[GNC] My begining balance is wrong

[D.]

Derek,  Billie,

I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm going to guess that the various problems (unsaved changes, reversion to different points, lost progress, etc.) have to do with the attempts to back up the data file using Save As. It would be very easy under these circumstances to access the wrong file and wonder where the last set of changes had gone. 

And to take another point up here, Billie, you didn't ask specifically, but I imagine you probably should take a look at the wiki page on backups (https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Backup) as well as the FAQ entries about file naming (https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/FAQ#Basics:_Filenames.2C_Directories.2C_...). 

David T. 


-------- Original Message --------
From: Derek Atkins <derek at ihtfp.com>
Sent: Thu Oct 14 09:52:31 EDT 2021
To: Billie-Internet <drbboyd at gmail.com>
Cc: Gnucash Users <gnucash-user at gnucash.org>
Subject: Re: [GNC] My begining balance is wrong

Hi,

On Thu, October 14, 2021 9:32 am, Billie-Internet wrote:
> Good Morning,
> I am running
> Version: 4.4
> Build ID: 4.4+(2020-12-28)
>  on windows 10.
>
[snip]
> So today, while reconciling, rather than leave, I jumped back and forth
> from the check register that was open in the background to the reconcile
> to
> enter the few transactions that were on my bank statement but had not been
> put in the register.  I had put these transactions in yesterday but they
> were gone today.

For what it's worth, this is how I operate.  I have the account register
open next to the reconcile window and just go back and forth adding new
transactions instead of exiting the reconcile every time.  Considering
sometimes I'm adding in 50 transactions, that would be a LOT of exiting
sometimes!

> After I clicked finish and then clicked the save button on the menu bar, I
> did a file> save as and saved what I hope is a complete backup to my
> downloads file.  I was trying to achieve a stop/start point at the
> completion of the reconcile.  I did this with QB everymonth and I am not
> sure why I quit doing it with gnucash when I started using it at the
> beginning of this year.
> Now, however, since I did the save as, it appears gnu is saving every time
> to downloads instead of where I had it set to auto save to which is my
> company files.

Yes.  By doing "Save As" you are telling GnuCash "this file is now located
in this new location with this new name", and it will use that as the
primary name going forward.  To save as a backup you need to copy the file
in the background, or, just after you File -> Save As, you should File ->
Open the original file again.

Note:  If you have been making additional changes you should probably File
-> Save As back to the original location.

> [image: image.png]
> So here are my questions.
> Does anyone have any idea why my system reverterted back to a month
> previous?

Perhaps you opened a Backup file?  Honestly, don't know.

> Why would my reconcile not be saving the reconcile when I ask to postpone?

Don't know.

> How do I get my files backing up to my "company files" file where I
> normally save them?

See above.

> Could having a version of quickbooks open at the same time as gnucash have
> caused these issues?  I had quickbooks open to get a report from last year
> for the accountant.

Extremely unlikely. I can't see how there would be any interaction between
them.

> One last question, will I ever become competant with this program?  I used
> QB for 25 years and knew how to work with it but the thought of paying
> $200
> a year for a program you should be able to buy, just killed me so I went
> to
> gnucash.  I have been using gnucash since Jan 2021 and I am amazed that  I
> am still struggling with split transactions not balancing!!  I am just
> lamenting.  I know there is no answer to this but time!

Yes, you will become proficient, eventually.  There are certain "tricks"
that you eventually learn as you use the program.  For example, when
entering a split transaction you should never hit the [Enter] key until
you are absolutely done, and you should be sure you have an anchor split
entered first, so the transaction doesn't disappear from the current view.

Good Luck!

> Thanks for any and all help.
>
>
> Billie
> 706-383-9057

> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

-derek

-- 
       Derek Atkins                 617-623-3745
       derek at ihtfp.com             www.ihtfp.com
       Computer and Internet Security Consultant

_______________________________________________
gnucash-user mailing list
gnucash-user at gnucash.org
To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe:
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information.
-----
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.