The pad directive inserts an automatic balancing transaction before the next
balance assertion on an account.
See Pad.
Beancount syntax
2025-12-20 pad Assets:Cash Equity:OpeningGeneral form: YYYY-MM-DD pad Account SourceAccount
Beancount generates a transaction between account and source_account so the
next balance on account can succeed.
Elixir struct
%Beancount.Directives.Pad{
date: ~D[2025-12-20],
account: "Assets:Cash",
source_account: "Equity:Opening",
metadata: %{}
}Or use Beancount.pad/4:
Beancount.pad(~D[2025-12-20], "Assets:Cash", "Equity:Opening")Fields
date-Date.t()from which the pad is active until the next balance onaccount.account- account to pad (must later have abalancedirective).source_account- offset account for the generated padding transaction.metadata- optional map rendered below the directive.