[GNC] Need assist to understand the gnucash double entry system

[Brook Milligan]

> On Nov 23, 2024, at 7:01 PM, Scott D. Turner <sdturner1954 at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> I have studied the documentation on line, downloaded PDF of the tech
> manual, watched YouTube videos, but still this gnucash appl leaves me
> baffled with how it treats transactions that need to be moved.

If I understand correctly, the simple answer is that you just change the account from “imbalance” to another one and save the transaction.  In the register, you can click on the account, e.g., “imbalance”, and there will be a drop-down menu from which you can select what you want among all the accounts.  If you have to move the position of an entire account within the account hierarchy, you can edit the account from the “accounts” tab and set a new parent; all the transactions will move.

In case you are not already doing this, you might consider displaying the register as a “transaction journal” so that you have multiple splits visible all the time.  I find that helpful, because all the information is visible at once.  I also find the formal names, i.e., debit and credit, much more straightforward than the informal ones.  Get used to that terminology from the start and it will be easy.

Cheers,
Brook