hledger/hledger-lib/hledger_journal.5

.\"t

.TH "hledger_journal" "5" "March 2018" "hledger 1.9.99" "hledger User Manuals"



.SH NAME
.PP
Journal \- hledger's default file format, representing a General Journal
.SH DESCRIPTION
.PP
hledger's usual data source is a plain text file containing journal
entries in hledger journal format.
This file represents a standard accounting general journal.
I use file names ending in \f[C]\&.journal\f[], but that's not required.
The journal file contains a number of transaction entries, each
describing a transfer of money (or any commodity) between two or more
named accounts, in a simple format readable by both hledger and humans.
.PP
hledger's journal format is a compatible subset, mostly, of ledger's
journal format, so hledger can work with compatible ledger journal files
as well.
It's safe, and encouraged, to run both hledger and ledger on the same
journal file, eg to validate the results you're getting.
.PP
You can use hledger without learning any more about this file; just use
the add or web commands to create and update it.
Many users, though, also edit the journal file directly with a text
editor, perhaps assisted by the helper modes for emacs or vim.
.PP
Here's an example:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
;\ A\ sample\ journal\ file.\ This\ is\ a\ comment.

2008/01/01\ income\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ transaction\[aq]s\ first\ line\ starts\ in\ column\ 0,\ contains\ date\ and\ description
\ \ \ \ assets:bank:checking\ \ $1\ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ posting\ lines\ start\ with\ whitespace,\ each\ contains\ an\ account\ name
\ \ \ \ income:salary\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-1\ \ \ \ ;\ \ \ \ followed\ by\ at\ least\ two\ spaces\ and\ an\ amount

2008/06/01\ gift
\ \ \ \ assets:bank:checking\ \ $1\ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ at\ least\ two\ postings\ in\ a\ transaction
\ \ \ \ income:gifts\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-1\ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ their\ amounts\ must\ balance\ to\ 0

2008/06/02\ save
\ \ \ \ assets:bank:saving\ \ \ \ $1
\ \ \ \ assets:bank:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ one\ amount\ may\ be\ omitted;\ here\ $\-1\ is\ inferred

2008/06/03\ eat\ &\ shop\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ description\ can\ be\ anything
\ \ \ \ expenses:food\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $1
\ \ \ \ expenses:supplies\ \ \ \ \ $1\ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ this\ transaction\ debits\ two\ expense\ accounts
\ \ \ \ assets:cash\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ $\-2\ inferred

2008/10/01\ take\ a\ loan
\ \ \ \ assets:bank:checking\ \ $1
\ \ \ \ liabilities:debts\ \ \ \ $\-1

