[GNC] Any Simpler Way to Schedule Irregular Estimated Tax Payments?

[Tom Route36]

Hi Sherlock,

Thanks for the link.  I see my mistake.  I was relying solely on the 
built-in GnuCash F1 (Help -> Contents); but didn't check the online 
manual.  In the future I'll just go directly to the online version; and 
not even bother with the built-in Help.

Thanks,
Tom


On 06/02/2026 07:49 PM, Sherlock wrote:
> Hi Tom,
>
> https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Scheduled_Transactions
>
> Regards,
>
> Sherlock
>
> On 6/2/26 6:03 PM, Tom Route36 wrote:
>> Hi Mark,
>>
>> You're my hero.  I guess I'm still a newbie here.  The idea of using 
>> a variable in the template transaction never occurred to me.  I 
>> wasn't even aware of the possibility of doing that.  In looking thru 
>> the GnuCash manual for tips about scheduling , I never saw any 
>> mention there about variables at all.  (But feel free to point me to 
>> the documentation if I missed it.)
>>
>> Anyway, by plugging in a variable name in my template transactions, 
>> that pretty much takes care of my laziness. Essentially, I just 
>> create those 8 scheduled transactions once -- with a variable name 
>> for each amount. And then I never have to edit those schedules 
>> again.  I just plug in the correct amount whenever each transaction 
>> comes due and gets created. Easy!  That's what I was looking for.
>>
>> Thanks for your help,
>> Tom
>>
>>
>> On 06/02/2026 12:50 PM, Mark Bourne wrote:
>>> I don't know if it would ease the burden of editing the 
>>> transactions, but you can use variables in the template transactions 
>>> and the "Since Last Run" dialog will then prompt for the value(s) 
>>> each time the transaction is due.  Where you would normally fill in 
>>> debit/credit amounts in the template transaction, instead enter a 
>>> word such as "estimate".  Use the same word in both splits, and 
>>> it'll prompt for the value for "estimate" each time the transaction 
>>> is due and use the value you enter for the transaction.
>>>
>>> That would avoid needing to go into each template transaction to 
>>> edit the amounts, at the expense of needing to manually enter the 
>>> amount each time.
>>>
>>> Another workaround would be to schedule the transaction for every 
>>> month, and just select to skip entering the transaction in the 
>>> "Since Last Run" dialog when it comes up in the months you don't 
>>> need it.
>>>
>>> Neither of those options is perfect, more a matter of working out 
>>> what's least inconvenient ;)
>>>
>>> Mark.
>>>
>>>
>>> Tom Route36 wrote:
>>>> Hi Liz,
>>>>
>>>> I know what you're saying as far as GnuCash handling things "under 
>>>> the hood" once the transactions are setup.  The reason it's a bit 
>>>> annoying (at least once a year) is that I usually need to adjust 
>>>> the estimated payments each year.  So it would be easier to only 
>>>> have to adjust 2 scheduled transactions, rather than having to edit 
>>>> and update 8 of them individually every year.
>>>>
>>>> As I said, it's really minor.  But if anyone had come up with an 
>>>> easy way to handle these kinds of irregular schedules it would be 
>>>> useful to know about it.  Editing 2 each year is better than 
>>>> editing 8. (Hey, I'll admit I'm lazy.)
>>>>
>>>> Tom
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On 06/01/2026 10:00 PM, Liz wrote:
>>>>> On Mon, 1 Jun 2026 20:51:01 -0600
>>>>> Tom Route36<tom.route36 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I know this isn't a big issue. But I'm just wondering if it's
>>>>>> possible to combine those 8 scheduled transactions into just 2.  Any
>>>>>> advice would be appreciated.
>>>>> I don't know of any way to do that.
>>>>> I would also note that once they are all scheduled it doesn't really
>>>>> matter how they appear in the editor for scheduled transactions, as
>>>>> Gnucash handles the rest under the hood.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have had 12 monthly tax payments listed, 4 occurring regularly at
>>>>> quarterly intervals with one set of splits, and the other 8 on the
>>>>> fill in months with a second set of splits.
>>>>>
>>>>> I made separate entries for the second group as the only way I 
>>>>> found to
>>>>> manage this in Gnucash.
>>>>> It was then of no concern until I needed to cancel eight separate
>>>>> entries.
>>>>>
>>>>> Liz
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