[GNC] Redo account reconciliations

[Derek Atkins]

Chris,

On Sat, September 4, 2021 8:36 am, Christopher Lam wrote:
> I agree that if an account reconciliation is done periodically correctly
> every time, then it works well. If an old reconciled split is unreconciled
> and we need to re-reconcile a previous reconciliation date, then the code
> falls apart.

I'm curious why you say it falls apart?

> It may be an idea to allow batch unreconciliation of all splits whose
> reconcile date is after the reconciliation date in the Reconciliation
> dialog, thereby allowing the user to re-do reconciles.

That could be a good idea.

-derek

> On Sat, 4 Sept 2021 at 06:34, Borden via gnucash-user <
> gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> > The starting balance is computed from all the reconciled transactions
>> "to
>> > date".  It *can* be safe to ignore the starting balance if, for
>> example,
>> a
>> > transaction became unreconciled.  For example, let's say you reconcile
>> > from some starting balance X to a final balance of $1000.  Then you
>> > accidentally unreconcile a $100 transactions.  If you try to
>> re-reconcile
>> > that same statement/date/ending-balance of $1000, it won't show X as
>> the
>> > starting balance, but something else (PROBABLY $900, but I'm not 100%
>> > sure).  But that's okay -- just ensure the ending balance is correct
>> and
>> > all the transactions that SHOULD be reconciled ARE reconciled.
>> >
>> > There is no way to get a transaction to reconciled status (y) manually
>> --
>> > the only way is through a reconcile process.  So if you have
>> reconciled
>> > transactions, that must've happened through a reconcile.
>> >
>> > I would recommend you just go ahead with March, ignore the starting
>> > balance, enter the correct March ending balance, and see if the
>> > reconciliation works (ensure you re-reconcile anything from earlier
>> that
>> > might have become unreconciled).
>> >
>> So I just want to build a bit on this answer. GNUCash doesn't have QBs
>> reconciliation system - so don't equate the two. As an accountant who
>> doesn't need to be handheld or leashed, I  find GNUCash's system better
>> than QBs - albeit there is room for improvement. However, I wouldn't
>> recommend GNUCash to someone less comfortable with bare-ledger
>> accounting -
>> controls exist for a reason.
>>
>> I don't know how the backend works, but my experience is that the
>> "Opening
>> balance" is basically a running total of all the transactions marked
>> "Reconciled" in that account. Whereas QB will _prevent_ you from
>> attempting
>> to reconcile August if July's reconciled balance differs from what it
>> previously reconciled, GNUCash doesn't care - it just says "The
>> transactions marked 'Reconciled' for this account total to $X." And
>> that's
>> good for when you have to go back and fix things... and know what you're
>> doing.
>>
>> When you reconcile a transaction, again based on  my experience, GNUCash
>> toggles the "Reconciled" flag on the account _and_ inserts the
>> reconciliation date. I personally like this because  I can, say, start a
>> fresh reconciliation for March having reconciled through August  to pick
>> up
>> the transactions that _should_ have been in the March reconciliation but
>> weren't because I readded them (or whatever). However, I need  my
>> calculator with me because I need to adjust the "closing balance" to
>> reflect not the statement balance but what GNUCash's "running total"
>> balance should be. Contrast this to having to undo every rec in QB back
>> to
>> March and redo every rec again.
>>
>> Still, as I said, there's room for improvement in GNUCash:1) Since the
>> rec
>> date gets stored with the Rec flag, GNUCash can  have a function that
>> unreconciles every transaction before a given rec date. This would be
>> analogous to QB's batch rec undo.
>> 2) One should be able to rec from the ledger  as QB lets you do - and
>> prompt for a rec date. Yes it's dangerous, poor practice, etc., but the
>> GNU
>> philosophy is not to leash the user. If a user wants to sudo rm -rf /
>> their
>> installation, GNU warns them first, but ultimately lets them. User knows
>> best. If you want your computer to dictate what you're allowed to do
>> with
>> it, that's what Apple's for.
>>
>> I hope that helps a bit
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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.
>>
> _______________________________________________
> 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.
>


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