2008/12/31\ *\ pay\ off\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ an\ optional\ *\ or\ !\ after\ the\ date\ means\ "cleared"\ (or\ anything\ you\ want)
\ \ \ \ liabilities:debts\ \ \ \ \ $1
\ \ \ \ assets:bank:checking
\f[]
.fi
.SH FILE FORMAT
.SS Transactions
.PP
Transactions are movements of some quantity of commodities between named
accounts.
Each transaction is represented by a journal entry beginning with a
simple date in column 0.
This can be followed by any of the following, separated by spaces:
.IP \[bu] 2
(optional) a status character (empty, \f[C]!\f[], or \f[C]*\f[])
.IP \[bu] 2
(optional) a transaction code (any short number or text, enclosed in
parentheses)
.IP \[bu] 2
(optional) a transaction description (any remaining text until end of
line or a semicolon)
.IP \[bu] 2
(optional) a transaction comment (any remaining text following a
semicolon until end of line)
.PP
Then comes zero or more (but usually at least 2) indented lines
representing\&...
.SS Postings
.PP
A posting is an addition of some amount to, or removal of some amount
from, an account.
Each posting line begins with at least one space or tab (2 or 4 spaces
is common), followed by:
.IP \[bu] 2
(optional) a status character (empty, \f[C]!\f[], or \f[C]*\f[]),
followed by a space
.IP \[bu] 2
(required) an account name (any text, optionally containing \f[B]single
spaces\f[], until end of line or a double space)
.IP \[bu] 2
(optional) \f[B]two or more spaces\f[] or tabs followed by an amount.
.PP
Positive amounts are being added to the account, negative amounts are
being removed.
.PP
The amounts within a transaction must always sum up to zero.
As a convenience, one amount may be left blank; it will be inferred so
as to balance the transaction.
.PP
Be sure to note the unusual two\-space delimiter between account name
and amount.
This makes it easy to write account names containing spaces.
But if you accidentally leave only one space (or tab) before the amount,
the amount will be considered part of the account name.
.SS Dates
.SS Simple dates
.PP
Within a journal file, transaction dates use Y/M/D (or Y\-M\-D or Y.M.D)
Leading zeros are optional.
The year may be omitted, in which case it will be inferred from the
context \- the current transaction, the default year set with a default
year directive, or the current date when the command is run.
Some examples: \f[C]2010/01/31\f[], \f[C]1/31\f[],
\f[C]2010\-01\-31\f[], \f[C]2010.1.31\f[].
.SS Secondary dates
.PP
Real\-life transactions sometimes involve more than one date \- eg the
date you write a cheque, and the date it clears in your bank.
When you want to model this, eg for more accurate balances, you can
specify individual posting dates, which I recommend.
Or, you can use the secondary dates (aka auxiliary/effective dates)
feature, supported for compatibility with Ledger.
.PP
A secondary date can be written after the primary date, separated by an
equals sign.
The primary date, on the left, is used by default; the secondary date,
on the right, is used when the \f[C]\-\-date2\f[] flag is specified
(\f[C]\-\-aux\-date\f[] or \f[C]\-\-effective\f[] also work).
.PP
The meaning of secondary dates is up to you, but it's best to follow a
consistent rule.
Eg write the bank's clearing date as primary, and when needed, the date
the transaction was initiated as secondary.
.PP
Here's an example.
Note that a secondary date will use the year of the primary date if
unspecified.
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2010/2/23=2/19\ movie\ ticket
\ \ expenses:cinema\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $10
\ \ assets:checking
\f[]
.fi
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ register\ checking
2010/02/23\ movie\ ticket\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ assets:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10
\f[]
.fi
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ register\ checking\ \-\-date2
2010/02/19\ movie\ ticket\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ assets:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Secondary dates require some effort; you must use them consistently in
your journal entries and remember whether to use or not use the
\f[C]\-\-date2\f[] flag for your reports.
They are included in hledger for Ledger compatibility, but posting dates
are a more powerful and less confusing alternative.
.SS Posting dates
.PP
You can give individual postings a different date from their parent
transaction, by adding a posting comment containing a tag (see below)
like \f[C]date:DATE\f[].
This is probably the best way to control posting dates precisely.
Eg in this example the expense should appear in May reports, and the
deduction from checking should be reported on 6/1 for easy bank
reconciliation:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2015/5/30
\ \ \ \ expenses:food\ \ \ \ \ $10\ \ \ ;\ food\ purchased\ on\ saturday\ 5/30
\ \ \ \ assets:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ bank\ cleared\ it\ on\ monday,\ date:6/1
\f[]
.fi
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ \-f\ t.j\ register\ food
2015/05/30\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ expenses:food\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $10\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $10
\f[]
.fi
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ \-f\ t.j\ register\ checking
2015/06/01\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ assets:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10
\f[]
.fi
.PP
DATE should be a simple date; if the year is not specified it will use
the year of the transaction's date.
You can set the secondary date similarly, with \f[C]date2:DATE2\f[].
The \f[C]date:\f[] or \f[C]date2:\f[] tags must have a valid simple date
