[GNC] Can I reverse the "deposit" and "withdrawal" columns for checkbook entry?

[Stan Brown]

On 2021-10-16 08:22, Tom Browder wrote:
> My bank's checkbook register has the "withdrawal" and "deposit" columns in
> the reverse order of that shown in Gnucash. Is there any way to reverse
> them in Gnucash for ease of use?

I'm sticking my neck out here, but I believe the answer is "no".

* A deposit is a debit entry to your checking account because it
increases the value of that asset, and a debit -- which is an increase
of assets or expenses but a decrease of liabilities,  equity, or income
-- always goes on the left.

* Contrariwise, a withdrawal is a credit entry to your checking account
because it decreases the value of that asset, and a credits -- which is
a decrease of assets or expenses but an increase of the other account
types -- always go on the right. (A bookkeeping text that I read many
years ago said that "debit" and "credit" were just accountants' words
for "left" and "right", and that when accountants talk about balancing
books they mean that the totals on the left and right must be equal.)

>From your bank's point of view, the register is correct because _your_
withdrawal decreases their obligation (liability) to you and is
therefore a debit on their books, while _your_ deposit increases their
obligation and is therefore a credit on their books. The bank's own
accounting entries are thus exactly opposite to yours.

My suggestion is to relabel the columns in your checkbook register.

However ... do you actually need a paper checkbook register? Isn't that
just duplicating your checking account records in GnuCash?

-- 
Stan Brown
Tehachapi, CA, USA
https://BrownMath.com
https://OakRoadSystems.com