How to enter a multiple line deposit

[Robert Heller]

At Tue, 10 Mar 2015 17:09:06 -0700 Roderick Anderson <raanders42 at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> I think this is the right question.
> 
> I just took over (volunteered, railroaded) as the Treasurer for a small 
> club.  The previous treasurer used Quicken/Quickbooks but I run mostly 
> Windows free so that was not an option I cared for.
> 
> I have GnuCash installed and the accounts mostly set up.  One of the 
> income sources for the club is membership.  I have run into two problems 
> while making my first entries.
> 
> 1. The Income->Membership Dues entries are decreasing checking account 
> balance.  I am sure I will figure this out but a clue stick would be 
> appreciated.

You probably have the columns switched or something (you are entering the 
splits 'backwards'). You withdraw from Income->Membership Dues and deposit 
into checking account.  A 'withdrawal' from an income account causes it to 
increase.  With double entry bookkeepping, certain accounts are 'sign 
reversed' -- these are accounts where money 'enters' -- Eg Income 
accounts.  I guessing you are entering the transactions on the 
Income->Membership Dues transaction page.  This is probably confusing you.  It 
makes more sense to enter the deposits on the checking account transaction 
page (see below).

> 
> 2. How do I make a multi line 'deposit' transaction?  I would like to 
> see all the dues collect for a period (month) sort of like a deposit 
> slip.  Do I use some type of identifier that would group them together?
> 
> Is this making any sense at all?  I could probably do it as a variation 
> on a split.

Yes, it is just a split. You enter the total monthly deposit in the 'deposit'
column with the account being the checking account. I presume that you make a
single monthly deposit. Then you enter each check with a suitable description
(eg Dues from member Joe, Dues from member Jane, Dues from member James, etc.)
with the 'dues' account and the amount of the line item in the withdraw column
-- under double entry booking you are transfering from the dues to the
checking account (or something like that). If some of the deposit is something
*other* than dues, you would of course record that as appropriate -- eg if
your 'gift shop' sold some T-Shirts or something, you would withdraw that
amount from 'sales' or 'gift-shop cash' or whatever.

> 
> Unfortunately I do not have the system near by but I will be diving back 
> into it tomorrow after some sleep and coffee.
> 
> 
> Rod

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