[GNC] WHY ARE THERE "IMBALANCE ENTRIES" AT ALL ?? JUST CURIOUS

[Adam Funk]

On 2021-06-01, DaveC49 wrote:

> Laura,
>
> The reason Imbalance entries exist is that it is a fundamental principle in
> double entry accounting that the sum of the debits and credits to the
> various accounts that make up a transaction must be zero.
>
> The Imbalance results if a user creates and saves a transaction in which
> this is not true. GNuCash tries to force your hand on this. You will notice
> that if you create a transaction in which the sum of the debits and credits
> is not zero, GnuCash will open a new line with an amount which will balance
> that sum with no account selected in the account column. If you select an
> account to assign that imbalance to, then the transaction is then balanced.
> If you do not and save the transaction without specifically assigning an
> account to it, GnuCash will assign the amount by which the transaction is
> unbalanced to an Imbalance account in the currency of the accounts. If the
> transaction involves more than one currency it will be in the currency which
> is imbalanced in the transaction.

The only problem I have is that it is far too easy (IMO, IME!) to
accidentally create or use Orphan-* and Imbalance-* accounts just by
hitting the tab key one time too many. I'd prefer to be able to set an
option to disable that and to force me to balance the transaction
before leaving it.