diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 40a80e5..a71cb91 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 tmp/
 tmp/*
-newsstats.conf
+etc/newsstats.conf
diff --git a/feedlog.pl b/bin/feedlog.pl
similarity index 93%
rename from feedlog.pl
rename to bin/feedlog.pl
index a5ecfb0..bbfd814 100755
--- a/feedlog.pl
+++ b/bin/feedlog.pl
@@ -4,18 +4,19 @@
 #
 # This script will log headers and other data to a database
 # for further analysis by parsing a feed from INN.
-# 
+#
 # It is part of the NewsStats package.
 #
 # Copyright (c) 2010-2013 Thomas Hochstein <thh@inter.net>
 #
-# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under 
+# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under
 # which Perl itself is published.
 
 BEGIN {
   our $VERSION = "0.01";
   use File::Basename;
-  push(@INC, dirname($0));
+  # we're in .../bin, so our module is in ../lib
+  push(@INC, dirname($0).'/../lib');
 }
 use strict;
 use warnings;
@@ -68,14 +69,15 @@ sub PrepareDB {
 ################################# Main program #################################
 
 ### read commandline options
-my ($OptDebug,$OptQuiet);
+my ($OptDebug,$OptQuiet,$OptConfFile);
 GetOptions ('d|debug!'        => \$OptDebug,
             'q|test!'         => \$OptQuiet,
+            'conffile=s'      => \$OptConfFile,
             'h|help'          => \&ShowPOD,
             'V|version'       => \&ShowVersion) or exit 1;
 
 ### read configuration
-my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($HomePath.'/newsstats.conf')};
+my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($OptConfFile)};
 
 ### init syslog
 openlog($0, 'nofatal,pid', LOG_NEWS);
@@ -129,7 +131,7 @@ while (<>) {
     };
   };
   $DBQuery->finish;
-  
+
   warn sprintf("-----\nDay: %s\nDate: %s\nMID: %s\nTS: %s\nToken: %s\n".
                "Size: %s\nPeer: %s\nPath: %s\nNewsgroups: %s\nHeaders: %s\n",
                $Day, $Date, $Mid, $Timestamp, $Token, $Size, $Peer, $Path,
@@ -151,7 +153,7 @@ feedlog - log data from an INN feed to a database
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
-B<feedlog> [B<-Vhdq>]
+B<feedlog> [B<-Vhdq>] [--conffile I<filename>]
 
 =head1 REQUIREMENTS
 
@@ -197,6 +199,10 @@ find that information most probably in your B<INN> F<errlog> file.
 
 Suppress logging to syslog.
 
+=item B<--conffile> I<filename>
+
+Load configuration from I<filename> instead of F<newsstats.conf>.
+
 =back
 
 =head1 INSTALLATION
@@ -218,15 +224,15 @@ See L<doc/INSTALL> for further information.
 
 =over 4
 
-=item F<feedlog.pl>
+=item F<bin/feedlog.pl>
 
 The script itself.
 
-=item F<NewsStats.pm>
+=item F<lib/NewsStats.pm>
 
 Library functions for the NewsStats package.
 
-=item F<newsstats.conf>
+=item F<etc/newsstats.conf>
 
 Runtime configuration file.
 
diff --git a/gatherstats.pl b/bin/gatherstats.pl
similarity index 96%
rename from gatherstats.pl
rename to bin/gatherstats.pl
index f1fe7de..6096417 100755
--- a/gatherstats.pl
+++ b/bin/gatherstats.pl
@@ -4,18 +4,19 @@
 #
 # This script will gather statistical information from a database
 # containing headers and other information from a INN feed.
-# 
+#
 # It is part of the NewsStats package.
 #
 # Copyright (c) 2010-2013 Thomas Hochstein <thh@inter.net>
 #
-# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under 
+# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under
 # which Perl itself is published.
 
 BEGIN {
   our $VERSION = "0.01";
   use File::Basename;
-  push(@INC, dirname($0));
+  # we're in .../bin, so our module is in ../lib
+  push(@INC, dirname($0).'/../lib');
 }
 use strict;
 use warnings;
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ my %LegalStats;
 
 ### read commandline options
 my ($OptCheckgroupsFile,$OptClientsDB,$OptDebug,$OptGroupsDB,$OptTLH,
-    $OptHostsDB,$OptMonth,$OptRawDB,$OptStatsType,$OptTest);
+    $OptHostsDB,$OptMonth,$OptRawDB,$OptStatsType,$OptTest,$OptConfFile);
 GetOptions ('c|checkgroups=s' => \$OptCheckgroupsFile,
             'clientsdb=s'     => \$OptClientsDB,
             'd|debug!'        => \$OptDebug,
@@ -48,11 +49,12 @@ GetOptions ('c|checkgroups=s' => \$OptCheckgroupsFile,
             'rawdb=s'         => \$OptRawDB,
             's|stats=s'       => \$OptStatsType,
             't|test!'         => \$OptTest,
+            'conffile=s'      => \$OptConfFile,
             'h|help'          => \&ShowPOD,
             'V|version'       => \&ShowVersion) or exit 1;
 
