[GNC] Removing old transactions

[Chris Green]

On Wed, Dec 17, 2025 at 07:36:18PM -0500, Michael or Penny Novack via gnucash-user wrote:
> On 12/17/2025 6:11 PM, Christopher Treen wrote:
> > I might be wrong here, [and I haven't tried it], but what about FILE - 
> > EXPORT - Export Account Tree to CSV.
> > Create a new file called 2026 - Import your tree - On Dec 31st note 
> > the ending balances in the old file and update your brand new file.
> > And keep backups just in case! Happy New Year!
> >
> > Chris
> 
> Note that this is mimicking the old days of pen and ink on paper (in 
> bound volumes -- that's why we call financial records  BOOKS). So quite 
> common, new year, new volumes (remember, they did a "close the books" 
> operations so all income and expense accounts zeroed out to equity)
> 
> IF you want to keep only a few years data, the EASIEST way would be to 
> mimic that, new year, new set of books (new file) keeping as many of 
> these years as you care to. Want to see a transaction from back in 2021, 
> you open THAT set of books << use YEAR as part of the file name >> You 
> WOULD be wanting to do a "close the books" as part of year end processing.
> 
Exactly! That's what I do. The accounts I manage are kept on a yearly
basis which, fortunately for me, run from 1st January to 31st December
so I simply create a new GnuCash database each year and keep them in
separate directories so it's very easy to go back and look at one
particular years accounts.

Others here may remember me asking about how to create an empty
'clone' of an existing database to create a new year's accounts.
GnuCash doesn't make it particularly easy to work like this, there's
quite a few little niggles, but it's not too difficult and once set up
this way it's pretty straightforward.

-- 
Chris Green