How to write off bad credit

[Wouter van Marle]

> If Gnucash isn't designed to handle such common business accounts as
> customers on credit sales (A/R) failing to pay, then this is a *serious*
> flaw. The same goes for Returns and Allowances and Credits. In this
> particular case you *decrease* the person's A/R account and *increase*
> the Bad Debts account. Why doesn't Gnucash allow this common method?

In GnuCash 1.8.12 (or about - the previous version that I used for
years) it was possible to post negative invoices. And it worked quite OK
(the invoice payment registration part is somewhat broken anyway -
you're according to Derek not allowed to change things by hand in the
A/R and A/P registers but the software happily allows one to do this!).
But Derek considered it a "bug", and it has been "fixed". I considered
it a nice and sometimes useful feature.

The business features in GnuCash are not great. It works. After using
this for several years it still feels like a hack to me. And
unfortunately it makes GnuCash a lesser option for businesses.

Wouter.

> 
> Does Gnucash handle contra-accounts?? It certainly should. (need to find
> my accounting book).