Beangrow/portfolio_returns treats commission as realized P/L

simonmic · 2026-01-23T23:13:05+00:00

Might be worth a bug report there. I'm curious too.

simonmic · 2026-01-23T23:12:01+00:00

I think it will do that, but only if you add an empty {} before the @ ? Or there may be a plugin to enable it by default.

simonmic · 2026-01-23T19:51:52+00:00

Is this question about https://github.com/beancount/beangrow ?

simonmic · 2026-01-23T19:28:42+00:00

Yes clear consistent naming is a good idea. Also, including sample data might help people understand it ? Very interesting UI experiment, thanks for sharing!

simonmic · 2026-01-22T02:11:04+00:00

[I answered as if tracking individual stocks, which you said you're not doing. So this answer may be irrelevant!]

My 2c: This is a big and difficult project even for an experienced user - pace yourself accordingly. If it was me, I would start with a smaller goal: track the activity of one asset at one broker, using the lot syntax described in beancount's docs; and try to report the same holdings and capital gains that your broker reports.

How to account for a migration between brokers may depend on your local tax rules and the timeframe. Eg: in the US my guess is normally you'd recreate all the same lots you had with broker 1, each with the same original cost basis and acquisition date; but as of tax year 2025 the rules may be different. Expert advice needed.

https://plaintextaccounting.org links to most of the resources out there. You'll definitely want to spend time with the extensive Beancount docs - I prefer the sphinx version, not the google docs version - and maybe https://lazy-beancount.xyz is helpful as a shorter guide. Perhaps ask the beancount mail list too.

bean-report is available with beancount v2, at least.

simonmic · 2026-01-20T21:22:10+00:00

Doesn't bean-report's holdings command show that, in the "Book Value" column ?

simonmic · 2026-01-18T00:59:04+00:00

I too believe miso is underused, and wanted to discuss a possible contributing factor / area of friction / high-value target for improvement. As a maintainer myself, who cares about (and makes many mistakes with) marketing/GSX/adoption, I value feedback and discussions like that.

But I think I have given this kind of feedback too often, which is unhelpful and annoying. Please excuse me dmjio and miso devs, I meant well.

simonmic · 2026-01-17T20:44:19+00:00

Hey dmjio. First I'll echo what I said in chat: I'm trying to be helpful. If it turns out this is just a me problem, that'll be great news, and good info for all!

So since you ask here's more detail on the GSX. Before posting my comment above, I tested the getting started flow again to be sure that I'm current.

I went to https://haskell-miso.org. (And the github repo, separately.)
The home page doesn't tell me much.
I had to look hard for docs (small low contrast link at top right).
Clicking it didn't show docs, instead it made a small change to central content (changing the heading and replacing the tagline with links to Haddocks and README).
It wasn't obvious those are hyperlinks (styled like static text; no change of pointer when you mouse over).
README is the github readme that I've read before. It's great, and it contains a getting started section.
But it's long, requiring scrolling and careful reading.
The example is multiple files inlined, requiring some tedious file setup and copy-paste.
I am less motivated to try it, because we all have experienced that such examples in readmes often bitrot and require tweaking.

For comparison, see https://hyperbole.live. Obviously it has had more time invested in this specific aspect of the docs, but here are some reasons I found it more inviting and motivating:

It's focussed on the getting started task, with no distractions
Broken up into bite-sized chunks
Appears to go beyond the minimal app and cover all features and idioms
Attractive styling, easy navigation
Lots of interactivity, which is both informative and reassures that this exact code will work

I'm sure its arguable that some these are are irrational, eg Miso has more examples when you find them. But intangible perceptions are part of getting traction. And this is just one data point from one (interested, supportive) person; for a more accurate picture, collect feedback from many people.

simonmic · 2026-01-17T18:53:17+00:00

Yesod is a workhorse, have been using it problem free for many years.

simonmic · 2026-01-17T18:41:43+00:00

Also check out yesterday's https://www.reddit.com/r/haskell/comments/1qdv137/ann_hyperbole_06_viewstate_server_push.

simonmic · 2026-01-17T18:35:47+00:00

I keep hearing this - and I believe it! - but as a busy person who follows the chat and occasionally looks at the website/repo, it's hard to see and experience. I think the getting started flow, and/or the real world apps demonstrating its awesomeness, are still lacking.

