[GNC] Starting from scratch

[Stan Brown (using GC 4.14)]

Welcome to GnuCash, Clint!

On 2026-04-28 08:23, David Warren wrote:
> It's still a matter of your time commitment. You can go whole hog and
> import everything now. Or you can get current year right and back fill when
> you have more time. (or never back fill)

I agree with David, but would like to amplify a bit on Clint's comments.

Back when I started in 2016, GnuCash (version 2.6.something) was not as
good at importing as it is today. I had been using a dBASE IV
application that I wrote in the 1980s, and rather than fuss with
importing I ended up hand-entering every transaction starting at
2011-01-01. I happened to be on enforced bed rest while recovering from
surgery, and it was a good way to make the time pass.

> On Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 11:01 AM Clint Chaplin <joatmon at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I think I am committed to GnuCash; there isn't (in my mind) any viable
>> alternatives.

That's what I concluded in 2016 after looking at what else was out
there. Ten years later I haven't seen anything to make me change my
mind, and GC itself has improved in many ways.

For me, double-entry bookkeeping (as in GnuCash) is a must-have, though
I know some find it more something they have to put up with.

>> I refuse to deal with anything that requires a subscription to use, which
>> rules out, well, lots. 

Agreed on that. Also, I refuse to to put any personal information
including finances into a web app (other than those provided by the
financial institutions I do business with).

>> I'm also "committed" to Windows, and will not let
>> personal financial info anywhere near an app on the phone.

As for being committed to Windows, I am for now, but it's good to know
that GnuCash is available for Linux, which I keep telling myself I
should get into, as well as for Macs, in which I have no interest.

There is a GC phone app, but it's done by someone who's not part of the
GC development team, and if I recall correctly it has not been kept up
to date with modern versions of GC. In any case, I'm with you on not
keeping financial information on my phone. When my phone was stolen from
my car about 17 months ago, I was very glad that I had adopted that rule
and endured the minor inconveniences it entailed. It would have been
very much worse if the thieves had had access to my bank accounts and
retirement accounts.

Stan Brown
Tehachapi, CA, USA
https://BrownMath.com