[Bug]: Post Transaction Today option #1993

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opened 2026-02-28 20:00:43 -06:00 by GiteaMirror · 9 comments
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Originally created by @g4m3r7ag on GitHub (Mar 29, 2025).

Verified issue does not already exist?

  • I have searched and found no existing issue

What happened?

When a scheduled transaction for a future date is showing on the ledger, the date is usually approximate. I selected the transaction, selected the drop down that appears for the selected transaction, and choose Post Transaction Today. This takes it out of its pending/future state and posts it to the ledger, however it posts it with whatever the scheduled future date is, rather than "today". I would expect it to automatically adjust the date to "today".

How can we reproduce the issue?

Create a scheduled transaction in the future, select the pending/upcoming transaction in the ledger and choose the "Post Transaction Today" option. The date remains the future date.

Where are you hosting Actual?

Docker

What browsers are you seeing the problem on?

Chrome

Operating System

Windows 11

Originally created by @g4m3r7ag on GitHub (Mar 29, 2025). ### Verified issue does not already exist? - [x] I have searched and found no existing issue ### What happened? When a scheduled transaction for a future date is showing on the ledger, the date is usually approximate. I selected the transaction, selected the drop down that appears for the selected transaction, and choose Post Transaction Today. This takes it out of its pending/future state and posts it to the ledger, however it posts it with whatever the scheduled future date is, rather than "today". I would expect it to automatically adjust the date to "today". ### How can we reproduce the issue? Create a scheduled transaction in the future, select the pending/upcoming transaction in the ledger and choose the "Post Transaction Today" option. The date remains the future date. ### Where are you hosting Actual? Docker ### What browsers are you seeing the problem on? Chrome ### Operating System Windows 11
GiteaMirror added the bug label 2026-02-28 20:00:43 -06:00
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@TimPasquini commented on GitHub (Apr 4, 2025):

I'm having a similar but slightly different issue with the same feature.

I have a scheduled transaction showing April 3rd as the scheduled date (it's set up to automatically create the transactions but I suspect a separate bug/issue related to weekly schedules). Today is the 4th, so I hit the button expecting to get a transaction posted for today and instead it adds one for March 27th (which already was posted and connected to the schedule).

Overall, Actual seems to know today is the 4th because that is what it is defaulting to for new transactions, not sure why it didn't post the transaction yesterday and why attempts to post it push back a week.

@TimPasquini commented on GitHub (Apr 4, 2025): I'm having a similar but slightly different issue with the same feature. I have a scheduled transaction showing April 3rd as the scheduled date (it's set up to automatically create the transactions but I suspect a separate bug/issue related to weekly schedules). Today is the 4th, so I hit the button expecting to get a transaction posted for today and instead it adds one for March 27th (which already was posted and connected to the schedule). Overall, Actual seems to know today is the 4th because that is what it is defaulting to for new transactions, not sure why it didn't post the transaction yesterday and why attempts to post it push back a week.
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@radtriste commented on GitHub (May 12, 2025):

I think there has been a misunderstanding on the original feature and the title menu displayed.
The original feature was meant to foresee expenses in the future and enter them in advance into the account at the date they are expected (so, for example, I can see how much money I will have left at the end of the month) but indeed the menu Post transaction today was misleading.

I think 2 features have been mixed there:

  • Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account
  • Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses

@Bhautik2902 @youngcw I guess we should have both options.
Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions

@radtriste commented on GitHub (May 12, 2025): I think there has been a misunderstanding on the original feature and the title menu displayed. The original feature was meant to foresee expenses in the future and enter them in advance into the account at the date they are expected (so, for example, I can see how much money I will have left at the end of the month) but indeed the menu `Post transaction today` was misleading. I think 2 features have been mixed there: - Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account - Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses @Bhautik2902 @youngcw I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions
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@youngcw commented on GitHub (May 12, 2025):

I think there has been a misunderstanding on the original feature and the title menu displayed. The original feature was meant to foresee expenses in the future and enter them in advance into the account at the date they are expected (so, for example, I can see how much money I will have left at the end of the month) but indeed the menu Post transaction today was misleading.

I think 2 features have been mixed there:

  • Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account
  • Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses

@Bhautik2902 @youngcw I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions

what is the benefit of posting the transaction in the future like you originally had? How is posting the transaction in the future, like you originally had, any different than what the schedules already do?

