Bank account balance incorrect after import from Quicken

[Tom Allred]

David,

I haven't been using this mailing list long enough to know how easy it is to
look back at a thread but there are more details in the previous posts.  One
of the problems of using a list instead of a forum...  I appreciate your
willingness to help.  First, I'm not a newbie to accounting.  I've taken a
couple of accounting courses in the past, ran my own business for a long
time, and have been using quicken for 20 years.  Yes, quicken uses
"categories" instead of "accounts" but you still have to have at least two
sides in a transaction.  I have read the gnucash manual through chapter 3
plus other sections that seemed like they may be pertinent, including the
parts on importing quicken QIF files which, BTW, has 3 blank pages where
some QIF topics are supposed to be.

Yes, the closing balance in gnucash doesn't match quicken.  The problem is
the "magic" transaction gnucash created during import that offset the
opening balance entry in the account in 1995.  There is my original
transaction opening the account with a deposit, and the "magic" transaction
reversing it with a withdrawal on the same date.  Both entries are exactly
alike except one is a deposit and one is a withdrawal.  If I delete the
withdrawal then I have the correct current balance.  When Geert replied to
my original post he said the account an opening balance entry is normally
applied against is "Equity:Opening Balances" which didn't exist in my
account list after creating the database by importing the QIF file.  Today's
post was explaining what I had discovered since our previous exchange.  My
plan at this point is to delete the "magic" transaction, which has a
Reconciled flag of "n", and continue looking for other inconsistencies
between gnucash and quicken.  If it doesn't matter that gnucash used the
Retained Earnings account instead of Opening Balances for the opening
balance entries in other accounts then I'll just leave them alone and carry
on.

Thanks,
Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: David T. [mailto:sunfish62 at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, September 01, 2015 10:20 PM
To: tallred7 at triad.rr.com
Cc: edodd at billiau.net; gnucash-user at gnucash.org
Subject: Re: Bank account balance incorrect after import from Quicken

Tom, 

Whether GnuCash uses "Equity:Retained Earnings", "Equity:Opening Balances",
or even "Equity:What The Heck!" is immaterial. What matters is the amount
that gets put into the checking account in this transaction. If this amount
is not correct, then we have to examine what number GnuCash used for the
opening transaction, and why it is being added. 

Also, can you explain a little more fully how you are determining that the
balance has been thrown off? Is it because the closing balances don't match?
Or that you ran a reconciliation and the numbers didn't match?

Please also go back and read chapter 2 in the GnuCash Guide on Accounting
Basics-especially section 2.1.3 on double entry accounting. It clearly
explains *why* GnuCash creates what you are calling an "offsetting
transaction"-and it may help you to understand what is going on. 

David