Recording payment - accrual method

Hello, Lisa! Let me share some insights that can shed light on your question. 

In accrual accounting, you record the payment date as the date you receive the payment. This approach recognizes income when it is earned, rather than when cash is received. In QuickBooks Online, you would enter the payment on the date it was received, which reflects the time when the revenue was recognized for accounting purposes.
 

Additionally, you may find this article helpful for ongoing management of your QuickBooks account: How to Reconcile in QuickBooks Online. This is vital for compliance with financial regulations and standards, as it prepares you for any potential audits by ensuring that your financial documents are in order.

If there’s anything more you’d like to explore or clarify about recording payments, feel free to share your thoughts below. I'm here to help!

So if the check was received in February, but the bank did not post the deposit until March, you would post the payment as to when the check was received (February) - not the date of the check or when the bank posted it correct?

@lisa-2i-t-com 

"So if the check was received in February, but the bank did not post the deposit until March, you would post the payment as to when the check was received (February) - not the date of the check or when the bank posted it correct?"

Correct.  Post it as of the date you received it - it's what the IRS calls "constructive receipt" (when the funds are available to you without restriction). However, if you're on accrual basis, the income is recorded as of the invoice date, so the payment received date only serves as the date that A/R is reduced and the check is deposited into the bank account (if the same date) or into undeposited funds if you make the deposit at a later date.

Thanks for getting back with the Community, lisa-2i-t-com.

When recording a check payment in QuickBooks, you should use the date your check was received, instead of the date your bank posted it.

Best practice is to record a payment on the date it was received, and never your check date (with the exception of a charitable contribution to an NPO).

I've also included a detailed resource about working with accrual accounting which may come in handy moving forward: Cash & accrual accounting methods

If there's any additional questions, I'm just a post away. Have a great Monday!

@Rusimyhr "In accrual accounting, you record the payment date as the date you receive the payment."

"This approach recognizes income when it is earned, rather than when cash is received."

I wouldn't really expect the support staff here to have significant accounting knowledge, but putting these two sentences together like this really should have clued you in that something was wrong.

@lisa-2i-t-com  @Rainflurry  covered it quite well, but just to make it clear:

There is no accounting method that operates based on when checks clear the bank. There are way too many variables involved in that for a set of books based on it to be at all coherent.