Placeholder Entries

Placeholder entries let you quickly capture a transaction reminder when you don't have all the details. Jot down the amount, a quick note, and move on -- come back later to turn it into a full transaction. Nothing gets lost.

You're at a board dinner and the treasurer hands you a check. You're walking to your car after buying supplies. You get a text about a donation. In all these moments, you know something happened but don't have time to enter a full transaction. Placeholders capture the "something happened" part so you can finish the bookkeeping later.

• No special setup needed -- placeholders work on any device with a web browser
• Placeholders are mobile-friendly with a simple 3-field form
• You can use text, voice, or photo to capture

Step 1: Create a placeholder

1. Go to Placeholders from the sidebar, or tap the + button on the Pending Placeholders dashboard widget.
2. Enter what you know:
3. Amount -- the dollar amount (or your best estimate)
4. Type -- donation, expense, bill payment, or other
5. Note -- a quick description ("board dinner $150 for food," "check from Garcia family")
6. Click Save.

That's it. The placeholder is saved and appears in your pending list.

Step 2 (optional): Use voice memo

Instead of typing, click the microphone button to dictate your note. NP Ledger transcribes your voice and extracts the amount and type. This is especially handy on a phone.

Tip: Voice memo on the Placeholder page works the same way as Voice Entry on Quick Entry, but it creates a placeholder instead of a full transaction.

Step 3 (optional): Attach a photo

Click Attach Photo to snap a picture of a receipt, check, or invoice. The photo is stored with the placeholder so you have it when you come back to complete the entry. Photos are automatically compressed to save storage.

AI extraction available: When you complete a placeholder that has a photo attachment, NP Ledger shows an Extract from Photo button. Click it to have AI read the receipt and pre-fill the vendor, amount, date, and category. This uses the same Receipt Scanning technology as Quick Entry. Requires Standard or Professional tier.

Step 4: Review your pending list

Your pending placeholders appear in two places:

• Placeholders page -- the full list with all details
• Dashboard widget -- shows the count and highlights older entries with age warnings (entries older than a few days show a gentle nudge)

Step 5: Complete a placeholder

When you're ready to turn a placeholder into a real transaction:

1. Click Complete on any placeholder in your list.
2. NP Ledger opens Quick Entry with the fields pre-filled from your placeholder -- amount, type, and description are already there.
3. If the placeholder has a photo attachment and you're on a Standard or Professional plan, click the Extract from Photo button in the placeholder banner to have NP Ledger read the receipt and fill in additional fields (vendor, amount, date, category).
4. Fill in any missing details (account, fund, contact, etc.). NP Ledger suggests matches based on your note.
5. Click Save to record the full transaction.
6. The placeholder is automatically removed from your pending list.

Step 6: Dismiss if not needed

If a placeholder turns out to be a duplicate or isn't needed, click Dismiss instead of Complete. Dismissed placeholders are deleted -- this is not reversible.

Placeholders work even without an internet connection:

• When you're offline, entries are saved on your device (in your browser's local storage)
• A banner shows your offline status and how many entries are queued
• When you reconnect, entries sync automatically in the background
• If automatic sync fails (for example, your session expired), you can retry or discard from the offline queue

Important: Offline support requires that you've visited the Placeholders page at least once while online (this loads the service worker). After that, the page works offline.

• Review pending placeholders regularly. The dashboard widget shows the count and flags old entries. Try to complete or dismiss placeholders within a few days.
• Check the amount when completing -- your quick estimate may need adjusting once you have the actual receipt.
• Verify photo attachments transferred to the completed transaction if you attached one.

• Letting placeholders pile up. Placeholders are reminders, not permanent records. If your list grows past 10-15 items, set aside 20 minutes to work through them.
• Using placeholders for transactions you could enter fully right now. If you're at your desk with all the details, use Quick Entry directly -- it's one step instead of two.
• Dismissing instead of completing. Dismiss means delete. If you meant to record the transaction, use Complete instead.
• Forgetting about offline entries. If you created placeholders while offline, check that they synced when you reconnected. Look for the sync status banner.

Open the AI Help panel and try: - "How do I turn a placeholder into a transaction?" - "Where are my pending placeholders?" - "Do placeholders work offline?"