diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.hs
index 6aaceceaf..59fd97b36 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.hs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {-|
-A history-aware add command to help with data entry.
-|-}
+A history-aware, tab-completing interactive add command to help with data entry.
+-}
 
 {-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-missing-signatures -fno-warn-unused-do-bind #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ import Data.Text.Lazy.IO qualified as TL
 import Data.Time.Calendar (Day, toGregorian)
 import Data.Time.Format (formatTime, defaultTimeLocale)
 import Lens.Micro ((^.))
-import Safe (headDef, headMay, atMay)
+import Safe (headDef, headMay, atMay, lastMay)
 import System.Console.CmdArgs.Explicit (flagNone)
 import System.Console.Haskeline (runInputT, defaultSettings, setComplete)
 import System.Console.Haskeline.Completion (CompletionFunc, completeWord, isFinished, noCompletion, simpleCompletion)
@@ -209,11 +209,12 @@ confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es@EntryState{..} stack@(currentStage : _)
                              ,tcomment=txnCmnt
                              ,tpostings=esPostings
                              }
-      case balanceTransaction defbalancingopts t of -- imprecise balancing (?)
+          bopts = balancingopts_ (inputopts_ esOpts)
+      case balanceTransactionInJournal t esJournal bopts of
         Right t' ->
           confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es (EndStage t' : stack)
         Left err -> do
-          liftIO (hPutStrLn stderr $ "\n" ++ (capitalize err) ++ "please re-enter.")
+          liftIO (hPutStrLn stderr $ "\n" ++ (capitalize err) ++ ", please re-enter.")
           let notFirstEnterPost stage = case stage of
                 EnterNewPosting _ Nothing -> False
                 _ -> True
@@ -237,9 +238,10 @@ confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es@EntryState{..} stack@(currentStage : _)
       confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es{esPostings=init esPostings} (dropWhile notPrevAmountAndNotEnterDesc stack)
 
   EnterAmountAndComment txnParams account -> amountAndCommentWizard prevInput es >>= \case
-    Just (amt, assertion, (comment, tags, pdate1, pdate2)) -> do
-      let p = nullposting{paccount=T.pack $ stripbrackets account
-                          ,pamount=mixedAmount amt
+    Just (mamt, assertion, (comment, tags, pdate1, pdate2)) -> do
+      let mixedamt = maybe missingmixedamt mixedAmount mamt
+          p = nullposting{paccount=T.pack $ stripbrackets account
+                          ,pamount=mixedamt
                           ,pcomment=T.dropAround isNewline comment
                           ,ptype=accountNamePostingType $ T.pack account
                           ,pbalanceassertion = assertion
@@ -247,7 +249,7 @@ confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es@EntryState{..} stack@(currentStage : _)
                           ,pdate2=pdate2
                           ,ptags=tags
                           }
-          amountAndCommentString = showAmount amt ++ T.unpack (if T.null comment then "" else "  ;" <> comment)
+          amountAndCommentString = showMixedAmountOneLine mixedamt ++ T.unpack (if T.null comment then "" else "  ;" <> comment)
           prevAmountAndCmnt' = replaceNthOrAppend (length esPostings) amountAndCommentString (prevAmountAndCmnt prevInput)
           es' = es{esPostings=esPostings++[p], esArgs=drop 1 esArgs}
           -- Include a dummy posting to balance the unfinished transation in assertion checking
@@ -255,8 +257,17 @@ confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es@EntryState{..} stack@(currentStage : _)
                                      ,tdate = txnDate txnParams
                                      ,tdescription = txnDesc txnParams }
           bopts = balancingopts_ (inputopts_ esOpts)
-          validated = balanceTransaction bopts dummytxn >>= transactionCheckAssertions bopts esJournal
-      case validated of
+          balanceassignment = mixedamt==missingmixedamt && isJust assertion
+          etxn
+            -- If the new posting is doing a balance assignment,
+            -- don't attempt to balance the transaction or check assertions yet
+            | balanceassignment = Right dummytxn
+            -- Otherwise, balance the transaction in context of the whole journal,
+            -- maybe filling its balance assignments if any,
+            -- and maybe checking all the journal's balance assertions.
+            | otherwise = balanceTransactionInJournal dummytxn esJournal bopts
+
+      case etxn of
         Left err -> do
           liftIO (hPutStrLn stderr err)
           confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es (EnterAmountAndComment txnParams account : stack)
@@ -278,6 +289,23 @@ confirmedTransactionWizard prevInput es@EntryState{..} stack@(currentStage : _)
   where
     replaceNthOrAppend n newElem xs = take n xs ++ [newElem] ++ drop (n + 1) xs
 
