[GNC] How to set opening balances? [was: Re: Help!]

[Jim DeLaHunt]

Hello, Gaya:

Welcome to GnuCash! I hope this list will help you set yourself right.

The first piece of advice on using this list: write a Subject: line 
which describes your objective.  The subject "Help!" tells me how you 
feel about your situation, but not what you are trying to accomplish. I 
have added a possibly more descriptive Subject: line.

On 2025-02-12 21:35, Gaya Erlandson wrote:
> I put in all the info - every transaction, for the entire tax year 2024
> into GnuCash on my Mac and thought all was well. Then I saw that the
> "Opening Balance" of my main checking account (under Equity) is 0 and then
> spent the last 2+ hours trying to figure out how to add the opening
> balance. I've even been consulting ChatGPT - to no avail. No matter how I
> manually try to type in the Opening Balance for that checking account, it
> automatically creates a "decrease" or debit for the same amount and I'm
> back to 0 again - literally.

This is helpful information.  A little more information will be even 
more helpful.

Also, please tell us a little more about what you are seeing:

> I saw that the "Opening Balance" of my main checking account (under Equity) is 0
In which GnuCash window or tab are you seeing this happen?  Is it 
perhaps the Accounts tab?

In your chart of accounts, what is the parent of your main checking 
account?  Is it Equity?  I would expect it to be Assets. See, as 
background, the GnuCash Tutorial and Guide, section 2.3.2. New Account 
Hierarchy Setup <https://gnucash.org/viewdoc.phtml?rev=5&lang=C&doc=guide>.

> No matter how I
> manually try to type in the Opening Balance for that checking account, ...
How exactly are you trying to type in the Opening Balance?  How does it 
compare to the example instructions in the GnuCash Tutorial and Guide, 
section 2.9.3.1. Simple Transaction Example?

> ...it automatically creates a "decrease" or debit for the same amount and I'm
> back to 0 again - literally.
That sounds frustrating!

What creates the "decrease"? Where does it appear? What does the 
resulting transaction look like?

If you enter a transaction with only one split, say to Equity:Opening 
Balances without a balancing split to Assets:MainCheckingAccount of the 
same number in the other column (e.g. Debit instead of Credit), I would 
expect GnuCash to create the balancing split of the same number, but to 
special accounts Imbalance or Orphan. If that is happening, I would 
suggest that you rethink what you are doing in term of double-entry 
accounting. What are the two entries you are trying to make?  The 
GnuCash Tutorial and Guide, section 2.1 Accounting Concepts, has a 
simple summary.

GnuCash is a very demanding application at first, because it depends on 
you to know the basics of double-entry accounting. There are other 
bookkeeping applications which shield the user from that requirement. 
GnuCash is not one of them.

I hope this helps,
       —Jim DeLaHunt