diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils.hs
index 9477dfb02..aebb4c617 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils.hs
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
 {-|
 
 Standard imports and utilities which are useful everywhere, or needed low
@@ -20,7 +19,11 @@ module Hledger.Utils (---- provide these frequently used modules - or not, for c
                           ---- all of this one:
                           module Hledger.Utils,
                           module Hledger.Utils.Debug,
+                          module Hledger.Utils.Parse,
                           module Hledger.Utils.Regex,
+                          module Hledger.Utils.String,
+                          module Hledger.Utils.Test,
+                          module Hledger.Utils.Tree,
                           -- Debug.Trace.trace,
                           -- module Data.PPrint,
                           -- module Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat
@@ -30,204 +33,28 @@ module Hledger.Utils (---- provide these frequently used modules - or not, for c
 where
 import Control.Monad (liftM)
 import Control.Monad.IO.Class (MonadIO, liftIO)
-import Data.Char
-import Data.List
-import qualified Data.Map as M
+-- import Data.Char
+-- import Data.List
 -- import Data.Maybe
 -- import Data.PPrint
 import Data.Time.Clock
 import Data.Time.LocalTime
-import Data.Tree
 import System.Directory (getHomeDirectory)
 import System.FilePath((</>), isRelative)
 import System.IO
-import Test.HUnit
-import Text.Parsec
-import Text.Printf
+-- import Text.Printf
 -- import qualified Data.Map as Map
 
 import Hledger.Utils.Debug
+import Hledger.Utils.Parse
 import Hledger.Utils.Regex
+import Hledger.Utils.String
+import Hledger.Utils.Test
+import Hledger.Utils.Tree
 -- import Prelude hiding (readFile,writeFile,appendFile,getContents,putStr,putStrLn)
 -- import Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat   (readFile,writeFile,appendFile,getContents,putStr,putStrLn)
 import Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat (SystemString,fromSystemString,toSystemString,error',userError')
 
--- strings
-
-lowercase, uppercase :: String -> String
-lowercase = map toLower
-uppercase = map toUpper
-
--- | Remove leading and trailing whitespace.
-strip :: String -> String
-strip = lstrip . rstrip
-
--- | Remove leading whitespace.
-lstrip :: String -> String
-lstrip = dropWhile (`elem` " \t") :: String -> String -- XXX isSpace ?
-
--- | Remove trailing whitespace.
-rstrip :: String -> String
-rstrip = reverse . lstrip . reverse
-
--- | Remove trailing newlines/carriage returns.
-chomp :: String -> String
-chomp = reverse . dropWhile (`elem` "\r\n") . reverse
-
-stripbrackets :: String -> String
-stripbrackets = dropWhile (`elem` "([") . reverse . dropWhile (`elem` "])") . reverse :: String -> String
-
-elideLeft :: Int -> String -> String
-elideLeft width s =
-    if length s > width then ".." ++ reverse (take (width - 2) $ reverse s) else s
-
-elideRight :: Int -> String -> String
-elideRight width s =
-    if length s > width then take (width - 2) s ++ ".." else s
-
-underline :: String -> String
-underline s = s' ++ replicate (length s) '-' ++ "\n"
-    where s'
-            | last s == '\n' = s
-            | otherwise = s ++ "\n"
-
--- | Wrap a string in double quotes, and \-prefix any embedded single
--- quotes, if it contains whitespace and is not already single- or
--- double-quoted.
-quoteIfSpaced :: String -> String
-quoteIfSpaced s | isSingleQuoted s || isDoubleQuoted s = s
-                | not $ any (`elem` s) whitespacechars = s
-                | otherwise = "'"++escapeSingleQuotes s++"'"
-
--- | Double-quote this string if it contains whitespace, single quotes
--- or double-quotes, escaping the quotes as needed.
-quoteIfNeeded :: String -> String
-quoteIfNeeded s | any (`elem` s) (quotechars++whitespacechars) = "\"" ++ escapeDoubleQuotes s ++ "\""
-                | otherwise = s
-
--- | Single-quote this string if it contains whitespace or double-quotes.
--- No good for strings containing single quotes.
