[GNC] I just don't understand reconciliation

[Maf. King]

On Wednesday, 19 June 2019 00:47:26 BST ToddAndMargo via gnucash-user wrote:
> On 6/18/19 4:27 PM, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
> >> On Jun 18, 2019, at 6:11 PM, ToddAndMargo via gnucash-user
> >> <gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:>> 
> >> On 6/18/19 3:41 AM, Maf. King wrote:
> >>>   Things these days are generally much more instant, although sometimes
> >>>   not as>>> 
> >>> instant as we might like.
> >>> HTH,
> >>> Maf
> >> 
> >> Not really.
> >> 
> >> By law, folks that take credit crds in the USA are not allowed
> >> to charge you until the item ships or gets processed.  Sometimes
> >> that is the same day and sometimes that is weeks away, depending
> >> on back orders.  Parts I purchase through my distrubutors for
> >> my business often get posted four or five days AFTER I receive
> >> the parts.
> > 
> > Understood. Thousands of businesses operate this way. I’m familiar with
> > it.
> > 
> >> So, I need to know when the charge was made and I need to "C" it
> >> off when it posts.  I need to only check that my beginning
> >> balance and my ending balance on my statement agrees, meaning
> >> I did not typo or forget to enter anything.
> > 
> > You can do that. Some people are in the habit of checking their accounts
> > daily. When doing so, you can ‘c’ those transactions that have settled
> > and they will be automatically ‘checked’ for you when you reconcile.> 
> >> So far I think reconcile is useless, except for the box in
> >> the lower right corner, which tells me I am balanced.  That
> >> is useful!
> > 
> > Reconciliation is a final ‘verification’ *when you receive your
> > monthly/period statement* that previously cleared transactions are WHY
> > the balance changed from opening amount to closing amount.> 
> >> Adding a stupid entry for a charge that I can not "C" off
> >> is really mind splitting.
> > 
> > You shouldn’t need to enter a balancing transaction unless you aren’t
> > balanced. And if you need to enter it, you *must* check it off (either
> > via ‘c’ in the register or the checkbox in the reconciliation window) in
> > order to Finish the Reconciliation.
> > 
> > If you are ‘balanced’ after checking all ‘cleared/posted’ transactions,
> > then DO NOT CLICK THE `Balance` BUTTON. (you didn’t read the manual did
> > you? nor waited for the tool-tip when you hovered over the button)
> > 
> > If you are ‘balanced’ then click the `Finish` button.
> > 
> > But you can’t “Finish” if you are not balanced. (bottom right figure for
> > ‘Difference’ is $0.00)
> > 
> > Regards,
> > Adrien
> 
> So basically, I need t wait for my next statement to come to "c" the
> charges that did not make it on the current statement.  So reconcile
> will always be a month behind.
> 

You can "c" at any time by clicking in the register. (say, you've seen an 
online list of transactions and you see some have been processed)

you need to wait for the statement to turn the n or c to a y.  You can only 
agree with a statement when the bank have produced it...

repeat - don't use the "balance" button - it isn't what you want in this case.

I'm slightly confused as to why dispatch dates matter in an accounting 
program.  It almost sounds like you are trying to use the reconcile workflow 
for something that is not.  But I might be reading between the lines there.

Maf.