Re: [GNC] When closing books, equity statement report is incorrect

[Quinn Wood]

On Wed, Jan 3, 2024 at 11:25 AM Adrien Monteleone <
adrien.montele...@lusfiber.net> wrote:

> Isn't that how it would be done using Pen & Ink anyway?
>
> GnuCash has some features to make a few routine tasks easier, but it
> should not get in your way from doing something via normal processes.
>

When doing your books you don't technically need a contra account for every
little thing. GnuCash just gets in the way of your work if you don't have
one, in this particular scenario.

So, problem solved. Use a contra account.
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Re: [GNC] When closing books, equity statement report is incorrect

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 1/3/2024 1:19 PM, Quinn Wood wrote:

On Wed, Jan 3, 2024, 09:13 Michael or Penny Novack <
stepbystepf...@comcast.net> wrote:


Although I am NOT "qualified" to give advice I will give one example
related to the above to show not free to do just any old thing. If keeping
books for a corporation, as soon as the Directors declare a dividend, it
becomes a liability.

BTW, I disagree things like "how to keep books for a corporation" belongs
in a gnucash wiki. We are NOT "qualified" to be giving this sort of
accounting advice. And in any case, these things can vary somewhat by
jurisdiction.


You already give advice on how to keep books on the wiki.


HUH?  I have made NO contributions to the wiki content.

Michael D Novack


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Re: [GNC] International Currency Transactions?

[Jim DeLaHunt]

On 2024-01-03 07:13, Eric H. Bowen via gnucash-user wrote:
I'm based in the US and so all of my transactions have been in USD; 
when that isn't the case my credit card company has taken care of the 
currency conversion. But I have a new printing vendor now with several 
plants overseas which bill in the local currency. I just ordered a POD 
copy of a book to be delivered in the UK, billed in Pounds Sterling. 
I've created a vendor invoice, itemized, with the various line item 
prices.


What's the most efficient and flexible way to convert this to USD for 
accounting and tax purposes? I see that GnuCash does have a currency 
conversion/price editing feature, but I'm not sure of how to make it 
work for this application. I'd appreciate a pointer to a tutorial.


Welcome to the world of multiple-currency bookkeeping in GnuCash.

The Gnucash Tutorial and Concepts Guide, chapter 12. "Multiple 
Currencies" is a fine place to start.



Also, a good way to experiment with GnuCash features which you don't 
know well is to make a separate book file with test data, to try out 
features and workflows.  Once you understand how that part of GnuCash 
works, and what steps to take to accomplish your goals, repeat the 
process with your real book file and real data.


Best regards,
 —Jim DeLaHunt, Vancouver, Canada


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Re: [GNC] GnuCash getting worse?

[R Losey]

On Tue, Jan 2, 2024 at 6:24 PM Dave Hayes  wrote:

> On Fri, 29 Dec 2023 00:21:57 -0600
> R Losey  wrote:
> > I was just expressing concern that the last few releases seem far more
> > bug-ridden than I remember any of the 4.x releases being.
>
> Speaking as a long time gnucash user and an active computer scientist,
> I'd like to point out that some of these bugs are in the toolkits and
> libraries
> that gnucash uses. Open source has always suffered from this idea: a
> toolkit
> that seemed awesome a while ago can experience extreme technical debt due
> to
> the rapid movement of the software industry. In some cases, said toolkit
> can
> actually become detrimental to projects that use it.
>
> This is why (unless you are actually a gnucash dev) trying to
> quantitatively
> measure the project's "goodness" is quite likely an exercise in subjective
> futility. :)
>
> Just my $0.02 USD.
>

Fair enough, but I don't agree. Yes, each release has some minor problems
associated with it, and often it IS related to underlying toolkits.

But 5.4 left a process running on Windows, which kept the lock file open,
and generally confused users. This is not a toolkit issue.  And now 5.5 has
some serious issues with Scheduled Transactions. These are clearly GnuCash
bugs, and I don't recall problems like this in previous releases.  For
years, I've always been able to update to the latest release, and now I've
had to skip two in a row.  That **may** be merely subjective.

Overall, I think GnuCash is a great program; I'm grateful to the developers
for it, and I hope it is never abandoned. My intent was to note that the
last two releases have had fairly serious bugs -- I recall an earlier 5.x
release that actually needed a second release to fix some problem.

