Reconcile does not work for me

[Tommy Trussell]

On Mon, May 11, 2009 at 9:25 PM, Ken Heard <ken at heard.name> wrote:
> The reconciliation is complete if all the differences are accounted
> for.  The ledger balance and the bank balance are reconciled -- in
> accordance with the dictionary definition of that word -- even if the
> two balances are different *as long as the differences are known and
> recorded*.
>
> If in the reconciliation process I find entries the bank has made but I
> have not, then I can make a corresponding entry.  If the reverse, for
> example I have written cheques which have not cleared the bank as of the
> date of the statement, obviously I have to subtract the amount of these
> cheques from the balance of the bank statement so that the "real" bank
> balance agrees with my ledger.

When you find missing transactions, enter them in the appropriate
account and they will appear in the reconcile window as soon as they
are entered.

> In fact this information is shown in the balance pane.  What in that
> pane is called the "ending balance" is the balance according to the bank
>  which I entered at the beginning of the process.  The reconciled
> balance is what my ledger shows.  The last line, the difference between
> the two is the aggregate of the items making up the difference.  If I
> know what those items are the two balances are reconciled.
>
> So, what GnuCash calls"Postponed" I call "Reconciled".  I will
> consequently only reach the state of bliss which GnuCash calls
> "reconciled" -- and thus be able to "finish" the reconciliation as
> GnuCash uses the term -- if both my balance and the bank's balance are
> the same on the date of the bank statement.  Such a situation is rare.

My bank statements almost never show the same balance as the register.
Yet my reconciles work every month because I account for every
transaction, whether it has cleared the bank or not -- if it hasn't
cleared, I don't check it in the reconcile window, and it will be
there next time. If the transaction has cleared by that time, I can
mark it off. If not, it will carry over yet again. Maybe I am
misunderstanding your concern?


> Now that I understand the idiosyncrasies of the GnuCash "reconcile"
> module and have reconciled myself to them, I have the following
> question:  In the debit and credit panes of the reconcile window, will
> using the "delete" button remove only the highlighted entries in each
> pane, or will it remove the entry entirely from the transaction
> register/journal as well?
>
> If the former then I can use the reconcile window to track the items
> making up the difference between the bank and ledger balances.  I know
> that items cleared in the reconcile window are indicated as cleared in
> the transaction register/journal, but it would be useful to have a list
> of the outstanding items not cleared in the reconcile window.

Somewhere I have lost you. Once you reconcile a transaction it never
appears in the reconcile window again, yet it will remain in the
register. If you delete a transaction ... it won't appear in either
place. So I wouldn't delete a transaction unless I have determined it
was erroneous in the first place.


> Finally, is there a way I can have interest step in the reconcile window
> removed?  I find it easier, quicker and simpler to enter the interest as
> a separate transaction when it is paid, rather than go through that step.

When you start reconciling, there is a checkbox on the interest dialog
that allows you to indicate you never want to see it again for that
account. If you change your mind later, there's a "reset" option in
the preferences.