Post Dates and Transaction Dates

Post dates and transaction dates directly affect the activity in the general ledger.

Warning: Transaction and post dates do not have to match. However, if they fall in different fiscal periods, this mismatch can cause subledger reconciliation issues.

Post Date

Post date is the date or fiscal period to which the transaction posts to the general ledger. The date on which the transaction is actually posted doesn't affect when the activity will show in general ledger; this is determined only by the value in the Post date field.

For general ledger reports, such as the Trial Balance, General Ledger Report, and financial statements, the post date determines which reporting period a transaction appears in. Some accounts payable, accounts receivable, and deposit reports let you filter by post date, transaction date, or another date instead.

Before you change the Post date on an invoice, review the following conditions:

• Invoice status - If the invoice is already approved, some users may not have permission to change it.

• Invoice post status - If the invoice is already posted, you must delete it so a reversing entry can be created. You then need to recreate the invoice with the correct post date.

• Payment post status. If the invoice is paid, you must void the payment before you can change the post date.

To save time, admins can set a default post date for new invoices, such as the invoice date, due date, or the end of the fiscal period. They can also set the default date used when users reverse an invoice. Under Settings, Payables, select Invoices to set invoice business rules.

Transaction Date

Transaction date, also referred to as document date, is the date the transaction was created. It typically reflects the original document date, such as the original invoice date or the date the transaction was recorded.