I have couple of unorthodox use for those type of transactions. One is to link to individual important estate planning documents in an account and then I reconcile when I review them so that way I have a note when I last reviewed. I also update/add individual transaction date when such document is updated so I have a full running history what was updated when. Reports are also available on them if needed.
Such workflow just mends into the natural workflow of GNC register. -----Original Message----- From: Marty Landman <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, September 04, 2026 11:34 AM To: Derek Atkins <[email protected]> Cc: GnuCash Users <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [GNC] empty transactions Out of curiosity, since I am neither an accountant nor a bookkeeper. Is there a valid reason that someone might want to enter such a transaction? On 9/4/2026 10:05 AM, Derek Atkins wrote: > There is an account -- the open register into which you've entered the > transaction. > > There is no TRANSFER account, but that's not required because the > transaction is balanced by the $0 amount. If you had a value in there > the scrubber would just insert it into your Imbalance account. > > So I repeat -- train yourself to not hit Enter until you're done > entering your transaction. > > -derek > > On Fri, September 4, 2026 10:00 am, Marty Landman wrote: >> How is the transaction considered valid when there is no account? >> IMHO not choosing an account should cause the trx to fail validation. >> >> On 9/4/2026 9:36 AM, Derek Atkins wrote: >>> Hi, >>> I wouldn't call it a feature, but I wouldn't call it a bug. I would >>> call it "GnuCash is doing exactly what you tell it to do". Namely, >>> once you edit ANY field in the new transaction it is considered >>> "completed" -- and if you hit Enter it will run through the "is this >>> a balanced transaction" >>> tester (NB: 0 == 0: Balanced) and get committed. >>> >>> So you're basically saying that you want to enter a transaction with >>> a specific date, but without a description (this is allowed) and >>> with >>> $0.00 >>> amount (also allowed). >>> >>> Train yourself to not hit Enter prematurely. >>> >>> -derek >>> >>> On Fri, September 4, 2026 9:15 am, Marty Landman wrote: >>>> Notice that GnuCash creates empty transactions having nothing in it >>>> but the date when altering the date on a blank transaction and entering. >>>> >>>> I accidentally create these on a semi-steady basis and then have to >>>> find and remove them. Is this a feature for some reason? Can I >>>> remove this ability through configuration somehow? Or get a warning >>>> before blank trx's are created? >>>> >>>> Marty >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> 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. >>>> > _______________________________________________ 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.
