feature/bug?

[Jon Lapham]

David Bobroff wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I've not been following gnucash for some time.  I've just dug up some data
> to get a checking account back in order.  I only have about a dozen
> transactions to enter.  After entering a few checks and a couple of
> deposits, I got a dialog box popping up saying that the current transaction
> was not balanced.  What does that mean?  

This means that you need to understand how double entry accounting 
works.  :)

I would suggest you start by reading the documentation:
http://www.gnucash.org/docs/

Specifically, chapter 2, and I would especially recommend the first two 
sections:
http://www.gnucash.org/docs/v1.8/C/gnucash-guide/chapter2.html

Now, having given you these links, let me see if I can help you get 
started.  You need at least 2 accounts for every transaction, and money 
cannot be created from nowhere.  You cannot simply start using GnuCash 
by moving money from your checking account to an expense account.  Why 
not?  Because GnuCash does not know where that money come from 
originally.  Simplifying a bit here, money can only arrive in GnuCash 
via an "Income" account, or the "Equity:Opening Balances" account.  You 
need to put money in your accounts becore you can move it around.

So, typically, people *start* by setting their initial balances in the 
bank account as a transaction from "Equity:Opening Balances" to 
"Assets:Savings".  "Equity::Opening Balances" is a special account to 
deal with just this very situation.

I hope this helps, and please read the manual and let me know if it 
explains things well.

-Jon

-- 
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  Jon Lapham  <lapham at extracta.com.br>          Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
  Work: Extracta Moléculas Naturais SA     http://www.extracta.com.br/
  Web: http://www.jandr.org/
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