Kevin, Split is a misnomer for the two or more entries to two or more accounts which constitute a transaction. It derives from the name given to the internal data structure used in the GnuCash coding to represent each entry of a transaction. The other aspect of a transaction is that the sum of the debit entries and the sum of credit entries of the transaction must be equal. This is a necessary part of the double entry accounting system.
When you create a transaction in GnuCash it is usually done in the register (display of the existing transactions in a given account - quite often an account representing a bank account for example). The View Menu item allows you to set either the Basic Ledger, Auto-Split Ledger, or Transaction Journal mode for the display. You begin by entering the date and Description in the appropriate fields on a blank line at the bottom of the register display. In Auto- Split Mode you will see a second line open up with an Action heading on the left hand side. This is the first entry (or split) of the transaction. The Description field on this line is a memo only associated with this entry of the transaction. You can enter something appropriate or leave it blank. If you click somewhere in this second line, it usually changes color indicating that it is active. The four columns on the right are the Account, Debit, Credit and Balance. If you then left click on the Account column a down pointing arrow appears at the right of the column. left clicking on the arrow will bring up a dropdown list of the accounts you have setup in your books from which you select an account appropriate to the transaction. Nest you enter an amount in either the debit or credit column (which will depend upon the account selected and the nature of the transaction. ( see the basic concepts section in the GnuCash guide (https://gnucash-docs-rst.readthedocs.io/en/latest/guide/C/ch_basics.html ). If you then hit the <Tab> key anothe line will open up - this is where you enter the data for the second entry of the transaction. Again there is a memo fiels associated with this entry and you will notice that the amount you enetred in either the debit or credit column on the first line will automatically be enterd in the other column on this line. If your transaction only has two entries this will be the appropriate value to enter. Again if you left click in the Account field the Arrow to select from the list of accounts will appear and you select the account appropraite for the transaction you are entering. If the transaction only has two entries, then you are done and if you hit the <Enter> key, the transaction will be added. If your transaction has more than 2 entries (e.g. a purchase where you pay a tax which you must account for the tax), change the debit or credit column amount to the amount that is appropriate for the account you have selected and instead of hitting the <Enter> key, hit the <Tab> key. A third line will now open up. The debit or credit column will display an amount where with the debit and credit entries on the previous two lines the sum of debita and credits will be equal. Again you can optionally enter a comment in the memo field and select an account by clicking in the account field as on the previous lines. If this completes the transaction you are entering hit the e<Enter> key to record the transaction and if another entry is required change the value of the debit or credit entry as appropriate then again hit the <Tab> key to get anothe new line and repaet as above until you have entered all the entries for your transaction. David Cousens On Wed, 2024-04-10 at 12:26 -0700, Kevin Wilcoxon via gnucash-user wrote: > Newbie here. You're a very sophisticated group! I believe I have > mastered all the tasks I need in GnuCash 5.6 except creating split > transactions. I've tried searching the internet and following > instructions without sucess. Would some wise user please provide > simple > and workable instructions to enter these split transactions, or point > me > to where I can find them. > > Thank you very much > Kevin Wilcoxon > > _______________________________________________ > gnucash-user mailing list > gnucash-user@gnucash.org > To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: > https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user > ----- > Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. > You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
