Thanks for the pointer; now that I have a phrase for which to search, maybe I'll find some better information.
I've always dated transactions on the day I write the check, or when I swipe the credit card, so waiting until they clear seems odd to me. On Mon, Apr 8, 2024 at 8:11 PM Christopher Lam <christopher....@gmail.com> wrote: > This is the formal terminology that the accountancy expert bodies deem > "revenue recognition". Numerous formal (see IFRS and GAAP) publications > exist, with a much better supporting evidence than our informal discussions > here. > > On Tue, 9 Apr 2024, 6:12 am R Losey, <rlo...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Since I first learned about recording transactions, I have always dated a >> transaction on the date I wrote the check; similarly, when entering credit >> card transactions, I use the date that I actually used the credit card. >> >> Recently, however, I was having a discussion with a friend and he said >> that >> he uses the bank or credit card date of entry for all of his transactions. >> >> I thought this was strange - probably because it is different from the >> method I've used all of my life. Perhaps I am the odd one... or perhaps >> it's merely a matter of choice, so I thought I'd bring it up to this list >> to see what people think about it. >> >> From (a very brief) research about this topic, perhaps this is the >> difference between cash basis accounting and accrual accounting? >> >> >> After thinking about it for a bit, one issue with using the date that the >> transactions occur is the reports, especially if one has repeating >> transactions. For example, if the satellite service bill is paid each >> month on the 28th, using my method, I record a transaction on the 28th. My >> friend will see it on the 29th or 30th, but if the weekend or holiday hits >> just right, it can be the 1st or 2nd before he sees it. In the long run >> everything should be the same, but the monthly sub-totals can look odd. >> Checks can be even worse... someone may hang onto one for weeks. >> >> I'd appreciate thoughts on the topic. >> -- >> _________________________________ >> Richard Losey >> rlo...@gmail.com >> Micah 6:8 >> _______________________________________________ >> gnucash-user mailing list >> gnucash-user@gnucash.org >> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >> ----- >> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >> > -- _________________________________ Richard Losey rlo...@gmail.com Micah 6:8 _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list gnucash-user@gnucash.org To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.