[GNC] Trying to get report with total when account has sub-accounts

[Adrien Monteleone]

You’re very welcome, but please keep all discussion on the list and 
refrain from e-mailing privately unless asked to do so.

Others will benefit from knowing what, if anything, helped with your 
question!

Regards,
Adrien

> On Feb 15, 2022 w8d46, at 12:21 PM, Robert Stocker <kneadtoknow at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I just wanted to drop you a line to say that I tried the budget report which you suggested back on 11 Jan 2022, and once I figured out how to narrow it down to show just the data I needed, it's working like a charm. Much obliged!

> On 1/11/22 6:24 PM, Robert Stocker wrote:
> Thank you! I will definitely look at budget reports and the P&L/Income
> statement as alternatives. And thanks for the other advice as well, though
> after having massaged my various accounts/categories over the last 28-ish
> years (I started with CA-Simply Money), I'm pretty happy with how I have
> that side of things set up. :)
> 
> On Tue, Jan 11, 2022 at 6:38 PM <gnucash-user-request at gnucash.org> wrote:
> 
>> Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2022 17:14:29 -0600
>> From: Adrien Monteleone <adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net>
>> To: gnucash-user at lists.gnucash.org
>> Subject: Re: [GNC] Trying to get report with total when account has
>>          sub-accounts
>> Message-ID: <srl30m$17ca$1 at ciao.gmane.io>
>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>>
>> Why not use the Budget Report? It rolls up sub accounts, and shows a
>> variance if you like.
>>
>> I'm pretty certain you can restrict the accounts reported on as well to
>> reduce clutter.
>>
>> Another option is to use the P&L/Income Statement, select just the
>> expense accounts you want. There is an option for the Parent amount to
>> include the Child amounts or not. You can also report them separate and
>> still get a Grand Total which rolls up the Parent and the children if
>> you like.
>>
>> -----
>> Finally, I'd advise to keep *all* parents as placeholders only if
>> possible. Create another child account to hold the transactions
>> currently residing there. But this is a personal preference.
>>
>> I went through various refactors of my food/dining accounts as I crafted
>> them to better show me *why* not just *where* I was spending money.
>>
>> So I've gone full nerd and done the following:
>>
>> Entertainment:Dining
>> --Alcohol
>> --Breakfast
>> --Lunch
>> --Dinner
>> --Snacks
>>
>> Food:To-Go
>> --Breakfast
>> --Lunch
>> --Dinner
>> --Snacks
>>
>> I also track gratuities separately 'cause I can get carried away some
>> times and I want to know if that's why my food dollars are disappearing
>> so fast.
>>
>> Gratuities
>> --Other
>> --Dining
>> --Entertainment
>> --To-Go
>>
>> That Alcohol category is just for out in restaurants when I'm dining. I
>> have a separate "Entertainment:Sympinein" for when I'm just out for
>> drinks with friends; and "Groceries:Alcohol" for packaged stuff from the
>> grocery store!
>>
>> I'm by no means suggesting anyone go this crazy, but it helped me get a
>> fast handle on money that seemed to disappear into the ether. I've since
>> turned that info into budgeting for each. And you don't even want to see
>> my 'Grocery' account tree! (I use it for balanced food planning too,
>> which also helped me cut my Dining budget drastically and zero To-Go
>> entirely.)
>>
>> Regards,
>> Adrien