On 1/3/22 14:23, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
The list archive is littered with such questions and answers.
I'm not sure if anyone put any definitive Pro-Con write up together.
The short answer is, you don't ever *need* to close because you don't
*need* to reset your CoA.
GnuCash dutifully reports both 'from the beginning' and 'this
year/period' just fine without doing so. (there are selectable columns
on the CoA tab to do just that)
All reports default to 'this year' unless you've saved customized
reports otherwise. (the exception being the Balance Sheet, which is
always in any software 'since the beginning')
This saves you the need to make closing and then reversing entries
each year. (and if you use the Business Features, you'll have to
manually do your accrual transactions)
By not closing, you can run reports that cross annual boundaries with
no issues should you ever find the utility in doing so.
If you do close, your P&L will be zero afterwards for that prior year.
(because the closing entries zero out all expenses and revenue to
equity as of the last day of the year.)
Not in my experience. The P&L knows about the closing entries and will
ignore them (unless you tell it not to).
So you'd have to run that report, save a copy, then close, then
ideally save a backup of your file, then continue on. By not closing,
you just continue on. You can run that report at any time with the
same accuracy.
If you ever need to re-run that P&L (say after making edits or
adjustments) you'd have to do so from within that backup copy, or else
delete/reverse the closing entries, and go from there.
I've been known to delete the closing entries (just 2 transactions),
make a change, and re-close. It is a pain but if your wife is an
accountant you mirror paper as much as possible!
In short, whatever the reason for having to 'close' in the past due to
the limitations of number of pages in a physical book, or for
organizational purposes relating to that, computers don't require the
same. You can just keep going, and going, and going.
Personally, I don't close. I have no compelling reason to add work for
myself or complicate my accounting life.
Regards,
Adrien
I do close. Personal preference (so my spouse informs me). YMMV
--Steve
--
Stephen M Butler, PMP, PSM
[email protected]
[email protected]
253-350-0166
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