[GNC] Change account type by editing XML?

[Adrien Monteleone]

1. Create new accounts as the proper type in the proper place in the tree.

2. Delete each of the current accounts, one at a time, you wish to change.

3. GnuCash will ask you, for each deletion, what you want to do with the transactions the account currently contains.

4. Choose the option to re-assign them to the corresponding new account.

Since they are both assets (A/R is an asset) this should go smoothly.

Do a test with one account on a copy of the data file just to be sure there are no unforseen issues.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Apr 29, 2020 w18d120, at 1:25 PM, david whiting <dw at davidwhiting.me.uk> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> When I first set up my accounts (for a local club) I knew very little
> about accounting and misinterpreted some information I was given by an
> accountant and ended up creating some sub-accounts in Accounts Receivable.
> I now know that was not the correct thing to do, and I should have created
> these accounts as straight-forward asset accounts.
> 
> Using gnucash I cannot change the account type for these accounts. When I
> use ctrl+e on these accounts I only see account type A/Receivable so I
> cannot change them through the GUI.
> 
> I've compared the XML structure of one of these accounts with another
> simple asset account and they are the same except for the <act:type>, i.e.:
> 
> <act:type>RECEIVABLE</act:type>
> 
> versus
> 
> <act:type>ASSET</act:type>
> 
> I've tried editing this (on a copy) and simply changing RECEIVABLE to ASSET
> seems to work when I re-open the file. Once this is done I used gnucash to
> move the account to the correct place in the accounts hierarchy and all
> seemed well.
> 
> Before I do this to all instances in my working file are there any
> potential adverse consequences that doing this could cause that I am
> not aware of?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> David