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

[David T.]

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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