-- 
_
Richard Losey
rlo...@gmail.com
Micah 6:8
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Re: [GNC] When closing books, equity statement report is incorrect

[Quinn Wood]

On Wed, Jan 3, 2024, 09:13 Michael or Penny Novack <
stepbystepf...@comcast.net> wrote:

> Although I am NOT "qualified" to give advice I will give one example
> related to the above to show not free to do just any old thing. If keeping
> books for a corporation, as soon as the Directors declare a dividend, it
> becomes a liability.
>
> BTW, I disagree things like "how to keep books for a corporation" belongs
> in a gnucash wiki. We are NOT "qualified" to be giving this sort of
> accounting advice. And in any case, these things can vary somewhat by
> jurisdiction.
>
You already give advice on how to keep books on the wiki. There is an
entire page telling people you don't need to close your books in GnuCash
that proceeds to give people workarounds for how to do some of the things
closing your books accomplishes. Adding this workflow isn't accounting
advice, and frankly people are way beyond that. Even if this was accounting
advice, at least it would be correct under GAAP and IFRS unlike the
explicit advice that retained earnings are the same as net income or the
implied advice that retained earnings belong on a sole proprietor's or
partnership's balance sheet.

I have no idea what your first quoted remark is in regards to. Yes, a
dividend payable increases liabilities. An already-paid dividend does not.
It reduces the previously -increased liability and reduces retained
earnings (that thing people here claim is the same as net income.) Nothing
I mentioned conflicts with that workflow in GnuCash or outside of GnuCash.
I know of no jurisdictions that say the two facts are non-facts. These are
101 concepts used globally.

On the flip side, the workflow people keep recommending on the wiki and
mailing list does conflict. You have to keep a paid dividend on your books
as a payable liability forever,  put it on your books as an expense (to
fraudulently reduce equity and reducing net income), or just never declare
one. Do that and see how quick taxing authorities, lenders, or investors
call foul.

>
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Re: [GNC] Discount / Coupon question - How to apply?

[Alan Johnson via gnucash-user]

I created the income account "discounts" and did it with a manual
transfer to the expense account.  




On Wed, 2024-01-03 at 11:16 -0600, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
> Thanks for reporting back, but for posterity, which method worked?
> 
> (assigning as payment, or using an intermediary account)
> 
> Regards,
> Adrien
> 
> On 1/2/24 11:31 AM, Alan Johnson via gnucash-user wrote:
> > Thanks, that worked.
> 
> > On Sun, 2023-12-31 at 14:36 -0600, Adrien Monteleone wrote:
> > > Is this screenshot taken while viewing the AR account? That error
> > > message usually means you don't have a split in the transaction
> > > that
> > > is
> > > AR/AP.
> > > > > Be sure to commit the transaction first, then try right-
> > > > > clicking to
> > > assign the payment.
> > > 
> > > If it still won't work, you might have to employ some
> > > intermediary
> > > accounts.
> > > 
> > > One option is to create a contra-income (sales) account for
> > > something
> > > like "Discounts & Allowances", and then issue a Credit Note for
> > > that
> > > Customer with a line item posted to that account. (the Credit
> > > Note
> > > itself will post to AR)
> > > 
> > > Then process a payment and select the Credit Note & Invoice to
> > > offset.
> > > ('pay' the invoice with the Credit Note)
> > > 
> > > Then do a manual transaction between the Discounts & Allowances
> > > account
> > > and your desired expense account. (moving the amount from contra-
> > > sales
> > > to expense)
> 
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Re: [GNC] Discount / Coupon question - How to apply?

[Alan Johnson via gnucash-user]

I'm not a coder, but I've considered learning to give it a shot :)

Alan

On Tue, 2024-01-02 at 12:34 -0500, Derek Atkins wrote:
> 
> 
> On Tue, January 2, 2024 12:31 pm, Alan Johnson via gnucash-user
> wrote:
> > Thanks, that worked. 
> > 
> > Perhaps a future feature to add a coupon/discount mechanism to the
> > customer invoice interface would be in order?
> 
> Patches always welcome!  :)
> > 
> > Alan
> 
> > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
> > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
> 
> -derek
> 


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Re: [GNC] When closing books, equity statement report is incorrect

[Adrien Monteleone]

Isn't that how it would be done using Pen & Ink anyway?

GnuCash has some features to make a few routine tasks easier, but it 
should not get in your way from doing something via normal processes.


Regards,
Adrien

On 1/2/24 11:49 AM, Quinn Wood wrote:

I've identified a solution for this issue that does not require a custom
report. Sweep revenues and expenses into a Retained Earnings account and do
not include it in the equity report. Take dividends / distributions out of
a subaccount called Dividends / Distributions declared and do include it in
the equity report. Put investments into an account (e.g. Common Stock) that
is included in the report as usual.


