This sort of question is answered in the first introductory accounting course. The 'simple' answer lies in your basis of accounting (cash versus accrual), and even then, there are some accounting foundations and nice assumptions that are made.
If you are recording your transactions under GAAP, then the question is essentially of no consequence, as you accrue and record your expenses in the period when they happen. Again there are some nice assumptions/foundations at play here, with exceptions and exceptions to exceptions. If you're on a cash basis, then you record the transaction when the cash changes hands, but even this has some complications, as checks are negotiable on demand, but the payee can choose to delay when to request payment. When I write a check, I record the day I write it. I don't care when the payee requests payment from my financial institution. Similarly, I don't care when a credit card payment posts to my account. If I purchase fuel on March 1, then I record the purchase on March 1. Ultimately there is probably not enough difference for the average user as to when the transaction is recorded as long as it's reasonably close, where close is within a month or so. A very large transaction, one that's significantly more than average, might be material such that a specific date is important, but when you record your grocery/fuel/electric bill/etc probably won't make much difference when you look at your overall financial condition. For example, everyone knows that it's unlikely that the Petty Cash is all present rather than some receipts and a fraction of the cash. Now there might be some situations, such as tax compliance, where specific dates could be important. If there are legal requirements, then please seek the advise of competent professionals who can and will represent you in the event of a future problem. To get specific, when you look back/run a report in 6 to 12 months, the difference between recording the transaction on February 27 versus March 2 is probably zero in terms of determining your financial condition. > On 03/02/2026 5:00 PM PST Tom Route36 <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Hi all, > > This isn't a problem or help request. It's more a philosophical or > usage question. Any transaction in GnuCash always involves at least two > accounts. For example, when you make a payment to a credit card account > you're debiting funds from your checking account, and crediting those > funds to your credit card account. My question here is about how folks > choose to enter the transaction dates in GnuCash. > > For a timely example here: Let's say I made an online payment to my > credit card account on Feb. 27th. The credit card company records the > payment as posted on Feb. 27th. But my bank doesn't record the > transaction until today, March 2nd. When recording this payment in > GnuCash, which date would you use as the transaction date: Feb. 27th or > March 2nd? > > If you use Feb. 27th, the transaction date differs from your next > month's bank statement. But if you use March 2nd, the date differs from > your next credit card statement. Personally, I use the credit card > company's date; since that's the date I actually made the payment. But > I was just curious how other folks deal with these kinds of date > differences. > > Tom _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.
