Saving a transaction for a future date

CentBase treats a future-dated transaction specially: instead of posting it now, it turns it into a scheduled transaction that records itself when its date arrives. This page explains exactly what happens when you save, or edit, a transaction with a date still ahead of you, including when it also has a recurring schedule.

TL;DR

• A date after today, or today at a time still ahead of you, makes CentBase treat the transaction as scheduled, not as a real transaction yet.
• Before anything is saved, CentBase confirms with you and tells you when the schedule will fire (e.g. "in 2 minutes" or "in 3 days").
• A new one-off future transaction becomes a single-occurrence schedule , nothing posts until its date arrives.
• A new recurring future transaction schedules the whole run starting at the date you entered, nothing posts now.
• Editing an existing transaction and moving its date into the future converts it into a schedule and removes the original, in one atomic step.
• With Recurring on but the date in the past, the current occurrence posts now and the remaining ones are scheduled, CentBase asks you to confirm first.

What counts as "future-dated"

A transaction is treated as future-timed when either:

• the date you enter is strictly after today, or
• the date is today but you set an explicit time that is still ahead of the clock, for example, you save at 7:32 with a time of 7:34.

Entering today's date without a time is never future-timed, it posts like any normal transaction right away.

A confirm step before scheduling

Whenever you save a NEW transaction that will become a schedule, CentBase shows a short confirmation first so nothing happens by surprise:

• "Schedule this future transaction?", the dialog tells you exactly when it will fire, e.g. "This future-timed transaction will be saved as a one-time schedule and will fire in 2 minutes." (or "…in 3 days" for a farther date).
• For a recurring future transaction it reads: "This future-timed transaction will be saved as a recurring schedule starting {date}, its first occurrence is in 2 minutes."
• Save schedules it; Cancel keeps you on the form with nothing saved.

Saving a NEW transaction dated in the future

No recurring, a one-off future transaction

If you enter a future date, or today's date at a time still ahead of you, and leave Recurring off, CentBase saves it as a single-occurrence scheduled transaction (after confirming with you):

• Nothing posts right now, no account balance or budget change yet.
• It shows up under Scheduled transactions, with "Next: date" matching the date you picked.
• When that date arrives, CentBase records a real transaction for the same amount, account, and envelope automatically.

With Recurring on, a repeating schedule ahead

Turn Recurring on with a future date or time and the whole run is scheduled, starting at the date and time you entered (after confirming with you):

• Nothing posts now.
• The schedule counts its occurrences from the date you picked (e.g. "1 of 12").
• Each scheduled date then posts its own real transaction.

The "what" of the transaction becomes the schedule's template, the same name, amount, account, and envelope repeat on every occurrence.

What changes when you save a future-dated transaction

Because a future-dated save becomes a schedule, a few things follow:

• A name is required. Scheduled transactions always need a name, so CentBase won't save a future date without one.
• No attachments. Receipts and photos aren't available on scheduled transactions, you can attach one after it posts as a real transaction.
• It posts as Cleared. When the date arrives and CentBase records the transaction, it enters your accounts and budget as a normal, cleared transaction.
• You choose whether it posts itself. The Schedule section has Auto-post on due date. Leave it on for autopilot, or turn it off to approve the transaction before it posts. New schedules follow the default in More then Transactions.

Cover overspending does not apply here. Covering a sub-envelope's overspending happens only when a transaction posts right away. A future-dated save becomes a scheduled transaction, and scheduled transactions post on their own without a cover, so the cover switch is hidden while the date is in the future. See When a parent envelope covers overspending.

Editing an existing transaction into the future

When you edit a saved transaction and move its date to the future, CentBase converts it into a schedule and deletes the original, one atomic operation, so you're never left with both a transaction and its duplicate:

• Recurring off → becomes a single-occurrence schedule that fires on the future date you chose.
• Recurring on → the schedule keeps your recurrence rule (frequency, count, or forever) and starts from the future date.

Your history and totals change at the exact moment the converted schedule posts, not before.

Recurring with a past date: posts now + schedules the rest

Two flows are the mirror image of the "whole run ahead of you" case. When Recurring is on but the entered date is today or in the past:

• The current occurrence posts immediately, a real transaction is recorded now.
• The remainder is scheduled starting at the next occurrence, and marked "already happened" so the progress count stays honest (e.g. "2 of 12").

CentBase always asks you to confirm before it both posts and schedules, because that double action is hard to undo. Accept to post now and schedule the rest; cancel to keep the transaction plain.

The same idea applies when you edit a past-dated transaction with Recurring on: the edited transaction posts now and CentBase offers to schedule the following occurrences.

How future transactions appear on the Transactions screen

The Transactions screen has a "Future" filter toggle near the search field. It's on by default, and it decides whether transactions dated in the future are shown in your list:

• On, future-dated entries are included in the list.
• Off, anything dated after today is hidden; you only see transactions up to today.

Your preference is remembered across sessions.

Summary

Situation	What CentBase does
New + future date/time + Recurring off	Confirms, then saves a one-off schedule; posts when due
New + future date/time + Recurring on	Confirms, then schedules the whole run from that date; nothing posts now
Edit + set date to the future	Converts the transaction into a schedule and deletes the original (atomic)
Recurring on + past/today date (new or edit)	Posts the current occurrence now + schedules the remainder (asks you to confirm)
When a scheduled date arrives	Posts a real, cleared transaction automatically when Auto-post is on; otherwise it waits for your approval

Auto-post is on by default. Turn it off in the Schedule section, or change the default for new schedules in More then Transactions.

Sample use cases

• A bill that's due next Friday. Enter the date next Friday, CentBase schedules it, and posts it on that day.
• A monthly payment starting next month. Turn Recurring on, set the first date in the future, the whole run is scheduled ahead of time.
• You typed today's date but want it posted later. Edit the transaction, move its date forward, and it safely converts to a schedule without leaving a duplicate.

See also: Scheduled transactions, Transaction statuses, and Templates.