Most likely you would import most of your transactions from your bank, then enter cash transactions by hand, and edit transactions that just show check numbers

Most likely you would import most of your transactions from your bank, then enter cash transactions by hand, and edit transactions that just show check numbers and wire transfers. Data entry can and should be automated. Once you have the data in a bookkeeping system (ledger or otherwise), you use it to answer specific questions. Use it to find out where your money has gone (I spent how much on coffee?!), how much more or less you spent this month vs last, or vs this month last year, how much your liabilities are (debts, like credit cards), how much you've earned but not yet received (from your consulting clients, for example), etc, etc. Ledger can print out simple text reports, or CSV that you can graph (most people will just paste that into a spreadsheet, but perhaps you prefer gnuplot or whatever).