[GNC] Split transaction problem

[Michael or Penny Novack]

Ah, this is a case where you are doing a split (only on one side) but 
have CHOSEN not to start with the unsplit account (it would be Gross Pay 
on your pay, presumably you have an income account for your pay).

Just makes it a bit trickier, but not HARD. You have opened the 
transaction say where the net was deposited. You are now in journal mode 
(how once upon a time we entered all transaction). Your initial amount 
was the net pay, a debit, and on the credit side, you see the same 
amount for imbalance. Change that amount to what your GROSS pay was and 
change imbalance to that account (the income account you are using for 
that. Click and new line appears this time with a debit amount (the 
difference between gross and net. Change that amount to one of the 
amounts being deducted from your pay and  specify the account. Click, 
new debit amount. Repeat till zero remains.

BTW -- THIS is why I said put off doing two way splits. But if you 
master THIS (starting NOT from the unsplit side) you will be able to do 
two way splits easily enough.

HOWEVER -- You are DOWNLOADING transactions. You trust the bank and your 
employer? Surely you got a pay statement, yes. THAT is what you should 
be entering into gnucash. Then reconciling means something. If you 
intend to trust "the bank is always right", etc. don't bother with 
gnucash reconciliation.

Michael D Novack






On 12/8/2025 11:05 AM, Ed Greenberg wrote:
> On the subject of splits.  Most of my split transactions start out as
> downloaded transactions into the checking account.  Mine, in particular,
> are mortgage payments and payroll check deposits.
>
> I generally accept the transaction into the checking account with a
> corresponding account of "mortgage payment net" or "salary net".
>
> I then come back to the transaction and edit the offsetting items properly
> (think loan, interest, principal).
>
> So, in the case of the mortgage payment, the largest amount is indeed the
> actual checking account deduction, but in the case of payroll, the largest
> amount is one of the offsetting amounts, specifically the gross pay.
>
> If I try to edit the transaction later, GC requires that I use one
> particular account.  I'm not sure how it decides where I should edit the
> transaction.
>
> If I try to do it in the "salary net" account, as soon as "salary net"
> disappears from the split, the transaction seems to save and vanish, so I
> edit it in the checking account side, deleting salary net, replacing it
> with "gross pay" and a set of deductions.  Am I doing this right?"
>
> What I'd really like is a transaction template, but the closest we get are
> scheduled transactions.
>
> Ed
>
> On Mon, Dec 8, 2025 at 10:24 AM Michael or Penny Novack via gnucash-user <
> gnucash-user at gnucash.org> wrote:
>
>> On 12/7/2025 4:31 PM, Øivind Nicolaysen wrote:
>>> Hi Team,
>>>
>>> I hope this message finds you well. I’m writing to seek your assistance
>> regarding a split transaction issue I'm currently experiencing. I've
>> encountered a problem when trying to split a transaction, and I'm not sure
>> how to resolve it.
>>> When I attempt to split the transaction, it seems that the amounts do
>> not distribute correctly, resulting in an imbalance. I've double-checked
>> the entries, but I can't seem to pinpoint where the error might be. Has
>> anyone else faced a similar issue, or could you offer any guidance on how
>> to troubleshoot or correct this?
>>> I appreciate your help and look forward to any advice or solutions you
>> might have. Thank you in advance for your time and assistance.
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> Øivind Nicolaysen
>> a) You are not giving us enough information. For example, is the
>> transaction split on just one side, debit or credit split (1) or is it
>> split on both sides (debit AND credit (2)
>>
>> b) I am going to continue assuming (1). Start in the account of the side
>> NOT split. This will be the largest amount. Instead of selecting an
>> account for the other side, hit split bring up journal mode. Change the
>> AMOUNT on the other side to what it should be for that account and enter
>> the account. Enter and now a new imbalance amount shows up. Repeat. When
>> done, there should be nothing left in imbalance (you should not have had
>> to change that last amount).
>>
>> c) Something left over in imbalance. Check that the debits and credits
>> of your transaction are correct. The computer did not make a mistake in
>> addition, you did.
>>
>> d) Split on both sides? (2). For the time being, don't (use multiple
>> transactions). You need to be comfortable doing one sided splits before
>> learning the tricks to do these.
>>
>> Michael D Novack
>>
>>
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