUBDIRECTIVES]
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+account
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+apply
+assert
+bucket
+capture
+check
+comment
+commodity
+define
+end
+expr
+fixed
+include
+P
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+tag
+test
+year
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+Timeclock directives:
+i
+o
+b
+h
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+
+
+
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+account (alias for apply)
+alias
+apply
+comment
+D
+end
+include
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+ [SUBDIRECTIVES]
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+DATE balance
+DATE close
+DATE commodity
+DATE document
+DATE event
+DATE note
+DATE open
+DATE pad
+DATE price
+DATE txn
+include
+option
+plugin
+poptag
+pushtag
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-
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account, open
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account Revenues:Salary
@@ -911,28 +996,28 @@ account Expenses:Food:Chicken
default
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Gives more error checking with
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--strict
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or
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--pedantic
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Optional subdirectives do more stuff
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-
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2014-05-01 open Assets:Cash USD,CAD
@@ -946,47 +1031,47 @@ DATE open ACCOUNT [COMMODITY[,...]] [METHOD]
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Every account posted to needs an open directive with prior date
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close
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commodity
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commodity EUR
@@ -997,28 +1082,28 @@ commodity $
default
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Gives more error checking with
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--strict
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or
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--pedantic
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Optional subdirectives do more stuff
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[METADATA]
@@ -1029,67 +1114,67 @@ DATE commodity COMMODITY
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Attaches metadata to a commodity
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market price
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P 2004/06/21 02:18:02 AAPL $32.91
P 2004/06/21 02:18:02 AU $400.00
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Used by -V and -X
Also set by transaction prices
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P 2015/8/9 GBP $1.55
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Used by -V
A time is ignored
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2014-07-09 price USD 1.08 CAD
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Also set by transaction prices