Re: [GNC] Version 3.4 Mac OS - intermittent fault with transaction editing popup

[Michael Hendry]

> On 11 Feb 2019, at 18:59, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> All context menus for me on a Mac have a ‘lag’ or delay on some or all items 
> in the menu. At most this lasts about 2 seconds. In most cases it is only one 
> menu entry (consistently a ‘delete’ variant) that doesn’t seem to want to be 
> highlighted while the others are all responsive right away. I haven’t had to 
> move the mouse off the menu, I just move up and down and it eventually ‘wakes 
> up.’
> 
> Not sure if that is related.
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
>> 
>> That’s the one!
>> 
>> I’m having great trouble reproducing it this afternoon, and hadn’t 
>> discovered the move-the-pointer trick on the inert popup.
>> 
>> But I have discovered that moving the cursor just outside the top of an 
>> active popup (i.e. one which does highlight the options) may make it inert 
>> when the cursor is brought back in.
>> 
>> Michael


I’m not suffering from the delay mentioned by Adrien, but I’ve noticed another 
couple of oddities in the user interface.

It’s not possible to use Cmd-back-apostrophe to switch between two windows 
opened by the same instance of GC - this was present in 2.6.. versions too - so 
it’s necessary to click on the other window to give it focus.

In 2.6… any part of the window could be clicked, so it was possible to enter 
new transactions during a reconciliation (for example).

I’ve found that in 3.4 it’s necessary to click the Title Bar. Clicking the 
content of a window brings it to the front, but leaves it largely unresponsive.

Switching to the account being reconciled in this way makes it impossible to 
edit the date of a new transaction, but possible to enter the rest.

Switching back to the Reconciliation Window by clicking on the content leaves 
the window unresponsive, with the tick marks for already-reconciled 
transactions greyed out.


In the short term, there is a simple work-around - always click on the Title 
Bar.

It’s not clear whether this change from 2.6… arises from a change in the GC 
code itself, or in the window management code it uses.

Michael
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[GNC] I would like different Preference settings for different files, same user

[Michael Hendry]

My personal accounts run according to the UK tax year - 6th Apr one year to 5th 
Apr the next - but I also keep the books for East of Scotland Jazz Education 
(ESJE), a charity  whose reporting year runs from 1st Nov one year to 31st Oct 
the next because its peak activity in bookkeeping terms is a Summer Jazz School.

The manual tells me quite clearly that Preferences are per-user, not per-file, 
so I can’t complain that Gnucash isn’t doing what’s intended! BUT it isn’t 
convenient to have to switch to another user to edit the ESJE books.

Has anyone similarly afflicted invented a work-around?

Regards,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] I would like different Preference settings for different files, same user

[Michael Hendry]

> On 3 Mar 2019, at 15:34, Jeff Abrahamson  wrote:
> 
> A bug was filed on this issue in November of 2007 (!).
> 
>https://bugs.gnucash.org/show_bug.cgi?id=493789
> 
> I've updated it to to point to this thread.  I strongly encourage those
> of you who who feel that this is important to add yourselves to that bug.
> 
> I've not found documentation on how the gnucash developers prefer one
> express interest.  A common technique in many communities is simply to
> (create a bugzilla account on bugs.gnucash.org, then) login and add a
> single comment with the text "+1".  This will express your interest to
> the developers, add you to receive emails about the evolution of the
> bug, and make it easy to find again (in principle, anyway).
> 
> Jeff

Thanks, Jeff.

I wouldn’t necessarily describe this as a “bug”, in that the program is 
operating as intended (and documented).

The same issue affects Saved Report Configurations, where applying another 
book’s reports is likely to yield suboptimal results.

I can imagine that there are situations where per-user settings would be 
helpful (e.g. the Account Separator character, which is what got me into this 
in the first place).

If given the option, I would favour the per-book separation of preferences and 
report configurations with the option of “priming” a newly created book from an 
existing configuration or accepting a default set.

Michael

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Re: [GNC] I would like different Preference settings for different files, same user

[Michael Hendry]

> On 4 Mar 2019, at 08:31, Liz  wrote:
> 
> On Sun, 3 Mar 2019 11:58:14 +
> Michael Hendry  wrote:
> 
>> The manual tells me quite clearly that Preferences are per-user, not
>> per-file, so I can’t complain that Gnucash isn’t doing what’s
>> intended! BUT it isn’t convenient to have to switch to another user
>> to edit the ESJE books.
>> 
>> Has anyone similarly afflicted invented a work-around?
> 
> The only known workaround is to keep the books under different user
> accounts on your computer.
> If the other user was in a virtual machine it would be a little easier,
> but not easy.
> 
> Liz

Thanks, Liz.

I got into this because I was creating several similar reports for the ESJE 
book, copying-and-pasting the account titles from the reports for use in the 
filenames - the (default) colon separator caused problems and I replaced it 
with a hyphen.

When I went back to my personal book I was warned that the use of hyphen as a 
separator would clash with hyphen-containing account names.

I have VMs for Windows and for Ubuntu on my Mac, but firing one of these up for 
a quick enquiry on a book would be a pain, so I’ll stick with what I’ve got - 
choosing preferences that will suit both books as far as possible, adjusting 
the accounting year where necessary and keeping my eyes open when it comes to 
Saved Reports.

Michael


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Re: [GNC] Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 18 Mar 2019, at 16:36, Patrick  wrote:
> 
> That makes sense. Thank you for the very helpful response and the example.
> 
> Regards,
> Patrick

Am I alone in finding the use of the word “split” in this context to be 
confusing?

In ordinary everyday English, splitting an object involves its being separated 
into two or more fragments.

When I split a log in two with an axe, the result is ONE split (the plane in 
which the log separates) and TWO smaller logs. If I keep on going, the outcome 
of N splits is (N - 1) smaller logs.

In the context of double-entry bookkeeping, each transaction involves two 
entries - one (for example) recording the issue of a cheque from a bank 
account, and the other logging the same transaction through the appropriate 
expense account.

When several expense accounts are involved in the same payment (e.g. if you buy 
petrol, milk and a bunch of flowers at a service station) there are actually 
three double entries. It’s convenient to record the cheque issued to cover all 
three expenses as one entry, and to allocate an entry for each of the separate 
expenses to put together as one (quadruple)-entry transaction.

So what you get when you split a Gnucash transaction is two or more _entries_ 
relating to the same financial transaction.

No?

Michael
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Re: [GNC] Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 18 Mar 2019, at 17:54, Geert Janssens  wrote:
> 
> Hi Hendry,
> 
> The term split has been in use in GnuCash long before I joined the project. 
> As 
> I'm not an accountant, I don't know which would be the proper formal 
> accounting term to use in this context. And additionally it may be very hard 
> to change the use of this term throughout the project (though if there really 
> is a more correct term it may be worth gradually promoting it).
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Geert

Evening, Geert.

Agreed, in the glossary the definition of a split goes like this...

"Split
A split, or Ledger Entry, is the fundamental accounting unit...”

...I’ve been using Gnucash for 9 years and have coped with the concept in 
practice.

There is always a place for a tightly defined vocabulary in any technical 
context, but I’m puzzled at the choice of “split”, when “Ledger Entry” 
describes the idea so well, and split already means something else. 

Perhaps it’s a UK/US usage thing?

I’ve never used the CSV import procedure, but I’ve been skimming the current 
threads on this topic and felt that Gnucash newbies might benefit from some 
clarification. For example, the term “multi-split” has no definition in the 
glossary. 

“Multi-“ is conventionally used to mean “more than one”, but in this instance 
it’s been defined to mean “more than two”.

I’m not an accountant either, and I’m not necessarily arguing that the term 
“split” should be renamed, just pointing out that there is potential for 
misunderstanding.

Michael Hendry
(my email address has my surname and first name in that order because 
michael.hendry… was already taken when I signed up!)


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Re: [GNC] Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 19 Mar 2019, at 01:19, D via gnucash-user  wrote:
> 
> Michael, Adrien, 
> 
> Section 4.3 in the Guide is titled "Simple vs. Split Transactions" and 
> explains in some detail what is meant. Perhaps the language there is not 
> clear enough (improvements always welcome!), but it's not true that this 
> isn't defined or explained.
> 
> David

David,

The guide says:

"Every transaction in GnuCash has at least two splits, but a transaction can 
have more than two splits. A transaction with only two splits is called a 
simple transaction, since it only involves the current account and a single 
remote account. A transaction with three or more accounts is called a split 
transaction.”

A recurrent observation on this list is that GnuCash is based on the 
traditional paper-and-pen double-entry bookkeeping system, often linked with 
the comment that many of the queries that come up are not problems with GnuCash 
but with the poster’s lack of understanding of the manual system.

There seems to be no good reason for introducing the term “split”, and wielding 
 Occam’s Razor I suggest:

"Every transaction in GnuCash has at least two Ledger Entries, but a 
transaction can have more than two Ledger Entries.”

“A transaction with two Ledger Entries is called a simple transaction.”

“A transaction with more than two Ledger Entries is called a compound 
transaction.”

These three statements are entirely in keeping with bookkeeping usage, whereas 
saying that a transaction with three “splits” is a split transaction and then 
that one with two “splits” is something else is muddling.

I would omit “since it only involves the current account and a single remote 
account”, because neither of these terms is defined in the guide. “Current” has 
a special meaning in bookkeeping relating to Current Assets, but it is also 
used throughout the guide to refer to “the current month”, “the current 
transaction” etc. Further confusion might arise because, in UK usage, a current 
account is what Americans call a checking account. “Remote” implies to me 
something far away - on another computer, for example, as in this quotation 
from the guide:

"Q: Can I run GnuCash on Windows?
A: Yes. Starting with release 2.2.0, GnuCash is also available on Windows. 
Other related options would be colinux, VMWare and a windows-based X-server 
hosting a remote Gnu-Cash session.”

I would like “split” to be free for use in its normal non-specialist use as a 
verb - describing the division of a single-line entry in an Account Register 
into its component Ledger Entries.

I appreciate that changing the nomenclature would be non-trivial, but believe 
that the benefit (especially to new users) would be worthwhile.

Michael


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Re: [GNC] Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 20 Mar 2019, at 08:23, Geert Janssens  wrote:
> 
> Op dinsdag 19 maart 2019 22:10:29 CET schreef Adrien Monteleone:
>> I never understood the need or benefit to differentiate simple vs. split
>> transactions since *all* transactions are split into two entries at least
>> once. Perhaps dropping that distinction is in order, or does it serve some
>> purpose that isn’t outweighed by the confusion it causes?
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Adrien
>> 
> To my mind it serves a case in that we can offer a simplified input interface 
> for the two-split transactions.
> 
> We have long had the single-line interface to enter two-split transactions as 
> most new users find that interface easier to understand and use.
> 
> But this simplified interface can't be extended generically to also support 3-
> or-more split transactions. In the personal accounting use case these are 
> less 
> common however so we have optimized for the two-split use case (at least 
> that's what I suppose - it has been like that before I came into the project).
> 
> So you are right that all transactions are multi-split and it's not for the 
> transactions themselves we differentiate. We differentiate because for the 
> special case of only two splits we can offer simplified input interfaces.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Geert

Which supports my contention that the use of the term “split” for a Ledger 
Entry causes confusion.

Would anyone think it odd that a different process would be required when 
importing a compound transaction than when importing a simple one?

Regards,

Michael


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[GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 20 Mar 2019, at 10:52, Geert Janssens  wrote:
> 
> Op woensdag 20 maart 2019 10:51:55 CET schreef Michael Hendry:
>> Which supports my contention that the use of the term “split” for a Ledger
>> Entry causes confusion.
>> 
> Fair enough. As I said if there's a concise yet more clear term to use I'm 
> happy to switch to it.
> 
> Personally I'm not convinced yet "Ledger Entry" would be that replacement. 
> Surely it would appeal to people with an accounting  background, but it 
> doesn't feel like very intuitive for the casual user just wishing to keep 
> track of its personal finances in GnuCash.

I agree, “Ledger Entry” is a bit clunky, but the casual user has to have (at 
least) a nodding acquaintance with double-entry bookkeeping to be able to use 
Gnucash.

If you look in any book-keeping primer, you’ll find a definition of a Ledger 
Entry, but you won’t find a “split” defined there. 

> As English is not my native 
> language that may be a translation issue though. However perhaps more 
> informal 
> terminology exists to describe subparts of a transaction ?

I haven’t come across such a term, but maybe I don’t get out enough?

> 
> In addition it seems to me this thread has now evolved to discussing two 
> distinct terminology issues:
> * the use of the  word "split" in itself
> * the use of the term "multi" in "multi-split" to mean "more than two" rather 
> than "two or more”.

Indeed - I’ve altered the subject line.

