[GNC] How to import PayPal transactions in to GC

[Greg McCarthy]

Thanks for all the tips. I've been looking through tutorials and reading 
up on double system accounting and have a better understanding on how it 
all works.


On 11/04/2023 15:30, Michael or Penny Novack wrote:
>
>> As others have mentioned, you should read up on the rules of double 
>> entry
>> bookkeeping. If GnuCash cannot identify the proper account, it puts 
>> it in
>> the account call "Unbalanced" - this account should BTW always be 
>> ZERO!!!!
>> Anything in "unbalanced" is a mistake somewhere.
>
> A little closer to reality is that anything LEFT in 
> Unbalanced/Imbalance is a mistake. But there only temporarily might be 
> OK if :working on it".
>
> For example, when entering a transaction you might realize that one 
> component might more properly be an account not yet in your CoA. And 
> while you could maybe deal with that "on the fly" I often find that IF 
> that new account existed, OTHER (earlier) transactions should have 
> referenced it.
>
> For example, imagine an expense account X. It has been used as the 
> debit account for a number of transaction all of which would be 
> thought related to "x". But now I am entering a transaction where 
> there is enough difference that it seems advisable to create a new 
> account Y. But if the "y" category exists, some of the transactions 
> now posted to X really should be in Y because more "y" lie than "x" 
> like. So........ I'd allow the transaction I was entering to complete 
> leaving the amount in Imbalance and finish the work of entering that 
> stack of transactions. When done, I'd do what was needed to clear up 
> anything left in Imbalance. Create the new account Y, possibly a 
> placeholder parent for X and Y (if they weren't related in some way, 
> wouldn't have had this problem). go through X to find all transactions 
> that should really be in Y and do that, and then deal with the one in 
> Imbalance << done last, because as long as there know "not done yet">>
>
> IF you are in business ...... It is common or at least possible that a 
> payment comes in that you are unsure about (what customer, what 
> invoice, etc.). Good practice is not to sit on that check, deposit 
> with the rest but the other side in an account with the name 
> "Suspense". Again, anything left in there means something to be dealt 
> with. In businesses of any size, might be a different worker bee who 
> specializes in solving the mysteries << might require some days 
> elapsed time, emailing or calling customers, etc. >> So just like 
> Imbalance, anything remaining in "Suspense" means something needing work.
>
>
> Michael D Novack
>
>
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