+
+-- | Balance and check a transaction with awareness of the whole journal it will be added to.
+-- This means add it to the journal, balance it, calculate any balance assignments in it,
+-- then maybe check all the journal's balance assertions,
+-- then return the now fully balanced and checked transaction, or an error message.
+balanceTransactionInJournal :: Transaction -> Journal -> BalancingOpts -> Either String Transaction
+balanceTransactionInJournal t j bopts = do
+  -- Add the transaction at the end of the journal, as the add command will.
+  let j' = j{jtxns = jtxns j ++ [t]}
+  -- Try to balance and check the whole journal, and specifically the new transaction.
+  Journal{jtxns=ts} <- journalBalanceTransactions bopts j'
+  -- Extract the balanced & checked transaction.
+  maybe
+    (Left "confirmedTransactionWizard: unexpected empty journal") -- should not happen
+    Right
+    (lastMay ts)
+
 -- | A workaround we seem to need for #2410 right now: wizards' input-reading functions disrupt ANSI codes
 -- somehow, so these variants first print the ANSI coded prompt as ordinary output, then do the input with no prompt.
 line' prompt = output prompt >> line ""
@@ -352,7 +380,7 @@ accountWizard PrevInput{..} EntryState{..} = do
 
 type Comment = (Text, [Tag], Maybe Day, Maybe Day)
 
-amountAndCommentWizard :: PrevInput -> EntryState -> Wizard Haskeline (Maybe (Amount, Maybe BalanceAssertion, Comment))
+amountAndCommentWizard :: PrevInput -> EntryState -> Wizard Haskeline (Maybe (Maybe Amount, Maybe BalanceAssertion, Comment))
 amountAndCommentWizard previnput@PrevInput{..} entrystate@EntryState{..} = do
   let pnum = length esPostings + 1
       (mhistoricalp,followedhistoricalsofar) =
@@ -389,16 +417,16 @@ amountAndCommentWizard previnput@PrevInput{..} entrystate@EntryState{..} = do
             ""
             (T.pack s)
       nodefcommodityj = esJournal{jparsedefaultcommodity=Nothing}
-      amountandcommentp :: JournalParser Identity (Amount, Maybe BalanceAssertion, Comment)
+      amountandcommentp :: JournalParser Identity (Maybe Amount, Maybe BalanceAssertion, Comment)
       amountandcommentp = do
-        a <- amountp
+        mamt <- optional amountp
         lift skipNonNewlineSpaces
-        assertion <- optional balanceassertionp
+        massertion <- optional balanceassertionp
         com <- T.pack <$> fromMaybe "" `fmap` optional (char ';' >> many anySingle)
         case rtp (postingcommentp (let (y,_,_) = toGregorian esDefDate in Just y)) (T.cons ';' com) of
           Left err -> fail $ customErrorBundlePretty err
           -- Keep our original comment string from the user to add to the journal
-          Right (_, tags, date1', date2') -> return $ (a, assertion, (com, tags, date1', date2'))
+          Right (_, tags, date1', date2') -> return $ (mamt, massertion, (com, tags, date1', date2'))
       balancingamt = maNegate . sumPostings $ filter isReal esPostings
       balancingamtfirstcommodity = mixed . take 1 $ amounts balancingamt
       showamt = wbUnpack . showMixedAmountB defaultFmt . mixedAmountSetPrecision
diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.md b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.md
index d2c5610ee..254ee8fc9 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.md
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Add.md
@@ -60,23 +60,18 @@ There is a detailed tutorial at <https://hledger.org/add.html>.
 