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Re: [GNC] Manage Document Link

[Adrien Monteleone]

You can set a document link as an individual file, or as a location.

I don't think though you can use a relative path. If you move the files, 
GnuCash will lose the link.


Regards,
Adrien

On 1/3/24 8:10 AM, Tom Balazs wrote:

I want to attach an image of a bill to a transaction.
I click Manage Document Link.
I get "Path head not set, using "/home/tom/" for relative paths.
Is that the best Path to use?
Where does GnuCash begin navigating from?
I would like the path to be relative so that if I move all my GnuCash files
to another folder the document links will still work.


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Re: [GNC] Discount / Coupon question - How to apply?

[Adrien Monteleone]

Thanks for reporting back, but for posterity, which method worked?

(assigning as payment, or using an intermediary account)

Regards,
Adrien

On 1/2/24 11:31 AM, Alan Johnson via gnucash-user wrote:

Thanks, that worked.



On Sun, 2023-12-31 at 14:36 -0600, Adrien Monteleone wrote:

Is this screenshot taken while viewing the AR account? That error
message usually means you don't have a split in the transaction that
is
AR/AP.
>> Be sure to commit the transaction first, then try right-clicking to
assign the payment.

If it still won't work, you might have to employ some intermediary
accounts.

One option is to create a contra-income (sales) account for something
like "Discounts & Allowances", and then issue a Credit Note for that
Customer with a line item posted to that account. (the Credit Note
itself will post to AR)

Then process a payment and select the Credit Note & Invoice to
offset.
('pay' the invoice with the Credit Note)

Then do a manual transaction between the Discounts & Allowances
account
and your desired expense account. (moving the amount from contra-
sales
to expense)


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[GNC] International Currency Transactions?

[Eric H. Bowen via gnucash-user]

I'm based in the US and so all of my transactions have been in USD; when 
that isn't the case my credit card company has taken care of the 
currency conversion. But I have a new printing vendor now with several 
plants overseas which bill in the local currency. I just ordered a POD 
copy of a book to be delivered in the UK, billed in Pounds Sterling. 
I've created a vendor invoice, itemized, with the various line item prices.


What's the most efficient and flexible way to convert this to USD for 
accounting and tax purposes? I see that GnuCash does have a currency 
conversion/price editing feature, but I'm not sure of how to make it 
work for this application. I'd appreciate a pointer to a tutorial.


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Re: [GNC] When closing books, equity statement report is incorrect

[Michael or Penny Novack]

On 1/2/2024 12:49 PM, Quinn Wood wrote:
On Tue, Jan 2, 2024, 10:43 Michael or Penny Novack 
 wrote:


Other than the suitability/unsuitability gnucash provided "tool" for
closing the books this isn't really a gnucash question.


I've identified a solution for this issue that does not require a 
custom report. Sweep revenues and expenses into a Retained Earnings 
account and do not include it in the equity report. Take dividends / 
distributions out of a subaccount called Dividends / Distributions 
declared and do include it in the equity report. Put investments into 
an account (e.g. Common Stock) that is included in the report as usual.


If people think this kind of thing is out of scope, feature creep, 
outmoded, etc., ok. If you want to give people a way to get their work 
done that doesn't involve changing the way GnuCash works, I'd get this 
workflow on the wiki so people have the option in their toolkit.


Please  "solutions" are a matter of accounting/law and have little 
to do with gnucash per se (if you could have done something the old 
fashioned way pen and ink on paper then you can do it with gnucash)


Although I am NOT "qualified" to give advice I will give one example 
related to the above to show not free to do just any old thing. If 
keeping books for a corporation, as soon as the Directors declare a 
dividend, it becomes a liability.


BTW, I disagree things like "how to keep books for a corporation" 
belongs in a gnucash wiki. We are NOT "qualified" to be giving this sort 
of accounting advice. And in any case, these things can vary somewhat by 
jurisdiction.


Michael D Novack


--
There is no possibility of social justice on a dead planet except the equality 
of the grave.
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[GNC] Manage Document Link

[Tom Balazs]

I want to attach an image of a bill to a transaction.
I click Manage Document Link.
I get "Path head not set, using "/home/tom/" for relative paths.
Is that the best Path to use?
Where does GnuCash begin navigating from?
I would like the path to be relative so that if I move all my GnuCash files
to another folder the document links will still work.

Tom
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