-singleQuoteIfNeeded :: String -> String
-singleQuoteIfNeeded s | any (`elem` s) whitespacechars = "'"++s++"'"
-                      | otherwise = s
-
-quotechars, whitespacechars :: [Char]
-quotechars      = "'\""
-whitespacechars = " \t\n\r"
-
-escapeDoubleQuotes :: String -> String
-escapeDoubleQuotes = regexReplace "\"" "\""
-
-escapeSingleQuotes :: String -> String
-escapeSingleQuotes = regexReplace "'" "\'"
-
-escapeQuotes :: String -> String
-escapeQuotes = regexReplace "([\"'])" "\\1"
-
--- | Quote-aware version of words - don't split on spaces which are inside quotes.
--- NB correctly handles "a'b" but not "''a''". Can raise an error if parsing fails.
-words' :: String -> [String]
-words' "" = []
-words' s  = map stripquotes $ fromparse $ parsewith p s
-    where
-      p = do ss <- (singleQuotedPattern <|> doubleQuotedPattern <|> pattern) `sepBy` many1 spacenonewline
-             -- eof
-             return ss
-      pattern = many (noneOf whitespacechars)
-      singleQuotedPattern = between (char '\'') (char '\'') (many $ noneOf "'")
-      doubleQuotedPattern = between (char '"') (char '"') (many $ noneOf "\"")
-
--- | Quote-aware version of unwords - single-quote strings which contain whitespace
-unwords' :: [String] -> String
-unwords' = unwords . map quoteIfNeeded
-
--- | Strip one matching pair of single or double quotes on the ends of a string.
-stripquotes :: String -> String
-stripquotes s = if isSingleQuoted s || isDoubleQuoted s then init $ tail s else s
-
-isSingleQuoted s@(_:_:_) = head s == '\'' && last s == '\''
-isSingleQuoted _ = False
-
-isDoubleQuoted s@(_:_:_) = head s == '"' && last s == '"'
-isDoubleQuoted _ = False
-
-unbracket :: String -> String
-unbracket s
-    | (head s == '[' && last s == ']') || (head s == '(' && last s == ')') = init $ tail s
-    | otherwise = s
-
--- | Join multi-line strings as side-by-side rectangular strings of the same height, top-padded.
-concatTopPadded :: [String] -> String
-concatTopPadded strs = intercalate "\n" $ map concat $ transpose padded
-    where
-      lss = map lines strs
-      h = maximum $ map length lss
-      ypad ls = replicate (difforzero h (length ls)) "" ++ ls
-      xpad ls = map (padleft w) ls where w | null ls = 0
-                                           | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
-      padded = map (xpad . ypad) lss
-
--- | Join multi-line strings as side-by-side rectangular strings of the same height, bottom-padded.
-concatBottomPadded :: [String] -> String
-concatBottomPadded strs = intercalate "\n" $ map concat $ transpose padded
-    where
-      lss = map lines strs
-      h = maximum $ map length lss
-      ypad ls = ls ++ replicate (difforzero h (length ls)) ""
-      xpad ls = map (padright w) ls where w | null ls = 0
-                                            | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
-      padded = map (xpad . ypad) lss
-
--- | Compose strings vertically and right-aligned.
-vConcatRightAligned :: [String] -> String
-vConcatRightAligned ss = intercalate "\n" $ map showfixedwidth ss
-    where
-      showfixedwidth = printf (printf "%%%ds" width)
-      width = maximum $ map length ss
-
--- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string top-padded to the specified height.
-padtop :: Int -> String -> String
-padtop h s = intercalate "\n" xpadded
-    where
-      ls = lines s
-      sh = length ls
-      sw | null ls = 0
-         | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
-      ypadded = replicate (difforzero h sh) "" ++ ls
-      xpadded = map (padleft sw) ypadded
-
--- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string bottom-padded to the specified height.
-padbottom :: Int -> String -> String
-padbottom h s = intercalate "\n" xpadded
-    where
-      ls = lines s
-      sh = length ls
-      sw | null ls = 0
-         | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
-      ypadded = ls ++ replicate (difforzero h sh) ""
-      xpadded = map (padleft sw) ypadded
-
--- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string left-padded to the specified width.
