I guess more of a point is that in Quicken double entry wasn’t prominent as it is in gnucash.
I concur that this group has been the best teacher for me when it comes to accounting. From: R Losey <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, November 24, 2025 11:49 AM To: Paul Kroitor <[email protected]> Cc: Kalpesh Patel <[email protected]>; [email protected]; [email protected]; Larry Weeks <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [GNC] Coming from Quicken Noted, but I would point out that there is supposed to be a category for transactions in Quicken; while it may allow creating an entry without one, that isn't the normal way to enter items. I would also point out that GnuCash also allows you to not enter an account, in which case, it auto-creates an entry in "Imbalance". I'm really just saying that, for most regular Quicken users, entering data in GnuCash is very much like entering data in Quicken -- all the fuss about "double entry" and "categories vs accounts", which technically true, promote the idea that GnuCash is for more complicated that it actually is. Having said that, I'm grateful to this group and to the GnuCash program; I have learned a lot more about accounting practices by using it and reading these messages. On Sun, Nov 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM Paul Kroitor <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: Yes, I concur. Quicken has always (since version 3 in the mid-90s, IIRC) allowed one to not enter a category, but the transaction is nonetheless entered in the "Uncategorized" category, very similar to Gnucash putting it in "Imbalance". "Uncategorized" gets some special treatment in various reports and screens, but it's ubiquitous. Paul On 2025-11-23 11:13 a.m., Kalpesh Patel wrote: > I just fired up Quicken 2017, created a new cash account and entered one > spend transaction and one receive transaction with nothing in the category > field. When I generated a cash flow and number of other reports, it put both > transactions into 'Uncategorized' category. Given that, my belief is that > Quicken was forgiving for incomplete transaction data but it still, > nonetheless, performed double entry and improvised where necessary, albeit > implicitly or silently. It is still possible that 20+ years old one may have > done that but it was corrected along the way. I'll see if I can fire up > earlier version of Quicken in XP and see what it does. Anyways it is what it > is ... > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > > Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2025 2:53 AM > To: R Losey <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > Cc: Paul Kroitor <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >; Kalpesh Patel > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >; > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> ; Larry Weeks > <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > Subject: Re: [GNC] Coming from Quicken > > I think you and Paul are mischaracterizing Quicken. > > While it has been 20 years since I left Quicken behind for GnuCash, when I > used Quicken, it was possible to create a transaction without categorizing it > at all. In effect, a single entry. > > That violates the basic concept of "double entry" in Double Entry accounting. > > As I say, perhaps Quicken has changed on this in 20 years' time (but I kinda > doubt it). > > Quick Books, on the other hand, is double entry. > > David T. > > On Nov 23, 2025, 1:58 AM, at 1:58 AM, R Losey <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: >> Exactly so. Quicken requires double entries as well. One is the account >> in which you are creating the transaction and the other is the >> "category" >> or >> "account" for the other side. It's no different in GnuCash. >> >> When I'm paying a credit card, I am taking money from my bank account >> and paying down the credit card balance. This is the same two entries >> in both GnuCash and Quicken. >> >> I really like the idea of "a Quicken category is an account that >> happens to be under Income or Expense" >> >> On Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 9:14 AM Paul Kroitor <[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: >> >>> I really don't see it that way at all -- or at least I think about it >>> quite differently. >>> >>> Quicken is definitely a double-entry accounting system if you think >> of >>> categories as another name for "accounts that happen to be of the >> income >>> or expense class". >>> >>> Every Quicken transaction has one side in the register entry itself >> (eg. >>> $25 in the Mastercard register), and then has the other side in a >>> category assignment (eg. $25 tools), or, in the case of a split, two >> or >>> more category assignments ($15 tools, $10 paint). Just like Gnucash, >> if >>> it doesn't balance, a balancing entry is automatically created >> (against >>> "Imbalance" in Gnucash, "Uncategorized" in Quicken), but the total of >>> the transaction has to equal zero in both apps. >>> >>> It's doing