Bank account balance incorrect after import from Quicken

[David T.]

Liz,

There is a discussion on the devel list about creating a chapter specifically for importing data, with an initial start: http://lists.gnucash.org/pipermail/gnucash-devel/2015-August/038947.html

As I am the one that put the initial text together, I will note that I only use a limited number of import facilities, in a specific way—to wit, I primarily download OFX files and import them into GnuCash from there. Occasionally, I will use QIF. I know absolutely nothing about the other formats. I do not use online banking, and I don’t torture myself with csv.

This all is to say that if this chapter is going to get written, I will need some people who actually use these other various methods to write me up a description of the process in some detail in order for the chapter to move forward. Whatever I get will help; people who provide me with specific sticking points in their experience will earn bonus karma points, since if you had problems, chances are someone else will, too.

David T.

> On Sep 4, 2015, at 2:27 AM, Liz <edodd at billiau.net> wrote:
> 
> On Thu, 03 Sep 2015 08:45:57 -0400
> Mike or Penny Novack <mpnovack at mtdata.com> wrote:
> 
>> On 9/2/2015 10:03 PM, Tom Allred wrote:
>>> Okay, I'm out.  Repeating the circumstances over and over and still
>>> getting speculation as what actions on my part created this
>>> situation are just not useful.  There was no place in the automated
>>> import process for me to intervene, enter balances, approve
>>> specific transactions, etc.  I got the same result whether I
>>> created the database complete from scratch with the import or
>>> whether I created a shell new database with no amounts or balances
>>> entered.  I started the import, it ran, I checked the results and
>>> gnucash had COMPLETELY ON IT'S OWN created the reversing opening
>>> balance transaction which, as I've ALREADY said, was exactly the
>>> same (same date, same descriptor, same balancing account, same
>>> amount) except that it was a withdrawal instead of a deposit.  I'd
>>> delete the transaction and any others like it, hope it doesn't mess
>>> up any reconciliations, and if gnucash decides to make any future
>>> "helpful" transactions on it's own I'll just trash it and more on
>>> to something that handles accounting in a more traditional way.
>>> Peace out, Tom
>> 
>> Tom,
>>     GnuCash does appear to handle accounting in the traditional way. 
>> Your problem is something else, related to the import of data, and 
>> without knowing if this data represented the data of an IN BALANCE
>> set of books there is no way even I (decades of experience debugging 
>> financial systems) could begin to try to find out what went wrong.
>> I'll repeat, this is an export-import problem so you shouldn't jump
>> to the conclusion that there is something wrong with gnucash.
>> 
>>     Let's take this from the top and consider the data being
>> imported. You were trying to import ALL the data from another
>> bookkeeping application, yes? Well THAT set of books presumably also
>> had its own opening transaction. Is THAT showing up? Also, when
>> moving data like this you normally want to show everything checks
>> out. For example, that the Balance Sheets match. When you run a
>> Balance Sheet report for the old system (immediately before the
>> export) and then one for gnucash after this import, what do you see?
>> << I think when you have reported this to us we will be in a better
>> position to figure out your problem >>
>> 
>> Michael
> 
> 
> I think that we need some docs about importing
> I know someone is doing some work on the docs, but people do confuse
> the QIF importer with Gnucash.
> Persons leaving Quicken only leave once, and there are a number of
> suggestions, including not importing but running parallel over a time
> period (eg one accounting period).
> 
> Although the last gentleman was sure he knew all about accounting, he
> was not understanding that Quicken is not a double-entry accounting
> program but has a double-entry veneer (or it did when I used it, which
> also started over 20 years ago).
> 
> It is difficult to help those who insist that they are right, and we
> are wrong, but when our philosophies differ, both may be right!
> 
> Now I'm sure, like Derek says "patches welcome", new documentation is
> welcome too.
> 
> Liz
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