[GNC] Incorrect Starting Balance in Reconcile Popup

[sunfish62 at yahoo.com]

Well, I sure hope you figure out the problem! 

⁣David T. ​

On Dec 8, 2025, 11:41 PM, at 11:41 PM, Richard <rfochtmann at gmx.com> wrote:
>"This would be my first point: you need to change 12457 to 9880" That
>is 
>not possible. I can not change it in any way.
>
>"suggests a problem with either your data or your procedures. Perhaps 
>you could provide more detail?"
>
>I have gone through all the items in that account for this year when I 
>started the account.
>
>I find a single item un-reconciled until I get to the current month.
>The 
>box with 12457 does not allow any changes so there is no way to change 
>that. I have in the past gone thru this process to find an error and 
>having the balance column, I can change the entry dates to follow the 
>balances on the statement, checking each item against the bank 
>statement, ending with the New Balance.
>
>Unfortunately there does not appear to be an obvious way to either 
>reconcile the individual item that I found, nor does checking it off in
>
>the reconcile window do any good - just adds to the problem. Without 
>adding a balancing entry, _there is no way to finish reconciling_.
>
>Again this whole morning I have gone through months worth of statements
>
>and only found that one un-reconciled item.
>
>"David T. * MY terse reply could simply have been 9880<>12457 and left 
>it at that!"
>
>Perhaps David you fail to realize that someone asking for help does not
>
>know what you want them to tell you and snark doesn't make it any
>easier 
>on them.
>
>"This would be my first point: you need to change 12457 to 9880--after 
>all, you're reconciling to your *bank's* records." How do you propose I
>
>make that happen except by adding a balancing entry?
>
>Phyllis: "no one told Richard you CAN change the starting date on the 
>way into the reconciliation screen" Changing the date doesn't change
>the 
>previous balance.
>
>In any case, thank you and others for taking the time to help me with
>this.
>
>On 12/8/2025 9:12 AM, sunfish62 at yahoo.com wrote:
>> Adrien previously made valid points-- to wit, you should not consider
>
>> adding a balancing entry to be correct. I echo his advice for you to 
>> go back to a point before your first balancing entry and get this in 
>> order.
>>
>> Your terse reply makes informed advice difficult,* but it suggests 
>> that the current bank statement is 9880 and the reconciliation dialog
>
>> prepopulates with 12457, which you accept and then proceed to the 
>> reconciliation window. This would be my first point: you need to 
>> change 12457 to 9880--after all, you're reconciling to your *bank's* 
>> records. GnuCash makes an educated guess as to what the closing
>figure 
>> should be, based on dates and reconcile flags-- but it's only a
>guess.
>>
>> You should at least go back first and correct your books from the 
>> beginning, and we what happens when reconcile to the bank's numbers.
>>
>> David T.
>>
>> * MY terse reply could simply have been 9880<>12457 and left it at
>that!
>> On Dec 8, 2025, at 3:50 PM, Richard Fochtmann <rfochtmann at gmx.com>
>wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>     Get BlueMail for Mobile <https://bluemail.me/download/>
>>     On December 7, 2025, at 22:03, sunfish62 at yahoo.com
>>     <sunfish62 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>     Under normal circumstances, users can disregard the starting
>>>     balance in reconciliation, so long as the ending balances match.
>>>
>>>     With GnuCash, the starting balance in reconciliation is a
>>>     calculation of *all* reconciled transactions in the account--
>>>     past, present and future-- so if you have any reconciled
>>>     transactions that come after the starting date of your
>>>     reconciliation, they will throw off the starting balance. What
>>>     matters is that the closing balances match.
>>>
>>>     My general suggestion for anyone trying to reconciled a long
>>>     period of time, or to correct an error in the past (reconciled)
>>>     books, is first to try reconciling the entire period to the last
>>>     date available, selecting everything that either appears on the
>>>     last statement or predates it. If that works, then your cleanup
>>>     is done. If it doesn't, then cancel out, clear all reconcile
>>>     transactions after the last good reconciliation, and work
>through
>>>     statement by statement.
>>>
>>>     However, your comments that this has happened before and that
>>>     you've had to create balancing entries suggests a problem with
>>>     either your data or your procedures. Perhaps you could provide
>>>     more detail?
>>>
>>>     David T.
>>>     On Dec 8, 2025, at 8:17 AM, Richard Fochtmann via gnucash-user
>>>     <gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
>>>
>>>         Current statement 9880+
>>>
>>>         Reconcile popup 12457+
>>>
>>>         Checkng off all items in popup except for two future items
>leaves 8000+
>>>
>>>         Remove previous balancing entry leaving 4000+ and no way to
>finish the rec process
>>>