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, [email protected] wrote:
Re: [GNC] Kind of a Philosophical Question about Transaction ...
_______________________________________________
gnucash-user mailing list
[email protected]
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.
