[GNC] difficulties I am having

Sat Apr 24 20:39:34 EDT 2021

Please copy the list on all replies unless you're including confidential information like a screenshot of your register.

Since you've got your file back the way you want it you should save it and make a copy, then consider also making a copy on a service like Dropbox or Google Drive so that you're protected if something should happen to your computer. Do that again every year after you finish entering the previous year's data.

Regards,
John Ralls

> On Apr 24, 2021, at 5:18 PM, Jay Bouxsein <diananjay at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Well, I have good news and bad news, good first. I did manage to get my original data entry screen, that is the one that we were using, and it seems to be working just like it did when we were entering the data for tax year 2020.  All of the data we entered for transactions in Jan and Feb were all still where we put them and it was waiting for us to enter the new data starting with March 1.  I can also print P & L for past years as well as this year.
> 
> The bad news is that your suggested go back via backup will not work for me because the newest back up the system has for me dates all the way back to 2017.  It appears that ever since we used the system since 2017 I was simply exiting the program without posting the new data ignoring any error messages that may have appeared.  You know, as you get older, you start to mentally age back to your youth, and I am proof of that. I really cannot tell you how I got back to the setup I had, I just started punching buttons that looked like they might help. I really did not want to go back and start again from 2017 so I figured what the Hell.  I only remember hitting the "revert" option from the file menu and nothing after that.
> 
> In any event, my plan is to get 2020 out of the way and then maybe start all over again setting up a new and improved chart of accounts under a new company name.  It shouldn't be too bad because we really do have a simple operation here with limited vendors and limited things which only pop up rarely as issues. I promise , I hope, to not need to trouble you in the future, I'll make good use of the program's help feature.
> 
> I thank you and all of your mates who stepped up to try to lend a helping hand. It is pleasant to run into people like you who are willing to help strangers.
> 
> VTY
> 
> Jay Bouxsein
> 
> On Thu, Apr 22, 2021 at 7:45 PM John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> That's not what I hoped to see.
> It looks like instead of changing the type of the checking account you deleted it and told GnuCash to move all of its transactions to Expenses.
> 
> It's possible to fix this but it will be a little tedious. If you have a backup from before all of this happened (see https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Q:_What_are_all_these_.gnucash_and_.log_files_filling_up_my_directory.3F if you don't know about GnuCash's automatic backups) then you can just quit GnuCash without saving, rename the backup to the working name, and start over.
> 
> Otherwise you'll need to:
> 1. Leave the current Expenses account as type Expense but rename it to Checking.
> 2. Make a new top level expenses account 
> 3. Edit each direct child account of Checking and change its parent to Expenses.
> 4. When Checking has no more children edit it, change its type to Bank, and change its parent to Assets:Current Assets.
> 
> Regards,
> John Ralls
> 
> > On Apr 22, 2021, at 5:21 PM, Jay Bouxsein <diananjay at gmail.com> wrote:
> > 
> > Thanks so much for such a prompt reply. I have attached a couple of photos of the screens that I have up on my computer right now which should answer your question and give you more understanding about the way my system is set up.
> > 
> > I thank you again for all your help.
> > 
> > Jay BOUXSEIN
> > 
> > 
> > On Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 7:09 PM John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> > Whether you want to change the children depends on how you've structured your accounts. What are the children?
> > 
> > Regards,
> > John Ralls
> > 
> > > On Apr 22, 2021, at 5:04 PM, Jay Bouxsein <diananjay at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > 
> > > Thanks so much. I am at the computer right now and made the change you recommended in the lower left hand corner of the edit account screen to bank. I pressed OK and got a pop-up screen that says "give the children the same type ?" And wonder whether I should accept this change. I'm going to try to give you a screenshot of what I'm looking at right now.
> > > 
> > > No go on the screenshot I can't figure out how to do it from my phone which is what I am using to send this email.
> > > 
> > > If you can answer based on the earlier paragraphs in this email please do so and I'll hit okay and if it doesn't work out well I can get back to you.
> > > 
> > > Many thanks
> > > 
> > > Jay
> > > 
> > > On Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 6:13 PM John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> > > "IIUC" means "if I understand correctly".
> > > 
> > > No, Register2 is an attempt to rewrite of the register code to use GtkTreeView[1]. It didn't work out but its remains, er, remain.
> > > But I see that I'm wrong about that anyway, Expense and Rebate are the informal labels on the debit and credit columns for expense accounts on the regular register too.
> > > 