-padleft :: Int -> String -> String
-padleft w "" = concat $ replicate w " "
-padleft w s = intercalate "\n" $ map (printf (printf "%%%ds" w)) $ lines s
-
--- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string right-padded to the specified width.
-padright :: Int -> String -> String
-padright w "" = concat $ replicate w " "
-padright w s = intercalate "\n" $ map (printf (printf "%%-%ds" w)) $ lines s
-
--- | Clip a multi-line string to the specified width and height from the top left.
-cliptopleft :: Int -> Int -> String -> String
-cliptopleft w h = intercalate "\n" . take h . map (take w) . lines
-
--- | Clip and pad a multi-line string to fill the specified width and height.
-fitto :: Int -> Int -> String -> String
-fitto w h s = intercalate "\n" $ take h $ rows ++ repeat blankline
-    where
-      rows = map (fit w) $ lines s
-      fit w = take w . (++ repeat ' ')
-      blankline = replicate w ' '
 
 -- tuples
 
@@ -246,11 +73,6 @@ third5  (_,_,x,_,_) = x
 fourth5 (_,_,_,x,_) = x
 fifth5  (_,_,_,_,x) = x
 
--- math
-
-difforzero :: (Num a, Ord a) => a -> a -> a
-difforzero a b = maximum [(a - b), 0]
-
 -- lists
 
 splitAtElement :: Eq a => a -> [a] -> [[a]]
@@ -263,120 +85,6 @@ splitAtElement x l =
     split es = let (first,rest) = break (x==) es
                in first : splitAtElement x rest
 
--- trees
-
--- standard tree helpers
-
-root = rootLabel
-subs = subForest
-branches = subForest
-
--- | List just the leaf nodes of a tree
-leaves :: Tree a -> [a]
-leaves (Node v []) = [v]
-leaves (Node _ branches) = concatMap leaves branches
-
--- | get the sub-tree rooted at the first (left-most, depth-first) occurrence
--- of the specified node value
-subtreeat :: Eq a => a -> Tree a -> Maybe (Tree a)
-subtreeat v t
-    | root t == v = Just t
-    | otherwise = subtreeinforest v $ subs t
-
--- | get the sub-tree for the specified node value in the first tree in
--- forest in which it occurs.
-subtreeinforest :: Eq a => a -> [Tree a] -> Maybe (Tree a)
-subtreeinforest _ [] = Nothing
-subtreeinforest v (t:ts) = case (subtreeat v t) of
-                             Just t' -> Just t'
-                             Nothing -> subtreeinforest v ts
-
--- | remove all nodes past a certain depth
-treeprune :: Int -> Tree a -> Tree a
-treeprune 0 t = Node (root t) []
-treeprune d t = Node (root t) (map (treeprune $ d-1) $ branches t)
-
--- | apply f to all tree nodes
-treemap :: (a -> b) -> Tree a -> Tree b
-treemap f t = Node (f $ root t) (map (treemap f) $ branches t)
-
--- | remove all subtrees whose nodes do not fulfill predicate
-treefilter :: (a -> Bool) -> Tree a -> Tree a
-treefilter f t = Node
-                 (root t)
-                 (map (treefilter f) $ filter (treeany f) $ branches t)
-
--- | is predicate true in any node of tree ?
-treeany :: (a -> Bool) -> Tree a -> Bool
-treeany f t = f (root t) || any (treeany f) (branches t)
-
--- treedrop -- remove the leaves which do fulfill predicate.
--- treedropall -- do this repeatedly.
-
--- | show a compact ascii representation of a tree
-showtree :: Show a => Tree a -> String
-showtree = unlines . filter (regexMatches "[^ \\|]") . lines . drawTree . treemap show
-
--- | show a compact ascii representation of a forest
-showforest :: Show a => Forest a -> String
-showforest = concatMap showtree
-
-
--- | An efficient-to-build tree suggested by Cale Gibbard, probably
--- better than accountNameTreeFrom.
