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This section is a "work in process" all of the material has not been reviewed for V2.0. While it may not be strictly accurate, it is at least a "guide". | |
GnuCash uses accounts as a way of grouping or organizing the recording of transactions. Transactions are entered into the Account Register Window. This section describes the tools GnuCash has to help enter transactions quickly into the register.
A represents the movement of money from one account to another account. Whenever you spend or receive money, or transfer money between accounts, that is a transaction. In GnuCash transactions always involve at least two accounts.
GnuCash has several options to change the way the register looks so transactions can be seen more clearly. The default style is the Basic Ledger. This presents a single line view of transactions to allow the most concise view with all the relevant details.
The default view or style can be changed by going to View -> Style. When the window closes the style will revert to the Basic Ledger style. To make this change permanent change the style in the Preferences in the Register section.
Basic Ledger: The default one line per transaction style. Splits are shown as a summary.
Auto-Split Ledger: This style will automatically expand the splits in any transaction selected.
Transaction Journal: This style expands all transactions so the complete transaction can be seen.
Double Line: This check-box changes any of the above styles so that an additional line for notes about the transaction is added.
The two other options to change the view of the register is to restrict the Date Range and change the Sort Order. These are both accessible from the View menu.
When the Account Register Window for an account is opened the list of transactions for that account is shown. This window has the name of the account on its title bar. The menus contain several functions that alter the display of transactions. The toolbar also contains several functions that are used often when entering transactions. These are described in the Account Register Window section of this help.
GnuCash has two methods available for entering transactions. Entering directly into the register window is the most common way of entering transactions. The Transfer Funds Window is the second method.
The register window will look slightly different depending on the style options you have chosen. The following describes entering transactions in the basic ledger style. The cursor is placed in the date field by default when the register window is opened.
Selecting the triangle icon on the right of the date field drops down a date selection dialog. Use the arrows to select the correct month and year for the transaction then select the date. Selecting the triangle icon once more will close the date selection dialog. It is also possible to type in the date or part of the date and let GnuCash fill the rest.
Press tab to move or select the Num field. Here you can enter a check or transaction number. Pressing '+' (plus) will automatically advance the number by one from the last transaction to have a number.
Press tab to move or select the Description field. This field is used to enter either a payee or other description for the transaction. It will automatically attempt to fill the payee name as you type.
At this stage two things will happen if tab is pressed. If GnuCash matches an existing transaction the cursor will jump to one of the amount fields, automatically filling in the transfer account. If there is no existing transaction GnuCash will move the cursor to the Transfer field. Selecting the Transfer field with the mouse instead of tabbing will not automatically fill the Transfer field.
When typing in the Transfer field GnuCash will also attempt to automatically match the account. It does this alphabetically, so typing 'Ex' will match the Expenses section of the account list. When the section is matched, it is possible to move to a child account by pressing ':' (colon). If after typing 'Ex' you press ':' then the cursor will move to the first child account in the list. Typing combinations of letters and ':' will allow movement down the tree of accounts quickly. The triangle icon on the right of the Transfer box can be used as an alternate way of selecting accounts.
The next field is used for reconciliation. This is described in the To Reconcile an Account to a Statement section above.
Press tab to move to the first of the amount fields. The name of the next two columns is different according to what type of account is opened. For example, Bank accounts show Deposit and Withdrawal here, Credit Card accounts show Payment and Charge, and Stock accounts show Shares, Price, Buy and Sell.
Enter an amount for the transaction in the correct field. Pressing the Enter key, selecting the Enter icon or going to Actions -> Enter will finish the transaction. Selecting the Cancel icon or going to Actions -> Cancel will erase the transaction.
Transactions with just one transfer account will show the name of that account in the Transfer field in completed transactions.
To move to the blank transaction at the bottom of the register, press the Blank toolbar icon or go to Actions -> Blank
The method described here uses the Transfer Funds Window to enter a single transaction. This is mainly used as a quick way to enter a single transaction without opening the account registers. To enter multiple transactions it is recommended to use the register directly.
Enter in the Transfer Information pane the Amount, Date and Description. The Num and Memo fields are optional.
Choose the Transfer From account. If this account is an income or expense account select the check-box at the bottom of the Transfer From pane.
Choose the Transfer To account. If this account is an income or expense account select the check-box at the bottom of the Transfer From pane.
If one of the accounts above is a different currency from the other account the Currency Transfer pane will be enabled to add either an Exchange Rate or a To Amount.
Select OK to commit the transaction or Cancel to dismiss the dialog without entering the transaction.
The register window will look slightly different depending on the style options you have chosen. The following describes entering transactions with multiple splits in the basic ledger style. GnuCash describes the accounts that money is transferred to or from in the currently opened transaction a Split. The cursor is placed in the date field by default when the register window is opened.
Selecting the triangle icon on the right of the date field drops down a date selection dialog. Use the arrows to select the correct month and year for the transaction then select the date. Selecting the triangle icon once more will close the date selection dialog. It is also possible to type in the date or part of the date and let GnuCash fill the rest.
Press tab to move or select the Num field. Here you can enter a check or transaction number. Pressing '+' (plus) will automatically advance the number by one from the last transaction to have a number.
Press tab to move or select the Description field. This field is used to enter either a payee or other description for the transaction. It will automatically attempt to fill the payee name as you type.
At this stage two things will happen if tab is pressed. If GnuCash matches an existing transaction the cursor will jump to one of the amount fields, automatically filling in the transfer account. If there is no existing transaction GnuCash will move the cursor to the Transfer field. Selecting the Transfer field with the mouse instead of tabbing will not automatically fill the Transfer field.
When typing in the Transfer field GnuCash will also attempt to automatically match the account. It does this alphabetically, so typing 'Ex' will match the Expenses section of the account list. When the section is matched, it is possible to move to a child account by pressing ':' (colon). If after typing 'Ex' you press ':' then the cursor will move to the first child account in the list. Typing combinations of letters and ':' will allow movement down the tree of accounts quickly. The triangle icon on the right of the Transfer box can be used as an alternate way of selecting accounts.
The next field is used for reconciliation. This is described in the To Reconcile an Account to a Statement section above.
Press tab to move to the first of the amount fields. The name of the next two columns is different according to what type of account is opened. For example, Bank accounts show Deposit and Withdrawal here, Credit Card accounts show Payment and Charge, and Stock accounts show Shares, Price, Buy and Sell.
Enter the total amount for the transaction in the correct field.
To enter the additional splits, press the Split button on the toolbar or select Actions -> Split Transaction. Transactions with more than one split show '-!!-Split Transaction-!!-' and the Split button will need to be used to show the details.
The display will expand, the titles of the amount columns will be renamed and the Transfer column name will be blank. The first line contains the description and the amount of the transaction. The second line contains the currently opened account name in the Account field and the amount of the transaction. The third line contains the transfer account name in the Account field. If the amount is not balanced GnuCash will indicate this by placing gray check-boxes in the amount columns with the unbalanced amount in a blank fourth row.
When one of the short lines is selected, the column titles will change. The very first and last (Date and Balance) columns will have blank titles. Num will change to Action, Description to Memo, the now blank Transfer column will change to Account. The last two amount columns will show the name described in step seven.
The Action and Memo columns are optional to fill out at this stage. Action is used to describe what kind of account transfer is involved. Memo is an additional description of the transfer.
Move to the missing amount field on the third line and fill in the amount. Pressing the Enter key, selecting the Enter icon or going to Actions -> Enter will now move the cursor to the next line.
The Account column contains the list of transfer accounts. This column is the one that is used to add splits. The method described in step five can be used to select another account on a blank line. Add as many additional splits as needed.
When the transaction is balanced the gray check-boxes will disappear and the last blank line will not have an amount.
Pressing enter as described above past the blank line will jump to the next transaction. Selecting the next transaction will close the split or it can be manually closed by pressing the Split icon or selecting Actions -> Split Transaction.
Currently transfers between different currencies are only supported by using the Transfer Funds Window described above. It is necessary to use this dialog to add an exchange rate.
To setup an account as a different currency edit the account properties and change the Commodity field to the foreign currency. This account will now enable the Currency Transfer pane in the Transfer Funds Window.
Editing a transaction involves just selecting the part of the transaction that needs to be changed. Once the changes are made pressing the Enter key, selecting the Enter icon or going to Actions -> Enter will now move the cursor to the next line or transaction.
To see a more detailed view of a transaction for editing, press the Split button on the toolbar or select Actions -> Split Transaction.
If a transaction needs to be removed from the register, select the transaction and press either the Delete icon on the toolbar or go to Actions -> Delete. Parts of a transaction can also be removed by pressing the Split button on the toolbar or selecting Actions -> Split Transaction. The part of the transaction that needs to be deleted can be then selected for deletion.
Removing Transaction Splits involves erasing all splits except the one for the account that is opened. This is a useful way of reusing a previous transaction that has multiple splits that need to be changed. (Note this can be done without opening the split, but doing so makes the effect more visible)
Press the Split button on the toolbar or select Actions -> Split Transaction to open the transaction.
Select Actions -> Remove Transaction Splits.
All Accounts and their related details will be removed except for the currently opened account.
The amount is not balanced and GnuCash will indicate this by placing gray check-boxes in the amount columns with the unbalanced amount in the blank last row.
Edit the transaction to fill in the new details.
Copying Transactions is available from both the Edit menu and the Actions menu. The Edit menu has Cut Transaction, Copy Transaction and Paste Transaction which allows a whole transaction to be cut or copied and pasted to a new transaction line. This way of copying a transaction will use the date showing in the new transaction blank line.
The Actions menu also contains Duplicate Transaction... which unlike the previous method allows for choosing a different date.
Select the transaction to duplicate.
Go to Actions -> Duplicate Transaction...
A dialog called Duplicate Transaction will prompt for a new Date and Num for the transaction.
Press OK to add the transaction to the register.
Scheduled Transactions provide the ability to have transactions automatically entered into the register at a specified time. The Scheduled Transaction Editor is used to create and edit transactions that are to be added to the register in an automated way. This is combined with the Since Last Run druid to review and enter the transactions. The Mortgage & Loan Repayment druid is used to setup a scheduled transaction to repay a compounding interest loan.
The easiest way to setup a scheduled transaction is to use an existing transaction in an account register as a template. Select the account you wish to use as a template and then either select the Schedule icon on the toolbar of go to Actions -> Schedule... This will bring up the Make Scheduled Transaction dialog.
Name: Enter here a name to use for the scheduled transaction. This will be used in the Description file of the transaction.
Frequency: Choose the time period you want between scheduled entries. The dates that the transactions will be entered will show in the mini calendar pane to the right.
Start Date: Choose a date for the scheduled transaction to start.
Never End: This scheduled transaction has no finish date.
End Date: Choose a date for the scheduled transaction to end.
Number of Occurrences: Enter the number of times you wish the scheduled transaction to be added to the register.
The Advanced... button brings up the Scheduled Transaction Editor's dialog to Edit the Scheduled Transaction. This is described in the next section.
The Scheduled Transaction Editor is used to access the list of scheduled transactions and edit or remove them. It also provides a calendar which lists upcoming scheduled transactions. Clicking on the calendar view and hovering over any date will pop up a small dialog that shows the transactions scheduled for that day. The yellow highlight in the calendar indicates which days have scheduled transactions. To dismiss the hover dialog click once more.
The Scheduled Transaction Editor is accessed by going to Actions -> Scheduled Transactions -> Scheduled Transaction Editor. Selecting a transaction from the list and pressing Edit or pressing New will bring up the Edit Scheduled Transaction dialog.
The Edit Scheduled Transaction dialog is described in the Tool Windows section of this help. This section will describe how to add a new transaction manually.
Enter a name for the scheduled transaction.
Choose a Frequency in the Recurrence Frequency pane.
Select the details in the bottom part of the Recurrence Frequency pane. The changes are highlighted in the calendar view below.
Select from the Options pane if the transaction is to be created automatically and/or the number of days in advance. Options for reminding in advance and when automatically created can also be selected. Creating automatically cannot use variables in splits.
Select the End options. This can either be No End, a specific End Date or a certain Number of
Enter the transaction in the Template Transaction. This should be similar to entering a transaction in the register.
The Since Last Run druid is run automatically when GnuCash is started. It is used to enter into the register any transactions that are due to be automatically entered. The run on GnuCash start can be altered in the preferences. To run the Since Last Run druid manually go to Actions -> Scheduled Transactions -> Since Last Run...
The Since Last Run druid will automatically skip any screens that have no transactions. The following describes every possible screen the druid will show. The three buttons at the very bottom of the screen will not change while using the druid.
The Cancel button is used to exit the druid and cancel entering the transactions. Any selections you have made in this druid up to this point will be lost.
The Back button will bring up the previous screen so you can change a selection made on that screen.
The Forward button will bring up the next screen so you can continue though the druid.
The first screen shows Transaction Reminders page. This lists scheduled transactions that have been set to give a reminder a number of days in advance. The screen contains three columns. The first column contains the name of the scheduled transaction and the date it is due. The second column contains the Frequency of the scheduled transaction. The third column has the number of Days Away the transaction is due to be entered. To create any transactions in the list instead of just being reminded, select the date line. This will add it to the list of transactions on the To-Create Transaction Preparation page.
The next screen shows the Auto-Created Transactions Notification page. This lists scheduled transactions that have been set to be automatically created and notify when they are created. Each transaction is presented in a register view that shows the details of the splits in the transaction.
The next screen shows the To-Create Transaction Preparation page. This lists scheduled transactions that are due to be entered in the register. This screen is divided into three panes. The top left pane contains the list of transactions due to be automatically entered. The top right pane allows you to change the Disposition and has a read only view of the Variables used to create the transaction. The bottom pane contains a read only view of the transactions due to be entered.
The next screen shows the Created Transaction Review page. This screen displays the list of transactions about to be created and allows for final changes to be made. The list is presented in a register view that shows the details of the splits in the transaction. This is editable in the same way transactions are able to be edited in the register.
The last screen shows the Obsolete Scheduled Transactions page. This screen displays a list of scheduled transactions that are able to be deleted as the schedule is completed. Select the ones to be removed.
The Cancel button is used to exit the druid and cancel creating the scheduled transactions. Any selections you have made in this druid up to this point will be lost.
The Back button will bring up the previous screen so you can change a selection made on that screen.
The Finish button creates the accounts you have selected.
The Since Last Run druid has now added the scheduled transactions to the register.
This druid creates a loan repayment scheduled transaction. When used to setup a scheduled transaction, the druid creates a variable formula so that the compounding interest is correctly calculated. To start this druid manually go to Actions -> Scheduled Transactions -> Mortgage and Loan Repayment...
The Mortgage and Loan Repayment druid opens with a screen that briefly describes what this druid does. The three buttons at the very bottom of the screen will not change while using the druid.
The Cancel button is used to exit the druid and cancel creating the scheduled transaction. Any selections you have made in this druid up to this point will be lost.
The Back button will bring up the previous screen so you can change a selection made on that screen.
The Forward button will bring up the next screen so you can continue though the druid.
The next screen allows you to enter the basic loan information. This is usually the information provided by the bank when loan and disclosure documents are given to the borrower. Here you can also setup an account that the scheduled transaction will use to enter the payment transaction.
Loan Account: Choose an account for the loan payment transactions or use New... to setup a new account for the transactions.
Loan Amount: Enter the amount of the loan.
Interest Rate: Enter the loan interest rate.
Type: Choose the type of loan. If an adjustable rate is used the frequency screen is enabled.
Interest Rate Change Frequency: Choose the frequency for the rate change and the start date of the rate change.
Start Date: Choose the date the loan is starting on.
Length: Enter the length of the loan.
Months Remaining: This should be automatically calculated. Choose how many months are remaining on the loan.
The next screen is used to set escrow, insurance and tax options for the loan. It is mainly used for mortgage payments. When each of the options here is set, this enables additional pages in the druid to setup those portions of the payments. All of the pages will be described here, even though some may not show if that option is not chosen.
... utilize an escrow account for payments?: This selection enables the use of an account setup for tracking escrow payments. If the mortgage or loan uses an escrow account to pay taxes, insurance, etc then setup an account here.
... pay "Taxes"?: adds an additional page to setup a scheduled transaction to pay taxes.
... pay "Insurance"?: adds an additional page to setup a scheduled transaction to pay insurance payments.
... pay "PMI"?: adds an additional page to setup a scheduled transaction to pay PMI payments.
... pay "Other Expense"?: adds an additional page to setup a scheduled transaction to pay other expenses.
The next screen is used to setup the details of the scheduled transaction for the Loan Repayment.
Transaction Memo: The name entered here will be used as the name for the scheduled transaction, the description of the scheduled transaction and the memo.
Payment Amount: Shows the variable used to calculate the payment amount.
Payment From: Choose an account to pay the loan amount from.
Principal To: Choose an account to transfer the principal part of the loan to.
Interest To: Choose an account to transfer the interest part of the loan to.
Remainder to: Choose an account to transfer the rest of the payment amount to.
Repayment Frequency: Select the Frequency and start date for loan repayments.
The next screen is used to setup the details of the scheduled transaction for the Tax payment.
Transaction Memo: The name entered here will be used as the name for the scheduled transaction, the description of the scheduled transaction and the memo.
Amount: Enter the payment amount.
Payment From: Choose an account to pay the tax amount from.
Payment To: Choose an account to transfer the tax payment to.
Repayment Frequency: Select the Frequency and start date for tax payments.
The next screen is used to setup the details of the scheduled transaction for the Insurance payment.
Transaction Memo: The name entered here will be used as the name for the scheduled transaction, the description of the scheduled transaction and the memo.
Amount: Enter the payment amount.
Payment From: Choose an account to pay the insurance amount from.
Payment To: Choose an account to transfer the insurance payment to.
Repayment Frequency: Select the Frequency and start date for insurance payments.
The next screen is used to setup the details of the scheduled transaction for the PMI payment.
Transaction Memo: The name entered here will be used as the name for the scheduled transaction, the description of the scheduled transaction and the memo.
Amount: Enter the payment amount.
Payment From: Choose an account to pay the PMI amount from.
Payment To: Choose an account to transfer the PMI payment to.
Repayment Frequency: Select the Frequency and start date for PMI payments.
The next screen is used to setup the details of the scheduled transaction for the Other Expense payment.
Transaction Memo: The name entered here will be used as the name for the scheduled transaction, the description of the scheduled transaction and the memo.
Amount: Enter the payment amount.
Payment From: Choose an account to pay the other expense amount from.
Payment To: Choose an account to transfer the other expense payment to.
Repayment Frequency: Select the Frequency and start date for other expense payments.
The last screen gives you a list of three choices to finish the druid.
The Cancel button is used to exit the druid and cancel creating a new loan scheduled transaction. Any selections you have made in this druid up to this point will be lost.
The Back button will bring up the previous screen so you can change a selection made on that screen.
The Finish button creates the scheduled transaction.
You should now have the Mortgage or Loan Repayment scheduled transaction setup.
Checks are printed in GnuCash from the account register. GnuCash provides the ability to print to standard Quicken Checks (US Letter) or to make a custom check format. Check position and Date formats are also customizable.
To access the check printing feature in GnuCash, select the transaction to print a check for and go to File -> Print Check. This will open the Print Check properties dialog.
The Print Check dialog has two tabs. The first tab, Options, is used to setup the most common options to print a check. The second tab, Custom format, is used to setup the position of various fields on the check. It is useful to print a test check to a plain piece of paper first and use that to make any adjustments needed.
The default selection in Options is for Quicken/Quickbooks (tm) US-Letter checks.
Check format: Test with Quicken first then use custom if the position is incorrect.
Check position: This sets if the Top, Middle or Bottom check is printed. Custom is used if the position of the checks on the page is incorrect.
Date format: The default here is set in the Preferences International section. Choose a date format. This can also be adjusted by the Use of the Months: and Years: lines. Custom allows the date format to be set in the Format: box (%m means month, %d means day, %Y means year) A Sample of the format chosen is displayed below.
The Custom check format contains two columns to enter in the X and Y co-ordinates of the field position on the check. Positions in the Custom Check Format entry area are specified with x = 0 at the left edge of the check with x increasing to the right, and y = 0 at the bottom edge of the check with y increasing as you travel up.
Payee:
Date:
Amount (words):
Amount (numbers):
Memo:
Check position:
Date format:
Units: Set the unit to use for the above positions.
Once OK is pressed on the Print Check dialog the Print GnuCash Document dialog is presented. Press OK to print the check.