[GNC] Accounting for differences. Was: (no subject)

[Max Hyre]

   Dear Mr. Filho:

   (I expect this will cause all accountants to run, screaming, but it works for me.)

   I, too, keep track of errors, but they're usually mine.  For this I have an account _Equity:MUD_, which stands for Make Up Difference.  :-)  It's unorthodox, but this is for my personal finances, for which ``there are no standards''.

   I like the Gnucash register to reflect the balance shown in my physical register, even when I make a mistake.  For this purpose I enter a transaction ``    *** error subtracting # 5794 ***'' immediately after check 5794, so from there GC has the same balance as my fallible entries, making it easier for me to follow what's happening.  At the point where I notice the error, I enter a counterbalancing transaction ``    *** fix error subtracting # 5794 ***'' in both GC and my personal register, thus making both reflect the bank's idea of my balance.

   For your first case, I'd enter a transaction ``rounding error'' against MUD.  Over the long haul, they should tend to balance out to roughly zero.  If they don't, and they always seem to be to your disadvantage, you may have caught someone executing a salami slicing [1] attack against you.

   For the second, it sounds as if you don't care about the errors, but just want the books to balance.  If that's correct, you can credit or debit _Equity:MUD_ and be done with it.  In fact, you might prefer having two accounts:  _Equity:MUD:Rounding_ and _Equity:MUD:Other's errors_.

   I hope this helps, or at least gives you some amusement.


       Best wishes,

             Max Hyre


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salami_slicing