value if they are present, eg a \f[C]date:\f[] tag with no value is not
allowed.
.PP
Ledger's earlier, more compact bracketed date syntax is also supported:
\f[C][DATE]\f[], \f[C][DATE=DATE2]\f[] or \f[C][=DATE2]\f[].
hledger will attempt to parse any square\-bracketed sequence of the
\f[C]0123456789/\-.=\f[] characters in this way.
With this syntax, DATE infers its year from the transaction and DATE2
infers its year from DATE.
.SS Status
.PP
Transactions, or individual postings within a transaction, can have a
status mark, which is a single character before the transaction
description or posting account name, separated from it by a space,
indicating one of three statuses:
.PP
.TS
tab(@);
l l.
T{
mark \ 
T}@T{
status
T}
_
T{
\ 
T}@T{
unmarked
T}
T{
\f[C]!\f[]
T}@T{
pending
T}
T{
\f[C]*\f[]
T}@T{
cleared
T}
.TE
.PP
When reporting, you can filter by status with the
\f[C]\-U/\-\-unmarked\f[], \f[C]\-P/\-\-pending\f[], and
\f[C]\-C/\-\-cleared\f[] flags; or the \f[C]status:\f[],
\f[C]status:!\f[], and \f[C]status:*\f[] queries; or the U, P, C keys in
hledger\-ui.
.PP
Note, in Ledger and in older versions of hledger, the \[lq]unmarked\[rq]
state is called \[lq]uncleared\[rq].
As of hledger 1.3 we have renamed it to unmarked for clarity.
.PP
To replicate Ledger and old hledger's behaviour of also matching
pending, combine \-U and \-P.
.PP
Status marks are optional, but can be helpful eg for reconciling with
real\-world accounts.
Some editor modes provide highlighting and shortcuts for working with
status.
Eg in Emacs ledger\-mode, you can toggle transaction status with C\-c
C\-e, or posting status with C\-c C\-c.
.PP
What \[lq]uncleared\[rq], \[lq]pending\[rq], and \[lq]cleared\[rq]
actually mean is up to you.
Here's one suggestion:
.PP
.TS
tab(@);
lw(9.9n) lw(60.1n).
T{
status
T}@T{
meaning
T}
_
T{
uncleared
T}@T{
recorded but not yet reconciled; needs review
T}
T{
pending
T}@T{
tentatively reconciled (if needed, eg during a big reconciliation)
T}
T{
cleared
T}@T{
complete, reconciled as far as possible, and considered correct
T}
.TE
.PP
With this scheme, you would use \f[C]\-PC\f[] to see the current balance
at your bank, \f[C]\-U\f[] to see things which will probably hit your
bank soon (like uncashed checks), and no flags to see the most
up\-to\-date state of your finances.
.SS Description
.PP
A transaction's description is the rest of the line following the date
and status mark (or until a comment begins).
Sometimes called the \[lq]narration\[rq] in traditional bookkeeping, it
can be used for whatever you wish, or left blank.
Transaction descriptions can be queried, unlike comments.
.SS Payee and note
.PP
You can optionally include a \f[C]|\f[] (pipe) character in a
description to subdivide it into a payee/payer name on the left and
additional notes on the right.
This may be worthwhile if you need to do more precise querying and
pivoting by payee.
.SS Account names
.PP
Account names typically have several parts separated by a full colon,
from which hledger derives a hierarchical chart of accounts.
They can be anything you like, but in finance there are traditionally
five top\-level accounts: \f[C]assets\f[], \f[C]liabilities\f[],
\f[C]income\f[], \f[C]expenses\f[], and \f[C]equity\f[].
.PP
Account names may contain single spaces, eg:
\f[C]assets:accounts\ receivable\f[].
Because of this, they must always be followed by \f[B]two or more
spaces\f[] (or newline).
.PP
Account names can be aliased.
.SS Amounts
.PP
After the account name, there is usually an amount.
Important: between account name and amount, there must be \f[B]two or
more spaces\f[].
.PP
Amounts consist of a number and (usually) a currency symbol or commodity
name.
Some examples:
.PP
\f[C]2.00001\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]$1\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]4000\ AAPL\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]3\ "green\ apples"\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]\-$1,000,000.00\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]INR\ 9,99,99,999.00\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]EUR\ \-2.000.000,00\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]1\ 999\ 999.9455\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]EUR\ 1E3\f[]
.PD 0
.P
.PD
\f[C]1000E\-6s\f[]
.PP
As you can see, the amount format is somewhat flexible:
.IP \[bu] 2
amounts are a number (the \[lq]quantity\[rq]) and optionally a currency
symbol/commodity name (the \[lq]commodity\[rq]).
.IP \[bu] 2
the commodity is a symbol, word, or phrase, on the left or right, with
or without a separating space.
If the commodity contains numbers, spaces or non\-word punctuation it
must be enclosed in double quotes.
.IP \[bu] 2
negative amounts with a commodity on the left can have the minus sign
before or after it
.IP \[bu] 2
digit groups (thousands, or any other grouping) can be separated by
space or comma or period and should be used as separator between all
groups
.IP \[bu] 2
decimal part can be separated by comma or period and should be different
from digit groups separator
.IP \[bu] 2
scientific E\-notation is allowed.
Be careful not to use a digit group separator character in scientific
notation, as it's not supported and it might get mistaken for a decimal
point.
(Declaring the digit group separator character explicitly with a
commodity directive will prevent this.)
.PP
You can use any of these variations when recording data.
However, there is some ambiguous way of representing numbers like
\f[C]$1.000\f[] and \f[C]$1,000\f[] both may mean either one thousand or
one dollar.
By default hledger will assume that this is sole delimiter is used only
for decimals.
On the other hand commodity format declared prior to that line will help
to resolve that ambiguity differently:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
commodity\ $1,000.00