> 
>> Would anyone think it odd that a different process would be required when
>> importing a compound transaction than when importing a simple one?
>> 
> I think that depends on the input source format: csv is generic and doesn't 
> strictly define how to encode accounting data.
> 
> GnuCash tries cater for as many formats as possible. So it offers a way to 
> import csv files with only one transaction per line or a csv file where each 
> line consists of one ledger entry/split and hence transaction can span 
> multiple lines.

So the choice is between importing “Simple Transactions” and “Compound 
Transactions”, with a two-line simple transaction as a special case of a 
compound transaction.

> 
> As GnuCash doesn't define the input sources (those come from banks, a 
> spreadsheet, another accounting application,...) I don't see how that could 
> be 
> covered  with only one import interface.

Agreed - the user would need to specify the appropriate format at import time 
if the importing software can’t determine it by inspection.

> 
> Regards,
> 
> Geert

Regards,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 21 Mar 2019, at 14:46, D via gnucash-user  wrote:
> 
> It seems circular to say that there is a distinction between a simple and 
> compound transaction, and then say a simple transaction is a special case 
> compound transaction. Then we're back at defining the difference between, 
> say, a "split" transaction versus a "multi-split" transaction, which we're 
> trying to move away from as justifiably confusing.

What I meant was that the simple transaction is treated as a special case in 
that it appears on one line in the relevant GnuCash register - and in the 
context of some CSV imports might come in as a single line.

> 
> Calling one a "simple" transaction, and the others "compound" seems like 
> enough. Perhaps the explanation of the technical aspects of this (i.e., the 
> structure of a two sided simple, as opposed to an n-sided {n>2} compound 
> transaction), could use the term "split," as it is defined by  Gnucash. This 
> would disambiguate the use of the term "split," such that it would only be 
> used for this specific case. 
> 
> Regardless, I am still against the "Ledger entry" locution. 
> 
> Perhaps we need a translation from American English to British English…

I should have thought “Ledger Entry” would work on either side of the Atlantic, 
if not it’s clearly unsuitable!

Michael

> 
> David
> 
> On March 21, 2019, at 7:47 PM, Derek Atkins  wrote:
> 
> "David T. via gnucash-user"  writes:
> 
>> I like the terminology “simple” versus “compound”, but I do not
>> understand what is meant by a “ two-line simple transaction as a
>> special case of a compound transaction.”
> 
> This is what happens you expand a simple transaction (which has only 2
> splits) by clicking on the "Show Splits" button, or change the View to
> Split-ledger or Transaction Journal mode.  It will display as a compound
> transaction but have only two lines (plus the blank spilt line).
> 
>> David
> 
>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
> -derek



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Re: [GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 21 Mar 2019, at 15:15, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> I’m not sure ‘ledger entry’ is a prime choice either. If we were to consider 
> the pen and paper world, this is done as a ‘journal entry’ but that entry 
> always has two components (debit and credit) with at minimum two accounts 
> involved. I’m going to dig up my accounting textbook and see how they 
> reference the entries but I’m going to hazard an early guess that there is no 
> mention of the individual parts of the transaction other than debit/credit.

Just checked my ancient primer, which starts a new business with a contribution 
of £3000 of capital from John Brown to the Cash Account.

Two ledger pages are created, one called “Cash Account” numbered “L1" and the 
other “Capital Account - John Brown” numbered “L2”.

On the Debit side of L1 there is a entry recording Capital of £3000 received 
from L2.

On the Credit side of L2 there is a corresponding entry of a transfer of Cash 
to L1.

These two separate but linked “Ledger Entries" make up the one “Transaction".

I’d be surprised if the overall process is different in the US, but the 
nomenclature might well diverge.

Regards,

Michael

> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
>> On Mar 21, 2019, at 9:46 AM, D via gnucash-user  
>> wrote:
>> 
>> It seems circular to say that there is a distinction between a simple and 
>> compound transaction, and then say a simple transaction is a special case 
>> compound transaction. Then we're back at defining the difference between, 
>> say, a "split" transaction versus a "multi-split" transaction, which we're 
>> trying to move away from as justifiably confusing.
>> 
>> Calling one a "simple" transaction, and the others "compound" seems like 
>> enough. Perhaps the explanation of the technical aspects of this (i.e., the 
>> structure of a two sided simple, as opposed to an n-sided {n>2} compound 
>> transaction), could use the term "split," as it is defined by  Gnucash. This 
>> would disambiguate the use of the term "split," such that it would only be 
>> used for this specific case. 
>> 
>> Regardless, I am still against the "Ledger entry" locution. 
>> 
>> Perhaps we need a translation from American English to British English...
>> 
>> David
>> 
> 
> 
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Re: [GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 22 Mar 2019, at 15:10, Derek Atkins  wrote:
> 
> D  writes:
> 
>> It seems circular to say that there is a distinction between a simple
>> and compound transaction, and then say a simple transaction is a
>> special case compound transaction. Then we're back at defining the
>> difference between, say, a "split" transaction versus a "multi-split"
>> transaction, which we're trying to move away from as justifiably
>> confusing.
> 
> The difference is "exactly 2 splits" vs "more than 2 splits".
> 
> Simple tranaction: exactly 2 splits.  The basic view mode in the
> ledger lets you enter these simply, and the Transfer field shows the
> "other" account.
> 
> Compound transaction: > 2 splits.  The Transfer field shows "Split
> Transaction" and you must expand the transaction to see the other
> accounts.
> 
> Those ARE the definitions.  If you don't like them, well, I'm sorry, but
> it's like saying you don't like the sky being Blue and would prefer if
> it was purple with pink polka dots.
> 
> The fact remains, a simple transaction *is* a special case of a compound
> transaction as far as the UI is concerned.   If you expand a simple
> transaction you'll see both splits.
> 
>> Calling one a "simple" transaction, and the others "compound" seems
>> like enough. Perhaps the explanation of the technical aspects of this
>> (i.e., the structure of a two sided simple, as opposed to an n-sided
>> {n>2} compound transaction), could use the term "split," as it is
>> defined by Gnucash. This would disambiguate the use of the term
>> "split," such that it would only be used for this specific case.
> 
> I am fine with that approach.  In my mind it's always clear, tho, that
> "split transaction" implies "compound transaction", and "transaction
> splits" are the individual entries that tie the transaction to each
> account.  But whatever, I've only been using these terms within gnucash
> for 20 years now.  What do I know?  :)

Well, and with the greatest respect, could it be that you’ve grown up with it 
so you don’t see the potential for confusion? 

To recap: I’ve been using Gnucash for 9 years, and I’ve managed to cope with 
“splits” without looking at the definitions too closely.

I don’t use the CSV importer, and it wasn’t until there was a thread about 
multi-splits and the CSV importer that I tried to get my head around the 
nomenclature - and found it confusing.

To me, the term “split transaction” implies "a transaction that has been split” 
as opposed to “a transaction that is made up from splits”, and it says nothing 
about whether the transaction itself is Simple or Compound.

Although a molecule of carbon monoxide is made up from an atom each of carbon 
and oxygen, I wouldn’t refer to either of these atoms as a split. 


> 
>> Regardless, I am still against the "Ledger entry" locution. 
> 
> Why?

Good question!

The ledger entry is the atom from which transactions are made; the problem is 
that GC’s user interface (very helpfully) facilitates the direct creation of 
molecules. 

> 
> -derek

I realise that the concept of splits is in-with-the-bricks of Gnucash, and that 
it wouldn’t be easy to disengage from its use. Now that I have worked out what 
it means, it shouldn’t give me any more trouble.

I should probably say no more.

Regards,

Michael


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Re: [GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 22 Mar 2019, at 19:33, aeg via gnucash-user  
> wrote:


--

I agree with Michael's points.A simple transaction consists of just one split 
but two parts, and saying (pretending) that a simple transaction has two splits 
is misleading.
I see no problems with the use of terms like 'simple transaction' (with one 
split and two parts) or with 'compound transactions' (with 2+ splits and 3+ 
parts), but it doesn't make sense to refer to the parts as splits. Why not just 
use the term 'parts' or 'transaction parts' or even invent a new word 
'transparts'; (after all, GnuCash is a made up word too.)
Just because GnuCash developers previously defined the 'parts' of a transaction 
as 'splits' doesn't mean that the definition shouldn't be changed to make it 
clearer.
Kind regards,Alan


___

Thanks for your support, Alan,

and also for the fact that your response demonstrates the incomprehensibility 
of the terminology!

QED

You say “A simple transaction consists of just one split…” This is not the case 
- a simple transaction involves two splits. Similarly, a compound transaction 
involves 3 or more splits.

The situation isn’t helped by the use of the term “Split Transaction” which 
appears in a register where there is a transaction with more than 2 splits. 
Does this mean (using Split as a noun) that the transaction is made up from 
splits, or (using it as a past participle) that the transaction is in a state 
of having been split. Replacing this with “Compound Transaction” would make it 
clear that there is more to see while not having any fundamental affect on 
underlying code or data.

Regards,

Michael




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Re: [GNC] The Meaning of Split (previously Example of multi-split feature of CSV importer?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 22 Mar 2019, at 19:33, aeg via gnucash-user  
> wrote:


--

I agree with Michael's points.A simple transaction consists of just one split 
but two parts, and saying (pretending) that a simple transaction has two splits 
is misleading.
I see no problems with the use of terms like 'simple transaction' (with one 
split and two parts) or with 'compound transactions' (with 2+ splits and 3+ 
parts), but it doesn't make sense to refer to the parts as splits. Why not just 
use the term 'parts' or 'transaction parts' or even invent a new word 
'transparts'; (after all, GnuCash is a made up word too.)
Just because GnuCash developers previously defined the 'parts' of a transaction 
as 'splits' doesn't mean that the definition shouldn't be changed to make it 
clearer.
Kind regards,Alan


___

Thanks for your support, Alan,

also for inadvertently revealing that the terminology has confused you too!

QED

You say “A simple transaction consists of just one split…” - this is not true - 
it’s clear from everyday use of GC that there are two splits in a simple 
transaction, in other words that a split maps directly to what would be called 
a Ledger Entry in paper-and-ink bookkeeping. Similarly, a compound transaction 
is one with more than 2 splits.

More confusion is added to the mix by the appearance of the term “Split 
Transaction” in the Basic View of a register which includes a compound 
transaction. This may be the reason for your errors above. 

As every transaction involves splits, this isn’t helpful. If it said “Compound 
Transaction” it would be much easier to comprehend, and would not need to cause 
problems for the underlying code or data.

I appreciate Derek’s point that removing the term “split” from the code and 
data would have consequences for future developers, and that the introduction 
of “Ledger Entry” would be awkward, but with some minor changes to the code and 
revision of the documentation this could all be resolved.

For example, consider this section:

"4.3. Simple vs. Split Transactions

"Every transaction in GnuCash has at least two splits, but a transaction can 
have more than two splits. A transaction with only two splits is called a 
simple transaction, since it only involves the current account and a single 
remote account. A transaction with three or more accounts is called a split 
transaction.

"When the register is in Basic view, you will see a summary of the splits 
affecting the current account. For a simple transaction, the Transfer column 
will display the other account from which money is transferred. For a split 
transaction, the Transfer column will display -- Split Transaction --. You can 
see the individual splits of each transaction by clicking the Split button in 
the Toolbar while selecting the appropriate transaction.”

I would suggest:

“4.3 Simple vs. Compound Transactions

"Every transaction in GnuCash has at least two entries, one recording the 
source account for the cash, and the other its destination. These are the 
equivalent of Ledger Entries in traditional bookkeeping, and are known as 
“splits” in GnuCash. A two-split transaction is called a Simple Transaction.

"It’s also possible to have more than two splits in a transaction, which is 
called a Compound Transaction.

"When the register is in Basic view, you will see a summary of the splits 
affecting the current account. For a simple transaction, the Transfer column 
will display the other account from which money is transferred. For a compound 
transaction, the Transfer column will display -- Compound Transaction --. You 
can see the individual splits of each transaction by clicking the Split button 
in the Toolbar while selecting the appropriate transaction.”


I think the implications for the code would be small, but the relevant sections 
of the documentation would have to be carefully reviewed.

Regards,

Michael

(Still hopeful of generating more light than heat) 


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Re: [GNC] Cancel Sub. Thanks mguszak

[Michael Hendry]

> On 2 Apr 2019, at 20:49, MICHAEL GUSZAK  wrote:
> 
> 
> ___
> gnucash-user mailing list
> gnucash-user@gnucash.org
> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe:
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You should do this yourself, using the link following “…to unsubscribe:”, above.

