[GNC] Two Instances as opposed to two separate files

[Michael Hendry]

On 15 Jul 2023, at 11:28, Chris Green <cl at isbd.net> wrote:

> 
>> 
> I occasionally run two copies of GnuCash and there don't appear to be
> any significant issues when I do this.  It's quite a rare occurrence
> though as, with small (one year only) database files a GnuCash
> instance starts very quickly so I just start and stop them as required.

I seem not to be able to run two copies of GnuCash on my Mac, so I can’t test this (I haven’t looked at invoking it via the command-line).

I’ve been using GnuCash since 2010 using single files for each of several different organisations, and file opening is still effectively instantaneous.

>> 
>> 1. Assuming you create a new data file for each each unrestricted and restricted 
>> account each year, you lose the prompts for recurrent transactions (e.g. 
>> Payment to The Corner Shop from the current account to the Expenses:Tea, 
>> Milk and Biscuits account). 
> 
> Yes, but it's hardly a big loss.  One only has to re-enter a repeated
> item once a year!

I have a number of multi-split transactions, and my memory isn’t good enough to keep their construction consistent from year to year.

As another example, in the case of the Rotary Club, annual subscriptions fall due at the beginning of the Rotary Year (1st July). I duplicate all the subscription payments from the previous year, setting the date of payment to 1st July and the amount to zero after making adjustments for members who have left or joined during the year. As subscriptions come in, I edit the relevant transactions to correct the date and value paid. This way I can print off a report before meetings and jog the memories of tardy payers without having to keep track of payments on paper or in a separate app. 

> We (or the Diocese) have absolutely no need for multi-year reports.
> Anyway it's hardly more difficult to produce a balance sheet for 2021
> and a balance sheet for 2022 and compare them. Plus I never have to
> change start and end dates for reports, for a particular year they are
> cast in stone for all reports.

I didn’t think there was any value in this until I experimented with the multi-report feature. Insights were gained, especially over the Covid years.

> 
> With 'cash accounting' it's trivial to ensure the end of year figures
> are correct, they **must** be the same as the bank statement for 31st
> December.  Similarly uncashed cheques simply don't appear, a cheque
> payment only appears in the accounts when it is actually debited from
> the bank account.

I see that Michael Novack has answered this from the US legal point of view. From a practical point of view, I think it wise always to record the issue of a cheque in the books to reduce the risk of an inadvertent overdraft. As cheques disappear from use, this likely to disappear as a problem, but I try to ensure that bank transfers are made several days before 30th June to ensure that they’ve been completed before the year-end.

Clearly, we have both developed ways of dealing with our own circumstances, and will probably continue to differ!

A big “hurray” to the GnuCash team for supporting our idiosyncrasies and to this list for providing a forum for discussion.

Regards,

Michael