2017/12/25\ New\ life\ of\ Scrooge
\ \ \ \ expenses:gifts\ \ $1,000
\ \ \ \ assets
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Though journal may contain mixed styles to represent amount, when
hledger displays amounts, it will choose a consistent format for each
commodity.
(Except for price amounts, which are always formatted as written).
The display format is chosen as follows:
.IP \[bu] 2
if there is a commodity directive specifying the format, that is used
.IP \[bu] 2
otherwise the format is inferred from the first posting amount in that
commodity in the journal, and the precision (number of decimal places)
will be the maximum from all posting amounts in that commmodity
.IP \[bu] 2
or if there are no such amounts in the journal, a default format is used
(like \f[C]$1000.00\f[]).
.PP
Price amounts and amounts in D directives usually don't affect amount
format inference, but in some situations they can do so indirectly.
(Eg when D's default commodity is applied to a commodity\-less amount,
or when an amountless posting is balanced using a price's commodity, or
when \-V is used.) If you find this causing problems, set the desired
format with a commodity directive.
.SS Virtual Postings
.PP
When you parenthesise the account name in a posting, we call that a
\f[I]virtual posting\f[], which means:
.IP \[bu] 2
it is ignored when checking that the transaction is balanced
.IP \[bu] 2
it is excluded from reports when the \f[C]\-\-real/\-R\f[] flag is used,
or the \f[C]real:1\f[] query.
.PP
You could use this, eg, to set an account's opening balance without
needing to use the \f[C]equity:opening\ balances\f[] account:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
1/1\ special\ unbalanced\ posting\ to\ set\ initial\ balance
\ \ (assets:checking)\ \ \ $1000
\f[]
.fi
.PP
When the account name is bracketed, we call it a \f[I]balanced virtual
posting\f[].
This is like an ordinary virtual posting except the balanced virtual
postings in a transaction must balance to 0, like the real postings (but
separately from them).
Balanced virtual postings are also excluded by \f[C]\-\-real/\-R\f[] or
\f[C]real:1\f[].
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
1/1\ buy\ food\ with\ cash,\ and\ update\ some\ budget\-tracking\ subaccounts\ elsewhere
\ \ expenses:food\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $10
\ \ assets:cash\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10
\ \ [assets:checking:available]\ \ \ \ \ $10
\ \ [assets:checking:budget:food]\ \ $\-10
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Virtual postings have some legitimate uses, but those are few.
You can usually find an equivalent journal entry using real postings,
which is more correct and provides better error checking.
.SS Balance Assertions
.PP
hledger supports Ledger\-style balance assertions in journal files.
These look like \f[C]=EXPECTEDBALANCE\f[] following a posting's amount.
Eg in this example we assert the expected dollar balance in accounts a
and b after each posting:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2013/1/1
\ \ a\ \ \ $1\ \ =$1
\ \ b\ \ \ \ \ \ \ =$\-1

