Report to locate Unrealized Gains

[David T.]

Screen shot got eaten again.



> On Feb 7, 2017, at 8:38 PM, David T. via gnucash-user <gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
> 
> Chris,
> 
> The binary method might work, but it is exceedingly time consuming when one is working with a ten-year data file with 185 commodity accounts and thousands of transactions. I tred that method, in fact, before I sent my question to the list. It’s simply not feasible except when you’re talking a small data set.
> 
> Moreover, my first encounter with a transaction with unrealized gains left me confused.
> 
> Here is the situation that confuses me:
> 
> I have a set of transactions from 2007: an Initial Holdings transaction of 200 shares, with a cost basis of $23.80. I sold 100 shares for $3480, with $63.99 commission and $.06 fee, with $3415.95 coming along to me. My broker statement for that transaction listed capital gains of $3404.05 (3480-63.99-.06-(23.80/2)), which is what I entered as a separate capital gains transaction on the same date. (See screen shot below)
> 
> The Balance Sheet report for this date lists unrealized gains of $104.30 (just to be clear, this is the only transaction affecting any commodities in my data file on this date). This figure stumped for a LONG time, until I realized that 
> 
> 104.30 (Unrealized gainson report) =(63.99 [commission]+.06 [fee]-(23.80/2) [initial cost basis])*2
> 
> In other words, the Balance Sheet report was off by the total fees, reduced by the initial cost basis.
> 
> That seems wrong to me, and I certainly don’t know how fix this. I mean, I already *have* the gain transaction entered (and it’s the right one, according to my broker). So, what am I supposed to do to fix the Balance Sheet report?
> 
> For humor, I decided to Lotify this account (open the View Lots window and scrub account). When I do this, it inserts a new Gain transaction for $3468.10 (i.e., not deducting fees), and the unrealized gain goes away. However, I am now staring at TWO gain transactions in the amount of over $3000, so I would expect the Unrealized gains number to be negative, or something. But this doesn’t happen; the gains remain at zero. Obviously, the gains have been realized, but by a set of transactions that gives completely incorrect information about the overall gain.
> 
> I am open to being edified here—both on how I have misconstrued the problem AND on how to actually fix it going forward.
> 
> Oh—and that’s only the first transaction I encountered. It’s from 2007. It’s a long way to Tiperary.
> 
> David
>