I’ve been using GnuCash for the past 15 years to manage my accounting practice and personal finances. It’s been reliable, familiar, and does everything I need with a traditional GUI interface.
Today I saw that GnuCash 5.13 was released in September 2025 with various bug fixes and improvements. As I was reading about it, I stumbled upon discussions about “plain text accounting” - specifically Beancount, hledger, and Ledger.
My Current Situation
I manage:
- Personal finances (15 years of history)
- Small accounting practice (10 clients)
- Investment portfolios with stock tracking
- Multi-currency transactions
GnuCash has served me well, but I’m curious about these plain text accounting tools everyone seems excited about.
What I’ve Heard About Plain Text Accounting
- Version control - Track changes with Git like code
- Scriptability - Automate everything with Python/scripts
- Data portability - Your data in plain text forever
- Performance - Some claim it’s faster for large datasets
My Concerns
As a CPA with 15 years invested in GnuCash:
- Learning curve - Is it worth learning a completely new system?
- Migration - Can I actually convert 15 years of GnuCash data?
- GUI vs CLI - Do I really want to edit text files instead of using a GUI?
- Client sharing - Can I share reports with non-technical clients?
- Time investment - How long until I’m as productive as I am now?
Questions for the Community
For those who’ve made the switch from GnuCash to Beancount (or similar):
- Was it worth it?
- What made you switch?
- How long did migration take?
- What do you miss about GnuCash?
- What do you love about plain text accounting?
I’m genuinely curious but also skeptical. Help me understand if this is just a “developer thing” or if there’s real value for a working accountant.
#GnuCash #Beancount #PlainTextAccounting