2013/1/2
\ \ a\ \ \ $1\ \ =$2
\ \ b\ \ $\-1\ \ =$\-2
\f[]
.fi
.PP
After reading a journal file, hledger will check all balance assertions
and report an error if any of them fail.
Balance assertions can protect you from, eg, inadvertently disrupting
reconciled balances while cleaning up old entries.
You can disable them temporarily with the
\f[C]\-\-ignore\-assertions\f[] flag, which can be useful for
troubleshooting or for reading Ledger files.
.SS Assertions and ordering
.PP
hledger sorts an account's postings and assertions first by date and
then (for postings on the same day) by parse order.
Note this is different from Ledger, which sorts assertions only by parse
order.
(Also, Ledger assertions do not see the accumulated effect of repeated
postings to the same account within a transaction.)
.PP
So, hledger balance assertions keep working if you reorder
differently\-dated transactions within the journal.
But if you reorder same\-dated transactions or postings, assertions
might break and require updating.
This order dependence does bring an advantage: precise control over the
order of postings and assertions within a day, so you can assert
intra\-day balances.
.SS Assertions and included files
.PP
With included files, things are a little more complicated.
Including preserves the ordering of postings and assertions.
If you have multiple postings to an account on the same day, split
across different files, and you also want to assert the account's
balance on the same day, you'll have to put the assertion in the right
file.
.SS Assertions and multiple \-f options
.PP
Balance assertions don't work well across files specified with multiple
\-f options.
Use include or concatenate the files instead.
.SS Assertions and commodities
.PP
The asserted balance must be a simple single\-commodity amount, and in
fact the assertion checks only this commodity's balance within the
(possibly multi\-commodity) account balance.
We could call this a partial balance assertion.
This is compatible with Ledger, and makes it possible to make assertions
about accounts containing multiple commodities.
.PP
To assert each commodity's balance in such a multi\-commodity account,
you can add multiple postings (with amount 0 if necessary).
But note that no matter how many assertions you add, you can't be sure
the account does not contain some unexpected commodity.
(We'll add support for this kind of total balance assertion if there's
demand.)
.SS Assertions and subaccounts
.PP
Balance assertions do not count the balance from subaccounts; they check
the posted account's exclusive balance.
For example:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
1/1
\ \ checking:fund\ \ \ 1\ =\ 1\ \ ;\ post\ to\ this\ subaccount,\ its\ balance\ is\ now\ 1
\ \ checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 1\ =\ 1\ \ ;\ post\ to\ the\ parent\ account,\ its\ exclusive\ balance\ is\ now\ 1
\ \ equity
\f[]
.fi
.PP
The balance report's flat mode shows these exclusive balances more
clearly:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ bal\ checking\ \-\-flat
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 1\ \ checking
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 1\ \ checking:fund
\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 2
\f[]
.fi
.SS Assertions and virtual postings
.PP
Balance assertions are checked against all postings, both real and
virtual.
They are not affected by the \f[C]\-\-real/\-R\f[] flag or
\f[C]real:\f[] query.
.SS Balance Assignments
.PP
Ledger\-style balance assignments are also supported.
These are like balance assertions, but with no posting amount on the
left side of the equals sign; instead it is calculated automatically so
as to satisfy the assertion.
This can be a convenience during data entry, eg when setting opening
balances:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
;\ starting\ a\ new\ journal,\ set\ asset\ account\ balances\ 
2016/1/1\ opening\ balances
\ \ assets:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ =\ $409.32
\ \ assets:savings\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ =\ $735.24
\ \ assets:cash\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ =\ $42
\ \ equity:opening\ balances
\f[]
.fi
.PP
or when adjusting a balance to reality:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
;\ no\ cash\ left;\ update\ balance,\ record\ any\ untracked\ spending\ as\ a\ generic\ expense
2016/1/15
\ \ assets:cash\ \ \ \ =\ $0
\ \ expenses:misc
\f[]
.fi
.PP
The calculated amount depends on the account's balance in the commodity
at that point (which depends on the previously\-dated postings of the
commodity to that account since the last balance assertion or
assignment).
Note that using balance assignments makes your journal a little less
explicit; to know the exact amount posted, you have to run hledger or do
the calculations yourself, instead of just reading it.
.SS Prices
.SS Transaction prices
.PP
Within a transaction, you can note an amount's price in another
commodity.
This can be used to document the cost (in a purchase) or selling price
(in a sale).
For example, transaction prices are useful to record purchases of a
foreign currency.
.PP
Transaction prices are fixed, and do not change over time.
(Ledger users: Ledger uses a different syntax for fixed prices,
\f[C]{=UNITPRICE}\f[], which hledger currently ignores).
.PP
There are several ways to record a transaction price:
.IP "1." 3
Write the price per unit, as \f[C]\@\ UNITPRICE\f[] after the amount:
.RS 4
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2009/1/1
\ \ assets:euros\ \ \ \ \ €100\ \@\ $1.35\ \ ;\ one\ hundred\ euros\ purchased\ at\ $1.35\ each
\ \ assets:dollars\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ balancing\ amount\ is\ \-$135.00
\f[]
.fi
.RE
.IP "2." 3
Write the total price, as \f[C]\@\@\ TOTALPRICE\f[] after the amount:
.RS 4
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2009/1/1
\ \ assets:euros\ \ \ \ \ €100\ \@\@\ $135\ \ ;\ one\ hundred\ euros\ purchased\ at\ $135\ for\ the\ lot
\ \ assets:dollars
\f[]
.fi
.RE
.IP "3." 3
Specify amounts for all postings, using exactly two commodities, and let
hledger infer the price that balances the transaction:
.RS 4
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2009/1/1
\ \ assets:euros\ \ \ \ \ €100\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ one\ hundred\ euros\ purchased
\ \ assets:dollars\ \ $\-135\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ for\ $135
\f[]
.fi
.RE
.PP
Amounts with transaction prices can be displayed in the transaction
price's commodity by using the \f[C]\-B/\-\-cost\f[] flag (except for
#551) (\[lq]B\[rq] is from \[lq]cost Basis\[rq]).
Eg for the above, here is how \-B affects the balance report:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ bal\ \-N\ \-\-flat
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-135\ \ assets:dollars
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ €100\ \ assets:euros
$\ hledger\ bal\ \-N\ \-\-flat\ \-B
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-135\ \ assets:dollars
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $135\ \ assets:euros\ \ \ \ #\ <\-\ the\ euros\[aq]\ cost
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Note \-B is sensitive to the order of postings when a transaction price
is inferred: the inferred price will be in the commodity of the last
amount.
So if example 3's postings are reversed, while the transaction is
equivalent, \-B shows something different:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2009/1/1
\ \ assets:dollars\ \ $\-135\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ 135\ dollars\ sold
\ \ assets:euros\ \ \ \ \ €100\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ for\ 100\ euros
\f[]
.fi
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ bal\ \-N\ \-\-flat\ \-B
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ €\-100\ \ assets:dollars\ \ #\ <\-\ the\ dollars\[aq]\ selling\ price
\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ €100\ \ assets:euros
\f[]
.fi
.SS Market prices
.PP
Market prices are not tied to a particular transaction; they represent
historical exchange rates between two commodities.
(Ledger calls them historical prices.) For example, the prices published
by a stock exchange or the foreign exchange market.
hledger can use these prices to show the market value of things at a
given date, see market value.
.PP
To record market prices, use P directives in the main journal or in an
included file.
Their format is:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
P\ DATE\ COMMODITYBEINGPRICED\ UNITPRICE
\f[]
.fi
.PP
DATE is a simple date as usual.
COMMODITYBEINGPRICED is the symbol of the commodity being priced.
UNITPRICE is an ordinary amount (symbol and quantity) in a second
commodity, specifying the unit price or conversion rate for the first
commodity in terms of the second, on the given date.
.PP
For example, the following directives say that one euro was worth 1.35
US dollars during 2009, and $1.40 from 2010 onward:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
P\ 2009/1/1\ €\ $1.35
P\ 2010/1/1\ €\ $1.40
\f[]
.fi
.SS Comments
.PP
Lines in the journal beginning with a semicolon (\f[C];\f[]) or hash
(\f[C]#\f[]) or star (\f[C]*\f[]) are comments, and will be ignored.
(Star comments cause org\-mode nodes to be ignored, allowing emacs users
to fold and navigate their journals with org\-mode or orgstruct\-mode.)
.PP
You can attach comments to a transaction by writing them after the
description and/or indented on the following lines (before the
postings).
Similarly, you can attach comments to an individual posting by writing
them after the amount and/or indented on the following lines.
Transaction and posting comments must begin with a semicolon
(\f[C];\f[]).
.PP
Some examples:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
#\ a\ file\ comment