 ### read configuration
-my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($HomePath.'/newsstats.conf')};
+my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($OptConfFile)};
 
 ### override configuration via commandline options
 my %ConfOverride;
@@ -160,7 +162,7 @@ foreach my $Month (&ListMonth($Period)) {
         }
       };
     };
-    
+
     # delete old data for that month
     if (!$OptTest) {
       $DBQuery = $DBHandle->do(sprintf("DELETE FROM %s.%s WHERE month = ?",
@@ -206,7 +208,7 @@ gatherstats - process statistical data from a raw source
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
-B<gatherstats> [B<-Vhdt>] [B<-m> I<YYYY-MM> | I<YYYY-MM:YYYY-MM>] [B<-s> I<stats>] [B<-c> I<filename template>]] [B<--hierarchy> I<TLH>] [B<--rawdb> I<database table>] [B<-groupsdb> I<database table>] [B<--clientsdb> I<database table>] [B<--hostsdb> I<database table>]
+B<gatherstats> [B<-Vhdt>] [B<-m> I<YYYY-MM> | I<YYYY-MM:YYYY-MM>] [B<-s> I<stats>] [B<-c> I<filename template>]] [B<--hierarchy> I<TLH>] [B<--rawdb> I<database table>] [B<-groupsdb> I<database table>] [B<--clientsdb> I<database table>] [B<--hostsdb> I<database table>] [--conffile I<filename>]
 
 =head1 REQUIREMENTS
 
@@ -291,7 +293,7 @@ conjunction with B<--test> ... everything else seems a bit pointless.
 
 Set processing period to a single month in YYYY-MM format or to a time
 period between two month in YYYY-MM:YYYY-MM format (two month, separated
-by a colon). 
+by a colon).
 
 =item B<-s>, B<--stats> I<type>
 
@@ -339,6 +341,10 @@ Override I<DBTableClnts> from F<newsstats.conf>.
 
 Override I<DBTableHosts> from F<newsstats.conf>.
 
+=item B<--conffile> I<filename>
+
+Load configuration from I<filename> instead of F<newsstats.conf>.
+
 =back
 
 =head1 INSTALLATION
@@ -368,15 +374,15 @@ checking against checkgroups-*:
 
 =over 4
 
-=item F<gatherstats.pl>
+=item F<bin/gatherstats.pl>
 
 The script itself.
 
-=item F<NewsStats.pm>
+=item F<lib/NewsStats.pm>
 
 Library functions for the NewsStats package.
 
-=item F<newsstats.conf>
+=item F<etc/newsstats.conf>
 
 Runtime configuration file.
 
diff --git a/groupstats.pl b/bin/groupstats.pl
similarity index 97%
rename from groupstats.pl
rename to bin/groupstats.pl
index 499e333..7a3f7e4 100755
--- a/groupstats.pl
+++ b/bin/groupstats.pl
@@ -4,18 +4,19 @@
 #
 # This script will get statistical data on newgroup usage
 # from a database.
-# 
+#
 # It is part of the NewsStats package.
 #
 # Copyright (c) 2010-2013 Thomas Hochstein <thh@inter.net>
 #
-# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under 
+# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under
 # which Perl itself is published.
 
 BEGIN {
   our $VERSION = "0.01";
   use File::Basename;
-  push(@INC, dirname($0));
+  # we're in .../bin, so our module is in ../lib
+  push(@INC, dirname($0).'/../lib');
 }
 use strict;
 use warnings;
@@ -31,7 +32,7 @@ Getopt::Long::config ('bundling');
 ### read commandline options
 my ($OptBoundType,$OptCaptions,$OptCheckgroupsFile,$OptComments,
     $OptFileTemplate,$OptFormat,$OptGroupBy,$OptGroupsDB,$LowBound,$OptMonth,
-    $OptNewsgroups,$OptOrderBy,$OptReportType,$OptSums,$UppBound);
+    $OptNewsgroups,$OptOrderBy,$OptReportType,$OptSums,$UppBound,$OptConfFile);
 GetOptions ('b|boundary=s'   => \$OptBoundType,
             'c|captions!'    => \$OptCaptions,
             'checkgroups=s'  => \$OptCheckgroupsFile,
@@ -47,6 +48,7 @@ GetOptions ('b|boundary=s'   => \$OptBoundType,
             'r|report=s'     => \$OptReportType,
             's|sums!'        => \$OptSums,
             'u|upper=i'      => \$UppBound,
+            'conffile=s'     => \$OptConfFile,
             'h|help'         => \&ShowPOD,
             'V|version'      => \&ShowVersion) or exit 1;
 # parse parameters
@@ -81,7 +83,7 @@ if ($OptReportType) {
 my $ValidGroups = &ReadGroupList($OptCheckgroupsFile) if $OptCheckgroupsFile;
 