-newtype FastTree a = T (M.Map a (FastTree a))
-  deriving (Show, Eq, Ord)
-
-emptyTree = T M.empty
-
-mergeTrees :: (Ord a) => FastTree a -> FastTree a -> FastTree a
-mergeTrees (T m) (T m') = T (M.unionWith mergeTrees m m')
-
-treeFromPath :: [a] -> FastTree a
-treeFromPath []     = T M.empty
-treeFromPath (x:xs) = T (M.singleton x (treeFromPath xs))
-
-treeFromPaths :: (Ord a) => [[a]] -> FastTree a
-treeFromPaths = foldl' mergeTrees emptyTree . map treeFromPath
-
-
--- parsing
-
--- | Backtracking choice, use this when alternatives share a prefix.
--- Consumes no input if all choices fail.
-choice' :: Stream s m t => [ParsecT s u m a] -> ParsecT s u m a
-choice' = choice . map Text.Parsec.try
-
-parsewith :: Parsec [Char] () a -> String -> Either ParseError a
-parsewith p = runParser p () ""
-
-parseWithCtx :: Stream s m t => u -> ParsecT s u m a -> s -> m (Either ParseError a)
-parseWithCtx ctx p = runParserT p ctx ""
-
-fromparse :: Either ParseError a -> a
-fromparse = either parseerror id
-
-parseerror :: ParseError -> a
-parseerror e = error' $ showParseError e
-
-showParseError :: ParseError -> String
-showParseError e = "parse error at " ++ show e
-
-showDateParseError :: ParseError -> String
-showDateParseError e = printf "date parse error (%s)" (intercalate ", " $ tail $ lines $ show e)
-
-nonspace :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m Char
-nonspace = satisfy (not . isSpace)
-
-spacenonewline :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m Char
-spacenonewline = satisfy (`elem` " \v\f\t")
-
-restofline :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m String
-restofline = anyChar `manyTill` newline
-
-eolof :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m ()
-eolof = (newline >> return ()) <|> eof
-
 -- time
 
 getCurrentLocalTime :: IO LocalTime
@@ -385,44 +93,6 @@ getCurrentLocalTime = do
   tz <- getCurrentTimeZone
   return $ utcToLocalTime tz t
 
--- testing
-
--- | Get a Test's label, or the empty string.
-testName :: Test -> String
-testName (TestLabel n _) = n
-testName _ = ""
-
--- | Flatten a Test containing TestLists into a list of single tests.
-flattenTests :: Test -> [Test]
-flattenTests (TestLabel _ t@(TestList _)) = flattenTests t
-flattenTests (TestList ts) = concatMap flattenTests ts
-flattenTests t = [t]
-
--- | Filter TestLists in a Test, recursively, preserving the structure.
-filterTests :: (Test -> Bool) -> Test -> Test
-filterTests p (TestLabel l ts) = TestLabel l (filterTests p ts)
-filterTests p (TestList ts) = TestList $ filter (any p . flattenTests) $ map (filterTests p) ts
-filterTests _ t = t
-
--- | Simple way to assert something is some expected value, with no label.
-is :: (Eq a, Show a) => a -> a -> Assertion
-a `is` e = assertEqual "" e a
-
--- | Assert a parse result is successful, printing the parse error on failure.
-assertParse :: (Either ParseError a) -> Assertion
-assertParse parse = either (assertFailure.show) (const (return ())) parse
-
--- | Assert a parse result is successful, printing the parse error on failure.
-assertParseFailure :: (Either ParseError a) -> Assertion
-assertParseFailure parse = either (const $ return ()) (const $ assertFailure "parse should not have succeeded") parse
-
--- | Assert a parse result is some expected value, printing the parse error on failure.
-assertParseEqual :: (Show a, Eq a) => (Either ParseError a) -> a -> Assertion
-assertParseEqual parse expected = either (assertFailure.show) (`is` expected) parse
-
-printParseError :: (Show a) => a -> IO ()
-printParseError e = do putStr "parse error at "; print e
-
 -- misc
 
 isLeft :: Either a b -> Bool
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Parse.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Parse.hs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b1fbd6e80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Parse.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
+module Hledger.Utils.Parse where
+
+import Data.Char
+import Data.List
+import Text.Parsec
+import Text.Printf
+
+import Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat (error')
+
+-- | Backtracking choice, use this when alternatives share a prefix.
+-- Consumes no input if all choices fail.
