A transaction can have different dates for the bank ledger, the movement of cash and the period in which income or an expense should be recognized. Worthic keeps those purposes separate without turning the workspace into a full accrual-accounting system.
The three date concepts
Ledger date
The original posted date from an imported source. It preserves statement chronology and reconciliation evidence and cannot be edited.
Cashflow date
The date on which the receipt or payment is treated as cash movement. If no separate cashflow date is set, Worthic uses the ledger date for an imported transaction or the normal Date for a manual transaction.
Accrual date
The period in which income or an expense is recognized for accrual-based reporting. If no accrual date is set, Worthic uses the effective cashflow date.
Imported transactions
The original imported date is canonical. The date field is read-only and includes an edit control for adding optional Cashflow and Accrual dates.
- If no additional date is set, the imported date is shown as Date and is used as the ledger, cashflow and accrual date.
- When a Cashflow or Accrual date is added, the original date is labelled Ledger date so its role is clear.
- A separate Cashflow date can move the transaction into a different cashflow period without changing the imported ledger evidence.
- A separate Accrual date can move income or an expense into the period in which it was earned or incurred.
- Cashflow and Accrual dates can be cleared. Clearing both returns the transaction to its original single-date state.
Worthic also retains the imported source values used for reconciliation. The account, amount, direction and currency are protected fields: changing one prompts a reconciliation warning and provides a way to restore the imported value. The Ledger date itself remains immutable.
Manual transactions
A manual transaction starts with one editable Date. Select Set accrual date to open the date window and add an Accrual date.
- Once an Accrual date is present, the original Date is labelled Cashflow date.
- The Cashflow date remains required and editable because a manual transaction has no separate imported ledger date.
- The Accrual date is optional and can be cleared.
- When the Accrual date is cleared, Cashflow date returns to the ordinary Date label.
Split transactions
When a transaction is split, the main date control is hidden. Each split component has its own Date and optional Accrual date so different parts of one payment can be recognised in different periods.
- Each component initially inherits the transaction’s effective cashflow date.
- A component’s Date is its cashflow date and remains required and editable.
- Adding an Accrual date relabels the component Date as Cashflow date; clearing it restores the Date label.
- For an imported transaction, the original Ledger date remains preserved in the source transaction even though it is not repeated beside every split component.
How reports choose a date
- Statement chronology and imported-source reconciliation use the immutable Ledger date.
- Cashflow views use the Cashflow date when one is set; otherwise they use the Ledger date or normal transaction Date.
- Profit and loss and other accrual-aware reporting use the Accrual date when one is set; otherwise they use the effective Cashflow date.
- Changing an Accrual date does not change the account balance or the date on the imported bank statement.
Example
A customer payment is posted by the bank on 3 July, but it relates to services delivered in June. Keep 3 July as the Ledger date. Use 3 July as the Cashflow date because that is when the money moved, and set 30 June as the Accrual date so accrual-aware income reporting recognises it in June.
Choosing whether to add another date
- Leave the dates unchanged when the posted date also represents the cash movement and recognition period.
- Add a Cashflow date to an imported transaction only when the cashflow timing should differ from the bank’s posted date.
- Add an Accrual date when income or an expense belongs to a different reporting period from the cash movement.
- For reconciliation differences, correct the source or use the protected-field review controls rather than changing the Ledger date.