Am I missing something?

[Pablo Francesca]

Equity is realized over a defined period of time. When you close your books for the month/quarter/year, that is when you will realize profits and affect the equity account.
If your anxious to see how you stand profit-wise, just run an income report.  The net income is the amount your equity will change at then end of the accounting period.

Think of a change in equity as the time when you actually claim your profits.  Or think of a change in equity as the time you actually realize profits.  One might say that it is arbitrary that at the end of one period you can claim a profit and the next day you cant, but that is the nature of accounting.  

Of course, I'm not an accountant so there might be a better explanation.

--- On Sun, 5/23/10, Alex Hill <alex_hill at arach.net.au> wrote:

From: Alex Hill <alex_hill at arach.net.au>
Subject: Am I missing something?
To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
Date: Sunday, May 23, 2010, 8:06 AM

I am a little confused about the relevance of the accounting equation:

Assets = Liabilities + Owners Equity

When I make up an invoice (service) I increase cash and sales accounts, but there is no change in the equity accounts. Am I missing a step? Should I somehow be increasing my owners equity / retained earnings etc when invoices are paid off?