How to Install GnuCash 4.0 in Ubuntu 20.04 / 18.04

Last updated: December 23, 2020

GnuCash

Personal and small-business financial-accounting software GnuCash 4.0 was released a few days ago. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04.

GnuCash 4.0 comes with updated dependency libraries, system requirements (Ubuntu 18.04, MacOS 10.13, Windows 8.1), code improvements, and many new features:

  • command line interface for Windows.
  • Two menu items are added to the View menu when a Bill, Invoice, or Voucher tab has focus
  • A new Transaction Association dialog.
  • Allow Associations to be added to invoices.
  • The OFX file importer can now import more than one file at a time.
  • Support for UK VAT and Australian GST added to the Income-GST report.
  • New invalid maps dialog in the Import Map Editor.
  • Enable adding notes to budgets.
  • Support for AQBanking Version 6.
  • And much more other changes, see news page for details.

How to Install GnuCash 4.0 in Ubuntu:

The latest flatpak package has been made into Flathub repository for Ubuntu 18.04 and higher.

1. Setup flatpak.

If you’re first time installing a flatpak package, you may first run following commands to get start.

1.) Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to install flatpak framework:

sudo apt install flatpak

Type your password (no visual feedback) for sudo prompts and hit Enter.

2.) Add flathub repository via command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

2. Install GnuCash flatpak package.

Then you can install the flatpak package by running command:

flatpak install flathub org.gnucash.GnuCash

If an old version of the flatpak package was installed, update it via command:

flatpak update org.gnucash.GnuCash

Uninstall:

To uninstall the GnuCash package installed via flatpak, run command:

flatpak uninstall org.gnucash.GnuCash

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12 responses to How to Install GnuCash 4.0 in Ubuntu 20.04 / 18.04

  1. Hello, I have Ubuntu 18.04.4 and was running GnuCash 2.6.19 before, now I tried to do the installation of the newer version of GnuCash with your help. Everything seemed to work in the terminal, but in the end I still have my old Version of GnuCash on the Computer. Even if I restart, the old version appears. Where do I find the new version and why isn’t it replaced by the old verison

  2. Ok, problem solved.
    There were 2 GnuCash installed, they looked identical in the menue, so I first did not recognize the new one. Now I have the old one unistalled. Everything works fine :-)

    • How did you uninstall the older version? I am having same issues as you did. I installed the older version, then upgraded. But when I launch GnuCash, its version still shows to be the former. Thanks!

  3. Hello… I downloaded this programme and how do I install it? I extracted everything but see no install as one does in Windows? Please advise me.
    Regards
    Michael

  4. i use Ubuntu 20.04 and installed Gnucash. However, 4.x isnt available, so I want to try with flatpack to install 4.1.
    1. How can i use my data from the current installation?
    2. How do I start old ir new version? Is there a conversion of data needed?

  5. I followed your instructions, thank you. However it does not install GnuCash 4.2 into the applications menu. You can run it by using “flatpak list” to see installed apps at a terminal. Then you run “flatpak run org.gnucash.GnuCash”. You can keep your old installation of GnuCash 2.6 it seems, the one that installs using “sudo apt install gnucash” and have both just in case there is a problem. I could not find a .desktop entry for gnucash, it should be under ~/.local/share/flatpak/app but no such directory exists. So you either have to add manually to the application menu a link to run GnuCash 4.2 or just use the command above on the terminal each time.

    • Edy, This was very helpful for me. How do you create a link to the application menu for the flatpak GnuCash?

    • depending on your environment (Gnome, KDE, etc) in my KDE I can right click in my file manager (Dolphin) create new “Link to Application” add “flatpack run org.gnucash.GnuCash” as the command, select an icon, and then once it creates in the folder you can drag it to your quick launch icons if you have some. You can probably find the area that your GUI stores your application menu and drag the shortcut there as well to get it on the menu. Hope this helps

  6. Thank you. All of it was helpful. I love GnuCash and have used it for years but suddenly it would crash when I tried using the online services.

  7. Doesn’t work. Only installs GC 3.7

    Useless

  8. I found this resource whilst looking for a way to run `gnucash-cli` in a flatpak installation.

    https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Flatpak

    It looks like it might also answer some questions from this blog.