 ### read configuration
-my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($HomePath.'/newsstats.conf')};
+my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($OptConfFile)};
 
 ### override configuration via commandline options
 my %ConfOverride;
@@ -244,7 +246,7 @@ if ($OptCaptions && $OptComments) {
          ($OptOrderBy and $OptOrderBy =~ /posting/i) ? 'by number of postings ' : '',
          ($OptOrderBy and $OptOrderBy =~ /-?desc$/i) ? 'descending' : 'ascending');
 }
- 
+
 # output data
 &OutputData($OptFormat,$OptComments,$GroupBy,$Precision,
             $OptCheckgroupsFile ? $ValidGroups : '',
@@ -263,7 +265,7 @@ groupstats - create reports on newsgroup usage
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
-B<groupstats> [B<-Vhcs> B<--comments>] [B<-m> I<YYYY-MM>[:I<YYYY-MM>] | I<all>] [B<-n> I<newsgroup(s)>] [B<--checkgroups> I<checkgroups file>] [B<-r> I<report type>] [B<-l> I<lower boundary>] [B<-u> I<upper boundary>] [B<-b> I<boundary type>] [B<-g> I<group by>] [B<-o> I<order by>] [B<-f> I<output format>] [B<--filetemplate> I<filename template>] [B<--groupsdb> I<database table>]
+B<groupstats> [B<-Vhcs> B<--comments>] [B<-m> I<YYYY-MM>[:I<YYYY-MM>] | I<all>] [B<-n> I<newsgroup(s)>] [B<--checkgroups> I<checkgroups file>] [B<-r> I<report type>] [B<-l> I<lower boundary>] [B<-u> I<upper boundary>] [B<-b> I<boundary type>] [B<-g> I<group by>] [B<-o> I<order by>] [B<-f> I<output format>] [B<--filetemplate> I<filename template>] [B<--groupsdb> I<database table>] [--conffile I<filename>]
 
 =head1 REQUIREMENTS
 
@@ -346,7 +348,7 @@ Print out version and copyright information and exit.
 
 Print this man page and exit.
 
-=item B<-m>, B<--month> I<YYYY-MM[:YYYY-MM]|all> 
+=item B<-m>, B<--month> I<YYYY-MM[:YYYY-MM]|all>
 
 Set processing period to a single month in YYYY-MM format or to a time
 period between two month in YYYY-MM:YYYY-MM format (two month, separated
@@ -592,6 +594,10 @@ B<--nocomments> is enforced, see above.
 
 Override I<DBTableGrps> from F<newsstats.conf>.
 
+=item B<--conffile> I<filename>
+
+Load configuration from I<filename> instead of F<newsstats.conf>.
+
 =back
 
 =head1 INSTALLATION
@@ -635,15 +641,15 @@ machine-readable form (without formatting):
 
 =over 4
 
-=item F<groupstats.pl>
+=item F<bin/groupstats.pl>
 
 The script itself.
 
-=item F<NewsStats.pm>
+=item F<lib/NewsStats.pm>
 
 Library functions for the NewsStats package.
 
-=item F<newsstats.conf>
+=item F<etc/newsstats.conf>
 
 Runtime configuration file.
 
diff --git a/newsstats.conf.sample b/etc/newsstats.conf.sample
similarity index 100%
rename from newsstats.conf.sample
rename to etc/newsstats.conf.sample
diff --git a/install/install.pl b/install/install.pl
index ff392df..12cc8ec 100755
--- a/install/install.pl
+++ b/install/install.pl
@@ -3,19 +3,19 @@
 # install.pl
 #
 # This script will create database tables as necessary.
-# 
+#
 # It is part of the NewsStats package.
 #
 # Copyright (c) 2010-2013 Thomas Hochstein <thh@inter.net>
 #
-# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under 
+# It can be redistributed and/or modified under the same terms under
 # which Perl itself is published.
 
