help for a beginner

Mike or Penny Novack stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com
Sun Sep 8 08:28:32 EDT 2013


Donald Eugene Mines wrote:

>
>I also have a number of entries in "Orphan" account as well as numerous ones in the "Imbalance" account
>
>What is the best way to find my error(s) and correct them?
>
>Your wise words are appreciated.
>
>D.E. Mines
>  
>
OK, you say you are a beginner. Did you mean by that a beginner with 
gnucash specifically or a beginner with any sort of double entry 
bookkeeping?

Entries in "Orphan" and "Imbalance" are almost always the result of 
failure to specify the ledger account on the other side of the 
transaction. Orphan for a simple transaction and Imbalance for a split 
translation. That's not really a gnucash problem as you would have 
exactly the same problem using ANY program doing double entry accounting.

Basics:
    With double entry accounting there are TWO sides to every 
transaction. Some account(s) are being affected on the debit side of the 
ledger and some on the credit side of the ledger with the total debit 
equaling the total credit. When you fail to specify the account(s) on 
one side or the other gucash uses the Orphan and/or Imbalance accounts 
as defaults.

To correct:
    Look at each entry in Orphan and Imbalance and specify the correct 
ledger account (you do this by seeing what that transaction in Orphan or 
Imbalance has as its other account, go to that ledger account and find 
the transaction, and change the Orphan or Imbalance to the correct account.

If this is not making sense, you need to (re)read the tutorial 
explaining the basics of double entry bookkeeping, or better yet, a full 
text on the subject. Sorry, but while gnucash (or any other computer app 
that does bookkeeping) makes the process easier and less prone to error 
you still have to have a grasp of the process.

Michael D Novack


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