And, since we're in a clarifying mode, I'll note that placeholder accounts most certainly can contain transactions. You just can't (generally speaking*) add new transactions to a placeholder account.
I have dozens of placeholder accounts with transactions in them-- for example, accounts that have been closed. Setting an account as a placeholder ensures that the account doesn't display in transfer account drop down windows. David T. * I've encountered corner cases where an action created a transaction in a placeholder account. I don't recall these at this moment. On May 27, 2026 3:26:59 AM GMT+05:30, Adrien Monteleone <[email protected]> wrote: >Larry, > >Just to clarify because I've seen this general topic before: (on not being >able to enter certain transactions) > >You can't enter transactions in the Top-Level accounts because they are >placeholders. Placeholders are just that, they hold place in the account tree, >but are not usable accounts that can hold transactions. > >All of the Top-Level accounts: Assets, Expenses, Income, Liabilities, Equity & >Trading, are Placeholder accounts. Users have to create sub-accounts under >these placeholders as types that match them. (it *is* possible to have >mis-matched types in the tree, but not recommended) > >You can also create your own sub-account placeholders at various points in >your account tree. Those can't hold transactions either. > >Regards, >Adrien > >On 5/25/26 12:48 PM, David T. via gnucash-user wrote: >> You most definitely can have transactions in an equity account. There's >> nothing special about them. > >> On May 25, 2026 4:34:14 PM GMT+05:30, Lawrence Whalen <[email protected]> >> wrote: > >>> David if you have the funds in an equity account how do you show they are >>> drawn >>> if you use them as far as I've seen so far you can't modify or use an >>> equity account in gnucash for a transaction. > >_______________________________________________ >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.
