[GNC] Coloring the Action field

[David T.]

I use something like Michael's approach with paychecks, but my simple 
workaround is that I enter the correct amount deposited to my checking 
account (that *is* what I'm most interested in!), using a previous pay 
transaction as the template. Inevitably, IT DOES NOT BALANCE, and I end 
up with an entry in Imbalance-USD, which I monitor for zero balance.

My workaround with my mortgage is to download the transaction history 
for the mortgage once a year (more frequently, if I'm feeling twitchy), 
and then I reconcile the MORTGAGE principle account. If the transactions 
there are "N", then I know I need to check them for accuracy.

For Stephen's use case, I don't see how creating inaccurate entries 
using the loan scheduler is somehow better than creating inaccurate 
entries using other techniques.

David T.

On 12/16/2021 4:36 PM, David Carlson wrote:
> I think that it would be possible to use the loan wizard to build a
> Scheduled loan payment Transaction pointing to an Unallocated Funds account
> that could be used just as Michael suggested, adjusting for the correct
> interest amount when the value is known.
>
> I need to try that.
>
> On Thu, Dec 16, 2021 at 12:55 PM Stephen M. Butler <
> Stephen.M.Butler51 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On 12/16/21 10:05, Michael or Penny Novack wrote:
>>> It might perhaps be better to describe WHAT you want to accomplish
>>> instead of asking about possibilities for the first HOW that came to
>>> your mind. Why? Because there might be other "hows" even simpler.
>>>
>>>
>>> On 12/16/2021 2:25 AM, AC wrote:
>>>> For example, I have a couple loans that are paid fixed amounts each
>>>> month but the split of principal and interest varies (of course). I
>>>> have automatic payments at the bank set up to pay those fixed amounts
>>>> regularly and I have a matching scheduled transaction in GnuCash that
>>>> is a placeholder for it so I know how much comes out of my checking
>>>> account. What I don't know at that moment is the split between
>>>> principal and interest.
>>> I'll reword that -- you don't have access (in advance) to the
>>> amortization schedule and even if you did, would not help with an
>>> automated transaction (but would if a manual transaction_
>>>>    When the payment has gone through I will check the loan records
>>>> wherever the loan is held to see how they distributed the payment and
>>>> then go back and update the splits to reflect that.
>>>>
>>>> I do a similar thing for my paychecks, setting up a scheduled
>>>> transaction with an estimated amount across splits and then go back
>>>> to update the splits with the various amounts withheld from the check
>>>> (I mark these as "Deposit").
>>> Let's stop here for a second to describe your PROCESS. In either case,
>>> you first need to be able to have an automatic transaction (unsplit)
>>> that you later need to go back to in order to split once you have the
>>> information to do that. You think you need a "marker" of some sort to
>>> find the transaction later, to mark the ones you have not yet done.
>>>
>>> But what was the other side of the transaction?. Let's do the loan one
>>> first. That was an automatic (scheduled) transaction, credit to your
>>> bank account and debit to (there are always tow sides in double entry
>>> bookkeeping) what? Let's say for am moment you had an account under
>>> Expense with a name like "unallocated loan payments".
>>>
>>> Every so often you look. Is the balance of this account zero? No, then
>>> you have a loan payment you have not yet allocated to principle and
>>> interest. Assuming enough time has passed that you have that
>>> information, Enter split mode. Change the account "unallocated loan
>>> payments" to "interest" and the amount to what that portion is. The
>>> remainder will now have an account Imbalance which you change to "loan
>>> principle".
>>>
>>> Now THAT transaction will no longer appear in "unallocated loan
>>> payments" << and if there are no other payments still not allocated
>>> the balance of the account  will be zero >>
>>>
>>> In  other words, the very presence of a transaction in "unallocated
>>> loan balance" can serve as your "marker" and is the transaction you
>>> want to split. You can do the same for your paychecks, except you
>>> would use an account under Income "unallocated paychecks".
>>>
>>> Michael D Novack
>>>
>> Why not point to the loan wizard and how it can setup an automated
>> transaction schedule?  Sure, it is off a few pennies every so often but
>> if a person is looking at the loan details a their bank (or get a
>> monthly statement) it is easy to adjust the existing transactions.
>>
>> Once you understand the resulting schedule formula, you can modify for
>> extra monthly payments and won't need the wizard to setup the next loan.
>>
>> --
>> Stephen M Butler, PMP, PSM
>> Stephen.M.Butler51 at gmail.com
>> kg7je at arrl.net
>> 253-350-0166
>> -------------------------------------------
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