Clint, These are two areas that I have found GnuCash lacking: stock splits and managing aggregated sales. Quite frankly, I decided long ago that trying to model these transactions in GnuCash using its own toolset was a foolish endeavor.
In the case of stock splits, you have the challenge of acquisition dates, which I've never seen solved in GnuCash. Either your original shares are moved to the wrong date, or the new shares are created on the wrong date. With sales involving multiple small acquisitions over time (common in mutual funds), the generation of gains data on a single sale can be so hellaciously complicated that even determining whether the result is accurate can take a huge amount of time. (I had one sale that GnuCash wanted to record as something like 49 separate lots, each with its own separate gains split. I never did figure out if it was accurate.) I decided that trying to get the "right" result in these situations was simply not worth the effort in both cases. For stock splits, I make sure the share total is accurate and create gains transactions based on the brokerage statement. As long as the gains get categorized properly (LT/ST), I don't really care whether the acquisition dates are fully accurate. For sales of aggregated holdings, I enter a single gains transaction that matches the reported gains from the brokerage. That way, if I have to review this at a later time (which I've had to do enough times over the years), I won't have to spend all that time recalculating the 49 lot entries to reconfirm the numbers. What you do is, of course, your choice. David T. P.S. I've said it once recently, and I'll repeat that I do not use the GnuCash lots feature at all. While I'd love to be able to identify lots in many cases, Gnucash lots come with too much baggage for me. On June 11, 2026 7:57:00 PM GMT+05:30, Clint Chaplin <[email protected]> wrote: >I can see other reasons why just modifying the original transactions will >not be optimal. > >In my case, I have IBM stock I inherited in 1995, and with DRIPs, there are >about 100 transactions to crawl through when the KD spinoff happened in >2021, and now more than 125 transactions. I am not looking forward to >manually selling the old IBM lots, buying new IBM lots with the updated >modified basis, and then purchasing KD lots as the spinoff. I'm wondering >if it could be automated, either by computerized control of GnuCash or by >interfacing with the database directly. > >On Mon, Jun 8, 2026 at 10:46 AM Sherlock <[email protected]> wrote: > >> One reason we don't modify the existing transactions to reflect the new >> stock and price per share amounts is we use reports which rely on the >> price history maintained in the price database. >> >> On 6/8/26 8:57 AM, Clint Chaplin wrote: >> > Given that GnuCash is not ink and paper, why not just modify the existing >> > transactions to reflect the new stock and price per share amounts? >> > >> > On Sun, Jun 7, 2026 at 6:07 PM Sherlock <[email protected]> wrote: >> > >> >> We use the date of the stock split for the new transaction and track the >> >> acquisition date separately. If we use the scrub tool and it pairs a >> >> sale with the wrong lot, we reset it. >> >> >> >> Regards, >> >> >> >> Sherlock >> >> >> >> On 6/7/26 9:37 AM, Clint Chaplin wrote: >> >>> So, when selling the stock at the old basis and repurchasing at the new >> >>> basis, what date is used for the transactions? And if it is the date >> of >> >>> the stock split, don't you lose the info for the scrub tool to pair >> >>> subsequent sales to the proper lot using FIFO?∑å >> >>> >> >>> On Fri, Jun 5, 2026 at 2:47 PM Sherlock <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> >> >>>> Hi Clint, >> >>>> >> >>>> I don't think you've missed much. The approach used by the stock >> split >> >>>> tool allows GnuCash to track the average cost basis. My understanding >> >>>> is GnuCash's lot management support was added late. >> >>>> >> >>>> To track cost basis by lot, the approach we use for stock splits is to >> >>>> enter a transaction selling each lot's shares at their current cost >> >>>> basis and purchasing the new shares of each lot at their new cost >> basis. >> >>>> >> >>>> Regards, >> >>>> >> >>>> Sherlock >> >>>> >> >>>> >> >>>> On 6/5/26 12:45 PM, Clint Chaplin wrote: >> >>>>> I'm setting up GnuCash for my use for personal finance, and it was >> >> going >> >>>> OK >> >>>>> until I came to entering in some IBM stock I inherited in 1995, and >> >> which >> >>>>> has been DRIPping ever since. >> >>>>> >> >>>>> IBM split 2 for 1 in 1997 and 1999, and then IBM spun out Kyndryl >> (KD) >> >> in >> >>>>> 2021. My current financial programs (MECA's Managing Your Money >> >> vintage >> >>>>> late 1980s and Quicken For Windows version 3 vintage early 1990s) >> >> managed >> >>>>> to have tools for stock splits that went in and adjusted the basis >> and >> >>>>> amount of stock for lots that predate the stock split date, and >> Quicken >> >>>>> even somehow kept track of pre and post split stock pricing. >> >>>>> >> >>>>> GnuCash, not so much. It seems as though the stock split tool >> creates >> >> a >> >>>>> transaction that just dumps in zero-priced stock to increase (or >> >>>> decrease!) >> >>>>> the number of shares post-split, but doesn't go in and modify the >> basis >> >>>> and >> >>>>> number of shares for lots that predate the split, which was my >> >>>> expectation. >> >>>>> >> >>>>> Now, I guess I can go in and manually modify the stock purchase and >> >>>>> dividend reinvestment transactions so the post-split basis is >> >> "correct", >> >>>>> but I was sorta hoping it was automated. For the 2 for one stock >> >> splits >> >>>> I >> >>>>> don't have that many DRIP transactions when they occurred, but by the >> >>>> time >> >>>>> the KD spinout happens in 2021 it's gonna be a lot of transactions >> >> (over >> >>>>> 100?) >> >>>>> >> >>>>> Am I missing something? Should I submit a feature request? Or >> should >> >> I >> >>>>> just consider it as something high-effort low-benefit that won't get >> >>>> done? >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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. >> > > >-- >Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin >_______________________________________________ >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. _______________________________________________ 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. 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