 BEGIN {
   our $VERSION = "0.01";
   use File::Basename;
-  # we're in .../install, so our module is in ..
-  push(@INC, dirname($0).'/..');
+  # we're in .../install, so our module is in ../lib
+  push(@INC, dirname($0).'/../lib');
 }
 use strict;
 use warnings;
@@ -31,8 +31,9 @@ Getopt::Long::config ('bundling');
 ################################# Main program #################################
 
 ### read commandline options
-my ($OptUpdate);
+my ($OptUpdate,$OptConfFile);
 GetOptions ('u|update=s' => \$OptUpdate,
+            'conffile=s' => \$OptConfFile,
             'h|help'     => \&ShowPOD,
             'V|version'  => \&ShowVersion) or exit 1;
 
@@ -42,7 +43,7 @@ my $Path = cwd();
 
 ### read configuration
 print("Reading configuration.\n");
-my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($Path.'/newsstats.conf')};
+my %Conf = %{ReadConfig($OptConfFile)};
 
 ##### --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 ##### Database table definitions
@@ -53,9 +54,9 @@ CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS `$Conf{'DBDatabase'}` DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8;
 SQLDB
 
 my %DBCreate = ('DBTableRaw'  => <<RAW, 'DBTableGrps' => <<GRPS);
--- 
+--
 -- Table structure for table DBTableRaw
--- 
+--
 
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `$Conf{'DBTableRaw'}` (
   `id` bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
@@ -76,9 +77,9 @@ CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `$Conf{'DBTableRaw'}` (
   KEY `peer` (`peer`)
 ) ENGINE=MyISAM  DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 COMMENT='Raw data';
 RAW
--- 
+--
 -- Table structure for table DBTableGrps
--- 
+--
 
 CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS `$Conf{'DBTableGrps'}` (
   `id` bigint(20) unsigned NOT NULL auto_increment,
@@ -167,7 +168,7 @@ if (!$OptUpdate) {
   my $DBQuery = $DBHandle->prepare($DBCreate);
   $DBQuery->execute() or &Bleat(2, sprintf("Can't create database %s: %s%\n",
                                            $Conf{'DBDatabase'}, $DBI::errstr));
-  
+
   printf("Database table %s created succesfully.\n",$Conf{'DBDatabase'});
   $DBHandle->disconnect;
 };
@@ -185,7 +186,7 @@ if (!$OptUpdate) {
     &CreateTable($Table);
   };
   print "Database table generation done.\n";
- 
+
   # Display install instructions
   print $Install;
 } else {
@@ -255,7 +256,7 @@ install - installation script
 
 =head1 SYNOPSIS
 
-B<install> [B<-Vh> [--update I<version>]
+B<install> [B<-Vh> [--update I<version>] [--conffile I<filename>]
 
 =head1 REQUIREMENTS
 
@@ -288,21 +289,25 @@ Print this man page and exit.
 
 Don't do a fresh install, but update from I<version>.
 
+=item B<--conffile> I<filename>
+
+Load configuration from I<filename> instead of F<newsstats.conf>.
+
 =back
 
 =head1 FILES
 
 =over 4
 
-=item F<install.pl>
+=item F<install/install.pl>
 
 The script itself.
 
-=item F<NewsStats.pm>
+=item F<lib/NewsStats.pm>
 
 Library functions for the NewsStats package.
 
-=item F<newsstats.conf>
+=item F<etc/newsstats.conf>
 
 Runtime configuration file.
 
diff --git a/NewsStats.pm b/lib/NewsStats.pm
similarity index 99%
rename from NewsStats.pm
rename to lib/NewsStats.pm
index a237774..8a62179 100644
--- a/NewsStats.pm
+++ b/lib/NewsStats.pm
@@ -54,15 +54,19 @@ our $PackageVersion = '0.01';
 
 use Data::Dumper;
 use File::Basename;
+use Cwd qw(realpath);
 
 use Config::Auto;
 use DBI;
 
 #####-------------------------------- Vars --------------------------------#####
 
-# trim the path
+# save $0 in $FullPath
 our $FullPath = $0;
-our $HomePath = dirname($0);
+# strip filename and /bin or /install directory to create the $HomePath
+our $HomePath = dirname(realpath($0));
+$HomePath =~ s/\/(bin|install)//;
+# trim $0
 $0 =~ s%.*/%%;
 # set version string
 our $MyVersion = "$0 $::VERSION (NewsStats.pm $VERSION)";
@@ -99,6 +103,8 @@ sub ReadConfig {
 ### IN : $ConfFile: config filename
 ### OUT: reference to a hash containing the configuration
   my ($ConfFile) = @_;
+  # set default
+  $ConfFile = $HomePath . '/etc/newsstats.conf' if !$ConfFile;
   # mandatory configuration options
   my @Mandatory = ('DBDriver','DBHost','DBUser','DBPw','DBDatabase',
                    'DBTableRaw','DBTableGrps');