;\ also\ a\ file\ comment

comment
This\ is\ a\ multiline\ file\ comment,
which\ continues\ until\ a\ line
where\ the\ "end\ comment"\ string
appears\ on\ its\ own\ (or\ end\ of\ file).
end\ comment

2012/5/14\ something\ \ ;\ a\ transaction\ comment
\ \ \ \ ;\ the\ transaction\ comment,\ continued
\ \ \ \ posting1\ \ 1\ \ ;\ a\ comment\ for\ posting\ 1
\ \ \ \ posting2
\ \ \ \ ;\ a\ comment\ for\ posting\ 2
\ \ \ \ ;\ another\ comment\ line\ for\ posting\ 2
;\ a\ file\ comment\ (because\ not\ indented)
\f[]
.fi
.PP
You can also comment larger regions of a file using \f[C]comment\f[] and
\f[C]end\ comment\f[] directives.
.SS Tags
.PP
Tags are a way to add extra labels or labelled data to postings and
transactions, which you can then search or pivot on.
.PP
A simple tag is a word (which may contain hyphens) followed by a full
colon, written inside a transaction or posting comment line:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2017/1/16\ bought\ groceries\ \ \ \ ;\ sometag:
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Tags can have a value, which is the text after the colon, up to the next
comma or end of line, with leading/trailing whitespace removed:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\ \ \ \ expenses:food\ \ \ \ $10\ \ \ ;\ a\-posting\-tag:\ the\ tag\ value
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Note this means hledger's tag values can not contain commas or newlines.
Ending at commas means you can write multiple short tags on one line,
comma separated:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
\ \ \ \ assets:checking\ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ a\ comment\ containing\ tag1:,\ tag2:\ some\ value\ ...
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Here,
.IP \[bu] 2
\[lq]\f[C]a\ comment\ containing\f[]\[rq] is just comment text, not a
tag
.IP \[bu] 2
\[lq]\f[C]tag1\f[]\[rq] is a tag with no value
.IP \[bu] 2
\[lq]\f[C]tag2\f[]\[rq] is another tag, whose value is
\[lq]\f[C]some\ value\ ...\f[]\[rq]
.PP
Tags in a transaction comment affect the transaction and all of its
postings, while tags in a posting comment affect only that posting.
For example, the following transaction has three tags (\f[C]A\f[],
\f[C]TAG2\f[], \f[C]third\-tag\f[]) and the posting has four (those plus
\f[C]posting\-tag\f[]):
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
1/1\ a\ transaction\ \ ;\ A:,\ TAG2:
\ \ \ \ ;\ third\-tag:\ a\ third\ transaction\ tag,\ <\-\ with\ a\ value
\ \ \ \ (a)\ \ $1\ \ ;\ posting\-tag:
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Tags are like Ledger's metadata feature, except hledger's tag values are
simple strings.
.SS Directives
.SS Comment blocks
.PP
A line containing just \f[C]comment\f[] starts a commented region of the
file, and a line containing just \f[C]end\ comment\f[] (or the end of
the current file) ends it.
See also comments.
.SS Including other files
.PP
You can pull in the content of additional files by writing an include
directive, like this:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
include\ path/to/file.journal
\f[]
.fi
.PP
If the path does not begin with a slash, it is relative to the current
file.
Glob patterns (\f[C]*\f[]) are not currently supported.
.PP
The \f[C]include\f[] directive can only be used in journal files.
It can include journal, timeclock or timedot files, but not CSV files.
.SS Default year
.PP
You can set a default year to be used for subsequent dates which don't
specify a year.
This is a line beginning with \f[C]Y\f[] followed by the year.
Eg:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
Y2009\ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ set\ default\ year\ to\ 2009

12/15\ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ equivalent\ to\ 2009/12/15
\ \ expenses\ \ 1
\ \ assets

Y2010\ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ change\ default\ year\ to\ 2010

2009/1/30\ \ ;\ specifies\ the\ year,\ not\ affected
\ \ expenses\ \ 1
\ \ assets

1/31\ \ \ \ \ \ \ ;\ equivalent\ to\ 2010/1/31
\ \ expenses\ \ 1
\ \ assets
\f[]
.fi
.SS Declaring commodities
.PP
The \f[C]commodity\f[] directive declares commodities which may be used
in the journal (though currently we do not enforce this).
It may be written on a single line, like this:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
;\ commodity\ EXAMPLEAMOUNT

;\ display\ AAAA\ amounts\ with\ the\ symbol\ on\ the\ right,\ space\-separated,
;\ using\ period\ as\ decimal\ point,\ with\ four\ decimal\ places,\ and
;\ separating\ thousands\ with\ comma.
commodity\ 1,000.0000\ AAAA
\f[]
.fi
.PP
or on multiple lines, using the \[lq]format\[rq] subdirective.
In this case the commodity symbol appears twice and should be the same
in both places:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
;\ commodity\ SYMBOL
;\ \ \ format\ EXAMPLEAMOUNT

;\ display\ indian\ rupees\ with\ currency\ name\ on\ the\ left,
;\ thousands,\ lakhs\ and\ crores\ comma\-separated,
;\ period\ as\ decimal\ point,\ and\ two\ decimal\ places.
commodity\ INR
\ \ format\ INR\ 9,99,99,999.00
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Commodity directives have a second purpose: they define the standard
display format for amounts in the commodity.
Normally the display format is inferred from journal entries, but this
can be unpredictable; declaring it with a commodity directive overrides
this and removes ambiguity.
Towards this end, amounts in commodity directives must always be written
with a decimal point (a period or comma, followed by 0 or more decimal
digits).
.SS Default commodity
.PP
The D directive sets a default commodity (and display format), to be
used for amounts without a commodity symbol (ie, plain numbers).
(Note this differs from Ledger's default commodity directive.) The
commodity and display format will be applied to all subsequent
commodity\-less amounts, or until the next D directive.
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
#\ commodity\-less\ amounts\ should\ be\ treated\ as\ dollars
#\ (and\ displayed\ with\ symbol\ on\ the\ left,\ thousands\ separators\ and\ two\ decimal\ places)
D\ $1,000.00

