&Michael.T.Edwardes; &Michael.T.Edwardes.mail;
&Roger.Lum; &Roger.Lum.mail;
2010-07-23
4.5

# Ledgers

## The Ledger View

The Ledger view is where most of the functionality of &kappname; lies. This view is for examining and entering transaction data in the various accounts. The view is split into three main areas: the filter area, the transaction list, and the input area.

This view allows for several key actions: searching and viewing transactions, entering new transactions, and editing or deleting existing transactions. Other functionality includes modifying account details and reconciling the account.

Ledger View

The view has three elements:

- The filter area

- The transaction list

- The transaction input form, which may or may not appear, depending upon your configuration.

### The filter area

Filter area

You can select an account via the account dropdown list at the top of the view area. Note that depending upon the type of the account the transaction input form at the bottom of the view changes.

To the right of the account dropdown list, are two additional fields. The search box acts as a filter on the transactions that are shown in the list view. Only transactions that include the text typed in the search box are displayed. The text specified can be in any of the fields of the transaction. The status field is a dropdown list. Only transactions of the type selected in that dropdown are displayed.

### The transaction list

Transaction list

After you have entered a transaction, it is displayed in the transaction list. You can also change transaction properties or even create new transactions directly in the list. In the transactions list, the default arrangement of transactions is sorted by date with the most recent transaction on the bottom. Clicking the Right Mouse Button on the header of the transaction list brings up a dialog that allows you to change the sort order of the transactions. For instructions on how to change the default sort order, see the Sorting tab section of the &kappname; Settings Chapter.

Note that the balance column is based on the currently displayed sort order, and will not be calculated if the display is filtered by the search box or transaction type dropdown, as described above.

At the bottom of the transaction list, &kappname; displays three values:

#### Last reconciled

This is the most recent date on which you reconciled this account. Reconciliation is an important process for many accounts, and is described here.

#### Cleared

This is the total of all cleared and reconciled transactions in this account. See this section for more information about the cleared and reconciled states of transactions.

#### Balance

This is where &kappname; displays the total balance of the account, which is the sum of all transactions in the account. However, if you select more than one transaction in the transaction list, this changes to display the sum of the selected transactions. This returns to the balance when only one transaction is selected.

### The transaction input form

The exact layout of the bottom area of the ledger view depends on your configuration and the type of account being displayed. However, it generally includes fields for all the details of a single transaction, as well as buttons for various actions that can apply to a transaction. It is described in more detail in the following sections.

## Entering Transactions

There are two methods of entering transactions into the ledger: using the transaction input form and entering the data directly into the transaction list. The transaction input form is displayed by default and this is the method we will discuss first.

The fields in the input area match the information fields in the transactions list. Additional fields include the Memo field, for a more detailed description of the transaction, and a Category selection. The Split button allows you to split the transaction into multiple categories.

## Using the transaction input form

Transaction Form

The transaction input form at the bottom of the ledger view is the interface for creating transactions.

Depending upon the type or method of transaction you wish to enter there are several tabs available on the transaction form. Click on the tab that best describes your transaction (deposit, transfer, or withdrawal) and the form will load several fields ready for your input.

Please note that the actual transaction method is not used directly by &kappname; but is purely for grouping/reporting purposes.

If you are unsure which method to choose simply use Deposit for any money going into the account, Withdrawal for money coming out of the account, and Transfer for money moving from one account to another. The transaction methods and the differences between them are discussed in more detail elsewhere.

Select the transaction method by clicking on one of the tabs.

### The fields of a transaction

Enter the information using the following notes on the available fields. Note that many fields have 'Auto Completion' turned on. That is, if you start typing, &kappname; will offer alternatives matching the characters you have entered so far. To select an entry click on it using the mouse or keyboard, or if your entry is not listed keep typing to add the new value. The next time you type the value in, &kappname; will find it for you after the first few characters have been input.

