Scheduled transactions

David Carlson david.carlson.417 at gmail.com
Thu Sep 26 12:53:20 EDT 2013


On 9/26/2013 8:59 AM, Michael Hendry wrote:
> On 26 Sep 2013, at 12:07, Geoff Jankowski <geoff.jankowski at me.com> wrote:
>
>> I have set up some scheduled transactions that automatically enter the account on the set date.  Hoever, occasionally I pay earlier than the scheduled activity.
>
> Arrange for the relevant scheduled transactions (SXs) to be created in advance of the due date; edit the date of the transaction if you pay it early.
>
> (Use Actions->Scheduled Actions=>Scheduled Transaction Editor, Double-click the scheduled transaction, tick the box marked "Create in advance" in the Overview Tab, and enter the number of days).
>
> This has the advantage that you get a warning of pending transactions when you look at the relevant bank or credit card account, and may be able to avoid an unplanned overdraft.
>
> I use a similar method when my phone bill comes in - I have a scheduled transaction set up for a figure which exceeds my expectation of the direct debit that will be applied to my bank account, and when I'm notified of the correct figure I adjust it.
>
>
> May I ask why you need to be so precise about the date on which you made the payment?
>
> I can see there might be some scope for confusion if you made an extra payment in any given month, but if it's just a matter of paying a week or two early, who cares? After all, you would normally enter a payment by cheque as taking place on the date you signed it, knowing that it'll be a few days before it is cleared through your bank, direct debits may occur a day or two on either side of the expected date, and salary and pension payments are usually paid early if the scheduled date isn't a banking day.
>
>> In Quicken I was able to force the entry of the next iteration of the schedule and it loks as if I should be able to in gnucash as there is an "Enter" button in the template area that tells me it records the current transaction but whenever I try to use it, nothing happens.
> I think this button simply saves any changes you've made in the SX, it doesn't actually create a transaction.
>
> Michael
>
>> I am running gnucash for mac on OS X.
>>
>> Any ideas?
>>
>>
>> Geoff 
>> +44 20 7100 1092
>> +44 7770 58 48 38
>> +33 5 46 97 13 89
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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Like Geoff, I also wish to sometimes enter scheduled transactions into
the register earlier than the scheduled date.  One reason is that I
might go on vacation and need to get ahead several days so that I don't
have a mess when I return.  I am guessing that a lot of us would use
this feature if it existed.  As far as I know, there is no way to
override the scheduled entry date only this time.  Also, like Geoff, I
do not want to manually change the entry date just for one month for 20
or so transactions, then manually change it back for 20 or so, one at a
time.  A long time ago I entered an enhancement bug report for this but
I don't remember the bug number.

I wonder if you are confusing the scheduled transaction entry date with
the actual payment date.  There are a variety of reasons that a user may
want to do either task early.  As for paying early, many of us have the
option to schedule a delayed payment at their bank if they wish to wait
until after the paycheck is deposited, for example.  We still want to
enter it into GnuCash ahead of the actual payment date too. 

GnuCash should be flexible enough to meet everyone's needs.

David C


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