On 10/19/2023 2:04 AM, Edwin Booth via gnucash-user wrote:
Steve, Thanks for getting back to me! It seems that I need to first delete my newly downloaded file from GnuCash and re-import it but first assign all the transactions to various accounts. I have gone through the process (I think) of creating a hierarchy of accounts (though I will surely want to add more expense accounts later). Okay, I have deleted the AMEX credit card OFX account that I imported into GnuCash and have gone back to my Mac Downloads file. How do I now assign all those transactions to their proper accounts without first importing this OFX file into GnuCash? Doesn’t it have to be in GnuCash before it can even know what accounts are available?
Edwin ---- trying to run before you can walk is a hard way to learn. You are trying to jump right in to the "fully automated" entry of credit card transactions without any understanding of the (otherwise) manual process you are automating. So for just a moment, forget about the download, and pretend you were entering these transactions one at a time AS THEY OCCURRED (rather than waiting till the statement).
On day 1, you use your credit card to pay for dinner out. You enter a transaction, debit expense "dining out" and credit "credit card". You paid for this expense by incurring a liability ON DAY 1 << when you pay on the bill from the credit card not relevant >> Now if at the time you did not yet have this expense account, you would have created it in order to enter the transaction.
On day 2, you use your credit card to pay for a tank full of gas. You enter a transaction to debit "vehicle fuel" and credit "credit card".
On day 3, you use your credit card to send a donation to to XYZ. You debit "charity donations" and "credit credit card". Understand? You WILL have all the expense accounts you need for these transactions because you would have created any new ones you needed as you went (and if a repeat, say you fill up your tank again on day 17, well "vehicle fuel exists because it did on day 2.
At the end of the month you get a credit card statement showing the total owed. You can pay that amount in full or some partial payment (at least the minimum) but that transaction is NOT an expense. You need to get your head around that, because it feels like "expense is when the money leaves my hand". No, you incurred those expense earlier. The transaction you enter now will be a debit to "credit card" and a credit to "checking account" for the amount of your payment.
THAT describes the "manual" process. IMHO, you should do it that way for at least one or two months before trying to do it by downloading. Why? Because then the majority of expense accounts needed will exist in advance of the download. The way you are doing it, almost none of the necessary expense accounts exist in advance.
Michael D Novack Michael D Novack _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
