Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Geert Janssens]

David,

Now that you mention it, indeed :blush:

There were two elements I wanted to bring up:
- perhaps the starting balance was entered backwards (due to starting from the 
Equity account instead of the bank account)
- and I wanted to stress the fact the starting balance should be ignored in 
this case.

Carmelo, you messages don't indicate whether you have tried to complete the 
reconciliation regardless of an incorrect starting balance being presented in 
the reconcile window. So with this you have two more things to check :)

Regards,

Geert

Op donderdag 14 december 2017 13:05:35 CET schreef D:
> Geert,
> 
> That's a nice summary. It's a lot like what is in section 4.4 of the
> tutorial.
> 
> David
> 
> On December 14, 2017, at 1:59 PM, Geert Janssens
>  wrote:
> Op donderdag 14 december 2017 07:41:03 CET schreef Carmelo Pagan:
> > I guess I stated the issue improperly.  I was trying to edit the opening
> > balance after a reconciliation attempt had failed. The reconciliation
> > difference was exactly the amount of the opening on my paper statement. I
> > then realized I had not entered an opening balance amount (using the
> > opening balances tab) when I created the account.  I then entered an
> > opening balance via the Equity:Opening Balances account. When I attempted
> > the reconciliation, the “starting balance” in the reconciliation window
> > displayed a deficit amount instead of the amount I had entered in the
> > Equity account.
> > 
> > I tried several measures in an attempt to get the negative amount in the
> > reconciliation to reset to the newly entered opening balance.
> > 
> > These included but were not limited to,.
> > 1. Deleting the previously entered opening balance, hoping I could return
> > to the original state  Result: Negative starting balance remained
> > unchanged 2. Unreconciled all previously reconciled transactions and
> > reattempted reconciliation. Result: Same Negative balance displayed, 3.
> > Reverted to one of the backup files dated before the first
> > reconciliation. Result: Same Negative amount displayed.
> > 
> > Hopefully this sheds some light on the discussion.
> > 
> > Sincerely ,
> > Carmelo Pagán
> 
> Here is how a reconciliation should be corrected when transactions were
> added before the last reconciliation date:
> 
> 1. add the opening balance in your bank account register (assuming you were
> reconciling a bank account). The transfer account is Equity:Opening
> Balances. Starting from here rather than from Equity:Opening Balances makes
> it less likely you enter the transaction backwards.
> 
> 2. start the reconciliation process in the register. *Ignore* the starting
> balance. Just make sure you set the end balance to what you expect it to be
> (that is what it is on your bank's statement).
> 
> 3. Check the opening balance transaction and optionally any other
> transactions you had unreconciled and that appear on the bank statement.
> 
> If the data you entered in gnucash matches your bank statement, this should
> now allow you to reconcile, even if the start balance doesn't match up. I
> don't know the exact details of how this is calculated but it's known to be
> not what you expect when you make corrections after reconciliation.
> 
> So the most important thing to take away from this is to ignore the starting
> balance in this case and just continue.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Geert
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.


___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[D via gnucash-user]

Geert,

That's a nice summary. It's a lot like what is in section 4.4 of the tutorial.  

David

On December 14, 2017, at 1:59 PM, Geert Janssens  
wrote:

Op donderdag 14 december 2017 07:41:03 CET schreef Carmelo Pagan:
> I guess I stated the issue improperly.  I was trying to edit the opening
> balance after a reconciliation attempt had failed. The reconciliation
> difference was exactly the amount of the opening on my paper statement. I
> then realized I had not entered an opening balance amount (using the
> opening balances tab) when I created the account.  I then entered an
> opening balance via the Equity:Opening Balances account. When I attempted
> the reconciliation, the “starting balance” in the reconciliation window
> displayed a deficit amount instead of the amount I had entered in the
> Equity account.
> 
> I tried several measures in an attempt to get the negative amount in the
> reconciliation to reset to the newly entered opening balance.
> 
> These included but were not limited to,.
> 1. Deleting the previously entered opening balance, hoping I could return to
> the original state  Result: Negative starting balance remained unchanged 2.
> Unreconciled all previously reconciled transactions and reattempted
> reconciliation. Result: Same Negative balance displayed, 3. Reverted to one
> of the backup files dated before the first reconciliation. Result: Same
> Negative amount displayed.
> 
> Hopefully this sheds some light on the discussion.
> 
> Sincerely ,
> Carmelo Pagán
> 

Here is how a reconciliation should be corrected when transactions were added 
before the last reconciliation date:

1. add the opening balance in your bank account register (assuming you were 
reconciling a bank account). The transfer account is Equity:Opening Balances. 
Starting from here rather than from Equity:Opening Balances makes it less 
likely you enter the transaction backwards.

