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

[Jack Frillman]

Maybe because for those new to GNC, like myself, it's not a very 
intuitive process and is easy to screw up.
After two months I still muck it up from time to time especially when 
I'm trying to modify a duplicated transaction that has splits.
I'm not complaining but providing an explanation to your "I don't see 
why we continue to beat upon this subject" comment.

On 6/3/21 11:11 AM, David T. via gnucash-user wrote:
> Given how easy it is to correct these problems (i.e., change the 
> Account in the erroneous entry from Imbalance-XXX to some other 
> account and press enter), I don't see why we continue to beat upon 
> this subject.
>
> On 6/3/2021 10:12 AM, Adam Funk wrote:
>> 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.
>>
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