1/1
\ \ a\ \ \ \ \ 5\ \ \ \ ;\ <\-\ commodity\-less\ amount,\ becomes\ $1
\ \ b
\f[]
.fi
.PP
As with the \f[C]commodity\f[] directive, the amount must always be
written with a decimal point.
.SS Declaring accounts
.PP
The \f[C]account\f[] directive predeclares account names.
The simplest form is \f[C]account\ ACCTNAME\f[], eg:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
account\ assets:bank:checking
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Currently this mainly helps with account name autocompletion in eg
hledger add, hledger\-iadd, hledger\-web, and ledger\-mode.
.PD 0
.P
.PD
In future it will also help detect misspelled accounts.
.PP
Account names can be followed by a numeric account code:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
account\ assets\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 1000
account\ assets:bank:checking\ \ \ \ 1110
account\ liabilities\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 2000
account\ revenues\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 4000
account\ expenses\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ 6000
\f[]
.fi
.PP
This affects account display order in reports: accounts with codes are
listed before accounts without codes, in increasing code order.
(Otherwise, accounts are listed alphabetically.) Account codes should be
all numeric digits, unique, and separated from the account name by at
least two spaces (since account names may contain single spaces).
By convention, often the first digit indicates the type of account, as
in this numbering scheme and the example above.
In future, we might use this to recognize account types.
.PP
An account directive can also have indented subdirectives following it,
which are currently ignored.
Here is the full syntax:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
;\ account\ ACCTNAME\ \ [OPTIONALCODE]
;\ \ \ [OPTIONALSUBDIRECTIVES]

account\ assets:bank:checking\ \ \ 1110
\ \ a\ comment
\ \ some\-tag:12345
\f[]
.fi
.SS Rewriting accounts
.PP
You can define aliases which rewrite your account names (after reading
the journal, before generating reports).
hledger's account aliases can be useful for:
.IP \[bu] 2
expanding shorthand account names to their full form, allowing easier
data entry and a less verbose journal
.IP \[bu] 2
adapting old journals to your current chart of accounts
.IP \[bu] 2
experimenting with new account organisations, like a new hierarchy or
combining two accounts into one
.IP \[bu] 2
customising reports
.PP
See also Cookbook: Rewrite account names.
.SS Basic aliases
.PP
To set an account alias, use the \f[C]alias\f[] directive in your
journal file.
This affects all subsequent journal entries in the current file or its
included files.
The spaces around the = are optional:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
alias\ OLD\ =\ NEW
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Or, you can use the \f[C]\-\-alias\ \[aq]OLD=NEW\[aq]\f[] option on the
command line.
This affects all entries.
It's useful for trying out aliases interactively.
.PP
OLD and NEW are full account names.
hledger will replace any occurrence of the old account name with the new
one.
Subaccounts are also affected.
Eg:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
alias\ checking\ =\ assets:bank:wells\ fargo:checking
#\ rewrites\ "checking"\ to\ "assets:bank:wells\ fargo:checking",\ or\ "checking:a"\ to\ "assets:bank:wells\ fargo:checking:a"
\f[]
.fi
.SS Regex aliases
.PP
There is also a more powerful variant that uses a regular expression,
indicated by the forward slashes:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
alias\ /REGEX/\ =\ REPLACEMENT
\f[]
.fi
.PP
or \f[C]\-\-alias\ \[aq]/REGEX/=REPLACEMENT\[aq]\f[].
.PP
REGEX is a case\-insensitive regular expression.
Anywhere it matches inside an account name, the matched part will be
replaced by REPLACEMENT.
If REGEX contains parenthesised match groups, these can be referenced by
the usual numeric backreferences in REPLACEMENT.
Eg:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
alias\ /^(.+):bank:([^:]+)(.*)/\ =\ \\1:\\2\ \\3
#\ rewrites\ "assets:bank:wells\ fargo:checking"\ to\ \ "assets:wells\ fargo\ checking"
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Also note that REPLACEMENT continues to the end of line (or on command
line, to end of option argument), so it can contain trailing whitespace.
.SS Multiple aliases
.PP
You can define as many aliases as you like using directives or
command\-line options.
Aliases are recursive \- each alias sees the result of applying previous
ones.
(This is different from Ledger, where aliases are non\-recursive by
default).
Aliases are applied in the following order:
.IP "1." 3
alias directives, most recently seen first (recent directives take
precedence over earlier ones; directives not yet seen are ignored)
.IP "2." 3
alias options, in the order they appear on the command line
.SS \f[C]end\ aliases\f[]
.PP
You can clear (forget) all currently defined aliases with the
\f[C]end\ aliases\f[] directive:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
end\ aliases
\f[]
.fi
.SS Default parent account
.PP
You can specify a parent account which will be prepended to all accounts
within a section of the journal.
Use the \f[C]apply\ account\f[] and \f[C]end\ apply\ account\f[]
directives like so:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
apply\ account\ home

