In early 2023, I read Jane Gleeson White’s book Double Entry, which goes into rather a lot of detail about the history of double-entry bookkeeping, its impacts on the lives of a few people throughout history whose names are recognizable, some as a direct result of double-entry bookkeeping. The book goes on to point out that we’d collectively be in a better place regarding climate change if each nation’s GDP calculations included the value of the respective nation’s natural resources, including factors such as air and water quality.

In a fit of ADHD hyperfocus, I proceeded to write up a tutorial geared toward medieval hobbyists (SCA, et al), for incorporation into one’s “medieval daily life” practice, citing a side benefit of having an easier time reading extant pre-17th century household financial records. A while later, I took that tutorial and published it as both a PDF booklet and handout with pages that included blank memorandum, journal, and ledger tables and practice scenarios one could use to practice what they learn. Those documents are offered in my Ko-Fi for a modest fee of US$3 so that I’m compensated for the work I put into it.

My next step is to rewrite the booklet to a format that is geared for general consumption - one that doesn’t include any medieval hobbyist references or jargon, and includes fully modern examples, but keeps the “keeping paper records” flavor. I ought to include a few paragraps at the end to address a few options for simplified computer-based double entry applications for those who wish to transition from paper to digital without getting swamped in full-sized and very costly bookkeeping applications meant for large businesses.