QuickBooks to GnuCash -- Apologies for wrong question

[Tom Bullocik]

Hi Lloyd,

I copied below your message to me so that others on the list will understand
the context of my reply.  We are requested always to copy the list so all
can follow the conversation.

As I said earlier, I am new to QB.  I believe that you can import your
existing QB chart of accounts into GC.  To do that you would have to get it
into QIF format and then import it using the GC import function.

It seems to me that others have asked that question before and that the
answers of experienced users varied.  Some suggested not importing,
especially when the number of accounts is on the small side.  One suggestion
I remember (from Derek, I think) was to start using GC at the beginning of a
new year and not in the middle.  That way, you start with the chart of
accounts only and no transactions.  You could have your opening balance for
all accounts be zero and then enter a large single journal entry that loads
closing balances from the prior year for all accounts in just one entry.  Or
you could enter opening balances using a series of Journal Entries.

The advantage of that seems to be that you separate the  effort of
establishing your chart of accounts in GC from that of getting all opening
balances established.  That is an extra step, but may be useful, because it
could be that your chart of accounts in GC does not appear exactly as  it is
in the software you are leaving behind.  That means that you know the exact
name of your accounts in GC at the point that you are entering the opening
balances.  The more accounts you have (a large balance sheet and income
statement!), the more likely the GC chart names will not be exactly what you
had in the old software.  At least that is my case.

An advantage of waiting for the beginning of the new year is that you have
the months of the remaining year to play with GC in a test account that you
can make mistakes in and then throw away after you do start the next
financial year.  Of course, this means maintaining use of the old software
for an overlap period. 

You could go to http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/GnuCash, and on that page
scroll to Documentation and then FAQs.  That should give you more
information.

The trouble I am encountering is that I did not appreciate really what I
read about how one uses the chart of accounts in GC. I am an accountant and
use a very large chart.  I also am primarily oriented to account numbers and
have a developed system built into the numbers I use in my QB chart.  

In using the chart GC seems only to be able to use the chart in a larger to
smaller manner.  For example, Expense:name of account.  That works fine once
you are used to using it.  But getting to that point for someone with a
developed chart (that can have two or three additional levels below the
account name) is rather difficult and tiresome.   That is, there is a big
learning curve to be climbed.   For me typing 4-6 digit number is faster
than the present method.  That is because numbers over time have become a
strength for me.   The trick with GC is to learn what the shortest
abbreviations are to make accurate your uses of the chart:  E:7:72:722:7221,
as an example.

It also means that if I insist on using numbers I need to put them at the
head of the account name description field followed by the descriptive
words.  GC so far does not respond to account numbers, at least in the
fields I used to capture them.

However, that does not mean it is not worth climbing the learning curve. 
Once I have mastered that, I will be able to use GC as it is intended.  It
is a very good program and growing all the time.  So I am willing to invest
in the necessary effort.

I hope these comments re my present experience are useful to you.

Tom



05/06/2010 12:25 PM
From:  lloyd at paisite.com

Hi Tom

Many thanks for sharing your experience.

Are you having to set all of your accounts in GC? Or is there a way to
convert them from QB as well?

Thanks again,

Lloyd
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