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

A transaction always contains one or more splits. Each split represents money moving into or out of a single account. Most of the time, a transaction contains exactly two splits, one for the account the money is coming from and the other for the account the money is going to. The term “Split Transaction” is used when there are actually three or more splits, when one side of the transaction is further divided into more than one split. This is most commonly done when money moves in or out of a typical bank account, but is allocated to more than one category.

If a transaction has only one split, it is almost always said to be “unbalanced,” meaning that money is coming from somewhere, but not going anywhere (or vice versa.) Such transactions are typically flagged by being displayed in red in the Ledger. Valid transactions with a single split are usually in Investment Accounts: Add, Remove, or Split shares. The other case is where the amount of the transaction is 0, which banks sometimes produce.

To enter a split transaction, create a new transaction, entering the total amount. Then, instead of selecting a category, click the split icon at the right of the Category field. If you have already selected a category, that becomes the first entry in the split editor.

This will display the Split Editor, which shows the Category, Memo, and Payment or Deposit for each split. It also shows the total of the splits, the amount of the transaction, and the difference between them.

To enter a new split or sub-transaction click New, press Ctrl+Ins, or double-click an empty row. Double-clicking an existing row lets you edit the split. This will expand the row into form where you can enter or edit a split.

Here you specify the category and amount, as well as optional payee, memo, and tag(s). Note that if a payee and memo were entered into the transaction before entering the split editor, they will be included in the first split. It often makes sense to enter a specific memo for each split. This can also be done for the Payee, but it may make more sense to enter that only once for the transaction. To save the split, press Enter. To cancel, press Cancel.

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. The same is true if the amount is overassigned, in which case the total of the splits is more than the amount of the transaction.

To redistribute an “Unassigned” or “Overassigned” amount, select the split to be adjusted, and click Apply Difference. If “Unassigned” was previously shown and non-zero, that amount will be added to the selected line item value. If “Overassigned” was previously shown and non-zero, that amount will be subtracted from the selected line item value. As a result, the “Unassigned” or “Overassigned” amount will be set to zero and the transaction can be saved successfully.

Note that the category field in the transaction form or the transaction list now displays a comma separated list of the categories in each of the split entries.