[GNC] Backup of Gnucash file shows incorrect reconciliation results

[G R Hewitt]

My first port of call when looking for errors is the trial balance to make
sure the Debit and Credit amounts match.
If they don't I first check that all the accounts have been selected in the
'Options' - I found that if you add a new account it is not automatically
added in Gnucash
to the TB, and I spent some time looking for a non-existent error before I
discovered this.
The difference (if any) in the TB can be a starting point in what to look
for, and if that shows nothing dividing the difference by two might.

On Fri, 4 Oct 2024 at 07:33, Geoff Jankowski via gnucash-user <
gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> As a starting point, do a search on the account for a value of 11,000.  It
> might give you an idea of what has happened.
>
> If the missing value is not showing up in the reconciliation window it
> implies that a previously reconciled item has been accidentally deleted.
> Look for large values (it may be a single entry or combination of one or
> two) in your paper statements and check against GNC.
>
> GNC is double entry so another account will also be affected. If it was a
> movement between assets it will unbalance a second account.  If it is an
> expense account it will be more difficult to notice.
>
> While you continue to search, let GNC add a balancing entry and post it to
> the imbalance account. You can then adjust it later when you find what it
> is but the balancing entry will enable you to continue with your
> reconciliations.
>
> I have doubts that the issue is GNC.  In my experience I have deleted an
> entry in an expense account or simply moved an entry (changed a date) and
> that unbalanced prior reconciliations but they usually show up in the
> reconciliation window.  Deletion (accidental) looks to be the prime
> candidate in your situation.
>
> Geoff
> +33 6 22 93 00 53
> +44 7770 58 48 38
>
> > On 4 Oct 2024, at 06:04, Jim DeLaHunt <list+gnucash at jdlh.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hello, John:
> >
> >> On 2024-09-30 10:45, John Dzielski wrote:
> >> Hi,
> >>      I have been using GnuCash for many years.  I am not a
> sophisticated user, and primarily use it to keep track of my checking
> account.  I reconcile monthly, and once every few years I’m off by a few
> cents or dollars.  Today I reconciled the account and I was off by 70.10.
> I unchecked every entry and stared at it for a while.  I think I may have
> exited reconciling, but not completed.  There were many c’s in the
> reconcile column.  I stared at the reconciliation for a while and found
> that there were two entries for 70.10.  I deleted one, and repeated the
> reconciliation.  I am not off by over $11,000.  I keep track of my
> Accounts.gnucash file with git, so I can recover the previous version from
> 2 weeks ago.  When I open that file, I see no c’s in the reconcile column.
> When I repeat the reconciliation process, I am still getting an $11,000
> error.  It seems something is being remembered.  I found some on-line
> threads that suggest that the previous balance is not correct, and that
> makes sense, but I don’t want to do something like that without some
> understanding of what happened.
> >>     Can anybody tell me what might have happened and point me to a
> resource on how to fix it?  Thank you, John.
> >
> > I have trouble with reconciliation sometimes also.  So far it has been
> 100% due to my own errors. Sometimes, I have had a hard time seeing my
> errors because I kept misreading a number, or not noticing an extra entry,
> or not noticing that something was debit instead of credit. So, I am happy
> to offer some suggestions. I am afraid they may sound annoyingly like, "go
> back to basics and be very deliberate".
> >
> > 1. Read again the /Tutorial and Concepts Guide/, section 2.9.4.
> *Reconciliation* <
> https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v5/C/gnucash-guide/chapter_txns.html#txns-reconcile1>.
> Be sure you understand exactly what GnuCash means by reconciliation. Are
> there details in the Note: and Warning: paragraphs that help?
> >
> > 2. Read again the /GnuCash Manual/, section 4.5. *Reconcile Window* <
> https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v5/C/gnucash-manual/gui-reconcile.html>.
> Again, be sure you understand that GnuCash means.
> >
> > 3. Remember that reconciliation is checking your records against the
> bank's records. Are you doing reconciliation bank statement by bank
> statement?
> >
> > 4. Remember that GnuCash wants you to start reconciliation with your
> bank account's very first statement, and proceed forward in time, without
> gaps. GnuCash includes all the account's reconciled transactions since the
> beginning of time in reconciliation's "previous balance". It sounds like
> you have been very diligent. Have you been 100% diligent?  An unreconciled
> transaction before the beginning of the current bank statement's period can
> mess everything up.
> >
> > 5. Be sure to check that the beginning balance of the GnuCash
> reconciliation matches the beginning balance on the bank statement. If the
> opening balances differ, the closing balances surely will also differ.
> >
> > 6. Be careful that each deposit into the bank account is matched to a
> GnuCash transaction on the left side of the reconciliation window, and each
> withdrawal is matched to the right side. If you have a $5,500 transaction
> which is in GnuCash as a withdrawal but in the bank statement as a deposit,
> that will add up to an $11,000 error.
> >
> > Does any of that help?
> >
> > Best regards,
> >       —Jim DeLaHunt
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > 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
> > -----
> > 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
> -----
> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
>