+choice' :: Stream s m t => [ParsecT s u m a] -> ParsecT s u m a
+choice' = choice . map Text.Parsec.try
+
+parsewith :: Parsec [Char] () a -> String -> Either ParseError a
+parsewith p = runParser p () ""
+
+parseWithCtx :: Stream s m t => u -> ParsecT s u m a -> s -> m (Either ParseError a)
+parseWithCtx ctx p = runParserT p ctx ""
+
+fromparse :: Either ParseError a -> a
+fromparse = either parseerror id
+
+parseerror :: ParseError -> a
+parseerror e = error' $ showParseError e
+
+showParseError :: ParseError -> String
+showParseError e = "parse error at " ++ show e
+
+showDateParseError :: ParseError -> String
+showDateParseError e = printf "date parse error (%s)" (intercalate ", " $ tail $ lines $ show e)
+
+nonspace :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m Char
+nonspace = satisfy (not . isSpace)
+
+spacenonewline :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m Char
+spacenonewline = satisfy (`elem` " \v\f\t")
+
+restofline :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m String
+restofline = anyChar `manyTill` newline
+
+eolof :: (Stream [Char] m Char) => ParsecT [Char] st m ()
+eolof = (newline >> return ()) <|> eof
+
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/String.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/String.hs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8efce1b0b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/String.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,227 @@
+module Hledger.Utils.String (
+ -- * misc
+ lowercase,
+ uppercase,
+ underline,
+ stripbrackets,
+ unbracket,
+ -- quoting
+ quoteIfSpaced,
+ quoteIfNeeded,
+ singleQuoteIfNeeded,
+ -- quotechars,
+ -- whitespacechars,
+ escapeDoubleQuotes,
+ escapeSingleQuotes,
+ escapeQuotes,
+ words',
+ unwords',
+ stripquotes,
+ isSingleQuoted,
+ isDoubleQuoted,
+ -- * single-line layout
+ strip,
+ lstrip,
+ rstrip,
+ chomp,
+ elideLeft,
+ elideRight,
+ -- * multi-line layout
+ concatTopPadded,
+ concatBottomPadded,
+ vConcatRightAligned,
+ padtop,
+ padbottom,
+ padleft,
+ padright,
+ cliptopleft,
+ fitto
+ ) where
+
+
+import Data.Char
+import Data.List
+import Text.Parsec
+import Text.Printf
+
+import Hledger.Utils.Parse
+import Hledger.Utils.Regex
+
+lowercase, uppercase :: String -> String
+lowercase = map toLower
+uppercase = map toUpper
+
+-- | Remove leading and trailing whitespace.
+strip :: String -> String
+strip = lstrip . rstrip
+
+-- | Remove leading whitespace.
+lstrip :: String -> String
+lstrip = dropWhile (`elem` " \t") :: String -> String -- XXX isSpace ?
+
+-- | Remove trailing whitespace.
+rstrip :: String -> String
+rstrip = reverse . lstrip . reverse
+
+-- | Remove trailing newlines/carriage returns.
+chomp :: String -> String
+chomp = reverse . dropWhile (`elem` "\r\n") . reverse
+
+stripbrackets :: String -> String
+stripbrackets = dropWhile (`elem` "([") . reverse . dropWhile (`elem` "])") . reverse :: String -> String
+
+elideLeft :: Int -> String -> String
+elideLeft width s =
+    if length s > width then ".." ++ reverse (take (width - 2) $ reverse s) else s
+
+elideRight :: Int -> String -> String
+elideRight width s =
+    if length s > width then take (width - 2) s ++ ".." else s
+
+underline :: String -> String
+underline s = s' ++ replicate (length s) '-' ++ "\n"
+    where s'
+            | last s == '\n' = s
+            | otherwise = s ++ "\n"
+
+-- | Wrap a string in double quotes, and \-prefix any embedded single
+-- quotes, if it contains whitespace and is not already single- or
+-- double-quoted.
+quoteIfSpaced :: String -> String
+quoteIfSpaced s | isSingleQuoted s || isDoubleQuoted s = s
+                | not $ any (`elem` s) whitespacechars = s
+                | otherwise = "'"++escapeSingleQuotes s++"'"
+
+-- | Double-quote this string if it contains whitespace, single quotes
+-- or double-quotes, escaping the quotes as needed.
