Setting up an investment account

[David Reiser]

Accounts can have only one commodity. So you’ll either have to make the opening balance in TSP as shares or create another account in dollars which you can then use to buy shares in the TSP account. Since your opening balance as of Jan 1 was actually shares in that account, why not record it that way? You’ll want to enter a price in the Price Editor under Tools for Jan 1 also, so that you can evaluate the balance then.

There are a couple oddities with report settings to get the reports to use the most appropriate share price (one of the reasons to add the Jan 1 price to the Price Editor).

Dave

> On Jul 25, 2016, at 9:29 PM, Elmar Schmeisser <eschmeisser at nc.rr.com> wrote:
> 
> OK - I entered TSP for symbol, etc. and behold!  the OK lights up :)
> 
> But now it gets complicated once I am past that stop point.
> 
> Now I am lost again.  I think I want to put in equity:opening balances
> the cash value of the fund as of the end of last year, and in the TSP
> account, use that cash to buy the correct number of shares and the
> correct price for 1JAN16.  But GC goes totally weird on me at this
> point, seeing the beginning balance as shares rather than money, and
> adding a whole bunch of splits that make no sense to my ignorant mind.
> Obviously I am missing something fundamental here ...
> 
> - Elmar
> 
> On 7/25/2016 8:56 PM, Derek Atkins wrote:
>> Hi,
>> 
>> On Mon, July 25, 2016 8:47 pm, Elmar Schmeisser wrote:
>>> Your reply fills me with hope - yes, it says USD.  But if I select, say,
>>> FUND, and go to "new"  I hit a dead end.  TSP L-income has no symbol
>> 
>> then make one up...
>> 
>>>      and
>>> no code that I am aware of, nor any quote source.  See
>>> http://www.tspfolio.com/tsplincomefund
>> 
>> Again, not an issue.  It's not a requirement.
>> 
>>> I also see "Warning:Finance::Quote not installed properly" - Elmar
>> 
>> Also not an issue; a warning you can safely ignore.
>> 
>> -derek
>> 
>>> On 7/25/2016 8:31 PM, Derek Atkins wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>> 
>>>> I'm back at a keyboard now.
>>>> 
>>>> So if your "Account Type" has "Mutual Fund" selected, then up in the
>>>> Identification section of the Edit Account  dialog should have a
>>>> Security/currency selected -- what is in that box?  My guess is that
>>>> it's
>>>> USD, which would cause your issue.  If it's NOT USD, then what exactly
>>>> does it say?
>>>> 
>>>> -derek
>>>> 
>>>> On Mon, July 25, 2016 7:55 pm, Elmar Schmeisser wrote:
>>>>> Mutual Fund
>>>>> 
>>>>> - elmar
>>>>> 
>>>>> On 7/25/2016 7:44 PM, Derek Atkins wrote:
>>>>>> Under Edit Account, what is the Account Type?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> -derek
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Sent on my mobile. Please forgive any typos.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> ----- Reply message -----
>>>>>> From: "Elmar Schmeisser" <eschmeisser at nc.rr.com>
>>>>>> To: "Derek Atkins" <derek at ihtfp.com>, "GNU Cash User"
>>>>>> <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
>>>>>> Subject: Setting up an investment account
>>>>>> Date: Mon, Jul 25, 2016 6:11 PM
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> To be specific, this is the federal Thrift Savings Plan, and
>>>>>> specifically the L-income fund, so I have no idea what the "commodity"
>>>>>> is or how to set it.  All I see under "edit account" that might apply
>>>>>> is
>>>>>> "smallest fraction - use commodity  value".
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 7/25/2016 6:02 PM, Derek Atkins wrote:
>>>>>>> So account type is mutual fund and the account commodity is....???
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> -derek
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Sent on my mobile. Please forgive any typos.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> ----- Reply message -----
>>>>>>> From: "Elmar Schmeisser" <eschmeisser at nc.rr.com>
>>>>>>> To: "Derek Atkins" <derek at ihtfp.com>, "GNU Cash User"
>>>>>>> <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
>>>>>>> Subject: Setting up an investment account
>>>>>>> Date: Mon, Jul 25, 2016 5:49 PM
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Yes - it is set as a mutual fund
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On 7/25/2016 5:33 PM, Derek Atkins wrote:
>>>>>>>> Did you set the commodity on the account to your stock/fund?
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> -derek
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Sent on my mobile. Please forgive any typos.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> ----- Reply message -----
>>>>>>>> From: "Elmar Schmeisser" <eschmeisser at nc.rr.com>
>>>>>>>> To: "GNU Cash User" <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
>>>>>>>> Subject: Setting up an investment account
>>>>>>>> Date: Mon, Jul 25, 2016 5:24 PM
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> I am trying to set up an investment account that has an opening
>>>>>>>> balance
>>>>>>>> of "x" shares at "y" price resulting in "z" cash value.  But when I
>>>>>>>> enter the actual price per share and the number of shares into the
>>>>>>>> mutual fund line, GC forces the share price to 1 rather than what I
>>>>>>>> entered and teh number of shares to the cash equivalent.  Why does
>>>>>>>> GC
>>>>>>>> do
>>>>>>>> this and how can I get it to let me insert the price per share? -
>>>>>>>> Elmar
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>>> gnucash-user at gnucash.org
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>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
> 
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