GNU cash 2.4.11 trial balance bug?

Mike or Penny Novack stepbystepfarm at mtdata.com
Sun Mar 15 21:30:44 EDT 2015


> There are still a few cases where there are errors that humans can make
> which the trial balance can at least assist with finding.  One is
> transposing digits when entering a value
Precisely what the trial balance was for in the old days and precisely 
what the computerized system prevents. If you transpose digits in an 
amount on one side of a transaction the transaction you entered will not 
be in balance and gnucash will put the difference into the Imbalance 
account. If you transposed the digits on both sides of the transaction 
(what you entered WAS in balance, just not the numbers you intended to 
enter) then the trial balance will not detect this. It will be in 
balance. That your books do not reflect "the real world" is a different 
sort of error.

>   and the other that is commonly
> used in GnuCash is to detect incorrectly calculated capital gains in
> closing investment transactions.
Same argument. Incorrectly dividing the gain between ordinary income and 
capital gains won't throw a trial balance out of balance. Leaving a 
balance behind in an account you should have taken to zero will not 
throw a trial balance out of balance. There are many other sorts of 
errors you might make which also will not affect a trial balance. Even 
accidentally reversing a transaction won't (switching debits and credits 
while entering, but doing so consistently).

Please, I am NOT saying I can't think of things to do with the trial 
balance report. But those wouldn't be how this was used in the old days 
(find out whether or not the entire ledger was in balance). For that, 
just seeing of there are zero balances in Imbalance and Orphan will do.

Michael D Novack


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