+quoteIfNeeded :: String -> String
+quoteIfNeeded s | any (`elem` s) (quotechars++whitespacechars) = "\"" ++ escapeDoubleQuotes s ++ "\""
+                | otherwise = s
+
+-- | Single-quote this string if it contains whitespace or double-quotes.
+-- No good for strings containing single quotes.
+singleQuoteIfNeeded :: String -> String
+singleQuoteIfNeeded s | any (`elem` s) whitespacechars = "'"++s++"'"
+                      | otherwise = s
+
+quotechars, whitespacechars :: [Char]
+quotechars      = "'\""
+whitespacechars = " \t\n\r"
+
+escapeDoubleQuotes :: String -> String
+escapeDoubleQuotes = regexReplace "\"" "\""
+
+escapeSingleQuotes :: String -> String
+escapeSingleQuotes = regexReplace "'" "\'"
+
+escapeQuotes :: String -> String
+escapeQuotes = regexReplace "([\"'])" "\\1"
+
+-- | Quote-aware version of words - don't split on spaces which are inside quotes.
+-- NB correctly handles "a'b" but not "''a''". Can raise an error if parsing fails.
+words' :: String -> [String]
+words' "" = []
+words' s  = map stripquotes $ fromparse $ parsewith p s
+    where
+      p = do ss <- (singleQuotedPattern <|> doubleQuotedPattern <|> pattern) `sepBy` many1 spacenonewline
+             -- eof
+             return ss
+      pattern = many (noneOf whitespacechars)
+      singleQuotedPattern = between (char '\'') (char '\'') (many $ noneOf "'")
+      doubleQuotedPattern = between (char '"') (char '"') (many $ noneOf "\"")
+
+-- | Quote-aware version of unwords - single-quote strings which contain whitespace
+unwords' :: [String] -> String
+unwords' = unwords . map quoteIfNeeded
+
+-- | Strip one matching pair of single or double quotes on the ends of a string.
+stripquotes :: String -> String
+stripquotes s = if isSingleQuoted s || isDoubleQuoted s then init $ tail s else s
+
+isSingleQuoted s@(_:_:_) = head s == '\'' && last s == '\''
+isSingleQuoted _ = False
+
+isDoubleQuoted s@(_:_:_) = head s == '"' && last s == '"'
+isDoubleQuoted _ = False
+
+unbracket :: String -> String
+unbracket s
+    | (head s == '[' && last s == ']') || (head s == '(' && last s == ')') = init $ tail s
+    | otherwise = s
+
+-- | Join multi-line strings as side-by-side rectangular strings of the same height, top-padded.
+concatTopPadded :: [String] -> String
+concatTopPadded strs = intercalate "\n" $ map concat $ transpose padded
+    where
+      lss = map lines strs
+      h = maximum $ map length lss
+      ypad ls = replicate (difforzero h (length ls)) "" ++ ls
+      xpad ls = map (padleft w) ls where w | null ls = 0
+                                           | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
+      padded = map (xpad . ypad) lss
+
+-- | Join multi-line strings as side-by-side rectangular strings of the same height, bottom-padded.
+concatBottomPadded :: [String] -> String
+concatBottomPadded strs = intercalate "\n" $ map concat $ transpose padded
+    where
+      lss = map lines strs
+      h = maximum $ map length lss
+      ypad ls = ls ++ replicate (difforzero h (length ls)) ""
+      xpad ls = map (padright w) ls where w | null ls = 0
+                                            | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
+      padded = map (xpad . ypad) lss
+
+-- | Compose strings vertically and right-aligned.
+vConcatRightAligned :: [String] -> String
+vConcatRightAligned ss = intercalate "\n" $ map showfixedwidth ss
+    where
+      showfixedwidth = printf (printf "%%%ds" width)
+      width = maximum $ map length ss
+
+-- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string top-padded to the specified height.
