[GNC] Splitting a multi-year file

[Andrea Borgia]

Hello, David.


Thanks for the explanation. Rest of the comments are inline.



> To export the account tree use File->Export->Export Accounts to export the
> account structure into a new book file directly. It works fine with GnuCash
> V3.4. What version of GnuCash are you using and on what operating system?
> Using the export of the account Tree to CSV will also work but the direct
> export into a new file is simpler.

Yup, thanks for confirming. I'm using v3.4 on Debian, "testing" branch.


> To import , open GnuCash in the new book file. File->Import->Import
> Transactions from CSV. Select the file you have just exported. Select the
> GnuCash Export Format. Make sure Multisplit is selected. If the data line
> comes up as pink (or other colour) this is a warning that a format doesn't
> match usually the data format. Set the date format to whatever is used in
> your locale (or whatever format has been exported) and ensure that Skip 1
> leading line is selected.  You will then see the data headings in the first
> import record have a line through them and the pink or other color shading
> in the data lines should clear. The column headers should correspnd with the
> headers in the first skipped lines.

I used the "Gnucash Export format" in the "Load settings" and all lines 
are now white with no "stop" sign on the left side, after changing the 
date to match. Now I understand what was wrong in my earlier attempt.


> In the next window you need to map the accounts specified in the file to be
> imported onto the accounts in the account tree that you imported. As yet
> there is no matching procedure so it is laborious but only has to be done
> for those accounts that transactions being imported will have splits to.  In
> your case the mapped accounts should be the same as the imported account
> names when you have finished.

Automatching would be a great addition, surely, but at least I got 
through to saving the imported entries.


> At present the import is not working correctly when the transactions involve
> accounts with multiple currencies and I suspect trading accounts although I
> have not checked these yet. You will have to edit any transactions between
> accounts in different currencies. At present the import appears to create a
> spurious split ot splits for an unrlated amount and appears to create an
> additional transaction in each non-book currency. Hopefully you don't have
> multicurrency transactions.

Hmm, I do have some old shares in investment funds and also have used 
multiple currencies over the years (EUR, ITL, GBP, FIM, EEK, NOK and I'm 
probably forgetting a couple). I used intermediate accounts to handle 
the money exchange then created separate income & expenses accounts for 
each currency as appropriate. Should I keep an eye on those? Or perhaps 
you are talking about something even fancier than I have in my books.


> As Christian recommended it is probably a good idea to create balance sheet
> reports however that may be of limited usefulness as the Balance sheet at a
> given date will not be the same in the new file unless you have copied all
> records up to that date and as you are splitting up into annual books that
> will not be the case. More useful may be Income Statements (also contains
> expenses)for each period from the original book. that should then agree with
> an Income Statement created for the same period from the new book

I think I'm going to stick with the balance sheet, since I already have 
the closing balances even if I did not create a new file each year. The 
income statement for 2015, for example, is mostly zeros except for a 
single mistake which I just discovered (bank interests for 2015 were 
lumped together with 2016, oh well...)



Thanks again,
Andrea.