Closing Books Issue

[John Ralls]

On Apr 24, 2014, at 11:32 AM, Mark Phillips <mark at phillipsmarketing.biz> wrote:

> I closed the books at the start of 2013, and have an entry in an account
> called Miscellaneous Expenses for $38.97 called "closing books" as part of
> a split with lots of other entries. Time marches on, and I get to today.
> The trust attorney (long story...don't ask) wants to get rid of this
> account and move all the expenses to other more specific accounts. I did
> what he asked, but now I have a balance of -38.97 in the Misc Expenses
> account - ie the closing book entry. I must have had $38.97 in that account
> at the start of 2013. What is the best way to unravel this $38.97, with the
> goal of deleting this account.

Delete the whole close books transaction and if you really want to, re-run “close books”. Since all of the reports can be set to cover a specific accounting period there’s no real need to do this in GnuCash, it’s purely a matter of personal preference.

Regards,
John Ralls