Docs
An overview of hledger user docs. (You don't need to read all of these; pick the ones that fit your needs.)
Note, starting out with hledger and plain text accounting, setting up a new accounting system, and bringing order to your financial life, can be a lot. Learning hledger has some tips.
Also, your fellow users can help. To ask questions or search past discussions, see:
- the #hledger matrix chat (especially good for quick help)
- or the #hledger IRC chat
- or the hledger mail list
- or the PTA forum
- or other Support places, such as the issue tracker.
Quick intros
Short introductions, which assume a bit of command line know-how. These overlap somewhat.
- 2 minute quick start
- 5 minute quick start
- 10 minute quick start
- hledger manual: Common tasks
- Workflows
Slow intros
Slower-paced, step-by-step tutorials.
- Tutorial: hledger-web
- Tutorial: hledger basics
- Tutorial: hledger-ui
- Tutorial: Import CSV data
- Accounting basics for PTA users
Thorough reference docs
The manuals are the authoritative hledger docs.
You can also view them on your local machine with hledger help
, hledger-ui --man
, hledger-web --info
etc.
Cookbook: Using hledger
Tips and how-tos that didn't fit in the manual. These vary in age and quality.
Setups and workflows
Data entry
- Create a journal
- How to record journal entries
- How to figure out journal entries
- Importing CSV data
- Cost notation
Examples
- examples/ - examples and snippets, old and new
Preserving your data
- Track changes with version control
- Keep backups - 3-2-1 rule
Checking for errors
Reporting
- Report examples
- Reporting version control stats
- Rewrite account names
- Rewrite commodity symbols
- Tags tutorial
Making charts
Customising
Other user interfaces
- hledger-web tips
- Mobile apps
- See PTA UI tools starting at UI, console
Scripts and add-ons
Other software
- Exporting from hledger
- hledger and Beancount
- hledger and dsq / DataStation
- hledger and just
- hledger and GnuCash
- hledger and Ledger
- hledger and Obsidian
- hledger and Paisa
- hledger and Postgres
- hledger and Quicken/Quickbooks
- hledger and SQLite
- hledger and Ultorg
- hledger and YNAB
Cookbook: Accounting tasks
Learning accounting and bookkeeping
Borrowing and lending
Budgeting
Eco accounting
Forecasting
Inventory tracking
Investing and trading
- PTA Cookbook: Investing and trading
- hledger manual: Cost reporting
- hledger manual: Value reporting
- hledger manual: balance features
- Track investments (2017)
- Track investments (2020)
- Calculate unrealized gain
- Calculate return on investment
- hledger-lots
- Average cost capital gains with hledger 2023
- Track foreign stock capital gains using hledger 2023
- Full-fledged hledger: Manual lot tracking 2024
Invoicing
Multiple currencies
- Multicurrency tutorial (2018)
- Currency conversion (2021)
- hledger manual: Cost reporting
- hledger manual: Value reporting
Non-profit accounting
Taxes
Time tracking
Trip expenses
Shared expenses
See also
https://plaintextaccounting.org collects similar but more generic advice for all PTA tools.