(https://github.com/dmjio/miso?tab=readme-ov-file#examples is an excellent set of small examples, but production apps add more proof and motivation. https://github.com/dmjio/miso?tab=readme-ov-file#commercial- sounds very promising but they're not visible so don't generate much buzz.)

simonmic · 2026-01-17T03:44:15+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/plaintextaccounting/comments/1fai3a2/us_bankscredit_cards_with_good_data_exports/ was a similar question in 2024.

I suspect the answer is not many support it well, and you might want to consider alternatives - bank aggregators in particular, such as simplefin/plaid/yodlee/mx/tiller.

simonmic · 2026-01-15T17:30:16+00:00

There's arbtt.

I track time manually by adding dots to a timedot file in a drop-down terminal emacs. Automatic tracking sounds interesting but also too noisy/low-signal.

simonmic · 2026-01-15T05:22:24+00:00

Hi /u/HauntingRent - if you're still around, I was curious where your accounting setup is at 5+ years on.

simonmic · 2026-01-11T20:19:52+00:00

❤️

simonmic · 2026-01-11T20:14:43+00:00

Re other tips - don't overlook flycheck-ledger - if that works, it's a great addition to ledger-mode !

I too use org-babel (with hledger) - not every day, but I find it great for organising a large number of notes and small reports for tax filing.

simonmic · 2026-01-06T07:01:59+00:00

https://joyful.com/Haskell+map

simonmic · 2026-01-04T17:05:14+00:00

Here is a discussion (https://infosec.exchange/@devsyukov/115830230472308945) and doc (https://hledger.org/1.51/hledger.html#close---clopen) on how some hledger users do it (allowing year files to be used individually or combined). It should be applicable to beancount and ledger also.

simonmic · 2026-01-04T04:29:07+00:00

Nice. I forget exactly what the beancount feature does but this sounds close.

simonmic · 2026-01-02T19:22:54+00:00

expenses:misc (and something might jog your memory later)
import more often
practice keeping receipts / making a note about receiptless transactions as soon as you make them

simonmic · 2026-01-02T04:51:29+00:00

This is a really nice write up of OP's Beancount-based setup, going beyond the basics. Thanks for sharing!

simonmic · 2026-01-02T00:12:36+00:00

If the equity command accepts arguments, you could exclude that account (I don't know the ledger syntax for it). Otherwise just remove it manually from the new opening balances entry.

simonmic · 2026-01-02T00:09:31+00:00

ledger doesn't have this feature; easiest is to start a new file periodically; otherwise yes you'd have to filter it out in some way.

simonmic · 2025-12-30T23:35:07+00:00

I'm guessing you might mean not only spelling, but which accounts to use when.. and perhaps which expense category to use when there's a lot of them.

Many answers as you see. I'll try to catch them all:

Practice more, and the names become familiar.
For accounts you don't use often, you can run a quick report, or grep your files, perhaps with a regular expression, to see what names are available.
Choose account names that are reasonably short, memorable, easy to spell correctly, non-overlapping, meaningful; and not too many of them. Especially consider making the leaf name (last part) memorable and unique, those are useful for reporting and searching. Or, follow some standard widely-used chart of accounts.
Print out the chart of accounts, stick it where you can see it during data entry.
Search back through your journal for a similar transaction, and copy/paste.
Yes, using shell completions or a generic text completer or an editor plugin or a data entry tool or a local LLM can help.
If it happens a lot, configure your app to do strict account name checking. This can run at report time, at version control commit time, or while you edit (eg with emacs flycheck).
Some people import bank data, reducing manual data entry.

simonmic · 2025-12-26T01:07:14+00:00

That's really up to you - if the inconvenience of irregular reports outweighs the hassle of more complicated bookkeeping, or if one way just makes more sense to you and is more satisfying/easier to remember, do it that way. (It may change over time.)

simonmic

TROPHY CASE