#### The Payee

The Payee is who the money came from/to. If the payee is a new entry &kappname; will ask if you wish to add this to the list of Payees. Any other information related to a payee or payer, such as address details can be updated in the Payees view later.

#### The Category

The Category associates a transaction with an income or expense category for accounting and reporting purposes, and enables you to group certain transactions. Type the name of the category into the required field. If you have entered the category and it does not exist then &kappname; will ask if you want to create a new one.

If you wish to associate parts of the transaction with different categories, &kappname; can let you do that. An example transaction might be a cash machine withdrawal of 50 of which you use 10 on food, 20 on beer and 20 as spare cash. The transaction will therefore be assigned three categories: Food, Beer, and Cash. To do this, you need to use Split Transactions, which is described in more detail below.

See the special &kappname; fields section for more information on how to use this field.

#### The Memo

A multi-line memo can be entered if you wish to help you remember what the transaction was for.

#### The Check Number

The check number can be entered if needed. Note that the check number can always be visible if desired. This is configured in the Settings dialog.

#### The Date

The transaction's posting date must be entered to specify when the transaction took place. See the special &kappname; fields section for more information on how the date input field can be used to make entering dates quicker and easier.

#### The Amount

Finally, enter the transaction amount into the required field. Note that a simple calculator can be displayed, either by clicking the icon to the right of the amount field, or by entering the % character into the field, or by entering a formula, as in 12 + 3. When entering the plus sign, the calculator will be opened.

When you are satisfied that all the fields have been filled in correctly, click on Enter. If you accidentally press or click on Enter before you have finished entering all the data, click on Edit to resume entering the data.

## Directly inputting transactions into the list

Direct Transaction Entry

The second method of entering transactions into the ledger involves editing the transaction list itself directly.

To do this you must first let &kappname; know that you don't want to use the transaction form by opening the settings dialog and unchecking the Show transaction form option.

This is performed by selecting Settings Configure &kappname; from the menu bar and selecting the Register icon from the list on the left. The option to uncheck is labeled Show transaction form. When finished click on OK to be ready to directly enter transactions.

### Starting the edit

To enter a new transaction into the register you can now either click on an empty entry, press &Ctrl;Ins, or click New at the foot of the window. The Up and Down arrow keys let you navigate through the list. After pressing &Enter; or double clicking on an entry, the transaction list displays the fields required to enter the transaction and waits for input.

To move through the fields press the &Tab; key and when done press &Enter; to save the changes or &Esc; to cancel.

In case the option Use Enter to move between fields is selected, the &Enter; moves to the next field just as the TAB key except for the last entry field where it stores the data.

Which method you use to enter transactions is up to you and is a matter of personal preference.

## Split Transactions

The Split transaction feature allows you to divide up a transaction into multiple categories, representing, for example, the different items bought with a single purchase at a store.

To enter a split transaction, using either the transaction input form or the transaction list, start a new transaction as normal, including entering the total amount. Then, instead of selecting a category, click the Split button. If you have already selected a category, that becomes the first entry in the split editor screen.

In the split editor screen, double-click an empty line to enter a new sub-transaction or press &Ctrl;Ins. Specify the category, add an (optional) memo, and enter the amount. To save this part of the split, press the green check mark under the category. To cancel, press the red cross.

After entering a split, the bottom of the split editor shows how much of the total transaction is still unassigned. After entering all the splits, press the OK button to save the entire transaction. If there is still an unassigned amount, you will be prompted to either return to editing the splits, change the total transaction amount, or leave part of the transaction unassigned.

Note that the category field in the transaction input form or the transaction list now displays Split transaction.

Split transactions Split transaction

## Editing transactions

To edit a transaction, select it in the list view and either click on Edit in the transaction input form or right click on the entry and select Edit from the popup menu. If you are editing transactions directly in the list you can edit the transaction simply by double clicking on an entry or by pressing &Enter; when a transaction is highlighted.