+padtop :: Int -> String -> String
+padtop h s = intercalate "\n" xpadded
+    where
+      ls = lines s
+      sh = length ls
+      sw | null ls = 0
+         | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
+      ypadded = replicate (difforzero h sh) "" ++ ls
+      xpadded = map (padleft sw) ypadded
+
+-- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string bottom-padded to the specified height.
+padbottom :: Int -> String -> String
+padbottom h s = intercalate "\n" xpadded
+    where
+      ls = lines s
+      sh = length ls
+      sw | null ls = 0
+         | otherwise = maximum $ map length ls
+      ypadded = ls ++ replicate (difforzero h sh) ""
+      xpadded = map (padleft sw) ypadded
+
+difforzero :: (Num a, Ord a) => a -> a -> a
+difforzero a b = maximum [(a - b), 0]
+
+-- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string left-padded to the specified width.
+padleft :: Int -> String -> String
+padleft w "" = concat $ replicate w " "
+padleft w s = intercalate "\n" $ map (printf (printf "%%%ds" w)) $ lines s
+
+-- | Convert a multi-line string to a rectangular string right-padded to the specified width.
+padright :: Int -> String -> String
+padright w "" = concat $ replicate w " "
+padright w s = intercalate "\n" $ map (printf (printf "%%-%ds" w)) $ lines s
+
+-- | Clip a multi-line string to the specified width and height from the top left.
+cliptopleft :: Int -> Int -> String -> String
+cliptopleft w h = intercalate "\n" . take h . map (take w) . lines
+
+-- | Clip and pad a multi-line string to fill the specified width and height.
+fitto :: Int -> Int -> String -> String
+fitto w h s = intercalate "\n" $ take h $ rows ++ repeat blankline
+    where
+      rows = map (fit w) $ lines s
+      fit w = take w . (++ repeat ' ')
+      blankline = replicate w ' '
+
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Test.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Test.hs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..215b8b6bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Test.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+module Hledger.Utils.Test where
+
+import Test.HUnit
+import Text.Parsec
+
+-- | Get a Test's label, or the empty string.
+testName :: Test -> String
+testName (TestLabel n _) = n
+testName _ = ""
+
+-- | Flatten a Test containing TestLists into a list of single tests.
+flattenTests :: Test -> [Test]
+flattenTests (TestLabel _ t@(TestList _)) = flattenTests t
+flattenTests (TestList ts) = concatMap flattenTests ts
+flattenTests t = [t]
+
+-- | Filter TestLists in a Test, recursively, preserving the structure.
+filterTests :: (Test -> Bool) -> Test -> Test
+filterTests p (TestLabel l ts) = TestLabel l (filterTests p ts)
+filterTests p (TestList ts) = TestList $ filter (any p . flattenTests) $ map (filterTests p) ts
+filterTests _ t = t
+
+-- | Simple way to assert something is some expected value, with no label.
+is :: (Eq a, Show a) => a -> a -> Assertion
+a `is` e = assertEqual "" e a
+
+-- | Assert a parse result is successful, printing the parse error on failure.
+assertParse :: (Either ParseError a) -> Assertion
+assertParse parse = either (assertFailure.show) (const (return ())) parse
+
+-- | Assert a parse result is successful, printing the parse error on failure.
+assertParseFailure :: (Either ParseError a) -> Assertion
+assertParseFailure parse = either (const $ return ()) (const $ assertFailure "parse should not have succeeded") parse
+
+-- | Assert a parse result is some expected value, printing the parse error on failure.
+assertParseEqual :: (Show a, Eq a) => (Either ParseError a) -> a -> Assertion
+assertParseEqual parse expected = either (assertFailure.show) (`is` expected) parse
+
+printParseError :: (Show a) => a -> IO ()
+printParseError e = do putStr "parse error at "; print e
+
diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Tree.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Tree.hs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..23d3c30f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Utils/Tree.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+module Hledger.Utils.Tree where
+
+-- import Data.Char
+import Data.List (foldl')
+import qualified Data.Map as M
+import Data.Tree
+-- import Text.Parsec
+-- import Text.Printf
+
+import Hledger.Utils.Regex
+-- import Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat (error')
+
+-- standard tree helpers
+
+root = rootLabel
+subs = subForest
+branches = subForest
+
+-- | List just the leaf nodes of a tree
+leaves :: Tree a -> [a]
+leaves (Node v []) = [v]
+leaves (Node _ branches) = concatMap leaves branches
+
+-- | get the sub-tree rooted at the first (left-most, depth-first) occurrence
+-- of the specified node value
+subtreeat :: Eq a => a -> Tree a -> Maybe (Tree a)
+subtreeat v t
+    | root t == v = Just t
+    | otherwise = subtreeinforest v $ subs t
+
+-- | get the sub-tree for the specified node value in the first tree in
+-- forest in which it occurs.
