Even if there was a function to get the current balance of a credit card, I would be opposed to using a Scheduled Transaction for this -- what if you neglected to enter a charge? Assuming you reconcile credit card statements, turning on the prompt to enter a payment after you reconcile may be an excellent way to go.
On Wed, Sep 10, 2025 at 4:01 AM Tom Route-36 <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Stan, > > I think your solution here may hold the most promise if I can't find > something that works better. I especially like the fact that the > checking account balance on any given date matches your actual (real) > checking account balance -- unlike R Losey's method. That's important > to me. And then you're entering future transactions in the register to > keep track of what your checking account balance will be on any given > future date as those payments become due. So that makes good sense to > me as well. The one thing that I don't like though is that GnuCash > already includes the concept of Scheduled Transactions. It seems like > there should be an easy way to tap into that feature to keep track of > how large a checking account balance will be needed -- in real time -- > to pay off those upcoming credit card bills. And I'd like to be able to > do that without having to enter future transactions into the checking > account register to keep track of that. Still, I might end up going > with your method if I can't get Scheduled Transactions to work the way > I'd like them to work. > > Tom > > > > On 9/9/2025 9:14 PM, Stan Brown (using GC 4.14) wrote: > > On 2025-09-09 18:39, R Losey wrote: > >> Sometimes you can come to a solution by looking at it another way. How > >> about this solution (which I use): > >> > >> Create a "Credit" sub-account under the checking account. Whenever you > >> enter transactions (I enter them weekly, but some people enter them as > they > >> occur, and others enter them every day or two). Anyway, after entering > my > >> credit transactions, I then look at the current "credit" sub-account > >> balance, and the credit card balance, and transfer money from the > checking > >> account to the "credit" sub-account. The amount is "Current Credit > Balance" > >> minus "Credit sub-account balance". For example, if my "credit" > sub-account > >> has $85, and my credit card shows a balance of $114.68, I need to > transfer > >> $29.68 from the checking account to the credit sub-account. It will then > >> show $114.68, and my checking account register will be lowered by > $114.68. > >> > >> By doing this, you effectively move money out of the checking account > >> register (so it shows what you have left), and there should always be > funds > >> in the credit account to pay the credit card. > >> > >> When you pay the credit card off, you then transfer funds out of the > credit > >> sub-account and into the checking account. > > > > I do it a bit differently -- as the saying goes, there are many ways to > > skin a cat. My practice doesn't need extra accounts or transactions that > > don't reflect an actual movement of money. It took me about seven years > > to come to the realization that the answer that works for me is future > > transactions, as opposed to scheduled transactions. > > > > I'm not arguing against R Losey's approach, just offering mine as an > > alternative that works in a different way to accomplish the goal. > > > > In Edit » Preferences, I have ticked Register » "Future transactions > > after blank transaction" and Numbers » "Display negative amounts in red". > > > > I'll explain my process by example. Let's suppose that my checking > > balance on 10 May is $450. > > > > On 12 May I get a credit-card statement showing a balance of $200, and > > payment is due on 7 June. In my checking account register, I enter a > > payment of $200 to that credit card, with a date of 2025-06-07 not > > 2025-05-12. In the Description field I include the date I entered this > > transaction, just in case I need to go back and check anything. (Unless > > it's autopay, pulled from my checking account by the credit-card > > account, I also initiate a bill pay to that credit card on my bank's > > website, to take place on 2025-06-07.) The transaction appears below a > > blank line in both registers. I still see the current checking balance > > of $450, but I also see the future balance of $250. > > > > On 18 May another credit-card bill comes in, for $300 due on 13 June. I > > enter the $300 payment with a date of 2025-06-13, the date the money > > will come from my checking account. Now I see these balances in my > > checking register: > > > > 2025-05-10 (present) $450 > > 2025-06-07 (future) $250 > > 2025-06-13 (future, in red) ($50) > > > > At a glance, I see that I need to transfer at least $50 from savings to > > checking by 06-13. So I schedule a $60 transfer with my bank for 06-12, > > to keep at least $10 in checking. Now my checking balances are > > > > 2025-05-10 (present) $450 > > 2025-06-07 (future) $250 > > 2025-06-12 (future) $310 > > 2025-06-13 (future, in black) ($10) > > > > The only scheduled transactions are my Social Security benefit (changes > > only every 12 months) and my annuity (never changes). The SX are dated > > the dates payment will be received, but I have the transactions set to > > fire well in advance, so that those payments are also visible in the > > future section of my checking account. Thus I don't arrange for > > unnecessary transfers from savings, if incoming payments will cover the > > future outgoings. (If I were still working I'd do the same thing with > > salary payments.) > > > > I've been doing things this way since late last year, and compared to my > > old method it gives me much greater confidence that I'm not going to > > overdraw my account or transfer money from savings when I don't actually > > need to. > > > > _______________________________________________ > gnucash-user mailing list > [email protected] > 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. > -- _________________________________ Richard Losey [email protected] Micah 6:8 _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] 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. 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