Accrual / Cash Acct

[prl]

Hi, Christopher.

Not quite all of my transactions have different days between the receipt 
and the statement date, but a lot do. I don't see that as much of a 
problem. I enter the transactions into GnuCash as they are made (usually 
the same day). When I get my monthly bank statement, I go through all 
the transactions in the order they appear in the statement, tick them 
off in the GnuCash reconciliation window and then pencil in a tick for 
the transaction on the statement. My main transaction account is usually 
about 1 A4 page of entries, the other accounts much less.

I enter all my regular outgoings and receipts as SXes, even those that 
don't have a regular transaction value (like utilities & credit card 
accounts). I have 26. Is that a lot? I suspect that there are other 
non-business users of GnuCash who would have more. The SXes are set up 
to warn me 10 days in advance, and to enter the transaction 5 days in 
advance, so I see them in the account window before they are actually 
paid (a thick blue line in the window separates past and the current 
dates from future dates on transactions).

For direct debits (e.g my utilities and ISP+phone accounts), I enter the 
amount in the SX when I receive the bill. For regular payments that 
aren't set up as direct debit and which aren't part of a reconciliation, 
I schedule the payment with the bank for (a bit before) the due date, 
and enter the amount to be paid in the SX (which is set up to have the 
same date). For payments that result from reconciliation of a Credit 
Card account, I just use the SX as a reminder mechanism. When I 
reconcile the CC statement, and it asks to set up a transaction, I 
schedule the payment with the bank, and enter the details of the payment 
into the transaction form that finishing the reconciliation generates.

My bank doesn't have a payment interface that I can use with GnuCash. If 
yours does, then some of these things may be easier to do than what I've 
described.

Good luck with your plans for a new life in Australia. I recommend 
getting a tax accountant to help you with your first tax return or two. 
The Australian income tax system, even for individuals, is dauntingly 
(and excessively) complex. Fortunately only the Federal Govt here levies 
income tax - the states get a cut of the federally collected tax. I 
can't recommend this summer's weather, though. On Friday we had 42C 
(108F) here in Canberra, and 46C (114F) in Sydney. So far this January 
we've had 10 days out of 21 above 35C (95F).

Please feel free to email me off the list if you have non-GnuCash 
questions about Australia.

Peter

On 21/01/13 20:35, Christopher Lam wrote:
> Hi prl
> Thank you for your comment -- I'd like to (genuinely) ask:
> * While I'm aware that my method (bank statement verbatim copy) 
> negates one of the benefits of bookkeeping (i.e. double-checking the 
> bank's records), how do people/accountants cope with the result that 
> -all- source documents and the relevant transactions will have 
> different dates?
> * I also have a -lot- of direct debits e.g. professional registration 
> fees, council payments, rent, electricity, and water rates -- do 
> people actually plan each one as SX?
> * I may try a more strict bookkeeping method when I start a new life 
> (Australia of all places) and will surely have more questions then!
> Thanks again
>