@youngcw commented on GitHub (May 12, 2025): > I think there has been a misunderstanding on the original feature and the title menu displayed. The original feature was meant to foresee expenses in the future and enter them in advance into the account at the date they are expected (so, for example, I can see how much money I will have left at the end of the month) but indeed the menu `Post transaction today` was misleading. > > I think 2 features have been mixed there: > > * Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account > * Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses > > [@Bhautik2902](https://github.com/Bhautik2902) [@youngcw](https://github.com/youngcw) I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions what is the benefit of posting the transaction in the future like you originally had? How is posting the transaction in the future, like you originally had, any different than what the schedules already do?
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@DavidHeiniluoma commented on GitHub (May 12, 2025):

I think there has been a misunderstanding on the original feature and the title menu displayed. The original feature was meant to foresee expenses in the future and enter them in advance into the account at the date they are expected (so, for example, I can see how much money I will have left at the end of the month) but indeed the menu Post transaction today was misleading.
I think 2 features have been mixed there:

  • Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account
  • Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses

@Bhautik2902 @youngcw I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions

what is the benefit of posting the transaction in the future like you originally had? How is posting the transaction in the future, like you originally had, any different than what the schedules already do?

For one thing, it will update the account's ending balance once it is posted, but not while it is in "upcoming" statue.

My use case: I have AutoPay set up to pay my full credit card balance on the due date (same day each month), with a scheduled recurring transaction. But the amount fluctuates, so I usually post the transaction and update the amount once I know the amount that will be taken out in the next payment. Now when I change the amount of that transaction and post it, it has today's date even though it won't actually be paid for a couple weeks.

@DavidHeiniluoma commented on GitHub (May 12, 2025): > > I think there has been a misunderstanding on the original feature and the title menu displayed. The original feature was meant to foresee expenses in the future and enter them in advance into the account at the date they are expected (so, for example, I can see how much money I will have left at the end of the month) but indeed the menu `Post transaction today` was misleading. > > I think 2 features have been mixed there: > > > > * Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account > > * Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses > > > > [@Bhautik2902](https://github.com/Bhautik2902) [@youngcw](https://github.com/youngcw) I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions > > what is the benefit of posting the transaction in the future like you originally had? How is posting the transaction in the future, like you originally had, any different than what the schedules already do? For one thing, it will update the account's ending balance once it is posted, but not while it is in "upcoming" statue. My use case: I have AutoPay set up to pay my full credit card balance on the due date (same day each month), with a scheduled recurring transaction. But the amount fluctuates, so I usually post the transaction and update the amount once I know the amount that will be taken out in the next payment. Now when I change the amount of that transaction and post it, it has today's date even though it won't actually be paid for a couple weeks.
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@TimPasquini commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025):

I think 2 features have been mixed there:

  • Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account
  • Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses

@Bhautik2902 @youngcw I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions

what is the benefit of posting the transaction in the future like you originally had? How is posting the transaction in the future, like you originally had, any different than what the schedules already do?

I think a simple solution would be to offer two options: "Post" and "Post Today".

"Post" uses the date already on the pending transaction (past or future).

"Post Today" assigns today’s date.

@DavidHeiniluoma gave a valid use case for future-dated posting, but I only reconcile monthly, and I doubt I'm the only one with that workflow. I'm usually dealing with past-dated scheduled transactions that should retain their original dates when posted.

For example, today is June 1st. I have scheduled paychecks in "Upcoming" for May 8, 15, 22, and 29. Those transactions actually occurred on those dates, but I didn’t log in each week to post them. When I manually post all four today, they’re assigned June 1st, which means I have to manually correct their dates and it defeats the purpose of scheduling them.

When importing a CSV or QFX, the dates are handled correctly. But if an account doesn't support some sort of export, I have to manually post and then fix each date.

This would mostly be resolved for me if scheduled transactions had an option to auto-post when the scheduled date hits. I only schedule things that are regular and reliable, so in the rare case something is off, I'd rather fix or delete the one-off afterward than have to confirm all the transactions I already told the software to expect.