2010/1/1
\ \ \ \ food\ \ \ \ $10
\ \ \ \ cash

end\ apply\ account
\f[]
.fi
.PP
which is equivalent to:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
2010/01/01
\ \ \ \ home:food\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $10
\ \ \ \ home:cash\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-10
\f[]
.fi
.PP
If \f[C]end\ apply\ account\f[] is omitted, the effect lasts to the end
of the file.
Included files are also affected, eg:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
apply\ account\ business
include\ biz.journal
end\ apply\ account
apply\ account\ personal
include\ personal.journal
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Prior to hledger 1.0, legacy \f[C]account\f[] and \f[C]end\f[] spellings
were also supported.
.SS Periodic transactions
.PP
Periodic transaction rules (enabled by \f[C]\-\-forecast\f[] or
\f[C]\-\-budget\f[]) describe recurring transactions.
They look like a transaction where the first line is a tilde
(\f[C]~\f[]) followed by a period expression (mnemonic: \f[C]~\f[] is
like a recurring sine wave):
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
~\ weekly
\ \ assets:bank:checking\ \ \ $400\ ;\ paycheck
\ \ income:acme\ inc
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Periodic transactions have a dual purpose:
.IP \[bu] 2
With \f[C]\-\-forecast\f[], each periodic transaction rule generates
future transactions, recurring at the specified interval, which can be
seen in reports.
Forecast transactions begin the day after the latest recorded journal
transaction (or today, if there are no transactions) and end 6 months
from today (or at the report end date, if specified).
.IP \[bu] 2
With \f[C]\-\-budget\f[] (supported by the balance command), each
periodic transaction rule declares recurring budget goals for the
specified accounts, which can be seen in budget reports.
Eg the example above declares the goal of receiving $400 from
\f[C]income:acme\ inc\f[] (and also, depositing $400 into
\f[C]assets:bank:checking\f[]) every week.
.PP
(Actually, you can generate one\-off transactions too, by writing a
period expression with no report interval.)
.PP
For more details, see: balance: Budget report and Cookbook: Budgeting
and Forecasting.
.SS Automated postings
.PP
Automated postings (enabled by \f[C]\-\-auto\f[]) are postings added
automatically by rule to certain transactions.
An automated posting rule looks like a transaction where the first line
is an equal sign (\f[C]=\f[]) followed by a query (mnemonic: \f[C]=\f[]
tests for matching transactions, and also looks like posting lines):
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
=\ expenses:gifts
\ \ \ \ budget:gifts\ \ *\-1
\ \ \ \ assets:budget\ \ *1
\f[]
.fi
.PP
The posting amounts can be of the form \f[C]*N\f[], which means \[lq]the
amount of the matched transaction's first posting, multiplied by N\[rq].
They can also be ordinary fixed amounts.
Fixed amounts with no commodity symbol will be given the same commodity
as the matched transaction's first posting.
.PP
This example adds a corresponding (unbalanced) budget posting to every
transaction involving the \f[C]expenses:gifts\f[] account:
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
=\ expenses:gifts
\ \ \ \ (budget:gifts)\ \ *\-1

2017\-12\-14
\ \ expenses:gifts\ \ $20
\ \ assets
\f[]
.fi
.IP
.nf
\f[C]
$\ hledger\ print\ \-\-auto
2017/12/14
\ \ \ \ expenses:gifts\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $20
\ \ \ \ (budget:gifts)\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ $\-20
\ \ \ \ assets
\f[]
.fi
.PP
Like postings recorded by hand, automated postings participate in
transaction balancing, missing amount inference and balance assertions.
.SH EDITOR SUPPORT
.PP
Add\-on modes exist for various text editors, to make working with
journal files easier.
They add colour, navigation aids and helpful commands.
For hledger users who edit the journal file directly (the majority),
using one of these modes is quite recommended.
.PP
These were written with Ledger in mind, but also work with hledger
files:
.PP
.TS
tab(@);
lw(12.2n) lw(57.8n).
T{
Editor
T}@T{
T}
_
T{
Emacs
T}@T{
http://www.ledger\-cli.org/3.0/doc/ledger\-mode.html
T}
T{
Vim
T}@T{
https://github.com/ledger/vim\-ledger
T}
T{
Sublime Text
T}@T{
https://github.com/ledger/ledger/wiki/Editing\-Ledger\-files\-with\-Sublime\-Text\-or\-RubyMine
T}
T{
Textmate
T}@T{
https://github.com/ledger/ledger/wiki/Using\-TextMate\-2
T}
T{
Text Wrangler \ 
T}@T{
https://github.com/ledger/ledger/wiki/Editing\-Ledger\-files\-with\-TextWrangler
T}
T{
Visual Studio Code
T}@T{
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=mark\-hansen.hledger\-vscode
T}
.TE


.SH "REPORTING BUGS"
Report bugs at http://bugs.hledger.org
(or on the #hledger IRC channel or hledger mail list)

.SH AUTHORS
Simon Michael <simon@joyful.com> and contributors

.SH COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2007-2016 Simon Michael.
.br
Released under GNU GPL v3 or later.

.SH SEE ALSO
hledger(1), hledger\-ui(1), hledger\-web(1), hledger\-api(1),
hledger_csv(5), hledger_journal(5), hledger_timeclock(5), hledger_timedot(5),
ledger(1)

http://hledger.org