How to handle sale of partial lots of stock?

[John Schoffstall]

Derek Atkins wrote:
> Um, it should work just fine if you put in the correct gain/loss splits.
> Can you show an example of where it's failing, please?

Create a GnuCash file with Assets, Expense, Income, and Equity accounts. Create a stock account under the Brokerage account, "Digital Datawack" (DWAK). We'll use these accounts:

Assets:Investments:Brokerage
Assets:Investments:Brokerage:DWAK
Expense:Commissions
Income:Capital Gains
Equity:Opening Balances

Enter a transaction for 200 shares of Digital Datawack at $10 a share as an opening balance:

Date       Action Account                           Shares Price Debit Credit	
03/14/2006 Buy    Assets:Investments:Brokerage:DWAK 200       10  2000
                  Equity:Opening Balances                                2000

Our balance sheet looks like this:

Assets
Assets                 $0.00
  Investments:      $2000.00    
Assets                    $2000.00    

Liabilities
Liabilities                  $0.00
Unrealized Gains(Losses)     $0.00

Equity
Equity                 $0.00 
  Opening Balances: $2000.00
Retained earnings:           $0.00
Net Profit:                  $0.00
Total Equity:             $2000.00

Liabilities & Equity:     $2000.00


Digital Datawack doubles in a day! We'll lock in profits and sell half our shares:

Date       Action Account	                     Shares Price Debit Credit	
03/15/2006 Sell   Assets:Investments:Brokerage                     1995
                  Expenses:Commissions                                5          
                  Assets:Investments:Brokerage:DWAK	           1000
                  Assets:Investments:Brokerage:DWAK    -100    20        2000
                  Income:Capital Gains                                   1000

But now our balance sheet looks like this:

Assets
Assets                 $0.00
  Investments:      $3661.67   
Assets                    $3661.67    

Liabilities
Liabilities                  $0.00
Unrealized Gains(Losses)     $0.00

Equity
Equity                 $0.00 
  Opening Balances: $2000.00
Retained earnings:           $0.00
Net Profit:                $995.00
Total Equity:             $2995.00

Liabilities & Equity:     $2995.00

Drilling down into the balance sheet a little, it seems that everything is correct, except that our remaining shares of DWAK are being assigned the value of $1666.67. Huh?

So: what's going on here? What am I missing?

== John
> 
> -derek
> 
> Quoting John Schoffstall <john.schoffstall at pobox.com>:
> 
>> [ack, replied to Derek instead of to the list, sorry]
>>
>> Thanks for the fast reply!
>>
>> Yes, I read that, and set up the splits as described. It works if I 
>> sell exactly the number of shares that I own. But if -NUM_SHARES is 
>> less than my total owned shares, my balance sheet will be unbalanced 
>> as a result. It remains unbalanced until I sell the rest of the shares 
>> of that stock account.
>>
>> == John
>>
>>
>> Derek Atkins wrote:
>>
>>> You should read the concepts guide.
>>>
>>> http://www.gnucash.org/docs/v1.8/C/gnucash-guide/invest_sell1.html
>>>
>>> -derek
>>>
>>> Quoting John Schoffstall <john.schoffstall at pobox.com>:
>>>
>>>> Greetings! Running 1.8.10 on Debian etch. New GnuCash user, new list 
>>>> user, new Linux user.
>>>>
>>>> I've been climbing the GnuCash learning curve for the past week, 
>>>> been happy with the software, and making good progress until now. 
>>>> I've hit a snag I can't get past, though.
>>>>
>>>> How do you sell a partial lot of stock -- e.g., selling only 100 of 
>>>> 200 owned shares -- without unbalancing your balance sheet? I've 
>>>> tried creating two lots, each of 100 shares and only selling one, 
>>>> but that still whacks the balance sheet.
>>>>
>>>> The examples in the docs all seem to show only the purchase and sale 
>>>> of equivalent amounts. I've googled the net and the mailing list 
>>>> archives, but can't find an answer I can understand.
>>>>
>>>> This is a common situation; there must be an answer. Can anyone help?
>>>>
>>>> == John