Reconcile does not work for me

Derek Atkins warlord at MIT.EDU
Tue May 12 09:17:26 EDT 2009


Ken Heard <ken at heard.name> writes:

> Elizabeth Dodd wrote:
>> On Tue, 12 May 2009, Ken Heard wrote:
>>> So, it appears that the only way I can "finish" the reconciliation is by
>>> checking *all* the entries in the reconcile window as appearing both in
>>> my ledger and on the bank statements.  If so, the purpose of a
>>> reconciliation statement as a record of what has not cleared both is
>>> obviated.
>>>
>>> Finally, I found no option which permits saving "a part finished
>>> reconciliation", a contradiction of terms.
>>>
>>> Ken Heard, Toronto, Canada
>> 
>> If the difference isn't zero, you can't say that the reconciliation is 
>> complete. Agreed.
>
> No.  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*.

You are correct, but I suspect you are misunderstanding how to use the
Reconcile system in GnuCash.  On the first dialog you are supposed to
enter in the information from the bank, the bank statement ending date,
and then ending balance from the bank.  What "ending balance" are you
entering on the first page?

Note that GnuCash will attempt to guess at the amount, but you MUST
override that amount with the correct ending balance from the statement.

I suspect that you're not touching this value, which is why you see
a discrepancy.

> 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.

Right.  In the former case you create the transaction in the account
and it will show up in the reconcile list.  Then you can mark it.
In the latter case you just ignore the transaction in the list, leave
it unmarked.

Honestly, I think ALL your issues stem from the fact that either:

1) You are not entering the ending balance correctly off the statement,
  or
2) You are trying to reconcile a statement at date X before you
  reconciled all statements prior to date X.

Also note that you need to reconcile the 'opening balance' transaction,
even though it wont appear on any statement.

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-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available


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