transaction dates (in accounting)

[C. Gatzemeier]

Am Samstag, 30. August 2003 05:37 schrieb tripp+gnucash-devel at perspex.com:
>         date-entered:   date the transaction was typed / imported /
>                         whatever into GnuCash (but see below for extended
>                         notes on an eventual audit trail).
>
>         date-posted:    real-world date of the transaction
>
>         date-cleared:   posting date of the transaction as recorded by the
>                         external account institution reflected by this
>                         GnuCash account
>
>         date-marked-cleared:
>                         date that the "date-cleared" field was updated.
>                         This is primarily an internal audit-trail device,
>                         like date-entered, above.
>
>         date-reconciled:
>                         date of the formal reconciliation process (whether
>                         manual or automated).

Just wanted to note that the banks (at least in germany) have two dates in 
reports associated with a transaction. One is the date when the transaction 
hit their books and one is the date when the money is actually transfered. 
(example: salary is booked earlier but will be available not before last day 
of the month)

This shoud be (and is?) handled as date-posted and date-cleared. Just as in 
the old days when there still existed checks to do money transfers, which 
needed to be cleared.
But then where goes the record for your real-world transaction?

Another question is if the money paying transaction is the right place to keep 
such info.
Would the correct accounting way of tracking of real-world dates (what? ;-) 
not involve separate transactions in some other accounts?  "warehouse "?
As far as I know the accounting system can of course keep track of that, but 
does not do it keeping different dates for transactions but by recognizing 
the different transactions one makes when "buying" something.

-Christian