2. start the reconciliation process in the register. *Ignore* the starting 
balance. Just make sure you set the end balance to what you expect it to be 
(that is what it is on your bank's statement).

3. Check the opening balance transaction and optionally any other transactions 
you had unreconciled and that appear on the bank statement.

If the data you entered in gnucash matches your bank statement, this should 
now allow you to reconcile, even if the start balance doesn't match up. I 
don't know the exact details of how this is calculated but it's known to be 
not what you expect when you make corrections after reconciliation.

So the most important thing to take away from this is to ignore the starting 
balance in this case and just continue.

Regards,

Geert
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Geert Janssens]

Op donderdag 14 december 2017 07:41:03 CET schreef Carmelo Pagan:
> I guess I stated the issue improperly.  I was trying to edit the opening
> balance after a reconciliation attempt had failed. The reconciliation
> difference was exactly the amount of the opening on my paper statement. I
> then realized I had not entered an opening balance amount (using the
> opening balances tab) when I created the account.  I then entered an
> opening balance via the Equity:Opening Balances account. When I attempted
> the reconciliation, the “starting balance” in the reconciliation window
> displayed a deficit amount instead of the amount I had entered in the
> Equity account.
> 
> I tried several measures in an attempt to get the negative amount in the
> reconciliation to reset to the newly entered opening balance.
> 
> These included but were not limited to,.
> 1. Deleting the previously entered opening balance, hoping I could return to
> the original state  Result: Negative starting balance remained unchanged 2.
> Unreconciled all previously reconciled transactions and reattempted
> reconciliation. Result: Same Negative balance displayed, 3. Reverted to one
> of the backup files dated before the first reconciliation. Result: Same
> Negative amount displayed.
> 
> Hopefully this sheds some light on the discussion.
> 
> Sincerely ,
> Carmelo Pagán
> 

Here is how a reconciliation should be corrected when transactions were added 
before the last reconciliation date:

1. add the opening balance in your bank account register (assuming you were 
reconciling a bank account). The transfer account is Equity:Opening Balances. 
Starting from here rather than from Equity:Opening Balances makes it less 
likely you enter the transaction backwards.

2. start the reconciliation process in the register. *Ignore* the starting 
balance. Just make sure you set the end balance to what you expect it to be 
(that is what it is on your bank's statement).

3. Check the opening balance transaction and optionally any other transactions 
you had unreconciled and that appear on the bank statement.

If the data you entered in gnucash matches your bank statement, this should 
now allow you to reconcile, even if the start balance doesn't match up. I 
don't know the exact details of how this is calculated but it's known to be 
not what you expect when you make corrections after reconciliation.

So the most important thing to take away from this is to ignore the starting 
balance in this case and just continue.

Regards,

Geert
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Carmelo Pagan]

I guess I stated the issue improperly.  I was trying to edit the opening 
balance after a reconciliation attempt had failed. The reconciliation 
difference was exactly the amount of the opening on my paper statement. I then 
realized I had not entered an opening balance amount (using the opening 
balances tab) when I created the account.  I then entered an opening balance 
via the Equity:Opening Balances account. When I attempted the reconciliation, 
the “starting balance” in the reconciliation window displayed a deficit amount 
instead of the amount I had entered in the Equity account.

I tried several measures in an attempt to get the negative amount in the 
reconciliation to reset to the newly entered opening balance. 