Michael



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Re: [GNC] Downgrading to 2.6.21

[Michael Hendry]

> On 7 Apr 2019, at 16:32, Greg Feneis  wrote:
> 
> Hi John,
> 
> The path length issue was with 3.5 on Win 7-64.  Previously used 2.6.x to
> save to the same location without trouble.
> 
> The path that 3.5 failed to write to is:
> 
> C:\Dropbox\My Docs\Thorough C & D\GnuCash\GnuCash
> Files\(VerboseFileNameProbably30chars.gnucash)
> 
> 
> The last successful saves to this directory was by GnuCash 2.6.21, and was:
> 
> C:\Dropbox\My Docs\Thorough C & D\GnuCash\GnuCash
> Files\AfterImporting2018ThroughQ4.gnucash.20190401075914.log  (4/1/2019
> 8:01AM)
> 
> C:\Dropbox\My Docs\Thorough C & D\GnuCash\GnuCash
> Files\AfterImporting2018ThroughQ4.gnucash
> (4/1/2019 7:59AM)
> 
> 
> Since I suspected it was a path length issue, I tried saving the file name
> test.gnucash in the same location, but got the same error.  So I went one
> folder back and tried to save again and it failed the same way.  I kept
> shortening the path folder by folder like this until it did save, which was
> as follows:
> 
> C:\Dropbox\My Docs\Thorough C & D\test.gnucash
> 
> 
> Next, I copied the original folders so I could make a test path exactly
> like the path that causes the error, but with no ampersand, and I still get
> the the same problem.
> 
> C:\Dropbox\My Docs\Thorough C and D\GnuCash\GnuCash Files\ fails
> just like   C:\Dropbox\My Docs\Thorough C & D\GnuCash\GnuCash Files\
> 
> 
> A screen shot of the error
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/gd8rlgj1kvv0ysn/2019-04-05_18-37-52.png?dl=0
> 
> 
> Next, I copied the original folder so I could make a test path exactly like
> the path that causes the error, but with no spaces in the folder names and
> no ampersand, and I still get the same problem.  *However*, this time, when
> gnucash tried to display the path in the error message, it got some of it
> right.
> 
> A screen shot of that is here:
> https://www.dropbox.com/s/e3p0agpdlkmzia4/2019-04-05_18-52-26.png?dl=0

These Dropbox links give 404 errors - “That file isn’t here any more”.

> 
> 
> 
> Kind regards,
> 
> Greg

Just a thought - could there be a clash of character sets between what Windows 
expects and what Gnucash delivers?

Or a “\” vs “/“ clash?

Michael
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Re: [GNC] is there a way to undo last months reconciliation

[Michael Hendry]

> On 7 Apr 2019, at 16:33, David T. via gnucash-user  
> wrote:
> 
> Adrien,
> 
> I have seen how easy it is to have this happen; I had an import that had 
> extraneous spaces in the Description field, and when I corrected that, the 
> transactions de-reconciled. 
> 
> There were no warnings. I don’t believe I’ve ever set this option anywhere; 
> how would a user locate the setting in question? 
> 
> Note that I’m not asking to reset all my preferences; I am asking where I can 
> see the setting that I ostensibly have previously set. If the UI doesn’t 
> expose this setting, is there a way to locate it from outside GC?
> 
> David
> 

Before upgrading from 2.6.1 to 3.4 I always got a warning when adjusting the 
value of a transaction, but this stopped when I upgraded without any action on 
my part.

The Actions->Reset Warnings… menu option tells you which warnings you’ve 
switched off and allows you to switch any or all of them on again using a 
check-list, so you can be selective.

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Upgrade 2.6.18 to 3.5

[Michael Hendry]

> On 10 Apr 2019, at 08:21, aeg via gnucash-user  
> wrote:
> 
> I am currently using version 2.6.16 so should I upgrade to 2.6.21 before 3.5 
> or is another intermediate step recommended?
> Kind regards,Alan


For what it’s worth, I can report no file incompatibility problems in making 
the transition from 2.6.1 to 3.4 a few weeks ago.

Your mileage may, of course, vary.

I had planned to run the two versions in parallel for a while (with separate 
directories for the data), but quickly got fed up with the rigmarole of 
switching between the two.

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Column Width

[Michael Hendry]

> On 17 Apr 2019, at 11:48, Justin Mathew via gnucash-user 
>  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Is there any way to enter dates from keyboard? Eg, if you have to enter a 
> record for past dates, you have to choose the dates from the drop down 
> calendar. Any format that I can type to get the dates?
> 
> 
> -
> Regards,
> Justin Mathew
> mjus...@protonmail.com

Just type it, in the form DD/MM/YY

If you type only DD then  to the next field, it will assume the current 
month and year.

If you type DD/MM and  you’ll get the current year.

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Budget (combine 2 categories?)

[Michael Hendry]

> On 21 Apr 2019, at 16:44, randix  wrote:
> 
> I have two categories, that together I want to create a budget line for in a
> budget report, eg I really don't have a specific budget for either one, but
> I do for the total of the 2... is there any creative way to do that?
> 
> Thanks...


I haven’t tried this, but suggest you might try setting up these two accounts 
as children of a parent account.

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Account report: defined date range

[Michael Hendry]

> On 21 Apr 2019, at 18:16, Rich Shepard  wrote:
> 
> I've read the report section of the guide and tried various reports
> (including Account report) from the menu without finding the one I want: a
> list of all transactions in my checking account defined by starting and
> ending dates.
> 
> The account report displays all transactions in that account from when it
> was first set up and the options menu does not allow me to specify a date
> range.
> 
> I'm sure the information I need will be provided by one of the available
> reports yet I'm not seeing it. A pointer is needed.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Rich

Open the account.

Right-click within the account’s window (i.e. on any of the transactions).

Choose “Filter By”.

Set up the date range you are interested in.

Reports->Account Report.

Voilà!

Michael


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Re: [GNC] I can't see above the current widow

[Michael Hendry]

> On 22 Apr 2019, at 04:45, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> I’ve never tried to move ‘up’ the register page with an arrow key.
> 
> Can you not use the scroll bar?
> 
> Also, please always reply to the list address.
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien

Is it possible that the OP has set up a filter to restrict the display of the 
account to a date range?

Or that he is looking at the General Journal (which is, by default, restricted 
to a view of the last month’s transactions?

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Need help reconciling

[Michael Hendry]

> On 27 Apr 2019, at 10:29, Liz  wrote:
> 
> On Sat, 27 Apr 2019 14:16:25 +0530
> "David T. via gnucash-user"  wrote:
> 
>> ToddAndMango, you might try reading the documentation.
> 
> I'm going to put my education hat on here
> 
> We all learn in different combinations of three main ways
> Hearing, Doing and Seeing
> It doesn't matter how.
> Most importantly
> Some people just don't learn from lectures 
> some just don't learn from reading a book
> 
> some only learn by doing and asking questions.
> Sometimes they have the skills to research the answers to questions
> Sometimes they don't have the skills to know what question to ask.
> 
> For the human identified as ToddAndMargo
> 
> I think we'd understand more if you could send some screenshots and a
> bit more detail as you ask questions.
> 
> Liz
> The Moderator

Couldn’t agree more, Liz, and especially the bit about knowing what question to 
ask.

In my past life as a GP facing a set of symptoms and signs that I couldn’t 
assemble into a diagnosis, I would suggest a referral to a consultant.

Away from the pressures of the consulting room, I would construct a referral 
letter containing a coherent history and clinical findings and in the process 
find that the diagnosis fell into my lap - not unlike the awkward crossword 
clue that mysteriously solves itself overnight.

Michael


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[GNC] * Unsaved book - Gnucash

[Michael Hendry]

I’m using version 3.4 on Mac OS X High Sierra.

This comes up briefly in the Gnucash title bar when I’ve finished working on 
one file and File->Open another one, although the file that is being closed has 
definitely been saved already.

It doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect (apart from operator anxiety).

Michael

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Re: [GNC] * Unsaved book - Gnucash

[Michael Hendry]

> On 1 May 2019, at 16:02, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On May 1, 2019, at 6:46 AM, Michael Hendry  wrote:
>> 
>> I’m using version 3.4 on Mac OS X High Sierra.
>> 
>> This comes up briefly in the Gnucash title bar when I’ve finished working on 
>> one file and File->Open another one, although the file that is being closed 
>> has definitely been saved already.
>> 
>> It doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect (apart from operator anxiety).
> 
> Michael,
> 
> GnuCash is currently written to always have a book to the point that when 
> switching from one to another it creates one for the brief interval while the 
> old one is closed and the new one is loading. That's the indication you're 
> seeing. 
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls
> 

Thanks, John.

I had suffered from premature Gnucash shutdown during file saving when I first 
started using 3.4, so I was alarmed that something similar might be happening.

IIRC that particular bug is fixed in 3.5.

Regards,

Michael Hendry
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Re: [GNC] * Unsaved book - Gnucash

[Michael Hendry]

> On 2 May 2019, at 21:59, Michael Hendry  wrote:
> 
>> On 2 May 2019, at 00:47, John Ralls  wrote:
>> 
>> I sure hope so.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> John Ralls
> 
> Thanks, John.
> 
> Encouraged by your confidence in 3.5, I downloaded and installed it this 
> afternoon, from here:
> 
> https://sourceforge.net/projects/gnucash/
> 
> Having mounted the DMG file (Gnucash-Intel-3.5-1.dmg) I dragged and dropped 
> the Gnucash.app across to the Applications folder, and ran it from there on 
> my current (version 3.4) file.
> 
> On the first run Gnucash shut down without any apparent reason (this seems to 
> be a common finding), but I ran it again and entered a few transactions 
> without trouble.
> 
> I saved and closed the file as normal.
> 
> When next I opened the same file the account registers were opened as I had 
> left them, but the program wouldn’t respond at all, and the menu bar had none 
> of the usual menu items, just the Apple symbol and “Gnucash”.
> 
> I was unable to shut Gnucash down using the usual methods, so had to Force 
> Quit, and when I tried again I got the file lock warning - I said Open 
> Anyway, but the result was the same.
> 
> I’ve since tried opening the same file with version 3.4, but that behaved in 
> exactly the same way.
> 
> I’ve also tried downloading and reinstalling 3.5-1, with no change in the 
> outcome.
> 
> Where do I go from here?
> 
> Michael Hendry


PS Panic over!

I removed all files created after the last known good .gnucash backup file - 
MDH.gnucash.20190502173103.gnucash - to a safe place.

I then started Gnucash 3.4 in the normal way, and opened this backup file when 
prompted for a filename.

I made a couple of entries, saved as MDH.gnucash and Quit Gnucash.

This time I was able to open the resulting file with Gnucash 3.5, make an 
entry, save and exit in the normal way.

I’ll keep a careful eye on developments over the next few days.

Regards,

Michael Hendry
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Re: [GNC] * Unsaved book - Gnucash

[Michael Hendry]

> On 2 May 2019, at 23:07, Derek Atkins  wrote:
> 
> Michael,
> 
> On Thu, May 2, 2019 5:44 pm, Michael Hendry wrote:
>> 
>> PS Panic over!
>> 
>> I removed all files created after the last known good .gnucash backup file
>> - MDH.gnucash.20190502173103.gnucash - to a safe place.
>> 
>> I then started Gnucash 3.4 in the normal way, and opened this backup file
>> when prompted for a filename.
>> 
>> I made a couple of entries, saved as MDH.gnucash and Quit Gnucash.
>> 
>> This time I was able to open the resulting file with Gnucash 3.5, make an
>> entry, save and exit in the normal way.
>> 
>> I’ll keep a careful eye on developments over the next few days.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> Michael Hendry
> 
> Please keep in mind that on the Mac, double-clicking on a GnuCash file has
> no effect.  It will start GnuCash, but GnuCash will ALWAYS open the
> last-used file and NOT (necessarily) the one you double-clicked.  This is
> a Mac-specific limitation.

Thanks for the reminder, Derek.

I was already well aware of this from experience with other non-native 
applications (e.g. Libreoffice, which also tends to crash when asked to open an 
email attachment if it is not already running).

This was why I had to shift the (presumably corrupt) MDH.gnucash file out of 
the way before running 3.4 and opening the most recent good backup.

It’s always good to know there are experienced eyes monitoring what’s going on 
on the list.

Regards,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] A really basic question ...

[Michael Hendry]

> On 12 May 2019, at 01:50, gp  wrote:
> 
> Hi Sachin,
> 
> This is what I used to have (from an old Gnucash file) and the view I'm
> trying to get back:
>   
> 
> I accidentally closed that Business Account tab, so this is all I see now:
>  
> 
> I know I can click on individual accounts to enter, say, a deposit, but how
> do I recall this general accounts view?
> 
> Cheers,
> Geoff


Good morning from Scotland, Geoff (or “evening” if you’re in NZ!).

Get to the situation illustrated in …/zz2.jpg.

Click on the triangle to the left of “Assets” to open up a list of all your 
Asset accounts.

Double-click on the account (“Business Account”) that you wish to open.

It’s possible that you’ll need to click on more triangles to get to the right 
point in your tree of accounts.

Michael
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Re: [GNC] Stock quotes

[Michael Hendry]

> On 27 May 2019, at 00:02, Jean-David Beyer via gnucash-user 
>  wrote:
> 
> On 5/26/19 4:34 PM, Steve wrote:
>> That was it. I still had one set up as Alphavantage. "Unknown error"
>> is not the most helpful error message.
>> 
> 
> I wrote a big program once, and at one point in the program, I had it
> print out the error message, "WAHOO!"
> 
> It actually came out once and the user called me on the telephone to
> complain about the unhelpful message. But think about the code that
> generated the message and answer this: what error message would you have
> printed. Assembler code
> 
> TZE  C (transfer if zero)) to location C
> TPL  A (transfer if positive) to location A
> TMI  B (transfer if negative) to location B
> 
> PRINT "WAHOO!"
> 
> It must have been a machine error. There was no logical way to get to
> that PRINT statement.


Have you thought about a fault elsewhere in your program which caused a jump to 
the third line (TMI B…) with a positive or zero value in the appropriate 
register?

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Payment month after reconcile

[Michael Hendry]

> On 30 May 2019, at 05:05, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> Thanks David,
> 
> Now that you mention it, I vaguely seem to recall this from reading the 
> documentation. (I might retain a bit of info I don’t need from time to time)
> 
> Is there anyone who uses this feature (or that programmed it?) who can shed 
> light on the date defaults?
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien


Morning, Adrien.

I use the reconciliation feature both for bank and for credit card accounts.

The system “guesses” the statement date, and usually gets it right. 
Occasionally it’s a day out, I don’t recall an instance of more than that but 
couldn’t swear to it.

The default date offered for credit card payments following reconciliation 
seems never to be correct. As I know I always have to change it, I haven’t paid 
much attention to the date offered, but I think it’s “today’s date” - I 
couldn’t swear that a date before today’s doesn’t occur (as in the OP’s case), 
but I don’t believe I’ve seen that.

I’m using 3.5 on Mac OS X High Sierra, and will pay more attention with the 
next batch of reconciliations.

Michael

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Re: [GNC] I just don't understand reconciliation

[Michael Hendry]

> On 18 Jun 2019, at 06:37, ToddAndMargo via gnucash-user 
>  wrote:
> 
>   Hi All,
>   I am confused to the point of tears.
>   I created a dummy account: "bozo" and "Bozo Expense".
>   Initial balance was $100.00 (over payment).  Then I added some charges
>   and another payment.
>   I "pretend" that the 7.00 and 150.00 do not show up on my statement, so
>   I leave
>   them at "n".  The rest I put at "c".
>   Then I hit "reconcile" and tell it the ending "statement date" is
>   06/12/2019.
>   It correctly fills in the ending balance sans the 150.00, which is
>   after the
>   statement date.
>   Everything good so far.  The box in the lower right is correct.  the 7
>   and 150
>   are not "R" checked off, which is the way I want it.  This simulates
>   things not
>   on the statement yet.
>   -135 is what my pretend bank statement would show.  And is the ending
>   balance
>   of -128 would be "IF" the 7 had passed.  And the difference is indeed
>   the 7 that did
>   not pass.  So far I understand.

Gnucash is calculating the ending balance “believing" that the $7 charge would 
have hit your credit card, but your imaginary credit card statement would have 
omitted it, leaving an ending balance of $135.

You need to enter $135 in the Reconcile Information box.

>   Now I press "reconcile" and it inserts a weird entry into the register:

When you have checked the relevant entries in the reconciliation window (as in 
your third screenshot), you’ll get a difference of $0.00. 

Now click on the “Finish” button, and the process will be complete, with the 
transactions you have checked now marked “r”.

>   AND ROYALLY SCREWS UP MY real ending BALANCE!
>   1) Why did it screw up my balance 

I’m puzzled by this - it looks as though Gnucash was being forced to complete 
the reconciliation and tried to compensate for the Difference: $7.00.

>   2) Why in the reconcile windows does it not pick up my "n" and "c"
>   entries,

They both indicate “not reconciled”. When the reconciliation is correctly 
“Finished” they will change to “r”.

>   3) why after reconciling do my "n" and "c"  entries not change?

The reconciliation process hadn’t actually been completed correctly.

>   I am so freaking confused
>   Someone please rescue me!
>   Many thanks,
>   -T

Hope this helps!

Michael

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Re: [GNC] extra column?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 19 Jun 2019, at 13:02, Larry Evans  wrote:
> 
> You're not the first to request that feature:
> 
>  https://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-user/2015-August/061582.html
> 
> I'd also like such a feature.  As things are now, I create 2 subaccounts
> for a bank account, one subaccount called pending, the other called
> done.  The pending is for checks written, the done is for checks
> cleared.  When a check clears, I transfer from pending to done; hence,
> when all checks clear, the pending has 0.0 balance.
> 
> This requires double entries, but it's easier for me to follow.

Hi, Larry.

Can you explain why working this way is useful to you?

The way I see it, when I write a cheque (rare these days) or make a payment 
using a credit card, I am committed to that expenditure, and the balance in my 
bank or credit card account as shown in Gnucash takes that into consideration.

Even if several weeks have gone by and the cheque hasn’t been cleared, I can’t 
write a further cheque that would take me into the red because the cheque could 
be cleared tomorrow and make my account overdrawn.

I assume you’re using the reconciliation feature to ensure that Gnucash and 
your bank are in step with one another, so the pending transaction will stand 
out.

Michael



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[GNC] Accelerator Key for Jump button

[Michael Hendry]

A recent thread drew my attention to the Jump button, which I hadn’t previously 
used, and I realise I’ve been doing things the hard way!

I’m using version 3.5 on iMac macOS High Sierra 10.13.6, and have been trying 
in vain to set up Cmd-J as an accelerator key for Jump.

I found /Applications/Gnucash 
3.5.App/Contents/Resources/share/gnucash/ui/osx_accel_map and altered the 
JumpTransactionAction as follows:

…
; (gtk_accel_path 
"/gnc-plugin-business-actions/EmployeeFindEmployeeOpenAction" "")
; (gtk_accel_path 
"/GncPluginPageRegisterActions/JumpTransactionAction" "")
(gtk_accel_path "/GncPluginPageRegisterActions/PasteTransactionAction" 
"v")
; (gtk_accel_path 
"/gnc-plugin-business-actions/BusinessTestInitDataAction" “”)
…

…
; (gtk_accel_path 
"/gnc-plugin-business-actions/EmployeeFindEmployeeOpenAction" "")
(gtk_accel_path "/GncPluginPageRegisterActions/JumpTransactionAction” 
“j")
(gtk_accel_path "/GncPluginPageRegisterActions/PasteTransactionAction" 
"v")
; (gtk_accel_path 
"/gnc-plugin-business-actions/BusinessTestInitDataAction" “")
…

but this did not do what I hoped.

Professor Google hasn’t been able to provide a solution, so I thought it best 
to seek expert advice before I break something.

Regards,

Michael
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Re: [GNC] Accelerator Key for Jump button

[Michael Hendry]

> On 1 Jul 2019, at 19:21, Deva -  wrote:
> 
> Sorry, yes - the file you located in $HOME/Library/Application Support/ 
> appears to be the one you have to edit.
> 
> Yes, CMD-S is a problem for split action, so I use CMD-L instead. That works 
> for me.
> 
> Cheers.

Magic!

Thanks.

Just one reservation - I’ll have to resist the compulsion to test all the other 
possible accelerator keys.

Michael
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Re: [GNC] Multiple company setup

[Michael Hendry]

> On 19 Jul 2019, at 09:47, Maf. King  wrote:
> 
> On Thursday, 18 July 2019 11:48:37 BST Mary wrote:
>> Hi, I have just installed GnuCash v3.6 on my MacBook Air. How do I set up 2
>> companies on GnuCash? I have tried creating new directories (1 and 2) and
>> launching from them separately but it just loads the same chart of accounts
>> and data!
>> Many thanks
>> 
>> 
> 
> 
> Hi Mary,
> there's something weird about GC on MacOS - clicking on a data file doesn't 
> open that file; GC always resumes with the last used file
> 
> Just File-> open and navigate to the other file.
> 
> once you've done that once, you should just be able to go file -> [recent 
> files 
> list] to get the data you want...
> 
> HTH,
> Maf.

Hi, Mary & Maf.

This happens with other open-source, multi-platform software as well (e.g. 
LibreOffice, Frescobaldi), and I think must arise from the way in which Mac OS 
passes the “file-to-open” to the appropriate program when you double-click.

It’s not an insoluble problem - if I double-click a file whose default program 
is MacVim, MacVim will start up and open the chosen file - but then MacVim 
isn’t raw VI.

I’ve found that if LibreOffice is already running when I double-click one of 
its files, it will open that file OK, but LibreOffice s expects to have more 
than one file open at a time, and I haven’t tried double-clicking one GnuCash 
file when another is already open - too scared of possible side-effects!

Michael

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[GNC] Non-profit accounts - reporting of restricted funds and of future commitments

[Michael Hendry]

I’ve just taken over as Treasurer of our local Rotary Club, which involves two 
sets of accounts:

1. The Club’s own business accounts - membership fees, stationery, travel, etc

2. The accounts of the Charity set up by members of the club, which receives 
income from the Club’s fund-raising activities and disburses the income on the 
advice of the Club, but ultimately at the discretion of the Charity’s Trustees.

I am expected to provide reports to five Club Council meetings during the year 
relating to both sets of accounts, and respond to ad-hoc enquiries at other 
times.


My predecessor (a retired bank manager) developed a set of spreadsheets over 
his five years as Treasurer, which I have now inherited.

I can obviously simply follow his method and present reports in the same manner 
as he did, but…

1. I think there was too much detail for the average member to be bothered with,

2. I’m not comfortable with the use of spreadsheets for the production of the 
legally-necessary reports to the Charity authorities - there are too many ways 
to shoot yourself in the foot!, particularly if modification of the 
spreadsheets becomes necessary in future.


I’ve therefore started parallel recording of the financial activities of the 
club in GnuCash and in the spreadsheets, and I’d welcome advice from users on 
the following.


A. The Charity’s Bank Account has an associated online-only savings account, 
with funds transferred between the two to keep a working surplus in the Current 
account; interest is periodically credited to the Savings Account.

I’ve set up two accounts:

Assets/Current Assets/Charity/Charity Current
Assets/Current Assets/Charity/Charity Savings

I’d like to be able to report on both accounts as if they were a single account 
(the spreadsheet simply treated these as a single account and ignored the 
transfers between the accounts) but a request for a report on the parent 
(Assets/Current Assets/Charity) in a Balance Sheet report gives a zero result.

B. Some charitable receipts are earmarked as they are received - e.g. 

Income/Earmarked Funds/Polio Plus
Income/Earmarked Funds/Water Account

and I’d like a similar composite report on the children of Income/Earmarked 
Funds, preferably on the same report as in A. above, to guide members on what 
is actually available for them to spend.

C. Sometimes a decision is made to commit funds already collected but in a 
situation where the money won’t be spent immediately - e.g. a building project.

This is obviously similar to the Earmarked Funds in B., but I’m not sure how 
best to handle it. 

I could create a transaction between the Charity Current Account with today’s 
date and Expenses/Charity/Committed Funds as the destination account.


Before I start to climb the Learning Curve of Scheme, are there existing 
reports that could be adjusted for my purposes?

Or would I be better just to extract the necessary figures before Council 
Meetings and prepare a report in a Word Processor?


Yours, sincerely hoping to avoid too much travel down blind alleys,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Non-profit accounts - reporting of restricted funds and of future commitments

[Michael Hendry]

> On 20 Jul 2019, at 14:07, Christopher Lam  wrote:
> 
> 
> On Sat, 20 Jul 2019 at 12:28, Michael Hendry  wrote:
> Assets/Current Assets/Charity/Charity Current
> Assets/Current Assets/Charity/Charity Savings
> 
> I’d like to be able to report on both accounts as if they were a single 
> account (the spreadsheet simply treated these as a single account and ignored 
> the transfers between the accounts) but a request for a report on the parent 
> (Assets/Current Assets/Charity) in a Balance Sheet report gives a zero result.
> 
> Are you using the default Balance Sheet? You'll need to choose, from Display 
> / Parent account balances or Parent balance subtotals, a suitable choice. 
> Hint: don't choose subtotals in both.

Thanks, Christopher. I’ve been experimenting with various combinations and 
learned a lot!

>  
> B. Some charitable receipts are earmarked as they are received - e.g. 
> 
> Income/Earmarked Funds/Polio Plus
> Income/Earmarked Funds/Water Account
> 
> and I’d like a similar composite report on the children of Income/Earmarked 
> Funds, preferably on the same report as in A. above, to guide members on what 
> is actually available for them to spend.
> 
> Is this the best way of recording earmarked funds? I'd imagine recording from 
> the donor, wish #polioplus in description, would be more suitable? Anyway, 
> Transaction Report, originating from Earmarked Funds account, select children.

These funds sometimes arise as single large donations, but we also collect 
money in small sums at our weekly meetings e.g. by charging members a 
rounded-up price for meals.

>  
> C. Sometimes a decision is made to commit funds already collected but in a 
> situation where the money won’t be spent immediately - e.g. a building 
> project.
> 
> This is obviously similar to the Earmarked Funds in B., but I’m not sure how 
> best to handle it. 
> 
> I could create a transaction between the Charity Current Account with today’s 
> date and Expenses/Charity/Committed Funds as the destination account.
> 
> This is similar to budgeting? If this internal allocation of funds isn't to 
> be used anywhere else, would an asset account were created as a child of 
> Asset/CurrentAssets/Charity called 'Restricted Funds', and transferred to 
> Asset/EarmarkedFunds/Projects be better, and check the parent-account balance 
> to determine 'unallocated funds' ? I don't know. What *could* be implemented, 
> is the concept of 'virtual transactions' whereby the balances are counted 
> separately from the real-life transactions

I’ve tried creating child accounts of "Assets/Charity/Charity Current/" called 
…/Polio Plus, …/Water Account etc.

When income comes into Petty Cash intended for "Polio Plus” I post into Petty 
Cash as income from …/Polio Plus, and pay the cash into the Charity Current 
Account.

This has allowed me to prepare a selective balance sheet for this account like 
this:

Balance Sheet 30/06/2019

   
Assets  
Charity £6,608.72
  Charity BB Inst Online £20,046.26 
  Charity Current   -£13,437.54 
Charity Choice  -£24.50 
Foundation  -£3.00  
KidsOut -£25.00 
Polio Plus  -£32.00 
Water Account   -£8,374.28  


The figures are not realistic - I’ve only entered a small subset of 
transactions, but this one report has all the information I’d be presenting to 
a council meeting:

The total in the (parent) Charity Account is £6,608.72, but there are various 
commitments recorded as negative figures in the children of “Charity Current” 
which need to be added to that total to indicate what the club has available to 
spend.

The Water Account is money intended for water and sewerage projects in the 
Third World, so will often have to accumulate until it’s sufficient for a 
project. The smaller amounts will generally be spent within the financial year.

Thanks for your interest,

Michael




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[GNC] Use of "dash" as a Separator Character

[Michael Hendry]

I’ve tried using “dash” as account separator, as it’s easily accessible with my 
left little finger without the need for me to press the shift key (as is the 
case with the colon).

Unfortunately, when I create and unbalanced or orphan transaction, GnuCash 
creates a new account (Imbalance-GBP or Orphan-GBP) which breaks the rule that 
the separator can’t be used as part of an account name.

This is OK until the account is closed and re-opened, when GnuCash appears to 
have hung, with the Gnucash title-bar bereft of any menu options, and the Main 
Window unresponsive.

I discovered accidentally that the GnuCash splash screen and a dialogue box 
warning of the use of the separator character had been obscured by the Main 
GnuCash window.

The latter may be a Mac OS issue (I’m using GC version 3.5 on an iMac with OS X 
High Sierra.

I haven’t found reference to these issues in the bug list - are they sufficient 
to warrant notification?

Regards,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Use of "dash" as a Separator Character

[Michael Hendry]

> On 23 Jul 2019, at 16:42, Derek Atkins  wrote:
> 
> I don't think that would work.

I’d already tried that, and it didn’t work.

To be clear, I had an unbalanced transaction which had caused the creation of 
Imbalance-GBP.

I saved the file, closed GC and then reopened it - generating the warning 
message about the use of the separator character in an account name.

I edited the name of the account (Imbalance-GBP —> Imbalance_GBP), saved, 
closed and opened again and got no warning.

I then created a further unbalanced transaction, which resulted in my having 
two Imbalance Accounts - Imbalance_GBP and Imbalance-GBP.

My conclusion is that the creation of the Imbalance and Orphan account names is 
hard-wired into the code.

Michael

> If you change a name of the created accounts, GnuCash will just create a
> new one.  I think it specifically looks for the name.
> I also don't think you can *move* those accounts, either.
> -derek
> 
> On Tue, July 23, 2019 11:38 am, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
>> While the creation of those accounts on the fly is probably hard coded to
>> use a dash, what if you created them yourself and used a different spacer
>> in the name, then change your separator character of choice?
>> 
>> Options might be ‘Imbalance_GBP’ or 'Imbalance–GBP’ or ‘Imbalance—GBP’.
>> 
>> Those last two might look exactly like ‘Imbalance-GBP’ depending on your
>> e-mail client’s text settings, but they are an en-dash and em-dash
>> respectively, not hyphens. If your keyboard layout is set to ‘Macintosh’
>> you should be able to generate those by using OPT- and SHIFT+OPT-
>> respectively.
>> 
>> First change the account separator back to the default, then edit the
>> names of those accounts, then change the separator to what you want.
>> 
>> Then create a test transaction that should attempt to create the Imbalance
>> or Orphan accounts and see if it uses the ones you renamed, or creates new
>> ones with dashes instead.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> Adrien
>> 
>>> On Jul 23, 2019, at 6:19 AM, Michael Hendry 
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> I’ve tried using “dash” as account separator, as it’s easily accessible
>>> with my left little finger without the need for me to press the shift
>>> key (as is the case with the colon).
>>> 
>>> Unfortunately, when I create and unbalanced or orphan transaction,
>>> GnuCash creates a new account (Imbalance-GBP or Orphan-GBP) which breaks
>>> the rule that the separator can’t be used as part of an account name.
>>> 
>>> This is OK until the account is closed and re-opened, when GnuCash
>>> appears to have hung, with the Gnucash title-bar bereft of any menu
>>> options, and the Main Window unresponsive.
>>> 
>>> I discovered accidentally that the GnuCash splash screen and a dialogue
>>> box warning of the use of the separator character had been obscured by
>>> the Main GnuCash window.
>>> 
>>> The latter may be a Mac OS issue (I’m using GC version 3.5 on an iMac
>>> with OS X High Sierra.
>>> 
>>> I haven’t found reference to these issues in the bug list - are they
>>> sufficient to warrant notification?
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> 
>>> Michael
>> 
>> 
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Re: [GNC] Use of "dash" as a Separator Character

[Michael Hendry]

> On 23 Jul 2019, at 17:01, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> Derek,
> 
> I suspected as much, and indeed if one hovers over the input box in 
> preferences where you define your custom separator, the tooltip says “dash” 
> is not allowed among others, presumably because they are either used by the 
> app itself in a hard-coded fashion, or would create havoc if they aren’t 
> escaped properly.

The tooltip on my Mac version of GC 3.5 specifically includes “dash” as one of 
the legal options.

Michael

> 
> Michael,
> 
> Sorry, your choice of separator is not allowed.
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
>> On Jul 23, 2019, at 10:42 AM, Derek Atkins  wrote:
>> 
>> I don't think that would work.
>> If you change a name of the created accounts, GnuCash will just create a
>> new one.  I think it specifically looks for the name.
>> I also don't think you can *move* those accounts, either.
>> -derek
>> 
>> On Tue, July 23, 2019 11:38 am, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
>>> While the creation of those accounts on the fly is probably hard coded to
>>> use a dash, what if you created them yourself and used a different spacer
>>> in the name, then change your separator character of choice?
>>> 
>>> Options might be ‘Imbalance_GBP’ or 'Imbalance–GBP’ or ‘Imbalance—GBP’.
>>> 
>>> Those last two might look exactly like ‘Imbalance-GBP’ depending on your
>>> e-mail client’s text settings, but they are an en-dash and em-dash
>>> respectively, not hyphens. If your keyboard layout is set to ‘Macintosh’
>>> you should be able to generate those by using OPT- and SHIFT+OPT-
>>> respectively.
>>> 
>>> First change the account separator back to the default, then edit the
>>> names of those accounts, then change the separator to what you want.
>>> 
>>> Then create a test transaction that should attempt to create the Imbalance
>>> or Orphan accounts and see if it uses the ones you renamed, or creates new
>>> ones with dashes instead.
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Adrien
>>> 
>>>> On Jul 23, 2019, at 6:19 AM, Michael Hendry 
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I’ve tried using “dash” as account separator, as it’s easily accessible
>>>> with my left little finger without the need for me to press the shift
>>>> key (as is the case with the colon).
>>>> 
>>>> Unfortunately, when I create and unbalanced or orphan transaction,
>>>> GnuCash creates a new account (Imbalance-GBP or Orphan-GBP) which breaks
>>>> the rule that the separator can’t be used as part of an account name.
>>>> 
>>>> This is OK until the account is closed and re-opened, when GnuCash
>>>> appears to have hung, with the Gnucash title-bar bereft of any menu
>>>> options, and the Main Window unresponsive.
>>>> 
>>>> I discovered accidentally that the GnuCash splash screen and a dialogue
>>>> box warning of the use of the separator character had been obscured by
>>>> the Main GnuCash window.
>>>> 
>>>> The latter may be a Mac OS issue (I’m using GC version 3.5 on an iMac
>>>> with OS X High Sierra.
>>>> 
>>>> I haven’t found reference to these issues in the bug list - are they
>>>> sufficient to warrant notification?
>>>> 
>>>> Regards,
>>>> 
>>>> Michael
>>> 
>>> 
> 
> 
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Re: [GNC] Use of "dash" as a Separator Character

[Michael Hendry]

> On 23 Jul 2019, at 18:55, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> It is indeed. What the tooltip is trying to say is that you can enter any 
> single character except a letter or a number or you can enter one of the 
> listed strings and GnuCash will convert the string to the corresponding 
> character. "dash" really means "hyphen" (U+002d), but regardless that 
> conflicts with the hard-coded account names including imbalance, orphaned 
> gains, and trading accounts.
> 
> We can't change the hard-coded account names without breaking existing books, 
> which is too bad. Using one of the dash characters (U+2013 or U+2014) would 
> have been a better design choice as it requires special effort to enter one 
> from most keyboards. I'm afraid the only solution is to make U+002d an 
> illegal separator character and to remove "dash" from the interpreted strings.
> 
> The hiding message box is mostly a mac problem, the fix is to make it 
> "transient for" the preferences window.

I’m not sure what this last sentence means - were you referring to the start-up 
message that warns of the presence of a hyphen in an account-name that GC has 
created, e.g. Imbalance-GBP?

I can accept that this might be a Mac problem, but what does this have to do 
with the preferences window - which isn’t in use on start-up, and can’t be 
accessed until the message is closed?

Here is a screenshot taken after I’d deliberately entered an unbalanced 
transaction, closed GC and then re-opened it. I had to reduce the width of the 
Accounts Window to see the warning.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/glxivc5732xg33n/Screenshot%202019-07-23%2019.10.19.png?dl=0

Regards,

Michael

> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls

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Re: [GNC] Use of "dash" as a Separator Character

[Michael Hendry]

> On 24 Jul 2019, at 05:38, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On Jul 23, 2019, at 11:15 AM, Michael Hendry  
>> wrote:
>> 
>>> On 23 Jul 2019, at 18:55, John Ralls  wrote:
>>> 
>>> It is indeed. What the tooltip is trying to say is that you can enter any 
>>> single character except a letter or a number or you can enter one of the 
>>> listed strings and GnuCash will convert the string to the corresponding 
>>> character. "dash" really means "hyphen" (U+002d), but regardless that 
>>> conflicts with the hard-coded account names including imbalance, orphaned 
>>> gains, and trading accounts.
>>> 
>>> We can't change the hard-coded account names without breaking existing 
>>> books, which is too bad. Using one of the dash characters (U+2013 or 
>>> U+2014) would have been a better design choice as it requires special 
>>> effort to enter one from most keyboards. I'm afraid the only solution is to 
>>> make U+002d an illegal separator character and to remove "dash" from the 
>>> interpreted strings.
>>> 
>>> The hiding message box is mostly a mac problem, the fix is to make it 
>>> "transient for" the preferences window.
>> 
>> I’m not sure what this last sentence means - were you referring to the 
>> start-up message that warns of the presence of a hyphen in an account-name 
>> that GC has created, e.g. Imbalance-GBP?
>> 
>> I can accept that this might be a Mac problem, but what does this have to do 
>> with the preferences window - which isn’t in use on start-up, and can’t be 
>> accessed until the message is closed?
>> 
>> Here is a screenshot taken after I’d deliberately entered an unbalanced 
>> transaction, closed GC and then re-opened it. I had to reduce the width of 
>> the Accounts Window to see the warning.
>> 
>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/glxivc5732xg33n/Screenshot%202019-07-23%2019.10.19.png?dl=0
> 
> Sorry, I misunderstood when you were seeing the dialog.
> 
> It appears to be set "transient for" the splash screen. I think that's right, 
> but it should also  block opening the main window until you dismiss it. That 
> wouldn't be mac-only.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls

Thanks, John.

I’ve posted a bug report.

Regards,

Michael
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Re: [GNC] Report - How to track savings?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 27 Jul 2019, at 10:49, Christopher Lam  wrote:
> 
> Try the Cash-Flow report, select your savings as the source account.


This will pick up all transactions between your savings account and any other 
account, in either direction.

If you want to see only transactions between CHECKING and SAVING you can try:

1. Open the SAVINGS account.
2. Press cmd-F (on Mac) or ctrl-F otherwise to bring up the “Find Transaction” 
Window.
3. Click and hold the Description button, and run the mouse down to select “All 
Accounts’.
4. Click the "Choose Accounts” button
5. Select your Checking Account.
6. Click “Find”.

This will bring up a new tab entitled “Search Results”, which contains all 
transactions between your Savings and Checking Accounts.

But I haven’t been able to work out a way of presenting this in a bar chart - 
it’s a wet Saturday morning here, so maybe later...

You can get a report on the transactions identified by your search by using the 
Reports Menu:

Reports—>Accounts Report

…but this is in text, not graphical form.

Michael

> 

> On Sat, 27 Jul 2019 at 08:43, Michael Scholz Photography <
> mich...@scholzphotography.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm new to GNC and try to understand how the reports work.
>> 
>> Is there a way to set up a report to see how much money I saved into an
>> account?
>> 
>> 
>> Let’s say I want to track the money which was going from my CHECKING into
>> my SAVINGS account. Is there a way to track this on a monthly basis with
>> some bar charts?
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> THX
>> Michael
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[GNC] GC Crash Report

[Michael Hendry]

I had just completed the editing of a number of transactions, transferring them 
from an asset account to a liability account by opening the asset account and 
changing each one in turn until the asset account was empty.

I then deleted the (now empty) asset account, without closing the tab relating 
to the account. I’m not sure whether I clicked on the tab to check whether it 
was indeed empty, or whether it happened as I deleted the account.

The report on the crash is here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zczsz5xaw13djyn/GC-Crash-2019-07-27.txt?dl=0

I’m running GC 3.5 on iMac with Mac OS X High Sierra.

Michael
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Re: [GNC] GC Crash Report

[Michael Hendry]

> On 28 Jul 2019, at 13:29, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> Just curious,
> 
> Did you transfer all of the transactions in that asset account to the same 
> liability account? (1:1 transfer)

There were several asset accounts, each one of which was transferred on a 1 to 
1 basis to a Liability account of the same name.

> 
> If so, you could have just deleted the asset account and GnuCash would have 
> asked you where you wanted to move the transactions. (of course, the method 
> you chose should work as well without a crash)

I tried that, but I was only offered Asset accounts as options for the move.

> 
> I’m not 100% certain, but I think the devs would prefer crashes be reported 
> on Bugzilla. You can upload your crash report there.

I’ll see if I can reproduce it.

> 
> Another thing that *might* be of use, do you have a backup copy where you 
> could repeat the steps that led to the crash and reliably make it crash again?

This was an experimental file, copied from the definitive file.

I’ve just made a fresh copy from the latter, and will try to repeat the 
process. Unfortunately, I may not do it in precisely the same way as I did it 
last time!

Michael

> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
>> On Jul 28, 2019, at 6:45 AM, Michael Hendry  wrote:
>> 
>> I had just completed the editing of a number of transactions, transferring 
>> them from an asset account to a liability account by opening the asset 
>> account and changing each one in turn until the asset account was empty.
>> 
>> I then deleted the (now empty) asset account, without closing the tab 
>> relating to the account. I’m not sure whether I clicked on the tab to check 
>> whether it was indeed empty, or whether it happened as I deleted the account.
>> 
>> The report on the crash is here:
>> 
>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/zczsz5xaw13djyn/GC-Crash-2019-07-27.txt?dl=0
>> 
>> I’m running GC 3.5 on iMac with Mac OS X High Sierra.
>> 
>> Michael
> 
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Re: [GNC] GC Crash Report

[Michael Hendry]

> On 28 Jul 2019, at 15:26, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On Jul 28, 2019, at 4:45 AM, Michael Hendry  wrote:
>> 
>> I had just completed the editing of a number of transactions, transferring 
>> them from an asset account to a liability account by opening the asset 
>> account and changing each one in turn until the asset account was empty.
>> 
>> I then deleted the (now empty) asset account, without closing the tab 
>> relating to the account. I’m not sure whether I clicked on the tab to check 
>> whether it was indeed empty, or whether it happened as I deleted the account.
>> 
>> The report on the crash is here:
>> 
>> https://www.dropbox.com/s/zczsz5xaw13djyn/GC-Crash-2019-07-27.txt?dl=0
>> 
>> I’m running GC 3.5 on iMac with Mac OS X High Sierra.
> 
> 
> Hmm, the stack is corrupted. There's no path between 
> gnc_plugin_business_main_window_page_changed  and 
> gnc_split_register_get_current_trans, but both are called by 
> gnc_plugin_page_ui_register_update.
> 
> I tried to replicate the crash with a simple book and failed, the account 
> deleted with no error.
> 
> Please do file a bug, and if you can provide some more detail about 
> reproducing it that might help.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls
> 

Thanks, John.

I’ve recreated the file I started from earlier today, and then I went through 
the process of switching the transactions from asset accounts to corresponding 
liability accounts.

I had made and corrected a number of errors the first time round, ending in the 
crash, but I got into the swing quickly this time, and all the changes went 
through without a problem, and without the crash.

I hinted that the tab for one of the asset accounts had remained open after its 
deletion, but each time I deleted an account this afternoon the corresponding 
tab disappeared at once.

I’ll post a bug report, but without a reproducible crash I realise this may not 
be very enlightening.

Regards,

Michael

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[GNC] Club membership fees and charitable contributions - Business Features or Assets?

[Michael Hendry]

I have just become Treasurer for my Rotary Club, and my predecessor used 
spreadsheets to record the club’s finances.

Everyone is required to pay an annual subscription, but there are a number of 
ways in which members may opt in to regular or occasional charitable payments 
(e.g. an annual subscription to a monthly Bottle Draw or “Foundation Meals”, 
where a member hosts a dinner party and the club receives donations from the 
guests, destined for the Rotary Foundation charity).

We can reclaim tax at 25% of the value of the charitable donations in the form 
of Gift Aid, but it is necessary to keep track of who paid what in order to 
make the necessary annual claim. Separate spreadsheets are currently used to 
keep track of these payments, but they’re not linked to the other spreadsheets 
- with the attendant risks of missed or duplicate entries.

I think that the Business Features of GC are probably overkill, and am looking 
at having an Assets:Members:member_name account for each member, primed with 
(e.g.) the Annual Subscription at the beginning of the Rotary year, and with 
optional entries at the time of opt-in to the charitable donations.

I’d appreciate the thoughts of the group, especially from anyone who’s tried 
either (or both) the Business Features and the Assets approach.

Regards,

Michael



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Re: [GNC] Club membership fees and charitable contributions - Business Features or Assets?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 2 Aug 2019, at 13:09, Mike or Penny Novack  
> wrote:
> 
> On 8/2/2019 3:34 AM, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
>> I’m not sure about keeping track of member donations in an Asset account.
>> 
> There are difficult issues doing financials for non-profits which can require 
> some fiddling using gnucash (or any alternative).
> 
> For example -- the members  may want to receive "statements" (invoices) and 
> want these to reflect a unified statement (membership as well as pledges) BUT 
> membership dues are NOT a receivable for such organizations < keeping books on a cash basis, but more important, a member can withdraw at 
> any time, does not OWE the billed dues. They DO owe pledges, but only 
> according to the terms of the pledge* >>

Fortunately, our members don’t want to receive invoices or statements of any 
sort, and they don’t make pledges - except perhaps in that they undertake to 
dine at another member’s house at some future date, and make a payment to the 
club’s charity account.

> 
> ONE solution is to bite the bullet and keep multiple books for different 
> purposes.

I have one file for the club, and one for the charity - the bank accounts must 
be kept separate, and I think it’s important for me to be wearing a “club” hat 
or a “charity” hat in dealing with the bookkeeping.

> Main books on a cash basis NOT tracking members but just the source of the 
> income (dues, donations, pledges, etc.) and the other used just to be able to 
> invoice and track which members have paid, etc.

If I understand you correctly, this would involve my keeping four sets of books:

Club - members
Club - business of running the club

Charity - members
Charity - business of running the charity

> In the example situation above where members may contribute (get credited for 
> contributions actually made by others) that is another level of complexity.


> 
> Michal D Novack
> 
> * Thus if a pledge is $5000 in the form of $1000 a year for five years they 
> do not owe $5000 immediately

I wish I had such a problem to deal with!

Thanks,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Club membership fees and charitable contributions - Business Features or Assets?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 3 Aug 2019, at 01:28, David Cousens  wrote:
> 
> Michael 
> 
> 4 sets of books is possibly overkill and likely confusing. At worst you
> would need two, one for the club operations and one for charity.

I agree, and have set up the two sets you describe.

I have created an "Income:Intended for Charity Account" in the former and 
"Income:Intended for Club Account” in the latter, which allows me to post 
pay-ins that have gone into the wrong account without the immediate need to 
make a Club <—> Charity bank transfer.

Obviously, these accounts need to be “emptied” regularly. The errors usually 
involve members making BACS payments into the wrong account, but it has been 
known for a treasurer to make the odd mistake!

> Depending
> on the legislation of charities/non-profits in your jurisdiction if the
> charity is an operation of the club you may be able to get away with one set
> of books, just clearly separating the income, expense, assets, liabilities
> and equity of each operation under sub accounts of each top level account.
> It would require care in not mixing the club and charity operations that may
> be simpler The legal requirements however take precedence over convenience

The charity is not an operation of the club, but is a registered charity which 
receives funds arising from the activities of the club, and occasionally from a 
unconnected benefactors.

Funds can only go in one direction, Club —> Charity, except when correcting 
errors. We may not, to take a recent example, deal with a cash flow problem in 
the Club account by lending from the Charity.

> 
> Whether your members issue you with a single check for their membership fees
> and charitable donations or provide you with separate checks for the fees
> and charitable donations is another factor. If you have to transfer funds
> from your club bank account to the charity bank account it will be a simpler
> operation to record in a single set of books.  Alternatively, in the former
> case with separate books for the charity and club you could have a clearing
> account in your club records to record the component of checks which was
> donations to the charity on banking of the cheques and then the withdrawal
> from the club account and deposit to the charity account. If you need to
> track who donated what then using their name in the description field will
> allow you to run a transaction report on your income: fees  account to
> produce a statement.

Agreed. The annual subscription is the only routine payment members make to the 
Club Account. Otherwise the flow from members is to the Charity Account.

Many thanks for your clear presentation of the options, which has been most 
helpful.

Regards,

Michael
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[GNC] Struggling with Export/Import of Accounts

[Michael Hendry]

I’m using GC version 3.5 on iMac with OS X High Sierra, set up to use UTF-8 by 
default.

I’ve created a GC file with accounts for each member of my Rotary club in the 
form:

Assets:Current Assets:Member:Surname, Forename

and thought I should be able to copy these Accounts to another GC file using 
"Export Account Tree to CSV” and “Import Accounts from CSV” on the respective 
files.

After my initial experiments failed, I ran a Google search, and found advice 
from 2017 that it’s necessary to use a semicolon as a separator, and to use 
quotes on export.

These adjustments didn’t resolve the problem, which is that an attempt to 
import fails to get beyond the “Import Account Preview…” phase. The header 
labels appear in the window, but none of the other content of the file.

I had hoped that I could edit the CSV file to include only the member’s 
individual accounts, and in due course to create CSV transaction files to speed 
the chore of adding a set of identical transactions for each member.

Presumably someone out there is using CSV export/import successfully?

Regards,

Michael


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Re: [GNC] Struggling with Export/Import of Accounts

[Michael Hendry]

> On 4 Aug 2019, at 16:32, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> I’ve had no issue exporting and importing an account tree myself.
> 
> I see you’re using a comma as part of an account name. While changing the 
> separator and using quotes should work, I try to avoid commas in CSV data as 
> a rule.
> 
> Try using something else like `-` (hyphen), `–` (en dash), `—` (em dash), `~` 
> (tilde), or `_` (underscore) and see if that works without quotes and with 
> the standard comma separator or CamelCase the names if that isn’t an eye sore 
> for you.

That worked!

I restricted myself to changing one name, replacing the comma with an 
underscore, and edited the exported file with MacVim so as so import only that 
account name and all went well!

I plan now to investigate the mass-production of multiple identical 
transactions such as annual subscriptions by editing the CSV file in MacVim. 
This way I can keep the monitoring of such payments within GC, with the simple 
recording of the receipt of a cheque updating that individual’s account.

Many thanks,

Michael

PS My first attempt at importing the whole membership list failed, even though 
I’d replaced the “, “ with “_” in the account names. I had a suspicion this 
might relate to an e-acute (“é”) in a member’s name, and replacing this with a 
plain “e” worked the trick.

> 
> Note, I’d suspect a bug, but maybe there is a good reason why it failed. 
> Hopefully someone more familiar with the importer’s quirks will chime in.

The failure to handle UTF-8 characters looks like a bug to me.

> 
> Regards,
> Adrien

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[GNC] Crash - advice please!

[Michael Hendry]

Following reconciliation of recent bank statements, I had prepared several 
income and expense reports for the year ending 31/10/2018.
The crash occurred when I requested a Balance Sheet for the same period.

The file I was working on is ESJE.gnucash, and the most recent version of it is:

-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  79784 24 Nov 07:51 ESJE.gnucash

which was some 17 minutes before the crash, and recent relevant files are:

-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   8133 24 Nov 07:42 
ESJE.gnucash.20181124073656.log
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  79988 24 Nov 07:36 
ESJE.gnucash.20181124074325.gnucash
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  46339 24 Nov 07:49 
ESJE.gnucash.20181124074325.log
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  80272 24 Nov 07:43 
ESJE.gnucash.20181124075104.gnucash
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   5145 24 Nov 08:08 
ESJE.gnucash.20181124075106.log
-rw---@ 2 michaelhendry  staff  0 23 Nov 16:51 ESJE.gnucash.LCK

I have made a backup copy of the ESJE.gnucash file as it existed at 07:51, and 
would appreciate advice on how to proceed.

My main concern is that ESJE.gnucash (and the subsequent .gnucash and .log 
files) may be corrupt in some way, and although I might be able to open and 
work on it, I’ll be setting myself up for a later failure.

Is there some way of testing a .gnucash file for internal inconsistencies?

Would it be safe to apply the 08:08 log to ESJE.gnucash?, or would I be better 
to retrace my steps by hand?

Obviously, I’ll reboot my computer before doing any of this.

Many thanks in advance,

Michael
**

Crash Report follows:

Process:   Gnucash-bin [69444]
Path:  /Applications/Gnucash.app/Contents/MacOS/Gnucash-bin
Identifier:org.gnucash.Gnucash
Version:   2.6.16 (2.6.16)
Code Type: X86 (Native)
Parent Process:??? [1]
Responsible:   Gnucash-bin [69444]
User ID:   501

Date/Time: 2018-11-24 08:08:42.302 +
OS Version:Mac OS X 10.13.6 (17G3025)
Report Version:12
Anonymous UUID:6E4C0EFC-2FF3-6AA3-4C59-DBC3DB6D08BC

Sleep/Wake UUID:   6066F5D4-32FA-4C8A-A3DE-E12CD554D2A2

Time Awake Since Boot: 99000 seconds
Time Since Wake:   2700 seconds

System Integrity Protection: enabled

Crashed Thread:0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes:   KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x00e6
Exception Note:EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Signal:Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason:Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process:   exc handler [0]

VM Regions Near 0xe6:
--> 
__TEXT 1000-00016000 [   84K] r-x/rwx 
SM=COW  /Applications/Gnucash.app/Contents/MacOS/Gnucash-bin

Thread 0 Crashed:: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libgncmod-gnome-utils.dylib 0x002e9521 gnc_set_busy_cursor + 97
1   libgncmod-gnome-utils.dylib 0x0031f86a gnc_file_save + 186
2   libgncmod-gnome-utils.dylib 0x0030dab1 autosave_timeout_cb + 1009
3   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x03027ebc g_timeout_dispatch + 28
4   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x030274f1 g_main_context_dispatch + 209
5   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x0302972a g_main_context_iterate + 410
6   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x0302a7b7 g_main_loop_run + 263
7   libgtk-quartz-2.0.0.dylib   0x0281ee91 gtk_main + 177
8   libgncmod-gnome-utils.dylib 0x00324dc1 gnc_ui_start_event_loop + 81
9   Gnucash-bin 0x000145b5 inner_main + 693
10  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x023cdda9 invoke_main_func + 57
11  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x023a1a02 c_body + 18
12  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x0243f94c vm_regular_engine + 24268
13  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x02438472 scm_c_vm_run + 114
14  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x023ab041 scm_call_4 + 65
15  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x02433adb 
scm_catch_with_pre_unwind_handler + 91
16  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x023a19ca 
scm_i_with_continuation_barrier + 138
17  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x023a1aaf 
scm_c_with_continuation_barrier + 79
18  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x02430bfb with_guile_and_parent + 203
19  libgc.1.dylib   0x026e921f GC_call_with_stack_base + 31
20  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x02430c6b scm_i_with_guile_and_parent 
+ 43
21  libguile-2.0.22.dylib   0x023cdd50 scm_boot_guile + 80
22  Gnucash-bin 0x0001419d main + 1037
23  Gnucash-bin 0x000131e6 start + 54

Thread 1:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib  0xa73ee0a6 __select + 10
1   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x0303412b g_poll + 411
2   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x03029758 g_main_context_iterate + 456
3   libglib-2.0.0.dylib 0x03029802 g_main_context_iteration + 50
4   

Re: [GNC] Crash - advice please!

[Michael Hendry]

> On 24 Nov 2018, at 12:17, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On Nov 24, 2018, at 7:20 PM, Michael Hendry  wrote:
>> 
>> Following reconciliation of recent bank statements, I had prepared several 
>> income and expense reports for the year ending 31/10/2018.
>> The crash occurred when I requested a Balance Sheet for the same period.
> 

Thanks, John.

> There’s no reason to reboot your computer. You’re running a real operating 
> system, not Microsoft.

That’s the theory, anyway...

> 
> ESJE.gnucash was the previous saved file, the autosave didn’t get far enough 
> to rename it, so that’s OK. You can go ahead and open it without any worries. 
> As long as the changes between 17:51 and 18:08 were transaction 
> edits/additions only and didn’t use the business features then replaying the 
> log file should recover your work in the 18 minutes. There’s no risk in 
> trying it, GnuCash always renames the old file before trying to save a new 
> one... but you can check the results in memory first as long as you get it 
> done in less than 15 minutes (or you turn off autosave in Preferences until 
> you’re happy with the results).

OK, I loaded the ESJE.gnucash file, and recovered any subsequent changes from 
the .log file, and all seems OK.

I subsequently ran the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss reports without trouble, 
and exported them to PDF.

> 
> The crash is kind of interesting. It appears to be while processing a list of 
> top-level windows. I guess the invalid one is the just-dismissed reconcile 
> window, but do you have your reports going to tabs or to new windows?

This morning's work had involved:

1. Reconciling a bank account (which involved making a few additional entries).
2. Preparing reports on various asset, liability, income and expense accounts 
for the financial year (1st November 2017 to 31st October 2018) and exporting 
them to PDF.
3. Requesting a Balance Sheet for 31st October 2018 - which is the point at 
which the crash occurred.

I have the reports going to tabs, not new windows. In this context, I generally 
close the tabs involved in each report before moving on to the next, but I 
can’t swear that this was done before the Balance Sheet request; there would 
have been a maximum of 3 tabs open at that stage.

I’m sure I had completed the reconciliation some time before the crash, because 
I needed to reconcile before preparing the report on the bank account.

Here’s a directory listing for the PDF files in reverse chronological order.

| => ls -l -t
total 1848
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   53878 24 Nov 16:10 Profit & Loss-Year to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   48158 24 Nov 16:08 Balance Sheeet at 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   42343 24 Nov 08:08 Liabilities-Loan from 
Ruth Irons to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   43701 24 Nov 08:07 Income-Work for Third 
Parties to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   47074 24 Nov 08:07 Income-Shawbrook 
Interest to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   40246 24 Nov 08:05 Income-Donation to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  252042 24 Nov 08:05 Income-Course Fees to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   44620 24 Nov 08:04 Expenses-Venue to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   56610 24 Nov 08:04 Expenses-Tuition to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   52697 24 Nov 08:03 Expenses-Travel to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   41479 24 Nov 08:02 Expenses-Sound and 
Lighting to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   73336 24 Nov 08:01 Expenses-Houseparent to 
2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   52530 24 Nov 08:01 Expenses-Bank Service 
Charge to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   41175 24 Nov 08:00 Expenses-Audit and 
Accountancy to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   55383 24 Nov 08:00 Expenses-Administration 
to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   52882 24 Nov 07:59 Assets-Current 
Assets-Shawbrook Charity Savings Account to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   57312 24 Nov 07:57 Assets-Current 
Assets-Petty Cash to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  302646 24 Nov 07:56 Assets-Current 
Assets-Clydesdale Bank to 2018-10-31.pdf
-rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  507400 17 Nov 18:42 General Ledger to 
2018-10-31.pdf

The Clydesdale Bank account was reconciled before the associated report was 
created at 07:56 today, and the crash occurred at 08:08:42.302 +, just 
after the creation of the “Liabilities-Loan…” PDF report.

You’ll see that the Balance Sheet and P&L reports were created this afternoon.

Regards,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] Crash - advice please!

[Michael Hendry]

> On 24 Nov 2018, at 23:31, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>> On Nov 25, 2018, at 1:38 AM, Michael Hendry  wrote:
>> 
>>> On 24 Nov 2018, at 12:17, John Ralls  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On Nov 24, 2018, at 7:20 PM, Michael Hendry  
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Following reconciliation of recent bank statements, I had prepared several 
>>>> income and expense reports for the year ending 31/10/2018.
>>>> The crash occurred when I requested a Balance Sheet for the same period.
>>> 
>> 
>> Thanks, John.
>> 
>>> There’s no reason to reboot your computer. You’re running a real operating 
>>> system, not Microsoft.
>> 
>> That’s the theory, anyway...
>> 
>>> 
>>> ESJE.gnucash was the previous saved file, the autosave didn’t get far 
>>> enough to rename it, so that’s OK. You can go ahead and open it without any 
>>> worries. As long as the changes between 17:51 and 18:08 were transaction 
>>> edits/additions only and didn’t use the business features then replaying 
>>> the log file should recover your work in the 18 minutes. There’s no risk in 
>>> trying it, GnuCash always renames the old file before trying to save a new 
>>> one... but you can check the results in memory first as long as you get it 
>>> done in less than 15 minutes (or you turn off autosave in Preferences until 
>>> you’re happy with the results).
>> 
>> OK, I loaded the ESJE.gnucash file, and recovered any subsequent changes 
>> from the .log file, and all seems OK.
>> 
>> I subsequently ran the Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss reports without 
>> trouble, and exported them to PDF.
>> 
>>> 
>>> The crash is kind of interesting. It appears to be while processing a list 
>>> of top-level windows. I guess the invalid one is the just-dismissed 
>>> reconcile window, but do you have your reports going to tabs or to new 
>>> windows?
>> 
>> This morning's work had involved:
>> 
>> 1. Reconciling a bank account (which involved making a few additional 
>> entries).
>> 2. Preparing reports on various asset, liability, income and expense 
>> accounts for the financial year (1st November 2017 to 31st October 2018) and 
>> exporting them to PDF.
>> 3. Requesting a Balance Sheet for 31st October 2018 - which is the point at 
>> which the crash occurred.
>> 
>> I have the reports going to tabs, not new windows. In this context, I 
>> generally close the tabs involved in each report before moving on to the 
>> next, but I can’t swear that this was done before the Balance Sheet request; 
>> there would have been a maximum of 3 tabs open at that stage.
>> 
>> I’m sure I had completed the reconciliation some time before the crash, 
>> because I needed to reconcile before preparing the report on the bank 
>> account.
>> 
>> Here’s a directory listing for the PDF files in reverse chronological order.
>> 
>> | => ls -l -t
>> total 1848
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   53878 24 Nov 16:10 Profit & Loss-Year 
>> to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   48158 24 Nov 16:08 Balance Sheeet at 
>> 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   42343 24 Nov 08:08 Liabilities-Loan 
>> from Ruth Irons to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   43701 24 Nov 08:07 Income-Work for 
>> Third Parties to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   47074 24 Nov 08:07 Income-Shawbrook 
>> Interest to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   40246 24 Nov 08:05 Income-Donation to 
>> 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff  252042 24 Nov 08:05 Income-Course Fees 
>> to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   44620 24 Nov 08:04 Expenses-Venue to 
>> 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   56610 24 Nov 08:04 Expenses-Tuition to 
>> 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   52697 24 Nov 08:03 Expenses-Travel to 
>> 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   41479 24 Nov 08:02 Expenses-Sound and 
>> Lighting to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   73336 24 Nov 08:01 Expenses-Houseparent 
>> to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   52530 24 Nov 08:01 Expenses-Bank 
>> Service Charge to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 michaelhendry  staff   41175 24 Nov 08:00 Expenses-Audit and 
>> Accountancy to 2018-10-31.pdf
>> -rw-r--r--@ 1 mic

