`Balance' dialog box.. what is it for.

[Harry Putnam]

Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU> writes:

> As I mentioned in my last message, the problem is that you
> did not provide a transfer account.  The money is withdrawaled
> from your checking account and goes... where?
>
> - Into your pocket?  (assets:cash)
> - To your checking account?  (liabilities:ccard)
> - To pay for groceries?  (expenses:groceries)

OK, I'm now seeing what the double entry stuff is like.  I don't care
where it goes.  Don't want to keep track of that.  I just want to keep
track of what is in the bank.  Just like they do.  They don't care
where it goes yet are quite capable of displaying my balance.

Should there not be a setting in gnucash that would allow me to do
what every paper checkbook in the country does? What every online
banking setup does ...  Then I can do it without going online all the
time to check stuff.

The double stuff is way too labor intensive for simple check book
accounting. For example:  I tried to import that accounts activity
from a downloaded file.  It renders my register totally inaccruate by
default.

That is, I have to scutinize every incoming transaction and decide
where the other entry went, then clickety clack twice for each one
then another one to enter it, else gnu cash makes my register useless
with totally inaccurate final balances.  So the advantage of
downloading the transaction and importing them was totally nulled out.

Creates more work than it was worth.  I'd have as well done it
transaction by transaction to begin with.  Then at least I could have
just left them `imbalanced USD'.

For my purpose they could stay that way forever.  And again I'm
finding that this powerfull software is ending up making lots more
work ... that wasn't my goal.  If making finances easier for common
check book accounting is not one of the goals of gnucash developers
then I'm probably trying to use the wrong tool.

I read somewhere gnucash would be usefull for all levels of users.