NewbieQ: Different Dates on a transaction

[David Carlson]

On 1/29/2012 7:14 PM, Evan Van Dyke wrote:
> This probably qualifies as a newbie question, but I haven't seen the answer anywhere in the FAQs:
> 
> I have a couple of transactions (usually credit-card payments) that need to clear on a different date for each of the endpoints.  For example, my Credit Card assumes payment is on day X when they submit the EFT to my bank.  However, the EFT doesn't clear for 48 hours, so to my checking account the transaction is on day X+2.  Is there an easy way to enter this accurately?  I can't see a way in the split transaction to enter two dates.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> --Evan
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Hi,

As a user that has dabbled with several competitors to GnuCash over the
years, I can report that I have not seen any attempt to address the
issue you describe in a product addressed to ordinary users.  The main
reason is that most ordinary users are interested in cash accounting as
opposed to accrual accounting which is typically only used by businesses
that must conform to tax laws that essentially require the use of
accrual accounting.

With cash accounting, we normally ignore the 'float' delays that you
describe very eloquently.  For most of us it only becomes important
around year end when some paychecks are 'in the mail' and not yet
available in our checking accounts, but they appear anyway on our W-2's.

For individuals like you or me the standard solution is to switch to
accrual accounting.  That normally means having Accounts Payable and
Accounts Receivable which, among other things, can allow for 'float'.

Since I don't really want most of the features that come standard with
accrual accounting, I created for myself pseudo-accounts payable and
pseudo accounts receivable strictly to be used for transactions where I
wanted to track 'float'.

That is my personal solution.  I am sure that you will hear other
possible solutions from other users.

David Carlson
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