Re: [GNC] Migrating to iMac from PC

[Michael Hendry]

> On 27 Nov 2018, at 14:36, Robert Heller  wrote:
> 
> At Tue, 27 Nov 2018 13:47:16 + Richard Jones 
>  wrote:
> 
>> 
>> I know gnucash runs on both Macs and PCs but I cannot find anything about
>> the migration procedure.
>> I have gnucash 3.3 on Windows 10. I am considering buying an Apple iMac.
>> Can my files from the PC be used on the iMac easily?
> 
> I would expect, yes.  The only tricky bit is making sure your "preferences" 
> get moved over to the proper place.  I understand that clicking on data files 
> does not work properly on the Mac -- the file clicked on does not open -- you 
> just have to use the File=>Open menu item and navigate from there.
> 
>> Thanks
>> Richard

A mild correction here: double-clicking on data files in the Finder on a Mac 
(the equivalent of Windows Explorer) DOES usually result in the file being 
opened by the appropriate program, but this doesn’t always work for programs 
ported from other environments.

The same applies to email attachments.

For example, if LibreOffice has been opened during a session, double-clicking 
one of its data files works OK, but if it’s the first time it’s been opened 
since the last reboot, LibreOffice crashes.

If you try this with a .gnucash file GnuCash starts up normally, but it doesn’t 
necessarily open the file you clicked on - it opens the most recently opened 
.gnucash file.

If Frescobaldi is already running, double-clicking a .ly file in Finder will 
open the file, but if Frescobaldi isn’t already running, it will be started up, 
but with no file opened.

MacVim will open a double-clicked file without complaint.


I’m not sure what to make of this from a programmer’s point of view, but it 
seems that the parameters passed by the operating system to the program that is 
being started aren’t being correctly interpreted by that program once it is 
running - to the extent of causing it to crash in the case of LibreOffice.

Michael
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Re: [GNC] How to automate $ value on the contra account when editing a transaction

[Michael Hendry]

> On 6 Dec 2018, at 15:41, Derek Atkins  wrote:
> 
> DIW  writes:
> 
>> Hi Derek,
>> 
>> I tried the Autofill method you describe.  
>> 
>> It was indeed a revelation.
>> Thank you. For years I have been using the Duplicate Transaction
>> method.  Though it didn't jump to to edit the amount nor did it edit
>> the contra account - if I understood you correctly?
> 
> I'm not sure what you mean here.  When you tab out of the description
> and it autofills the transaction, the next cell you get to should be the
> amount, so you can change the amount for the current transaction.  It
> skips over the transfer account.
> 
> IFF the transaction is a basic, 2-split transaction (and you're in basic
> ledger mode) then if you adjust the amount it will also also adjust the
> contra-account amount.  HOWEVER, if it's a split transaction, or if
> you're in an expanded-view ledger mode then no, it will not adjust the
> contra amount -- you will have to edit it manually.
> 
>> That said, using autofill, tab, is a much better method, just as you
>> say.
>> 
>> I see that I have started an interesting discussion on the subject :-)
> 
> Indeed, you have.
> 
>> Regards
>> Dave W
> 
>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
> -derek

Hi, Dave.

It’s also quite simple to revise a simple autofill transaction to split it 
several ways and leave GC to do the arithmetic.

For example, I usually only fill up with petrol at the Tesco Service Station, 
but the kiosk sells milk, snacks, newspapers, coal, logs etc.


When I start to enter a new transaction, I get an autofilled transaction 
between my credit card account and Expenses:Motoring, like this:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wlbwp8biyul3051/Screenshot%202018-12-06%2017.03.38.png?dl=0

I can see the whole transaction by right-clicking and selecting Split 
Transaction

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h4fhlaan14dlf1o/Screenshot%202018-12-06%2017.04.05.png?dl=0

Let’s say I bought £20 worth of petrol that day, but also bought some groceries 
for £15, and some coal for £25.80.

First I edit the Motoring figure - making it £20. The unallocated balance 
appears below:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wuugwok77sv5ha6/Screenshot%202018-12-06%2017.04.37.png?dl=0

Then I put Expenses:Household into the “Account” space against the unallocated 
balance, and edit that so that it reads £15:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sudqipi3peidyfo/Screenshot%202018-12-06%2017.05.18.png?dl=0

Finally, I allocate the cost of the coal to Expenses:Heat Light & Power

https://www.dropbox.com/s/b4tzf3pxdk9m5ts/Screenshot%202018-12-06%2017.05.48.png?dl=0

If I made a typing error, the remainder will appear as an Imbalance-GBP entry.

Regards,

Michael




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Re: [GNC] Reconciling different periods?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 11 Dec 2018, at 16:40, Finbar Mahon  wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> 
> My reconcile is a bit erratic. So, I thought of trying to find the error by 
> reconciling for different periods. If I put in the date for the last 
> statement for the period I want to check, can I just put in an amount as the 
> ending balance that coincides with the starting period and that way check on 
> a period by period basis?
> 
> I know it sounds complicated but I cannot think of a better way of doing it.
> 
> Thanks

Afternoon, Finbar.

As a user of GC since 2010 for my personal accounts, I would advise that you 
step back from this precipice before you jump over it!

I urge you go back far enough in your accounts to get to a bank statement that 
is in exact agreement with your accounts, then work your way systematically 
forward from that date, correcting any erroneous entries in your accounts as 
you go.

Ideally, you should mark everything beyond the reconciliation date as 
“unreconciled” and go forward from there - it’s very easy to click on a 
duplicate transaction and mark it as reconciled, or to miss digit 
transpositions and other typing errors.

Best of luck!

Michael



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Re: [GNC] Reconciling different periods?

[Michael Hendry]

> On 13 Dec 2018, at 17:13, Finbar Mahon  wrote:
> 
> Thanks, Michael, I have been trying that using end March of this year as the 
> last 'OK' date but doing it up to latest balance seems to catch other errors, 
> so I  was wondering if  I could 'stage' the process.
> 
> Looks like D's reply indicates I could do it by varying the closing balance 
> to coincide with one I am happy with. Maybe a slight problem if the closing 
> balance is duplicated elsewhere? Maybe unlikely.
> 
> In fact by a combination of the two replies I can go back to the last 'good' 
> situation and use the closing balance there as a starting point?
> 
> I'll give the ending balance a try.
> 
> F


I’m not sure what you mean by “the ending balance” here.

Let’s consider a simple situation: you have one bank account - what we in the 
UK call a “current account”.

For this example, consider that your financial year starts on the 1st January 
2018, and you have a bank statement for the period ending 31 December 2017. 
This will have a figure (say £x) for the balance on 31 December 2017.

When you create this bank account in GnuCash, you set it up with a starting 
balance of £x.

Throughout January and into February you enter every transaction that involves 
that account (payments into the account of cash and cheques, withdrawals in 
cash, by cheque, direct debit, and so on).

When your statement arrives for the month ending 31st January, go ahead with 
the reconciliation. Because there are sometimes delays in transactions hitting 
the bank account, Gnucash will have the correct starting balance, but may have 
calculated the ending balance for the month incorrectly - let’s say you issued 
a cheque on 28th January and the recipient hasn’t paid it into his bank account 
yet. You should enter the bank’s version of the final balance for January into 
the “Reconcile information” in the box marked “Ending Balance”.

Now press OK, and work your way through the reconciliation procedure, ticking 
the box against each transaction on the screen that matches one on the bank 
statement, which you should mark as reconciled in pencil.

Once you have ticked all the transactions on the statement you should have a 
“Difference” at the bottom right of the Reconcile window of £0.00.

If there is a discrepancy (i.e. “Difference” is non-zero), you have a problem 
which you need to resolve NOW, because in my experience banks and computers can 
add or subtract quite accurately, and you’ve just ticked the computer’s and the 
bank’s versions of the same transactions and they don’t match!

Occasionally, you’ll discover that there’s a missing transaction in your 
records, leaving an unticked transaction in the bank statement. This could be a 
fraudulent transaction, but is more likely to be a standing order you’d 
forgotten to enter.

Unless your bank account has very little in the way of transactions, you’ll 
almost certainly have several transactions recorded in GC which haven’t been 
ticked - like the unpresented cheque.

Once you’ve cleaned up the reconciliation for January, wait for the February 
bank statement and reconcile that with GC.

If you’re catching up on reconciliation a month or two late, don’t rush it! 
Complete one reconciliation by correcting any errors before you move on to the 
next one.

Pardon me if I have misjudged your situation and made you feel you’re being 
patronised,

Michael







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[GNC] Export Report to PDF - characters split across pages

[Michael Hendry]

Here is a screen-shot to demonstrate the problem:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mmde3eqphnhabp6/Screenshot%202018-12-19%2011.22.14.png?dl=0

The report is readable, but inelegant.

Any suggestions?

Regards,

Michael
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Re: [GNC] Selective Export of Transactions omitting sub-accounts

[Michael Hendry via gnucash-user]

> On 13 Aug 2019, at 08:07, Adrien Monteleone  
> wrote:
> 
> Sorry, I forgot to include that in order to see the Income option for type, 
> you need to first choose an Income account as a parent. (or make it another 
> top level account)
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien

Thanks, Adrien.

That solved the problem of switching my accounts around in seconds!

Can you confirm the issue with selective Exporting of Transactions?

I’d rather not burden Bugzilla with a non-bug because I misunderstood what was 
supposed to happen!

Regards,

Michael

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Re: [GNC] * Unsaved book - Gnucash

[Michael Hendry via gnucash-user]

> On 2 May 2019, at 00:47, John Ralls  wrote:
> 
> I sure hope so.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls

Thanks, John.

Encouraged by your confidence in 3.5, I downloaded and installed it this 
afternoon, from here:

https://sourceforge.net/projects/gnucash/

Having mounted the DMG file (Gnucash-Intel-3.5-1.dmg) I dragged and dropped the 
Gnucash.app across to the Applications folder, and ran it from there on my 
current (version 3.4) file.

On the first run Gnucash shut down without any apparent reason (this seems to 
be a common finding), but I ran it again and entered a few transactions without 
trouble.

I saved and closed the file as normal.

When next I opened the same file the account registers were opened as I had 
left them, but the program wouldn’t respond at all, and the menu bar had none 
of the usual menu items, just the Apple symbol and “Gnucash”.

I was unable to shut Gnucash down using the usual methods, so had to Force 
Quit, and when I tried again I got the file lock warning - I said Open Anyway, 
but the result was the same.

I’ve since tried opening the same file with version 3.4, but that behaved in 
exactly the same way.

I’ve also tried downloading and reinstalling 3.5-1, with no change in the 
outcome.

Where do I go from here?

Michael Hendry

> 
> 
>> On May 1, 2019, at 8:32 AM, Michael Hendry  wrote:
>> 
>>> On 1 May 2019, at 16:02, John Ralls  wrote:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On May 1, 2019, at 6:46 AM, Michael Hendry  
>>>> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I’m using version 3.4 on Mac OS X High Sierra.
>>>> 
>>>> This comes up briefly in the Gnucash title bar when I’ve finished working 
>>>> on one file and File->Open another one, although the file that is being 
>>>> closed has definitely been saved already.
>>>> 
>>>> It doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect (apart from operator anxiety).
>>> 
>>> Michael,
>>> 
>>> GnuCash is currently written to always have a book to the point that when 
>>> switching from one to another it creates one for the brief interval while 
>>> the old one is closed and the new one is loading. That's the indication 
>>> you're seeing. 
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> John Ralls
>>> 
>> 
>> Thanks, John.
>> 
>> I had suffered from premature Gnucash shutdown during file saving when I 
>> first started using 3.4, so I was alarmed that something similar might be 
>> happening.
>> 
>> IIRC that particular bug is fixed in 3.5.
>> 
>> Regards,
>> 
>> Michael Hendry
> 


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