+subtreeinforest :: Eq a => a -> [Tree a] -> Maybe (Tree a)
+subtreeinforest _ [] = Nothing
+subtreeinforest v (t:ts) = case (subtreeat v t) of
+                             Just t' -> Just t'
+                             Nothing -> subtreeinforest v ts
+
+-- | remove all nodes past a certain depth
+treeprune :: Int -> Tree a -> Tree a
+treeprune 0 t = Node (root t) []
+treeprune d t = Node (root t) (map (treeprune $ d-1) $ branches t)
+
+-- | apply f to all tree nodes
+treemap :: (a -> b) -> Tree a -> Tree b
+treemap f t = Node (f $ root t) (map (treemap f) $ branches t)
+
+-- | remove all subtrees whose nodes do not fulfill predicate
+treefilter :: (a -> Bool) -> Tree a -> Tree a
+treefilter f t = Node
+                 (root t)
+                 (map (treefilter f) $ filter (treeany f) $ branches t)
+
+-- | is predicate true in any node of tree ?
+treeany :: (a -> Bool) -> Tree a -> Bool
+treeany f t = f (root t) || any (treeany f) (branches t)
+
+-- treedrop -- remove the leaves which do fulfill predicate.
+-- treedropall -- do this repeatedly.
+
+-- | show a compact ascii representation of a tree
+showtree :: Show a => Tree a -> String
+showtree = unlines . filter (regexMatches "[^ \\|]") . lines . drawTree . treemap show
+
+-- | show a compact ascii representation of a forest
+showforest :: Show a => Forest a -> String
+showforest = concatMap showtree
+
+
+-- | An efficient-to-build tree suggested by Cale Gibbard, probably
+-- better than accountNameTreeFrom.
+newtype FastTree a = T (M.Map a (FastTree a))
+  deriving (Show, Eq, Ord)
+
+emptyTree = T M.empty
+
+mergeTrees :: (Ord a) => FastTree a -> FastTree a -> FastTree a
+mergeTrees (T m) (T m') = T (M.unionWith mergeTrees m m')
+
+treeFromPath :: [a] -> FastTree a
+treeFromPath []     = T M.empty
+treeFromPath (x:xs) = T (M.singleton x (treeFromPath xs))
+
+treeFromPaths :: (Ord a) => [[a]] -> FastTree a
+treeFromPaths = foldl' mergeTrees emptyTree . map treeFromPath
+
+
diff --git a/hledger-lib/hledger-lib.cabal b/hledger-lib/hledger-lib.cabal
index f4611a7b4..d9cf1e0a8 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/hledger-lib.cabal
+++ b/hledger-lib/hledger-lib.cabal
@@ -109,7 +109,11 @@ library
       Hledger.Reports.TransactionsReports
       Hledger.Utils
       Hledger.Utils.Debug
+      Hledger.Utils.Parse
       Hledger.Utils.Regex
+      Hledger.Utils.String
+      Hledger.Utils.Test
+      Hledger.Utils.Tree
       Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat
   default-language: Haskell2010
 
diff --git a/hledger-lib/package.yaml b/hledger-lib/package.yaml
index ac6bb6403..edabcd668 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/package.yaml
+++ b/hledger-lib/package.yaml
@@ -122,7 +122,11 @@ library:
     - Hledger.Reports.TransactionsReports
     - Hledger.Utils
     - Hledger.Utils.Debug
+    - Hledger.Utils.Parse
     - Hledger.Utils.Regex
+    - Hledger.Utils.String
+    - Hledger.Utils.Test
+    - Hledger.Utils.Tree
     - Hledger.Utils.UTF8IOCompat
 
 tests: