Continuing ledger after a large gap

[melb...@gmail.com]

Hello I have about 7 years worth of data in a ledger file till ~2019. Due to some life events I had to stop updating it and now I would like to pick it back up.

I would really like add to the same file. Is there a good approach to do this? 

[Martin Michlmayr]

* melb...@gmail.com <melb...@gmail.com> [2022-03-13 19:35]:

I'd post adjustment entries to bring your balances in sync with what
your bank says.

If your ledger from 2019 says you have 400 EUR in the bank, but the
bank balance is 1000 EUR right now, you could add this entry:

2022-03-14 * Adjust bank balance
Assets:Bank 600.00 EUR = 1000 EUR
Equity:Opening balance

In fact, ledger supports setting a certain balance like this:

2022-03-14 * Adjust
Assets:Bank = 1000 EUR
Equity:Opening balance

If you later find time to important bank transactions from 2019-2022,
you can always do that.

--
Martin Michlmayr
https://www.cyrius.com/

[Colin Dean]

100% this, Martin!

It's always better to pick up the present and fill in the past than it is to languish and lament on the past to spite the present and future.

This probably applies to a lot of things in life, but definitely to accounting and definitely to PTA.

For the past things, automate as much as you can to get coarse imports of data in that time range, then you can revise with more exact information, payees, etc. for data preservation.

[the.so...@gmail.com]

Agree with the suggestions made by Martin and Colin.

I'd add that due to various personal circumstances, I slipped up on updating my journal for 1.5 years during the pandemic.  It took me around 4-5 hours (half a Saturday, more or less) to catch up through manual data entry.  But don't put off adding new data just because you haven't added the old data (i.e., don't do what I did!).  All the best!

[Felipe Mica]

I like to create an entire new category for that:

Equity:Gaps:Gap between 2016 and 2018

I'm not sure if it's a good approach, but it's useful for me.

--

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