> > > The screenshot is perfect. I'll guess that you've managed to change the account named "Expenses' from type Bank to  Expense. Select Edit>Edit Account... from the menu and in the lower left of the dialog box that pops up see if you can select Bank, then click OK. That should put your column headings back. While you're at it I suggest that you change the account name (first line in the dialog box) to something more descriptive of a checking account, maybe "Business Checking" or "Bank Name Checking".
> > > 
> > > Regards,
> > > John Ralls
> > > 
> > > > On Apr 22, 2021, at 3:48 PM, Jay Bouxsein <diananjay at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > Dear John
> > > > 
> > > > At the outset I would like to sincerely thank you and the other members who have weighed in on my problem. I must admit that I am confused because of my lack of technical understanding of the matters you guys have been discussing.  Firstly what does IICU mean?  Is "Register 2 a technical term of art? Secondly I illustrated the problem with transaction reports because they were the easiest things I could attach. I am not so good at screenshots, links and the like. Windows as an operating system has expanded so much that I really have not been able to keep up with it.
> > > > 
> > > > I think that I have attached a screenshot of the register which I have been dealing with. What I really want, which is what you suggested, is our checking account. I don't want to change the view, I want to open our checking account in the standard Account Register view we have always had in the past so we can add our new data. I just can't figure out how to do that. I hope that you can forgive me.
> > > > 
> > > > Kindest regards,
> > > > 
> > > > Jay Bouxsein
> > > > 
> > > > PS  If you would like to speak with me to make life easier at your end, let me know off list and I will be happy to provide you with my telephone number.  I live in the Chicago Metro area and am thus in the central daylight time zone.
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > On Thu, Apr 22, 2021, 11:34 AM John Ralls <jralls at ceridwen.us> wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > > On Apr 21, 2021, at 3:51 PM, Jay Bouxsein <diananjay at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > > 
> > > > > I have been using GNUCASH for several years to basically track income and
> > > > > expenses for rental properties my wife and I own.  I do not use it for any
> > > > > other purposes, I enter all of our expenses and income and then produce a P
> > > > > $ L report and send that to our accountant who keeps our historical books
> > > > > and prepares our tax returns.  Obviously I could use a spreadsheet as my
> > > > > accountant suggested, but I really like your aids in completing the entry
> > > > > process, the plus and minus feature, and typing just the first few
> > > > > characters and so forth.
> > > > > 
> > > > >     In the past, we have done all of the data entry in March of the next
> > > > > year and it goes fast because we do not have a lot of units (less than 10 )
> > > > > and limited suppliers (less than 30).  My procedure is to call up the
> > > > > program and it opens to a register automatically, displaying all of our
> > > > > transactions from the previous year and all I need to do is update the date
> > > > > of the first transaction which by default is the current date.  For
> > > > > example, the date displayed was April 21, 2021 and our first transaction
> > > > > was for January 2, 2020.  All was going well until we got to March of 2020
> > > > > when I could not find an expense account and tried to add a new expense
> > > > > account and all hell broke loose. I could not get back to the account
> > > > > register data entry screen we always used.  Eventually I figured out that
> > > > > the account that I thought was missing actually was not and what I had done
> > > > > was to create a nearly duplicate account so I deleted the account that I
> > > > > had just created and then I was able to get a screen that looked just like
> > > > > the one we always had, but we noticed some differences.
> > > > > 
> > > > > On our old register screen we used to have a column for deposits to our
> > > > > checking account and checks written out of that account.  Now our screen
> > > > > shows "Expense" in the column which used to have "Deposit" and "rebate" has
> > > > > been substituted for the check amount. That does not seem right to me.  I
> > > > > am 72 years old and actually was pretty good with the software which was
> > > > > available back in the 70's, 80's & 90's but not so much any more.  I have a
> > > > > feeling that my problem should be a simple one to fix, but my weakness in
> > > > > dealing with accounting software is holding me back.  I should add that I
> > > > > do have a hard copy of a "transction report, Income statement and P&L which
> > > > > I have attached to this email in the hope it will give you enough
> > > > > information to understand my missive.
> > > > > 
> > > > > I thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.
> > > > > 
> > > > 
> > > > IIUC the difference is in the column headings in a register view. If that's the case you're looking at an Expense (not Bank, which is what a checking account should be) account in Register2 view. That's hard to do: You have to start GnuCash with the --extra command-line option and open registers from the Extensions>Reg2>Open Account menu item.
> > > > 
> > > > But you chose to illustrate the problem with transaction reports from 2018 and 2019 instead of a screen shot so I wonder if you really mean something else.
> > > > 
> > > > Regards,
> > > > John Ralls
> > > > 
> > > > <Screenshot (1).png>
> > > 
> > 
> > <IMG_20210422_191712704.jpg><IMG_20210422_191634558.jpg>
> 