the same thing, just presenting it differently to the >> user. >>> Also, Gnucash makes it more obvious that one's books as a whole are >> out >>> of balance when one has this glaring non-zero Imbalance account. >>> >>> Paul >>> >>> >>> On 2025-11-22 9:41 a.m., Kalpesh Patel wrote: >>>> "... one can make transactions between two Income accounts, or >> Income vs >>> Expense, neither of which is (directly) possible in Quicken." -- this >> was >>> possible if you had created an account for everything and then >> selecting >>> category that started with '[' (which showed up in the Transfers >> category >>> in the dropdown) during transaction entry in Quicken (it was also the >> last >>> icon with one that showed a line splitting into two arrows in the >>> transaction entry line). But creating account for everything isn't >> the norm >>> in Quicken for ease of use ... >>>> -----Original Message----- >>>> From: Paul Kroitor <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > >>>> Sent: Friday, November 21, 2025 10:36 PM >>>> To: R Losey <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > >>>> Cc: Larry Weeks <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >; >>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>> Subject: Re: [GNC] Coming from Quicken >>>> >>>> The way I look at it is this: >>>> >>>> Gnucash, like the rest of the (formal) accounting universe, has >> five >>> types of accounts: >>>> - assets >>>> - liabilities >>>> - income >>>> -expense >>>> - equity >>>> >>>> Together, these are combined to create the “accounting equation”, >> and >>> each of these is (almost) always sub-divided into sub-accounts. >>>> Quicken maintains these first two of these as accounts (and >>> sub-accounts), but calls the third and fourth “categories” (and >>> sub-categories). The last type (equity) is not formally maintained in >>> Quicken but is calculated on the fly (as “net worth”) using the other >> four >>> and the accounting equation. >>>> My belief is that Quicken was designed this way to be more >> user-friendly >>> for people with little understanding of accounting. Certainly Gnucash >> is >>> simpler and more elegant in concept. For one thing, one can make >>> transactions between two Income accounts, or Income vs Expense, >> neither of >>> which is (directly) possible in Quicken. >>>> Paul >>>> >>>>> On Nov 21, 2025, at 10:11 PM, R Losey <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Tutorial/Document: I'm not aware of anything on the official >> GnuCash >>>>> websites, but you may do a general search and find something on >>>>> YouTube or something. >>>>> >>>>> Account vs Categories: I may get a lot of hate follow-ups for >> this, >>>>> but this difference is more in philosophy and naming than in >> actual >>> practice. >>>>> Everything in GnuCash is an account; in Quicken, "accounts" are >> thing >>>>> that hold actual money, such as checking, saving, CDs, or >> investments. >>>>> On the other hand, "categories" are kind of "ideas" to track where >> the >>> money goes. >>>>> This may not be the best distinction; perhaps someone else could >>>>> describe it better. >>>>> >>>>> Moving Transactions: There are a couple of simple ways to correct >> bad >>>>> data >>>>> entry: You can go to the transaction and edit it and change the >> wrong >>>>> account to the right account. You could, if you prefer, just >> delete >>>>> the bad transaction and re-enter it. >>>>> >>>>> I went from Quicken to GnuCash a few years ago. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, Nov 21, 2025 at 2:15 PM Larry Weeks >> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > >>> wrote: >>>>>> Is there a tutorial or document that walks through how Gnucash is >>>>>> different from Quicken, accounts versus categories, how to move >>>>>> transactions from account to account if they were categorized >> wrong, >>> etc? >>>>>> -- >>>>>> >>>>>> 3 John 1:4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children >> are >>>>>> walking in the truth. >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>>> 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. >>>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> _________________________________ >>>>> Richard Losey >>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> Micah 6:8 >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> gnucash-user mailing list >>>>> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >>>>> 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. >>>> >> >> -- >> _________________________________ >> Richard Losey >> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >> Micah 6:8 >> _______________________________________________ >> gnucash-user mailing list >> [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >> 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. -- _________________________________ Richard Losey [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> Micah 6:8 _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] 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.
