International Transfers

[Wm]

Sun, 28 Sep 2014 12:07:27 
<CABVFEGARkiTRc+u00zV+i+o-u1gyZivpQuc3VR+sa1bjn63Nkw at mail.gmail.com> 
Tom Balazs <tom123online at gmail.com>

>I'm very confused by the Transfers in GnuCash for international bank
>transfers (wires). How can I include the service fees in the one "Transfer"
>transaction I create?
>
>I used "Actions / Transfer"
>I transfer from Bank Account 1 to Bank Account 2.
>GnuCash correctly uses the exchange rate.
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [1]
> But how do I include the service
>fees (for sending the money and for receiving the money).
>http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff365/webmanoffesto/GnuCashInternati
>onalTransfersv20140928n01.png
>
>On my bank statement Account 1 will show one transaction (e.g. $1,000
>withdrawn). And Account 2 will show one transaction (that $1,000 after it
>was exchanged into the local currency and after the incoming transfer fee
>was deducted).
>
>I want my register to resemble the bank statements as closely as possible
>(if they show one transaction, then I should show one transaction).

As Egbert suggests this is more a case of how you want to view the 
transaction rather than a gnc issue.

Example1: I lend 100 from my bank a/c to a close relative, same 
currency, same country, both banks part of the same clearing system.  We 
both lose a small amount of interest while the interbank system does 
what it does, we don't think much about it. 100 left my a/c 100 arrived 
in his.  He owes me 100, easy.

Example2: I lend 100 from my bank a/c to a close relative, different 
currency, different banking system.  100 left my a/c 1234 arrives in his 
a/c some days later.  The exchange rate isn't close to the quoted money 
market rate plus there are some charges.

Question: in Example2 does my relative owe me 100 (the amount that left 
my a/c) or 1234 (the amount that arrived in his a/c) ?

If you can get your head around that you will have made the decision for 
yourself about how to handle the transaction with gnc.

Your basic decision is this: do I record the net flow including charges 
or do I account for the charges separately. If I account for the charges 
separately should I charge them to one account or the other?  Should I 
record the charges as an expense separate to the actual trade, eg 
Expenses:CostsOfCurrencyXfer ?

gnc can record it, how you want to record it is up to you :)

[1] Hint: open market exchange rates aren't much use except as an 
indication for inter and intra personal currency transfers unless you 
are shifting serious amounts about or betting against the market, 
hedging, etc in which case gnc might not be the best tool for recording 
such transfers.

As Egbert said, best wishes.  I think these are fun problems to have, 
the alternative being no money to play with :)
-- 
Wm...