[GNC] Closing Books - Pros & Cons
Stephen M. Butler
Stephen.M.Butler51 at gmail.com
Mon Jan 3 18:07:44 EST 2022
On 1/3/22 14:23, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
> The list archive is littered with such questions and answers.
>
> I'm not sure if anyone put any definitive Pro-Con write up together.
>
> The short answer is, you don't ever *need* to close because you don't
> *need* to reset your CoA.
>
> GnuCash dutifully reports both 'from the beginning' and 'this
> year/period' just fine without doing so. (there are selectable columns
> on the CoA tab to do just that)
>
> All reports default to 'this year' unless you've saved customized
> reports otherwise. (the exception being the Balance Sheet, which is
> always in any software 'since the beginning')
>
> This saves you the need to make closing and then reversing entries
> each year. (and if you use the Business Features, you'll have to
> manually do your accrual transactions)
>
> By not closing, you can run reports that cross annual boundaries with
> no issues should you ever find the utility in doing so.
>
> If you do close, your P&L will be zero afterwards for that prior year.
> (because the closing entries zero out all expenses and revenue to
> equity as of the last day of the year.)
Not in my experience. The P&L knows about the closing entries and will
ignore them (unless you tell it not to).
>
> So you'd have to run that report, save a copy, then close, then
> ideally save a backup of your file, then continue on. By not closing,
> you just continue on. You can run that report at any time with the
> same accuracy.
>
> If you ever need to re-run that P&L (say after making edits or
> adjustments) you'd have to do so from within that backup copy, or else
> delete/reverse the closing entries, and go from there.
I've been known to delete the closing entries (just 2 transactions),
make a change, and re-close. It is a pain but if your wife is an
accountant you mirror paper as much as possible!
>
> In short, whatever the reason for having to 'close' in the past due to
> the limitations of number of pages in a physical book, or for
> organizational purposes relating to that, computers don't require the
> same. You can just keep going, and going, and going.
>
> Personally, I don't close. I have no compelling reason to add work for
> myself or complicate my accounting life.
>
> Regards,
> Adrien
I do close. Personal preference (so my spouse informs me). YMMV
--Steve
--
Stephen M Butler, PMP, PSM
Stephen.M.Butler51 at gmail.com
kg7je at arrl.net
253-350-0166
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