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[GH-ISSUE #5490] [Feature] Prompt for Starting Balance in the Create Linked Account Workflow #9298

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opened 2026-04-10 19:34:37 -05:00 by GiteaMirror · 1 comment
GiteaMirror commented 2026-04-10 19:34:37 -05:00
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Originally created by @atgrey24 on GitHub (Aug 5, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues/5490

Verified feature request does not already exist?

  • I have searched and found no existing issue

💻

  • Would you like to implement this feature?

Pitch: what problem are you trying to solve?

Users creating a new linked account are not prompted to enter a starting balance. This results in pulling unnecessary past data, or occasionally failing to generate a Starting Balance transaction at all, leading to incorrect account balances.

The current workflow for creating a new account implies that creating a local account is only for manual entry. This drives users to select the "Link bank account" options during initial set up.

Image

When creating a new account from the Link Account interface, the user is not prompted to enter a starting date or Starting Balance.

Image Image

Instead it relies on bank sync to automatically create a Starting Balance 90 days in the past. This runs contrary to the advice in the documentation which recommends to not pull in past data. This results in new users spending unnecessary time cleaning up old data, which makes it difficult to get started.

I have also seen multiple help requests from users in the discord where their balance didn't reconcile properly, where the solution was a missing Starting Balance. This implies there are cases when bank sync will not generate one. #3218 seems to be one example of such a bug.

Describe your ideal solution to this problem

Update the workflow when creating a new account from the "Link Account" interface so that it will prompt the user to enter a Starting Balance (or at least a starting date, if it is preferred to let bank sync calculate the correct balance). This resolves the issue to matter the path the user took to get to the Link Account interface.

Optionally, the the Add Account workflow could be unified to always prompt the user for a Starting Balance first, and then offer the option to link an account second.

Teaching and learning

This would be forced into the Add Account workflows, so that users will be presented with it automatically.

Originally created by @atgrey24 on GitHub (Aug 5, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues/5490 ### Verified feature request does not already exist? - [x] I have searched and found no existing issue ### 💻 - [ ] Would you like to implement this feature? ### Pitch: what problem are you trying to solve? Users creating a new linked account are not prompted to enter a starting balance. This results in pulling unnecessary past data, or occasionally failing to generate a Starting Balance transaction at all, leading to incorrect account balances. The current workflow for creating a new account implies that creating a local account is only for manual entry. This drives users to select the "Link bank account" options during initial set up. <img width="525" height="462" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1d46d34e-5f1f-4350-9712-9e5be5659265" /> When creating a new account from the Link Account interface, the user is not prompted to enter a starting date or Starting Balance. <img width="995" height="441" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8399c867-75cd-4be5-b12c-4d8d51a9e2b3" /> <img width="441" height="225" alt="Image" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d3b03860-ecef-4352-abc5-797158c7fc74" /> Instead it relies on bank sync to automatically create a Starting Balance 90 days in the past. This runs contrary to the [advice in the documentation](https://actualbudget.org/docs/getting-started/starting-fresh#how-to-setup-accounts) which recommends to not pull in past data. This results in new users spending unnecessary time cleaning up old data, which makes it difficult to get started. I have also seen multiple help requests from users in the discord where their balance didn't reconcile properly, where the solution was a missing Starting Balance. This implies there are cases when bank sync will not generate one. #3218 seems to be one example of such a bug. ### Describe your ideal solution to this problem Update the workflow when creating a new account from the "Link Account" interface so that it will prompt the user to enter a Starting Balance (or at least a starting date, if it is preferred to let bank sync calculate the correct balance). This resolves the issue to matter the path the user took to get to the Link Account interface. Optionally, the the Add Account workflow could be unified to always prompt the user for a Starting Balance first, and then offer the option to link an account second. ### Teaching and learning This would be forced into the Add Account workflows, so that users will be presented with it automatically.
GiteaMirror added the needs votesfeature labels 2026-04-10 19:34:37 -05:00
GiteaMirror commented 2026-04-10 19:34:40 -05:00
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@github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Aug 5, 2025):

✨ Thanks for sharing your idea! ✨

This repository uses a voting-based system for feature requests. While enhancement issues are automatically closed, we still welcome feature requests! The voting system helps us gauge community interest in potential features. We also encourage community contributions for any feature requests marked as needing votes (just post a comment first so we can help guide you toward a successful contribution).

The enhancement backlog can be found here: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues?q=label%3A%22needs+votes%22+sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc+

Don’t forget to upvote the top comment with 👍!

<!-- gh-comment-id:3156678607 --> @github-actions[bot] commented on GitHub (Aug 5, 2025): :sparkles: Thanks for sharing your idea! :sparkles: This repository uses a voting-based system for feature requests. While enhancement issues are automatically closed, we still welcome feature requests! The voting system helps us gauge community interest in potential features. We also encourage community contributions for any feature requests marked as needing votes (just post a comment first so we can help guide you toward a successful contribution). The enhancement backlog can be found here: https://github.com/actualbudget/actual/issues?q=label%3A%22needs+votes%22+sort%3Areactions-%2B1-desc+ Don’t forget to upvote the top comment with 👍! <!-- feature-auto-close-comment -->
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