[GNC] Double Line View Possible Bug?

[Paul Feakins]

Hi John,

Thanks for the reply. It's a very minor irritation in an incredible 
piece of software. I might donate to get it changed if that was an 
option, but it's true that I use GnuCash in a non-standard way.

We have many internal projects but my developers are not C or C++ 
developers and it would be very hard for us to fork and adjust.


	

	

Kind regards,


    Paul Feakins

Managing Director




	Antropy.co.uk <https://antropy.co.uk>

	Antropy Ltd, Crawley Business Centre, Stephenson Way, Crawley, RH10 1TN 
<https://maps.app.goo.gl/QQ2iBRDE5mHuHA7G6>

	

Antropy Ltd | Reg No: 06468795 | Registered in England & Wales




On 19/02/2026 17:08, John Ralls wrote:
> Paul,
>
> It seems like you’ve decided to use GnuCash in a way that the GnuCash team doesn’t intend to support, and since you now have hundreds of clients your business has grown to a size that is beyond our abilities to support.  The fact that GnuCash is Free-as-in-liberty software provides a simple solution: Fork GnuCash and make it behave however you like.
>
> Regards,
> John Ralls
>
>
>> On Feb 19, 2026, at 07:11, Paul Feakins via gnucash-user<gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Derek,
>>
>> I'm sure this won't change your mind, but logically if there is an option to default to "Single Line", a user would expect all accounts to follow this preference unless stated otherwise.
>>
>> I am not using multiple currencies, and appreciate your work-around suggestions.
>>
>> They are of type "Accounts Receivable" because in accounting terminology, that is what they are. I have multiple sub-accounts so that I can easily track which clients owe which money and keep track. I do not use Customers as they should be used, so I accept I'm not using the software how it should be used in some ways. It would be a huge job to correct this now.
>>
>> I have implemented my own reports for those, however in my code when I parse the XML, I do look at the account type ...
>>
>> I take the .gnucash file, unzip it, parse the XML in PHP and put it into the database of a CakePHP application called Webzash:https://webzash.org/
>>
>>  From that database I can get any reports/data I like to automatically chase customers or even submit our VAT return to HMRC via MTD which it does using some of the code I shared here:https://github.com/paulfeakins/hmrc-mtd-api-php
>>
>>
>> 	
>>
>> 	
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>>
>>    Paul Feakins
>>
>> Managing Director
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> 	Antropy.co.uk<https://antropy.co.uk>
>>
>> 	Antropy Ltd, Crawley Business Centre, Stephenson Way, Crawley, RH10 1TN<https://maps.app.goo.gl/QQ2iBRDE5mHuHA7G6>
>>
>> 	
>>
>> Antropy Ltd | Reg No: 06468795 | Registered in England & Wales
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 19/02/2026 14:56, Derek Atkins wrote:
>>> Sorry, it's not a bug, and we're not adding another option for it.
>>> If anything, the bug is allowing the user to turn off double-line-mode at
>>> all!
>>> But your objection is duly noted.  :)
>>>
>>> Also, yes, if you actually have subaccounts (WHY?? There's no reason for
>>> multiple A/R or A/P accounts unless you're using multiple currencies) then
>>> yes, you would need to clear out the subaccounts first.
>>>
>>> The only reports that expect the A/R or A/P account types are the business
>>> reports (customer report, ageing report, etc), bills-due reminder, etc.
>>>
>>> -derek
>>>
>>> On Thu, February 19, 2026 9:49 am, Paul Feakins wrote:
>>>> Hi Derek,
>>>>
>>>> I still think it's a bug because there is clearly an option NOT to
>>>> default to "Double Line", yet these accounts DO default to "Double Line".
>>>>
>>>> If these accounts need to be treated differently, there should be
>>>> another option for other account types if they are treated differently.
>>>>
>>>> I probably want them to remain Account Receivable as I'm sure some
>>>> reports would use the account type to give a report of how much money is
>>>> due, for example.
>>>>
>>>> The honest answer is I started using this software 18 years ago before I
>>>> knew much about accounting, and I was an IT contractor sending 1 invoice
>>>> per month.
>>>>
>>>> Now though, I'm glad I did it that way because I have numerous web-based
>>>> systems that use the data from GnuCash and send invoices and chaser
>>>> emails automatically. GnuCash wouldn't be able to automate that
>>>> considering we have hundreds of clients now.
>>>>
>>>> I tried to delete the parent Accounts Receivable account and it said I
>>>> must first delete or move the sub-accounts.
>>>>
>>>> I think if this really is desired behaviour there should be options:
>>>> Edit > Preferences > Register Defaults > Double line view
>>>> (Asset/Liability accounts)
>>>> Edit > Preferences > Register Defaults > Double line view (Accounts
>>>> Receivable/Liability accounts)
>>>>
>>>> It's a minor irritation, but most definitely a bug in my opinion.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>      Paul Feakins
>>>>
>>>> Managing Director
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 	Antropy.co.uk<https://antropy.co.uk>
>>>>
>>>> 	Antropy Ltd, Crawley Business Centre, Stephenson Way, Crawley, RH10 1TN
>>>> <https://maps.app.goo.gl/QQ2iBRDE5mHuHA7G6>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Antropy Ltd | Reg No: 06468795 | Registered in England & Wales
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 19/02/2026 14:23, Derek Atkins wrote:
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, February 19, 2026 9:17 am, Paul Feakins wrote:
>>>>>> Hi Geert,
>>>>>>
>>>>> [snip]
>>>>>> I am starting to think this really is a genuine bug rather than desired
>>>>>> behaviour.
>>>>> Nope, this is specific, desired behavior of the business account types.
>>>>> And you are correct, once you have data in the account, you are not
>>>>> allowed to change the type by hand.  Again, not a bug -- it's designed
>>>>> that way so as not to break the business features.
>>>>>
>>>>> Something you can try... (MAKE A BACKUP FIRST IN CASE THIS DOESN'T
>>>>> WORK)..
>>>>> Try to delete the A/R account.  GnuCash /should/ ask you where to move
>>>>> the
>>>>> transactions, and you should be able to select an Asset account.
>>>>>
>>>>> I say "should" because I don't remember if this action is blocked, too.
>>>>> This is why I suggest making a backup, so if it doesn't work you can
>>>>> exit
>>>>> gnucash and restore the backup.
>>>>>
>>>>>> I am pretty familiar with GnuCash having used it since 2008 when I
>>>>>> started my business, it has been fantastic and I've integrated it with
>>>>>> other open source systems to create a pretty good accounting system.
>>>>> I'm just curious -- if you're using it for your business, why don't you
>>>>> use the Invoice/Bill features?
>>>>>
>>>>> -derek
>>>>>
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