@TimPasquini commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025): > > I think 2 features have been mixed there: > > > > * Enter the transaction as the date of today because it ended up today in my account > > * Enter the transaction in the future, when it is planned so I can foresee expenses > > > > [@Bhautik2902](https://github.com/Bhautik2902) [@youngcw](https://github.com/youngcw) I guess we should have both options. Also looks like the change introduced an issue with rules on scheduled transactions > > what is the benefit of posting the transaction in the future like you originally had? How is posting the transaction in the future, like you originally had, any different than what the schedules already do? I think a simple solution would be to offer two options: "Post" and "Post Today". "Post" uses the date already on the pending transaction (past or future). "Post Today" assigns today’s date. [@DavidHeiniluoma](https://github.com/DavidHeiniluoma) gave a valid use case for future-dated posting, but I only reconcile monthly, and I doubt I'm the only one with that workflow. I'm usually dealing with past-dated scheduled transactions that should retain their original dates when posted. For example, today is June 1st. I have scheduled paychecks in "Upcoming" for May 8, 15, 22, and 29. Those transactions actually occurred on those dates, but I didn’t log in each week to post them. When I manually post all four today, they’re assigned June 1st, which means I have to manually correct their dates and it defeats the purpose of scheduling them. When importing a CSV or QFX, the dates are handled correctly. But if an account doesn't support some sort of export, I have to manually post and then fix each date. This would mostly be resolved for me if scheduled transactions had an option to auto-post when the scheduled date hits. I only schedule things that are regular and reliable, so in the rare case something is off, I'd rather fix or delete the one-off afterward than have to confirm all the transactions I already told the software to expect.
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@CalebBurton commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025):

I'm another person who prefers to set up my monthly transactions in advance and would like the ability to post on the scheduled date rather than today. Having both options would be great.

@CalebBurton commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025): I'm another person who prefers to set up my monthly transactions in advance and would like the ability to post on the scheduled date rather than today. Having both options would be great.
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@g4m3r7ag commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025):

@TimPasquini On my schedules I check the box for automatically add transaction and it auto-posts them on the date if it arrives and hasn't been posted already. The reason I opened the issue was because some of my scheduled transactions occur around a specific date but not always on the same date. Some of my bills auto pay on different dates because of dates falling on a weekend etc... when that happens I want to post it immediately which would be "today" and not the scheduled date. If the auto pay doesn't happen until after the date on the schedule falls then I have to change the date on the already present transaction when it finally does come out of my account.

@g4m3r7ag commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025): @TimPasquini On my schedules I check the box for automatically add transaction and it auto-posts them on the date if it arrives and hasn't been posted already. The reason I opened the issue was because some of my scheduled transactions occur around a specific date but not always on the same date. Some of my bills auto pay on different dates because of dates falling on a weekend etc... when that happens I want to post it immediately which would be "today" and not the scheduled date. If the auto pay doesn't happen until after the date on the schedule falls then I have to change the date on the already present transaction when it finally does come out of my account.
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@TimPasquini commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025):

@g4m3r7ag Yea, I had something similar (amongst other issues) when I originally commented, but the thread has spiraled in scope a bit which is why I made sure to quote the comments I was specifically addressing.

Interesting that yours will switch to posted on the actual date, mine haven't done that since these other issues started popping up. I felt like the schedules and postings all used to work pretty perfectly for me and then at some point within the last year the scheduling & posting problems started piling up. I honestly don't even know what is intent vs bugs at this point.

@TimPasquini commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025): @g4m3r7ag Yea, I had something similar (amongst other issues) when I originally commented, but the thread has spiraled in scope a bit which is why I made sure to quote the comments I was specifically addressing. Interesting that yours will switch to posted on the actual date, mine haven't done that since these other issues started popping up. I felt like the schedules and postings all used to work pretty perfectly for me and then at some point within the last year the scheduling & posting problems started piling up. I honestly don't even know what is intent vs bugs at this point.
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@radtriste commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025):

Sorry I did not get any email notifications about this.

I also like to enter my transactions ahead of time so I can plan my budget for the next months.
I can try to take the time to implement both options: Post now and Post next occurrence like @TimPasquini suggested

@radtriste commented on GitHub (Jun 2, 2025): Sorry I did not get any email notifications about this. I also like to enter my transactions ahead of time so I can plan my budget for the next months. I can try to take the time to implement both options: `Post now` and `Post next occurrence` like @TimPasquini suggested
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Reference: github-starred/actual#1993