Does GnuCash possess a Journal Entry numbering facility

[Derek Atkins]

Michael Hendry <hendry.michael at gmail.com> writes:

>> I'm not convinced it would be a MAJOR alteration.  You would need to:
>> 
>> 1) add the data field to the Transaction object, and figure out how to
>>   best store it.
>
> Wouldn’t that just happen automatically when the (enhanced) object is
> stored? (shows how much I know!).

Maybe, maybe not.  Depends how you store it.  Care must be taken to make
sure you don't make the data file unloadable by older versions of
gnucash, or worse, silently lose the data on older versions.

>> 2) Store a global counter (we already have space for these)
>
> There would also need to be a mechanism for starting the numbering at
> a user-specified number.

This is just a UI nicety.  The counter mechanisms already exist, which
is the harder part.

>> 3) Use the counter every time a transaction gets posted (well, the first
>>   time) to fill in the field
>
> Yes, it would be necessary to distinguish between a newly created
> Transaction object and one which is being edited.

That's easy enough -- when you commit the transaction just check if it
already has a number and, if not, grab the next from the counter and
store it.

>> 4) (optional) add a way to view the value from the register.
>
> Yes, I would require this, so that I can mark the input document appropriately.
>
>> 
>> Note:  what do you do if you later delete a transaction?
>
> I’d be inclined to deal with this with a Contra Entry, with a text
> reference to the transaction number of the transaction which is to be
> reversed. I’d probably also edit the original transaction to say it
> had been reversed, with a reference to the Contra Entries sequence
> number.
>
>> 
>
> You’ve whetted my appetite, just a little…

:)

> Michael

-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
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