[GNC] Kind of a Philosophical Question about Transaction

[Mike Brady]

Philosophically ... I get confused when trying to mix cash and accrual 
accounting. So I keep it simple: if I remember to do so, I record all 
transactions as of the date I initiated them - write the check, 
swipe/chip the card, etc. If I've forgotten/don't have the receipt 
handy/etc. then it's OK to use the cleared date too (see below). In 99%+ 
of cases, I can't effectively stop or reverse the transaction after 
sending the check or running the card other than separately asking for a 
refund, so "philosophically" it's done not when the bank clears it but 
when I do it.

Most payment systems (at least in the US) these days that don't use 
paper checks or traditional interbank transfers clear no later than the 
day after I started anyway. Even transactions on the major US stock 
exchanges generally clear the same or next day now - the old 3- or 5-day 
settlement hold is mostly gone unless you're working with paper stock 
certificates. Paper checks, of course, are subject to mailing delays and 
processing delays at the other end, so I have some bills that get paid 
by the bank cutting checks (or me writing one) that almost never clear 
within the same month as when written; that just means they're not 
included in the statement so when I reconcile to the statement balance 
they're left unchecked in the GC reconcile box. Don't worry be happy? 
Only real annoyance is when that drags on for more than a month (some 
charities and professional organizations don't process checks very 
often) and I forget that the check's outstanding.

Mike Brady
Plain Old (personal, no longer business) User

On 3/12/2026 8:58 AM, gnucash-user-request at gnucash.org wrote:

> Re: [GNC] Kind of a Philosophical Question about Transaction ...