Help with transactions for sale of stock

hppweu hppweu at frontier.com
Fri Apr 22 13:00:41 EDT 2016


The problem I am having is with entering stock transactions so that the debit & credits are equal on the trial balance report and the capital gain matches what is reported. on my brokerage statements.

I am new to this list, but have been using GC for about 1 1/2 yrs. I have read all of the documentation and have searched this list for a similar thread.  I started my books at the beginning of last year, entering all of my personal finances, including all transactions from my brokerage account.  All of my gains, losses, cost basis, etc. match my brokerage statements.  The problem is that the debit and credit are not equal on my trial balance report. 

In order to check that my methodology was not faulty, I started with a new file and followed the the examples in Chapter 8 - Investments, in the tutorial and concepts guide.  In stepping through it very carefully, I have found that there is an inconsistency in the: Example - Sale of stock with profit.  The text in the paragraph does not use the same values for profit as what is shown in Table 8.2  and and the screenshot immediately after it. 

In the text it states   . . . and finally PROFIT is $1525 (GROSS_SALE - TOTALBUY - COMMISSION).

In the table and the screenshot, the value $1600 is used.

The difference between the two values is whether the $75 commission is included in the profit calculation.

If I follow the example using a profit of $1,525, I get the following results:
    The Trial Balance report shows the debit total = $13,675.24 and credit total = $13,600.24 (a difference of $75)
    The Advanced Portfolio report shows a Realized Gain = $1,525 and Total Return = $1,525
    The Income:Cap Gain (Long):AMZN = $1,525

When I follow the example using a profit of $1600, I get the following results:
    The Trial Balance report shows the debit total = credit total
    The Advanced Portfolio report shows a Realized Gain = $1,525 and Total Return = $1,525
    The Income:Cap Gain (Long):AMZN = $1,600

So if I include the commission expense in my profit calculation, my Income:Cap Gain (Long):AMZN account will agree with what gets reported by my brokerage statement and with what is on the advanced portfolio report, BUT my trial balance report WILL NOT balance.

And if don't include the commission in my profit calculation, my Income:Cap Gain (Long):AMZN account WILL NOT agree with what gets reported by my brokerage statement and with what is on the advanced portfolio report, but my trail balance report will balance.

Could anyone offer advice about what I am thinking or doing wrong?

Thanks in advance,
Pam


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