gnucash-user Digest, Vol 136, Issue 14
Scott Roe
scott384 at hotmail.com
Thu Jul 10 17:21:23 EDT 2014
Dear John, Cat, Derick, Mike, and David:
First of all, thank you very much to all for taking the time to reply to me on this issue. I am not an accountant, I'm just running a small business and do all the accounting myself.
My problems are probably two fold: a) I may have been entering split transactions incorrectly, as Derick suggested, I looked and I have 2 imbalance accounts, one in USD, and one for my local currency, CID, and just about every split entry is in there. Reviewing the splits, they are always in one currency, the local CID, as that is the currency I derive my expenses from (or the majority of them), and those are the ones that require split transactions. The majority of my split transactions are payment to the company I work for as an independent contractor. I write them one check every month, but that one check is for numerous expenses, all in the local CID currency.
I open my local currency checking account, enter the date, check #, the entity I write the check to, then skip to the decrease field, enter the total amount of the check, and then, while the focus is still in that field, hit the split key (as per how I read the help directions within Gnucash) and then tabbed to the first account field below in the 2nd line (between the description field and total increase field) and selected the first expense account, tabbed to the increase field and put in the amount for that expense account, tabbed to the next line and account field, selected the next expense account, then tabbed to the increase field, input the expense amount for that account, and so on and so forth until the last expense account and then tabbed to the next line and the running balance in the decrease field would equal the original decrease field entry and I would hit the enter key, at which the total split entry seemed to be saved, and took its place in the register chronologically depending on the date I cut the check. I picked one entry that was saved successfully this way, and examined it, and everything looks correct and logical. The asset account (local currency checking account) was decreased by the total check amount, and the expenses accounts were increased by the individual line item amounts attributed to each expense account. Examining the imbalance account (CID) shows 3 copies of this same transaction, which probably means it disappeared once and I re-entered it perhaps. Each of the 3 are slightly different, one has every field filled and the transfer field has "split transaction"; one has no description (company I write the check to) and one has no value in the main line decrease field. I'm not sure which one is correct, nor why they are in there. If I delete every instance of this transaction in the imbalance field, what will that do to the one in the checking account register, that is correct?
b) second issue is I am not using the business features nor invoicing. In addition to my main job I also do renovations. When I win a renovation contract, I create an account receivable account in the name of the renovation job, then when I receive this first "stage" payment, I enter it in as a payment, which creates a negative balance. As I pay out funds for materials and labor, I enter the payments in the "invoice" column which reduces the negative balance. When the job is completed, what is left is my profit, and I transfer that to an income account, zeroing out the account receivable account. The numbers and running balance have been correct but obviously this activity needs to be accounted for in a different manner. The stage payments should create a positive amount, and the payments for materials and labor should be a negative amount that reduces the balance. Thinking about what Mike and David said, I guess I need to create an account as an asset, being the job I've won, and enter incoming stage payments, and outgoing expense payments, to have the funds flow correctly.
I'm not sure what I am doing wrong with split payments. When I enter an individual expense in a local currency asset account like my CID checking account, no currency conversion dialog comes up ( I keep my books in local currency). When I'm entering expenses in my credit card accounts (all USD), or my US asset accounts, when I hit enter, a currency conversion dialog does come up, converts it to CID, and then saves at the CID amount. I never enter split transactions in USD, only the local currency CID, so I wonder if the currency conversion has anything to do with my split entry problems?
Thanks to all, in advance, for reading this, and any thoughts, or suggestions on correcting my problem(s) much appreciated.
Scott
> From: gnucash-user-request at gnucash.org
> Subject: gnucash-user Digest, Vol 136, Issue 14
> To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 12:00:02 -0400
>
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Ver 2.6.3 no split entry (Mike or Penny Novack)
> 2. Re: Ver 2.6.3 no split entry (David Carlson)
> 3. Re: Ver 2.6.3 no split entry (Mike or Penny Novack)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 09 Jul 2014 16:11:21 -0400
> From: Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com>
> To: Derek Atkins <warlord at MIT.EDU>
> Cc: "gnucash-user at gnucash.org" <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>, Scott Roe
> <scott384 at hotmail.com>
> Subject: Re: Ver 2.6.3 no split entry
> Message-ID: <53BDA1E9.3060605 at mtdata.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>
> >If you are not using invoicing then you should most definitely NOT be
> >using the A/R account type. Just use a regular Asset account type.
