[GNC-dev] Further feedback

[Stephen M. Butler]

On 2/8/19 5:12 AM, Christopher Lam wrote:
>
> I've been experimenting and I think there's a logic error in your
> thinking -- *during* reconciliation, until it's complete, all
> 'reconciled' transactions are labelled 'cleared'. Reconciled
> transactions are, so to speak, gone and don't need to be shown on a
> reconciliation report.
>

The reconciliation report should run just after reconciliation has
finished.  Therefore, the just reconciled items will be marked as
reconciled. 

> My conclusion for the headers is:
>
>   * "starting-balance" - all *reconciled* on last-reconcile-date
>   * "reconciled-balance" - all *cleared* until today
>   * "ending-balance" - all *reconciled & cleared* until today
>   * "outstanding-balance" - all *unreconciled* until today
>

I think this is wrong.  At what point are you expecting the
reconciliation report to happen?

> Please refresh PR and go through the exercise again. I think this
> works better.
>
> On 8/2/19 1:58 pm, Stephen M. Butler wrote:
>> On 2/7/19 7:04 PM, Christopher Lam wrote:
>>> Unfortunately it's very difficult to understand the target report.
>>>
>>> It would be much better to have a tiny test datafile - 10 amounts per
>>> account, of various reconciliation states.
>>>
>>> I suggest a test datafile as follows:
>>>
>>> 1. BANK
>>>
>>>   * 01-jan-19 $1.00 reconciled
>>>   * 03-jan-19 $10.00 reconciled
>>>   * 05-jan-19 $100.00 reconciled
>>>   * 10-jan-19 $1,000.00 unreconciled
>>>   * 14-jan-19 $10,000.00 reconciled
>>>   * 18-jan-19 $100,000.00 cleared
>>>   * 15-mar-19 $1,000,000.00 unreconciled (future payment)
>>>   * Last reconciled date 15-jan-2019 - reconciliation amount was
>>>     $10,111.00
>>>   * Today 8-feb-2019
>>>
>>> What should the reconciliation report header columns and contents look
>>> like?
>>>
>>> What would be the exact process for reconciliation (on the 15th Jan)
>>>
>>> How would the reconciliation report be useful for a user (report run
>>> today 8-feb-2019)
>>>
>> Let's start at ground zero.  There is $150,000.00 in the bank at the
>> start of the year (because we opened the account in early December) and
>> everything was reconciled to the 15-Dec-2018 bank statement (only the
>> deposit).
>>
>> We then make the above transactions on the dates noted and do a
>> reconciliation on 15-Jan-2019.  The standard GnC reconciliation shows a
>> beginning balance of $150,000.00 and a 15-Jan-2019 balance of
>> $138,889.00 but the electronic bank statement shows $139,889.00.  So, we
>> adjust the ending balance to show that and proceed with the
>> reconciliation.  Before doing anything on the screen we note a diff of
>> $10,111.00.  As we check off the first three and the fifth items, we
>> note the diff decreasing to $0.00.  At which point we finish the
>> reconciliation.
>>
>> We then run the Reconciliation Report and see.
>>
>> Reconciliation Report
>>
>> Account     Reconcile  Starting                 Ending                
>> Current
>>             Last Date  Balance     Reconciled   Balance    Outstanding
>> Balance
>>
>> Assets:Bank 01/15/2019 $150,000.00 $-10,111.00 $139,889.00 $-1,000.00  
>> $138,889.00
>>
>> Reconciled Transactions:
>>    Transaction Reconciled Amount
>>        Date      Date
>>
>>   * 01-jan-19   15-Jan-2019      $-1.00
>>   * 03-jan-19   15-Jan-2019     $-10.00
>>   * 05-jan-19   15-Jan-2019    $-100.00
>>   * 14-jan-19   15-Jan-2019 $-10,000.00
>>
>>                             ------------
>>                             $-10,111.00
>>
>> Outstanding Transactions:
>>
>>   * 10-jan-19                $-1,000.00
>>
>>                               ---------
>>                              $-1,000.00
>>
>>
>> We note that the Starting Balance and Ending Balance agree with the Bank
>> statement and that the Current Balance agrees with our checkbook.
>> However, we get distracted by a family friend before we get a chance to
>> staple the report to the bank statement.
>>
>> Life moves on and we enter the other transactions noted above. On
>> 8-Feb-2019 we notice the bank statement still waiting to be filed but it
>> has no reconciliation report stapled to it. In a panic we open GnC and
>> run a Reconciliation Report (on the hopes that all we did was to forget
>> to attach the prior one). Low and behold it shows:
>>
>> Reconciliation Report
>> Account     Reconcile  Starting                 Ending                
>> Current
>>             Last Date  Balance     Reconciled   Balance    Outstanding
>> Balance
>>
>> Assets:Bank 01/15/2019 $150,000.00 $-10,111.00 $139,889.00 $-1,000.00  
>> $138,889.00
>>
>> Reconciled Transactions:
>>    Transaction Reconciled Amount
>>        Date      Date
>>
>>   * 01-jan-19   15-Jan-2019      $-1.00
>>   * 03-jan-19   15-Jan-2019     $-10.00
>>   * 05-jan-19   15-Jan-2019    $-100.00
>>   * 14-jan-19   15-Jan-2019 $-10,000.00
>>
>>                             ------------
>>                             $-10,111.00
>>  Outstanding Transactions
>>
>>   * 10-jan-19                $-1,000.00
>>   * 18-jan-19              $-100,000.00
>>   * 15-mar-19            $-1,000,000.00
>>
>>                               ---------
>>                          $-1,101,000.00
>>
>> We quickly staple this to the Bank statement and file it away.  Then we
>> panic as there is no way we're raising $1,101,000.00 by 15-March!
>>
>>
>> And that is my user story for the evening (and I'm sticking with it)!
>>
>>
>> Note:  Personally I would have set the double amount flag so the Debit
>> and Credit columns would show.  And I would want the Debits totaled and
>> the Credits totaled.  I could verify that the Reconciled Amount = Debits
>> - Credits.  In the above story, they are all Credits.
>>
>>

-- 
Stephen M Butler, PMP, PSM
Stephen.M.Butler51 at gmail.com
kg7je at arrl.net
253-350-0166
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