Frequently Asked Question
Posted dates vs Transaction dates
Last Updated 8 years ago
Every transaction in the accounting system has a document date of some kind: invoice date, check date, receiving date, adjustment date etc.
When a transaction is posted, the system usually asks for a "post date" before doing actually posting the transaction to the master accounting files.
The document date is the date used for financial purposes. That's what goes to the general ledger, it is the basis for aging of the documents in those reports which do so. The "posting" date, is for management and reporting purposes. It allows a user to look for documents posted out of period when a document is back or future dated. In that case the back/future date is what gets adjusted in your financial records, and is what you will normally run reports on. But some reports allow you to select the transactions based on when someone posted the document, rather than the date the document is applied to.
When a transaction is posted, the system usually asks for a "post date" before doing actually posting the transaction to the master accounting files.
The document date is the date used for financial purposes. That's what goes to the general ledger, it is the basis for aging of the documents in those reports which do so. The "posting" date, is for management and reporting purposes. It allows a user to look for documents posted out of period when a document is back or future dated. In that case the back/future date is what gets adjusted in your financial records, and is what you will normally run reports on. But some reports allow you to select the transactions based on when someone posted the document, rather than the date the document is applied to.