"Expense" entry tries to auto-balance with a "Rebate" = confusing

[DaveC49]

Hi Builder Jack,

You can change the column labels by selecting the Edit->Preferences entry in
the menu. If you select the Accounts tab on the RH side, there is a Heading
Labels with a checkbos Use formal accounting labels and this will give you
the usual Debit and Credit column headings.

Gnucash is a double entry accounting system so each transaction affects two
accounts. In your example, the essential parts of the transaction consist of
two lines would  be something like

 Account                                          Debit                   
Credit

Asset:BankAccount                                                       $150
Expenses:Construction Materials       $150                                     
.


You could create this transaction record from either of the accounts given
above and which account along with the selections made for register defaults
will affect the line which is opened first. When you open a new transaction
and enter a description a second line opens with the account specified as
the account in which you opened the transaction. 

When you add the amount in the appropriate column Gnucash automatically
creates the second component of the transaction on a third line. By default,
the account which this component of the transaction affects listed as 
Imbalance. 

If you click on this you will get a dropdown list of your accounts from
which you select the account that this component of the transaction affects.
E.g. if you had started recording the above transaction from you Bank
Account, these two lines would essentailly appear as shown above and you
would select the Expenses:Construction Materials account in the third line
instead of Imbalance. 

Once you have closed a transaction it goes back to being displayed as a
single line but if you click on a transaction it will open in double line
mode

I would suggest reading the Tutorial and User Guide
(https://www.gnucash.org/docs/v2.6/C/gnucash-guide/) section on
transactions.  

If the double entry to record a transaction is not making sense Wikipedia
has a fairly good discussion of Double Entry accounting/bookkeeping.

Good luck

David



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