Different debit/credit dates.

[Matthew Vanecek]

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On Tue, 2002-10-08 at 03:53, Bjoern Appel wrote:
> > Date: 07 Oct 2002 18:57:25 -0500
> > From: Matthew Vanecek <mevanecek@yahoo.com>
>=20
> > I've never heard of a firm tracking the dates as you wish to, but
> > perhaps a listening qualified accountant may have some insight...
>=20
> I'm using gnucash privately and have the same problem. When I go to a
> cashmashine, the money will drop immediately into my wallet, but it takes
> a few days until the money is booked from my bank-account. I use the day
> when I get the money as the date for the transaction.=20

The day you make the withdrawal, write the check, charge on the card,
etc., is the day the transaction should be recorded.  Otherwise, you're
playing with fire, and getting burnt in today's banking world isn't
cheap any more (I remember when NSF fees were $5 and not everybody
charged them....).

Deposits should be recorded when you make them.  As an individual,
however, it's up to you to realize how long your bank may take to post
the deposit.  If you were a business, you wouldn't even think about it.=20
Having a little padding in the account never hurts.

> But this could cause
> some confusion in my bank-account: The chronological order of the items in
> my bank-account can be different from the items in my statement, when
> transactions are very close to each other.

I always reconcile by trans. number/type, amount, and point of
expenditure (ATM, a store, etc), since that info is readily available on
the bank statement.  The dates are irrelevant at reconciliation time.=20
It may be a pain sometimes to search through the account register to
find a transaction listed on your statement, but I rarely find it
annoying.  FWIW, I've used MoneyDance and MS Money, and last I remember,
they function the same way.  I'd imagine most any accounting package
would...

Dates only matter if you're bank account is low on fuel and you're
anxious for the fresh gas to hit the taank...

> Using an intermediate account is too much work I think and a bit confusing
> as the transaction is splitted.
> It would be nice to change the date on the one side of the transaction
> without changing it on on the other. But this would probably not be in
> harmony with good accounting.
>=20
> Bjoern
>=20

I was reading a book on accounting to refresh my knowledge, and the
behavior you're seeing is what is known as accrual accounting, which is
what Dave mentioned.  Accrual accounting is a method where the
transaction is recorded on the date it occurred (customer purchase,
check written and mailed, ATM withdrawal, etc).  The fact of actual
posting date is irrelevant in this case.  Cash accounting, OTOH, is
recording the transaction when the monies are received.  In the old days
not so long ago, you had no way of knowing this until you received your
statement, unless you physically handed cash to the other party (or
received cash...).

By and large, accrual accounting is the accepted method of accounting.=20
It's easier, without a doubt.  It's what I learned those years ago in my
college basic accounting class.  AFAIK, MoneyDance, Money, et al, work
the same way.  If you're finances are so tight that a couple of days
posting time on a credit card make a  difference, then you have other
problems besides tracking dates, which I'm probably not qualified to
help with (e.g, you're a student, or need a new job, or rent just
increased...).  If you are just trying to be pin-point accurate, well,
according to my accounting sources, use accrual accounting.  It's
accurate enough, and will help protect you from overdraft fees.

With the advent of online banking/credit card stuff, it's much easier to
check whether payments are posted, etc.  This is pretty handy for
personal banking, but shouldn't really affect how you enter the stuff in
your financial package


--=20
Matthew Vanecek
perl -e 'print
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*****
For 93 million miles, there is nothing between the sun and my shadow
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I'm always getting in the way of something...

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