how to automatically update equity account as each transaction is entered?

Derek Atkins warlord at MIT.EDU
Mon Apr 11 10:33:24 EDT 2016


Hi,

Francis Gerund <ranrund at gmail.com> writes:

> Hello!
>
> Yes, I am aware that this issue has come up before, but it really bothers
> me, so . . .

[snip]

> Now, you find $1.00. So now,
>
> Assets:       $1.00
> Liabilities:  $0.00
> Equity:       $1.00
> Income:       $0.00
> Expenses:     $0.00
>
>
> Right?

That's one approach.

> WRONG - according to GnuCash 2.6.12 !!  It stubbornly shows:
>
> Assets:       $1.00
> Liabilities:  $0.00
> Equity:       $0.00
> Income:       $0.00
> Expenses:     $0.00

This implies you have mis-entered your transaction.  The $1 debit to
Assets needs to be balanced with a $1 credit from SOMEWHERE.  But you
clearly didn't do that.  That $1 credit could come from Income, Equity,
or even a Liability.  You have done none of those, so this *IS* wrong.

> To me, Equity has always been (and always will be) simply the calculated
> result of
> "Assets - Liabilities = Equity".
> That is, "Equity" is just another name for "Net Worth".
>
> I don't want to have to look up a balance sheet report just to check the
> Equity amount.

Sorry, but the "Equity Accounts" only show your equity at a specific
point in time.  That specific point is either:

a) when you started accounting or
b) when you close the books

In order to see the Instantaneous Equity you *MUST* look at your
reports.  This is because Income and Expense accounts are considered
Temporary Equity accounts, and they hold the changes to equity since the
last Point-In-Time Equity balance (see above).

> After all, the Equity is (literally) the bottom line, and as they say, "the
> bottom line IS the bottom line".
> I don't have to do that to get the Asset amount, so why should I have to do
> so to get the Equity amount?

See above.  Income/Expense are also Equity accounts.

> So, is there a way to AUTOMATICALLY get GnuCash to show the Equity amount
> in the "Accounts" window (or tab),
> up to date after each transaction is entered?

No.  And there never will be.

> Thank you for any information on this!

> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory
       Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board  (SIPB)
       URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/    PP-ASEL-IA     N1NWH
       warlord at MIT.EDU                        PGP key available


More information about the gnucash-user mailing list