These included but were not limited to,.
1. Deleting the previously entered opening balance, hoping I could return to 
the original state  Result: Negative starting balance remained unchanged
2. Unreconciled all previously reconciled transactions and reattempted 
reconciliation. Result: Same Negative balance displayed,
3. Reverted to one of the backup files dated before the first reconciliation. 
Result: Same Negative amount displayed.

Hopefully this sheds some light on the discussion.

Sincerely , 
Carmelo Pagán 

> On Dec 12, 2017, at 12:52 PM, Carmelo Pagán <c.pa...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> 
> I thank everyone for their feedback. 
> 
> I resolved it the painful way of creating a new file, downloading my 
> transactions (Thanks to Bruno Acklin's posting of the settings I needed), 
> then establishing the opening balances before reconciling the first time.  
> Fortunately, I am relatively new to GnuCash, so I only had to go through six 
> months' worth of transactions.
> 
> Lesson learned.
> 
> Carmelo Pagan
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: gnucash-user 
> [mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
> John Ralls
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:53 PM
> To: DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com>
> Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance
> 
> 
> 
>> On Dec 11, 2017, at 2:51 PM, DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>> 
>> John,
>> 
>> That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in 
>> Gnucash (it creates those entries) and once the entries have been 
>> created they are easily edited either from the Opening Balances 
>> register or from the register for the account for which you set the 
>> opening balance,  just as you can edit any other transaction.
> 
> Yes, Dave, I know. But the OP said that he didn’t use the Opening Balance tab 
> of the new account dialog, he created an Opening Balance transaction by hand 
> afterwards. Since he didn’t use the dialog it’s possible he made a mistake 
> and I instructed him how he might check for one and repair it if he needs to.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls
> 
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Dale Alspach]

Rather than changing the opening balance a correcting transaction needed
to be added. One side of the transaction would be the difference between
the incorrect starting balance and the correct starting balance and the
other side would be in Opening Balances or whatever caused the problem.
Next reconcile the account being sure to mark the correcting transaction
even though it does not match anything in the bank statement.

Once you have successfully reconciled the account, the starting balance
for the next reconcile will be the ending balance from this reconciliation.

Dale

On 12/13/2017 10:05 PM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:
> I tried that, but the reconcile window starting balance stayed fixed.
> 
> -Original Message-
> From: gnucash-user 
> [mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
> Ronal B Morse
> Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 4:08 PM
> To: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance
> 
> Is there some reason you couldn't just change the opening balance in the 
> register to the correct amount, then performing the reconcile?
> 
> RBM
> 
> 
> 
> On 12/12/2017 10:52 AM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:
>> I thank everyone for their feedback.
>>
>> I resolved it the painful way of creating a new file, downloading my 
>> transactions (Thanks to Bruno Acklin's posting of the settings I needed), 
>> then establishing the opening balances before reconciling the first time.  
>> Fortunately, I am relatively new to GnuCash, so I only had to go through six 
>> months' worth of transactions.
>>
>> Lesson learned.
>>
>> Carmelo Pagan
>>
>> -Original Message-
>> From: gnucash-user 
>> [mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On 
>> Behalf Of John Ralls
>> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:53 PM
>> To: DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com>
>> Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
>> Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance
>>
>>
>>
>>> On Dec 11, 2017, at 2:51 PM, DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> John,
>>>
>>> That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in 
>>> Gnucash (it creates those entries) and once the entries have been 
>>> created they are easily edited either from the Opening Balances 
>>> register or from the register for the account for which you set the 
>>> opening balance,  just as you can edit any other transaction.
>> Yes, Dave, I know. But the OP said that he didn’t use the Opening Balance 
>> tab of the new account dialog, he created an Opening Balance transaction by 
>> hand afterwards. Since he didn’t use the dialog it’s possible he made a 
>> mistake and I instructed him how he might check for one and repair it if he 
>> needs to.
>>
>> Regards,
>> John Ralls
>>
>> ___
>> gnucash-user mailing list
>> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
>> -
>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>>
>> ___
>> gnucash-user mailing list
>> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
>> -
>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

RE: Cannot edit opening balance

[Carmelo Pagán]

I tried that, but the reconcile window starting balance stayed fixed.

-Original Message-
From: gnucash-user 
[mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
Ronal B Morse
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2017 4:08 PM
To: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance

Is there some reason you couldn't just change the opening balance in the 
register to the correct amount, then performing the reconcile?

RBM



On 12/12/2017 10:52 AM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:
> I thank everyone for their feedback.
>
> I resolved it the painful way of creating a new file, downloading my 
> transactions (Thanks to Bruno Acklin's posting of the settings I needed), 
> then establishing the opening balances before reconciling the first time.  
> Fortunately, I am relatively new to GnuCash, so I only had to go through six 
> months' worth of transactions.
>
> Lesson learned.
>
> Carmelo Pagan
>
> -Original Message-
> From: gnucash-user 
> [mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On 
> Behalf Of John Ralls
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:53 PM
> To: DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com>
> Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance
>
>
>
>> On Dec 11, 2017, at 2:51 PM, DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com> wrote:
>>
>> John,
>>
>> That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in 
>> Gnucash (it creates those entries) and once the entries have been 
>> created they are easily edited either from the Opening Balances 
>> register or from the register for the account for which you set the 
>> opening balance,  just as you can edit any other transaction.
> Yes, Dave, I know. But the OP said that he didn’t use the Opening Balance tab 
> of the new account dialog, he created an Opening Balance transaction by hand 
> afterwards. Since he didn’t use the dialog it’s possible he made a mistake 
> and I instructed him how he might check for one and repair it if he needs to.
>
> Regards,
> John Ralls
>
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Ronal B Morse]

Is there some reason you couldn't just change the opening balance in the 
register to the correct amount, then performing the reconcile?


RBM



On 12/12/2017 10:52 AM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:

I thank everyone for their feedback.

I resolved it the painful way of creating a new file, downloading my 
transactions (Thanks to Bruno Acklin's posting of the settings I needed), then 
establishing the opening balances before reconciling the first time.  
Fortunately, I am relatively new to GnuCash, so I only had to go through six 
months' worth of transactions.

Lesson learned.

Carmelo Pagan

-Original Message-
From: gnucash-user 
[mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
John Ralls
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:53 PM
To: DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com>
Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance




On Dec 11, 2017, at 2:51 PM, DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com> wrote:

John,

That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in
Gnucash (it creates those entries) and once the entries have been
created they are easily edited either from the Opening Balances
register or from the register for the account for which you set the
opening balance,  just as you can edit any other transaction.

Yes, Dave, I know. But the OP said that he didn’t use the Opening Balance tab 
of the new account dialog, he created an Opening Balance transaction by hand 
afterwards. Since he didn’t use the dialog it’s possible he made a mistake and 
I instructed him how he might check for one and repair it if he needs to.

Regards,
John Ralls

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.


___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

RE: Cannot edit opening balance

[Carmelo Pagán]

I thank everyone for their feedback. 

I resolved it the painful way of creating a new file, downloading my 
transactions (Thanks to Bruno Acklin's posting of the settings I needed), then 
establishing the opening balances before reconciling the first time.  
Fortunately, I am relatively new to GnuCash, so I only had to go through six 
months' worth of transactions.

Lesson learned.

Carmelo Pagan

-Original Message-
From: gnucash-user 
[mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
John Ralls
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 6:53 PM
To: DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com>
Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance



> On Dec 11, 2017, at 2:51 PM, DaveC49 <davidcous...@bigpond.com> wrote:
> 
> John,
> 
> That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in 
> Gnucash (it creates those entries) and once the entries have been 
> created they are easily edited either from the Opening Balances 
> register or from the register for the account for which you set the 
> opening balance,  just as you can edit any other transaction.

Yes, Dave, I know. But the OP said that he didn’t use the Opening Balance tab 
of the new account dialog, he created an Opening Balance transaction by hand 
afterwards. Since he didn’t use the dialog it’s possible he made a mistake and 
I instructed him how he might check for one and repair it if he needs to.

Regards,
John Ralls

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[DaveC49]

My bad John, 

I replied to the wrong post.  

David



-
David Cousens
--
Sent from: http://gnucash.1415818.n4.nabble.com/GnuCash-User-f1415819.html
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[John Ralls]

> On Dec 11, 2017, at 2:51 PM, DaveC49  wrote:
> 
> John,
> 
> That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in Gnucash (it
> creates those entries) and once the entries have been created they are
> easily edited either from the Opening Balances register or from the register
> for the account for which you set the opening balance,  just as you can edit
> any other transaction. 

Yes, Dave, I know. But the OP said that he didn’t use the Opening Balance tab 
of the new account dialog, he created an Opening Balance transaction by hand 
afterwards. Since he didn’t use the dialog it’s possible he made a mistake and 
I instructed him how he might check for one and repair it if he needs to.

Regards,
John Ralls

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[DaveC49]

John,

That is exactly what the Opening Balance dialog actually does in Gnucash (it
creates those entries) and once the entries have been created they are
easily edited either from the Opening Balances register or from the register
for the account for which you set the opening balance,  just as you can edit
any other transaction. 

David



-
David Cousens
--
Sent from: http://gnucash.1415818.n4.nabble.com/GnuCash-User-f1415819.html
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Adrien Monteleone]

Not true at all.

You can edit it to your hearts content. I have on several occasions.

If you’ve reconciled it though, you’ll get a warning asking if you are sure you 
want to change it, and of course, doing so might throw off a reconciliation.

There’s nothing special about the opening balance entry when starting GnuCash 
for the first time. It’s just an entry between a particular account and an 
account called Equity:Opening Balances.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Dec 10, 2017, at 11:48 PM, John R. Sowden  
> wrote:
> 
> My suggestion is to never use the opening balance in an accounting system.  
> Instead, I create a series of General Journal entries, each with about 5-6 
> transaction pairs, to cover all of the asset, liability and equity accounts.  
> Works well.  I have learned over the decades that the programmer does not 
> want the user to edit the beginning balance once it is entered.
> 
> John
> 
> 
> 
> On 12/10/2017 02:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:
>> Hello All,
>> 
>>  
>> I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running into a
>> problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as the opening
>> balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating the account. After
>> obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the open balance as stated. I
>> went to enter an opening balance in the” Equity:Opening Balances” account
>> and it accepted the entry just fine. I then checked the opening balance in
>> my checking account and it displayed the opening balance as I entered in the
>> equity account.  When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile
>> window displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I
>> entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to
>> alter the opening Balance.
>> 
>>  
>> Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in the
>> reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation that
>> follows. I hope you (the community) can help
>> 
>>  
>> OS: Windows10
>> 
>> GC version: 2.6.18
>> 
>> Build: git rev 3a9fbb8+ on 2017-10-08
>> 
>>  
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Carmelo Pagan
>> 
>> ___
>> gnucash-user mailing list
>> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
>> -
>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>> 
> 
> 
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[John Ralls]

> On Dec 10, 2017, at 10:17 PM, Carmelo Pagán <c.pa...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> 
> I tried the suggestion to no avail.  So if I understand this correctly, there 
> no remedy to recover from user error in the Reconcile function Hm  
> Machine restricts user.  Something out of whack with that IMHO.  Humans are 
> imperfect and will make mistakes.  Shouldn't the software be robust enough to 
> handle something like this?

Errors can be fixed, though generally not in the reconcile window. It isn’t 
modal: You can switch back-and-forth between it and the register and any 
changes you make in the register will be reflected in the reconcile window.

If you’ve reconciled transactions in error just unreconcile them in the 
register. It’s the single-letter column between transfer account and deposit; 
it has three values, ’n’ for “no”, ‘c’ for “cleared”, and ‘y’ for “yes”, 
meaning reconciled. Just click on all of the ones marked ‘y’. GnuCash will ask 
if you’re sure. You can speed it up a bit by checking the “don’t ask again this 
session” box.

The next thing to check is that all of your transactions are in the right 
direction and that the dates are correct; in particular the opening balance 
transaction should be the earliest one.

If you’re still stuck you’ll need to provide more information, perhaps a screen 
shot or two showing the register and the reconcile window. If you’re paranoid 
you can fuzz out transaction descriptions and transfer accounts, but do leave 
the other columns visible.

Regards,
John Ralls

> 
> -Original Message-
> From: gnucash-user 
> [mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
> Carmelo Pagan
> Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 12:43 AM
> To: John Ralls <jra...@ceridwen.us>
> Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance
> 
> Thank you Mr. Ralls. I will give it a try
> 
> Sincerely ,
> Carmelo Pagán 
> 
>> On Dec 10, 2017, at 6:02 PM, John Ralls <jra...@ceridwen.us> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> On Dec 10, 2017, at 2:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán <c.pa...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Hello All,
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running 
>>> into a problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as 
>>> the opening balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating 
>>> the account. After obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the 
>>> open balance as stated. I went to enter an opening balance in the” 
>>> Equity:Opening Balances” account and it accepted the entry just fine. 
>>> I then checked the opening balance in my checking account and it 
>>> displayed the opening balance as I entered in the equity account.  
>>> When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile window 
>>> displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I 
>>> entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to 
>>> alter the opening Balance.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in 
>>> the reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation 
>>> that follows. I hope you (the community) can help
>> 
>> Could you clarify what you mean? The Reconcile Window (in English, anyway) 
>> doesn't use the term "Opening Balance". It has "Starting Balance", "Ending 
>> Balance", and "Reconciled Balance". The first is the balance of reconciled 
>> transactions (including the account's opening balance *if that has been 
>> reconciled*) at the beginning of the reconcile session, the second is the 
>> balance that you entered in the little dialog box at the beginning of the 
>> process; you should have entered the ending balance from your bank statement 
>> in there, and the third starts off the same as starting balance and adjusts 
>> as you mark new transactions reconciled in the reconcile window. When it 
>> matches the ending balance the green Finished button lights up and you're 
>> done.
>> 
>> The starting balance can't be edited because it's calculated from what 
>> you've already reconciled in the account.
>> 
>> If this is your very first time reconciling this account the starting 
>> balance should be 0 as there shouldn't be any reconciled transactions yet. 
>> If it's a negative number that suggests that you might have reconciled some 
>> transactions before creating the opening balance transaction; since it's not 
>> reconciled yet it's not included in the starting

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 12/11/2017 3:17 AM, David T. via gnucash-user wrote:

I would suggest reading section 4.4 of the tutorial, where the issue regarding 
handling starting balance problems is addressed directly.
David

  
I would also suggest learning how to CORRECT errors, which in formal 
accounting is not done by changing/editing existing errors.


Let me give an example. Suppose you did set up your books using 
"starting balance" << as others have pointed out, some of us would NOT 
have done that but would have manually entered the initial transactions 
with a date before the start of the first period, usually the day before >>


Dec 31, 2016
Cash on hand db$500
 Equity cr $500   (this probably part of a split 
amount if :starting balance was used --- a single entry for the total of 
all assets minus all liabilities)


Now on June 25th 2017 you discovered a jar squirreled away that had $100 
dollars in it. How do you correct the starting balance? You can enter a 
transaction with a date of Dec 31, 2016

Cash on hand db $100
  Equitycr  $100  (I don't know what equity sub 
accounts the "starting balance" might have created since I never have 
used that, but if a sub account was created, use that)
Your description for this entry would be something like "correction of 
starting balance because of money found in jar"


Michael D Novack



Michael D Novack
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[David T. via gnucash-user]

I would suggest reading section 4.4 of the tutorial, where the issue regarding 
handling starting balance problems is addressed directly. 
David

 
 
  On Mon, Dec 11, 2017 at 11:48, John R. Sowden 
wrote:   My suggestion is to never use the opening balance in an accounting 
system.  Instead, I create a series of General Journal entries, each 
with about 5-6 transaction pairs, to cover all of the asset, liability 
and equity accounts.  Works well.  I have learned over the decades that 
the programmer does not want the user to edit the beginning balance once 
it is entered.

John



On 12/10/2017 02:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:
> Hello All,
>
>  
>
> I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running into a
> problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as the opening
> balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating the account. After
> obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the open balance as stated. I
> went to enter an opening balance in the” Equity:Opening Balances” account
> and it accepted the entry just fine. I then checked the opening balance in
> my checking account and it displayed the opening balance as I entered in the
> equity account.  When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile
> window displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I
> entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to
> alter the opening Balance.
>
>  
>
> Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in the
> reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation that
> follows. I hope you (the community) can help
>
>  
>
> OS: Windows10
>
> GC version: 2.6.18
>
> Build: git rev 3a9fbb8+ on 2017-10-08
>
>  
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Carmelo Pagan
>
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> -
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>


___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.  
___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[John R. Sowden]

My suggestion is to never use the opening balance in an accounting 
system.  Instead, I create a series of General Journal entries, each 
with about 5-6 transaction pairs, to cover all of the asset, liability 
and equity accounts.  Works well.  I have learned over the decades that 
the programmer does not want the user to edit the beginning balance once 
it is entered.


John



On 12/10/2017 02:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán wrote:

Hello All,

  


I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running into a
problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as the opening
balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating the account. After
obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the open balance as stated. I
went to enter an opening balance in the” Equity:Opening Balances” account
and it accepted the entry just fine. I then checked the opening balance in
my checking account and it displayed the opening balance as I entered in the
equity account.  When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile
window displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I
entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to
alter the opening Balance.

  


Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in the
reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation that
follows. I hope you (the community) can help

  


OS: Windows10

GC version: 2.6.18

Build: git rev 3a9fbb8+ on 2017-10-08

  


Sincerely,

Carmelo Pagan

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.




___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

RE: Cannot edit opening balance

[Carmelo Pagán]

I tried the suggestion to no avail.  So if I understand this correctly, there 
no remedy to recover from user error in the Reconcile function Hm  
Machine restricts user.  Something out of whack with that IMHO.  Humans are 
imperfect and will make mistakes.  Shouldn't the software be robust enough to 
handle something like this?

-Original Message-
From: gnucash-user 
[mailto:gnucash-user-bounces+c.pagan=sbcglobal@gnucash.org] On Behalf Of 
Carmelo Pagan
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2017 12:43 AM
To: John Ralls <jra...@ceridwen.us>
Cc: gnucash-user@gnucash.org
Subject: Re: Cannot edit opening balance

Thank you Mr. Ralls. I will give it a try

Sincerely ,
Carmelo Pagán 

> On Dec 10, 2017, at 6:02 PM, John Ralls <jra...@ceridwen.us> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On Dec 10, 2017, at 2:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán <c.pa...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello All,
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running 
>> into a problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as 
>> the opening balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating 
>> the account. After obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the 
>> open balance as stated. I went to enter an opening balance in the” 
>> Equity:Opening Balances” account and it accepted the entry just fine. 
>> I then checked the opening balance in my checking account and it 
>> displayed the opening balance as I entered in the equity account.  
>> When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile window 
>> displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I 
>> entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to 
>> alter the opening Balance.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in 
>> the reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation 
>> that follows. I hope you (the community) can help
> 
> Could you clarify what you mean? The Reconcile Window (in English, anyway) 
> doesn't use the term "Opening Balance". It has "Starting Balance", "Ending 
> Balance", and "Reconciled Balance". The first is the balance of reconciled 
> transactions (including the account's opening balance *if that has been 
> reconciled*) at the beginning of the reconcile session, the second is the 
> balance that you entered in the little dialog box at the beginning of the 
> process; you should have entered the ending balance from your bank statement 
> in there, and the third starts off the same as starting balance and adjusts 
> as you mark new transactions reconciled in the reconcile window. When it 
> matches the ending balance the green Finished button lights up and you're 
> done.
> 
> The starting balance can't be edited because it's calculated from what you've 
> already reconciled in the account.
> 
> If this is your very first time reconciling this account the starting balance 
> should be 0 as there shouldn't be any reconciled transactions yet. If it's a 
> negative number that suggests that you might have reconciled some 
> transactions before creating the opening balance transaction; since it's not 
> reconciled yet it's not included in the starting balance. If that's the only 
> problem and you reconcile it--and only it--in the reconcile window the 
> reconciled balance should match the starting balance on your statement.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls
> 

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[Carmelo Pagan]

Thank you Mr. Ralls. I will give it a try

Sincerely , 
Carmelo Pagán 

> On Dec 10, 2017, at 6:02 PM, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On Dec 10, 2017, at 2:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán  wrote:
>> 
>> Hello All,
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running into a
>> problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as the opening
>> balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating the account. After
>> obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the open balance as stated. I
>> went to enter an opening balance in the” Equity:Opening Balances” account
>> and it accepted the entry just fine. I then checked the opening balance in
>> my checking account and it displayed the opening balance as I entered in the
>> equity account.  When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile
>> window displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I
>> entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to
>> alter the opening Balance.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in the
>> reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation that
>> follows. I hope you (the community) can help 
> 
> Could you clarify what you mean? The Reconcile Window (in English, anyway) 
> doesn't use the term "Opening Balance". It has "Starting Balance", "Ending 
> Balance", and "Reconciled Balance". The first is the balance of reconciled 
> transactions (including the account's opening balance *if that has been 
> reconciled*) at the beginning of the reconcile session, the second is the 
> balance that you entered in the little dialog box at the beginning of the 
> process; you should have entered the ending balance from your bank statement 
> in there, and the third starts off the same as starting balance and adjusts 
> as you mark new transactions reconciled in the reconcile window. When it 
> matches the ending balance the green Finished button lights up and you're 
> done.
> 
> The starting balance can't be edited because it's calculated from what you've 
> already reconciled in the account.
> 
> If this is your very first time reconciling this account the starting balance 
> should be 0 as there shouldn't be any reconciled transactions yet. If it's a 
> negative number that suggests that you might have reconciled some 
> transactions before creating the opening balance transaction; since it's not 
> reconciled yet it's not included in the starting balance. If that's the only 
> problem and you reconcile it--and only it--in the reconcile window the 
> reconciled balance should match the starting balance on your statement.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls
> 

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Re: Cannot edit opening balance

[John Ralls]

> On Dec 10, 2017, at 2:01 PM, Carmelo Pagán  wrote:
> 
> Hello All,
> 
> 
> 
> I’ve been trying to reconcile my Checking account, but I’m running into a
> problem.  The reconcile window displays a negative amount as the opening
> balance. I didn’t enter an opening balance when  creating the account. After
> obtaining my bank’s statement and gathering the open balance as stated. I
> went to enter an opening balance in the” Equity:Opening Balances” account
> and it accepted the entry just fine. I then checked the opening balance in
> my checking account and it displayed the opening balance as I entered in the
> equity account.  When I go to reconcile the Checking account, the reconcile
> window displays my opening balance as a different amount than the one I
> entered, and there is no option (that I can find, and yes I did RTFM)to
> alter the opening Balance.
> 
> 
> 
> Why doesn’t a user have the option to correct an opening balance in the
> reconcile window? This issues messes up every reconcile operation that
> follows. I hope you (the community) can help 

Could you clarify what you mean? The Reconcile Window (in English, anyway) 
doesn't use the term "Opening Balance". It has "Starting Balance", "Ending 
Balance", and "Reconciled Balance". The first is the balance of reconciled 
transactions (including the account's opening balance *if that has been 
reconciled*) at the beginning of the reconcile session, the second is the 
balance that you entered in the little dialog box at the beginning of the 
process; you should have entered the ending balance from your bank statement in 
there, and the third starts off the same as starting balance and adjusts as you 
mark new transactions reconciled in the reconcile window. When it matches the 
ending balance the green Finished button lights up and you're done.

The starting balance can't be edited because it's calculated from what you've 
already reconciled in the account.

If this is your very first time reconciling this account the starting balance 
should be 0 as there shouldn't be any reconciled transactions yet. If it's a 
negative number that suggests that you might have reconciled some transactions 
before creating the opening balance transaction; since it's not reconciled yet 
it's not included in the starting balance. If that's the only problem and you 
reconcile it--and only it--in the reconcile window the reconciled balance 
should match the starting balance on your statement.

Regards,
John Ralls

___
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user@gnucash.org
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
-
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.