## Deleting transactions

To delete a transaction, select it in the list view, right click on the entry, and select Delete from the popup menu when it appears, or click Delete on the transaction form.

## Matching Transactions

Generally, when importing transactions, either via QIF, OFX, or HBCI, &kappname; will automatically attempt to match them against existing transactions. To allow for differences in the dates, there is a default setting of 4 days, which may be changed in the settings - Register/Import. Any transactions so matched will be highlighted in green. On completion of the import, you should review these and either accept or unmatch them.

If you should find that an imported transaction was not automatically matched with an existing transaction when it should have matched, then it is possible to match them manually. Note that there is a difference between manually matching two transactions and simply deleting one of them, even though they may appear to have the same effect. Specifically with OFX or HBCI, it is important not to delete the imported transaction, because you will find that the next time you import your transactions, the deleted transaction shows up again. This is because modern import formats like OFX and HBCI use a Transaction ID to identify transactions. When you delete the imported transaction, the transaction ID goes with it, so the importer has no way to know this transaction was already imported.

The solution is to tell &kappname; that the transactions are the same, using the manual matching interface. This allows you to match an imported transaction with a hand-entered (non-imported) transaction. To do so, select one of the transactions to be matched by clicking on it, then select the other by left clicking on it while pressing the &Ctrl; key, and then select Match from the context menu. This changes the background color to a pale green. This will match and combine the two transactions together. The values of both transactions must be the same for the match to work, except that the dates may differ by the window specified in the settings, as described above. If you are happy with the result, right click the matched transaction, then select Accept.

During import of online statements - either directly or by importing a downloaded file - &kappname; performs matching as best as it can based on the name of the payee and the amount of the transaction. In case of an invalid match, a matched transaction can be unmatched.

The matching interface will not allow you to match two transactions which have both been imported. Likewise, it won't allow matching between two transactions which have both been entered by hand.

## Understanding the Cleared State

A transaction can have one of three states: non-reconciled, cleared (C), and reconciled (R). When you enter a transaction, it has state non-reconciled. Once the bank posts the transaction, the user can clear it and thus transform it to state (C). When you receive a statement from the bank, all cleared transactions should be on the statement.

Understanding the cleared state cleared state

When you reconcile your account, you actually mark the statements as cleared and check that the difference between the beginning balance and the cleared transactions equals the ending balance of the statement. When this is the case, you can 'finish reconciling' which actually changes the state of all cleared transactions (C) to reconciled (R).

If you try to edit a transaction with at least one split marked as reconciled (R), you will be warned.

A fourth state is defined (frozen (F)) but there's currently no way to set it. It is reserved for future use. Nevertheless, if a transaction has at least one split in state frozen it cannot be edited anymore.

## Changing Transaction Settings

There are several settings options that change the appearance and behavior of the ledger view in terms of transactions. These settings are found by selecting Settings Configure &kappname; from the menu bar, and selecting the Register icon from the list on the left.

Most of the settings are self explanatory. For clarity, several of the settings are explained below.

- Show transaction form (under the Display tab) - toggle to hide the transaction input area at the bottom of this screen. Transactions can still be entered directly into an empty line at the end of the transaction list, through an automatic compact entry area.

These images show what direct transaction entry looks like compared to the transaction form.

The transaction input form

The transaction form Transaction form

Transactions entered directly

Transactions entered directly Direct input

- Keep changes when selecting a different transaction/split - by selecting the next line in the transaction list or split editor, the changes are kept, instead of the default behavior where you have to push the green check mark to save changes.

## Other Functionality

Additional options are available from the Transaction Options menu, accessed by right-clicking any transaction in the list.

The transaction options sub-menu Transaction options

Options include jumping to the Payee's page, creating a schedule, and changing the reconciled or cleared indication.

To edit the account information from the ledger view, select Account from the menu bar. From this menu, you can change the account details, or bring up the Reconcile menu, which allows you to match transactions against an official bank statement or credit card notice.