 ## add and balance assertions
 
-Since hledger 1.43, whenever you enter a posting amount,
-`add` will re-check all [balance assertions](#balance-assertions) in the journal,
-and if any of them fail, it will report the problem and ask for the amount again.
+Since hledger 1.43, you can add a [balance assertion](#balance-assertions) by writing `AMOUNT = BALANCE` when asked for an amount. Eg `100 = 500`.
 
-You can use `-I`/`--ignore-assertions` to disable assertion checking temporarily.
-
-You can also add a new balance assertion by writing it after an amount, eg `$100 = $500`.
-The new transaction's date, and the new posting's posting date if any (entered in a comment following the amount),
-will influence how the new balance assertion is checked.
+Also, each time you enter a new amount, hledger re-checks all balance assertions in the journal
+and rejects the new amount if it would make any of them fail.
+You can run `add` with `-I`/`--ignore-assertions` to disable balance assertion checking.
 
 ## add and balance assignments
 
-You can't add a new balance assignment using `add`.
-Also, existing balance assignments will not be recalculated during a `hledger add` session.
-(Because by the time `add` runs, they have been converted to explicit amounts plus balance assertions.)
+You can add a [balance assignment](#balance-assignments) by writing just `= BALANCE` when asked for an amount.
+The missing amount will be calculated automatically.
 
-This means that if you try to `add` a new posting which is dated earlier than an existing balance assignment,
-it will be rejected (because it would break the corresponding assertion).
-Unless you disable assertions temporarily with `hledger add -I`.
+`add` normally won't let you add a new posting which is dated earlier than an existing balance assignment.
+(Because when `add` runs, existing balance assignments have already been calculated and converted to explicit amounts plus balance assertions.)
+You can work around this by disabling balance assertion checking with `-I`.
 
diff --git a/hledger/test/add.test b/hledger/test/add.test
index 8ae220fcb..5a1f4b688 100644
--- a/hledger/test/add.test
+++ b/hledger/test/add.test
@@ -75,20 +75,19 @@ $  printf 'D A1000.00\n' >t$$.j; hledger -f t$$.j add >/dev/null; cat t$$.j; rm
 > /a  +1000/
 >2 //
 
-# ** 7. existing commodity with greater precision
+# ** 7. adding with below-standard precision, saves the entered precision
 <
 
 
-a
-A1000.0
-b
 
-.
-$  printf '2010/1/1\n a  A1000.00\n b\n' >t$$.j; hledger -f t$$.j add >/dev/null; cat t$$.j; rm -f t$$.j
-> /a  +A1000\.0/
+A2.0
+
+
+$  printf '2010-01-01\n  (a)  A1.00\n' >t$$.j; hledger -f t$$.j add >/dev/null; cat t$$.j; rm -f t$$.j
+> /\(a\)  +A2\.0/
 >2 //
 
-# ** 8. existing commodity with less precision
+# ** 8. adding with above-standard precision, saves the entered precision
 <
 
 
@@ -265,9 +264,27 @@ $  rm -f nosuch.$$.journal; hledger -f nosuch.$$.journal add; rm -f nosuch.$$.jo
 > //
 >2 /Balance assertion failed in a/
 
+# ** 19. add's balance assertion checking is aware of how things are ordered in the journal [#2478].
+# So a  1 is accepted here without raising a balance assertion error.
+<
 
-## 18. shouldn't add decimals if there aren't any
-## printf '\n\na\n1\nb\n' | hledger -f /dev/null add
+
+(a)
+1
+$  cp add-2478.j add-2478.$$.j; hledger -f add-2478.$$.j add >/dev/null 2>&1; rm -f add-2478.$$.j
+
+# ** 20. balance assignments can be added, and are aware of the whole journal.
+<
+
+
+(a)
+= 5
+
+$  printf '2025-01-01\n  (a)  1\n' >t$$.j; hledger -f t$$.j add 2>&1; rm -f t$$.j
+> /^ +\(a\) +4 = 5/
+
+# ** . shouldn't add decimals if there aren't any
+# printf '\n\na\n1\nb\n' | hledger -f /dev/null add
 # <
 #
 #