GnuCash Trading accounts: check both bank currencies

When a transfer crosses two bank currencies in GnuCash, compare each bank account in its own currency with its own statement. A converted report total and automatically generated Trading entries are not additional bank movements.

If either bank provides only a PDF, LocalExtract can extract that PDF locally. Its CSV contains the stated transaction amounts; it does not supply an exchange rate or generate GnuCash Trading postings.

Separate account currency from report currency

The v5 currency guide distinguishes each account’s currency from a converted Total (Report) column. A parent/report total can change when exchange prices change even though the original bank amounts remain unchanged. Check the account’s currency before comparing a number with a statement.

Record the source account, destination account, date, original debit and actual credit, with a reference connecting the two. Do not subtract a USD amount from a EUR amount and call the difference a fee. They are quantities in different units.

Identify Trading entries without treating them as another transfer

Under File → Properties → Accounts, inspect Use Trading Accounts. The Trading-accounts guide explains automatic postings by commodity when that option is enabled; it is not the default. Read the generated Trading/CURRENCY lines as balancing representation, not a third statement event.

Do not manually change Trading lines just to match a converted report. First inspect the original account postings, their currencies and the chosen transaction conversion. The project’s Trading explanation provides the accounting context.

Reconcile the received amount and an evidenced fee separately

In a synthetic transfer, Bank A shows an outgoing USD 240, and Bank B shows incoming EUR 216. A separate bank charge is USD 4, documented on Bank A. The source bank changes by USD −244 overall; the destination changes by EUR +216. The numbers are not expected to sum numerically to zero across currencies.

The Trading guide’s transfer example, section 12.3.2.2 distinguishes entering an exchange rate from entering the actual Debit Amount. If the statement establishes the received amount, preserve that quantity instead of allowing rounded rate entry to silently replace it. The transfer dialog has no fee field; the official example handles a fee as a separate split. Have the responsible bookkeeper represent the documented fee appropriately, rather than inventing one from unlike-currency subtraction.

The synthetic two-currency worksheet checks each currency’s bank movement and a missing-fee control. It does not execute GnuCash or validate a bank’s format.

Close the comparison in the original units

Check Bank A’s USD closing balance and Bank B’s EUR closing balance independently. Keep exchange-price/report checks separate from statement reconciliation. For a general period checklist, use the reconciliation guide.

LocalExtract processes one PDF at a time and exports date,description,amount CSV. It does not synchronize the two bank accounts or classify exchange gains. Prepare a PDF statement, then retain both original-currency controls.

Official GnuCash v5 documentation checked October 16, 2026.