> >
> >
> >
> I'm going to try to clarify what Derrick just said (in case there is
> confusion)
>
> There are accounts that are LOGICALLY of (accounting type) "Accounts
> Receivable" and there is within gnucash (gnucash type) "Accounts
> Receivable". The latter should ONLY be used within the gnucash "business
> features". If you are not using the business features you could have
> manual processing of receivables using suitably named accounts in the
> Asset part of the tree.
>
> The sort of thing that would make sense if the entity for which the
> books were being kept had no use for the business features in general
> but SOMETIMES had the odd receivable or payable (and that possibly with
> non-standard conditions).
>
> Michael
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 06:53:11 -0500
> From: David Carlson <david.carlson.417 at gmail.com>
> To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Ver 2.6.3 no split entry
> Message-ID: <53BE7EA7.3080501 at gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> On 7/9/2014 3:11 PM, Mike or Penny Novack wrote:
> >
> >> If you are not using invoicing then you should most definitely NOT be
> >> using the A/R account type. Just use a regular Asset account type.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> > I'm going to try to clarify what Derrick just said (in case there is
> > confusion)
> >
> > There are accounts that are LOGICALLY of (accounting type) "Accounts
> > Receivable" and there is within gnucash (gnucash type) "Accounts
> > Receivable". The latter should ONLY be used within the gnucash
> > "business features". If you are not using the business features you
> > could have manual processing of receivables using suitably named
> > accounts in the Asset part of the tree.
> >
> > The sort of thing that would make sense if the entity for which the
> > books were being kept had no use for the business features in general
> > but SOMETIMES had the odd receivable or payable (and that possibly
> > with non-standard conditions).
> >
> > Michael
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > gnucash-user mailing list
> > gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
> > -----
> > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> >
> Scott,
>
> You have created a test file to experiment with, right?
>
> If GnuCash worked in the past, you probably already have some
> transactions in your file similar to the new ones you want to enter.
> What happens if you duplicate one of those and then edit it? Is this
> problem only with transactions involving multiple currencies, or is it
> more general?
>
> One other thing to try would be to use Tools:General Ledger and enter
> the transaction from there. It will not disappear from there unless it
> actually is deleted.
>
> Elaborating further yet on what Michael said, what I have done when I
> want use a 'holding' account to track delays in payments or receipts, I
> use an account that is of another type such as Bank or Credit Card
> different from the Accounts Payable or Receivable account types to avoid
> the business features.
>
> David C
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 09:22:55 -0400
> From: Mike or Penny Novack <stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com>
> To: David Carlson <david.carlson.417 at gmail.com>
> Cc: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
> Subject: Re: Ver 2.6.3 no split entry
> Message-ID: <53BE93AF.7090808 at mtdata.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>
> >
> >One other thing to try would be to use Tools:General Ledger and enter
> >the transaction from there. It will not disappear from there unless it
> >actually is deleted.
> >
> >Elaborating further yet on what Michael said, what I have done when I
> >want use a 'holding' account to track delays in payments or receipts, I
> >use an account that is of another type such as Bank or Credit Card
> >different from the Accounts Payable or Receivable account types to avoid
> >the business features.
> >
> >David C
> >
> >
> I would first try to understand why entering transaction normally wasn't
> working. I think the problem here is misunderstanding something about
> how to enter a split transaction.
>
> But the scenario I was describing, how there might be a logical need for
> a "receivable" or a "payable" account outside of using the business
> features was something else. Various sorts of business have their own
> accepted customs and so for some it's "cash" (no customer or vendor
> accounts, or rather, all immediately due). It is however possible that
> such a business where customers and vendors are on a "cash" basis that
> there is the odd customer or odd vendor with whom there is a special
> relationship. And these accounts are likely to have special conditions
> not well served by the built in features in any case.
>
> I can think of another scenario where neither the built in features nor
> manual receivable/payable processing would be suitable. Is any gnucash
> user out there using the software to do accounting for a business where
> the custom is "approval" sales? If so, how are you keeping track of what
> is out there "on approval"? << for example, a business dealing in
> "collectibles" might do some "approval" sales >>
>
> Michael
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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