What Date Should a Business Record an e-Transfer Payment?
Keep the invoice, notification, and bank dates. Learn which date applies to income, receivables, GST/HST, and e-Transfer reconciliation.
Keep every material date, then use the date that answers the accounting question. For a completed e-Transfer, the bank deposit date clears the payment. Under accrual accounting, income belongs to the period it was earned even if the transfer arrives later. An eligible cash-method business reports income when it receives it. GST/HST generally follows the earlier of when consideration is paid and when it becomes due.
The email timestamp is useful evidence, but it does not decide all of those dates and does not prove by itself that the bank completed the deposit.
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Which e-Transfer Date Should You Use?
| Question | Date to use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| When did the customer send the transfer? | Transfer initiation or notification date | Preserves the payment attempt and communication timeline |
| When did cash reach the bank account? | Completed bank-deposit or posting date | Clears the payment register and supports bank reconciliation |
| When is income reported under accrual accounting? | Period in which the income was earned | Receipt timing does not move earned revenue to a later period |
| When is income reported under an eligible cash method? | Period in which the income was received | Receipt timing is part of the tax treatment |
| When does GST/HST become payable or collectible? | Generally the earlier of paid or due | The invoice or agreement can make an amount due before deposit |
| When was the bookkeeping changed? | Entry or correction date | Preserves the audit trail without rewriting the source dates |
This is a decision map, not permission to choose any preferred date. Requirements vary by business and activity, so keep the evidence and have a qualified accountant resolve material uncertainty.
What Dates Should the Payment Record Preserve?
One customer payment can have several valid dates:
- sale or service date;
- invoice date;
- contractual due date;
- e-Transfer initiation date;
- notification date and time;
- deposit, completion, or bank-posting date;
- date the payment was applied to the invoice; and
- bookkeeping entry or correction date.
Do not collapse them into one field. A practical record has separate fields for the invoice, notification, bank completion, application, and accounting period.
The CRA's current accounting-for-earnings guidance says businesses generally report income using the accrual method. Under that method, income is reported in the fiscal period it is earned, regardless of when it is received. Farmers, fishers, and self-employed commission agents can use the cash method or accrual method, subject to the rules.
Does the e-Transfer Email Date Mean the Customer Paid?
Not necessarily. The message may document initiation, processing, a request, a deposit, a decline, returned funds, or another lifecycle event.
Interac's terms of use describe electronic communications for events such as initiation, processing, declines, returned funds, Request Money, and Autodeposit. They also warn users to retain their own records. The wording and availability of notifications can vary.
Open the financial institution through its known app or website and match the notification to the completed bank entry before clearing the customer balance. If the transfer remains pending, was cancelled, expired, or was replaced, follow the e-Transfer exception workflow.
Preserve the email timestamp to match lifecycle messages and explain delays, but do not treat it as universal proof of settlement.
How Do You Record an e-Transfer From Invoice to Bank?
1. Record the underlying sale or service
Start with what the customer paid for. Keep the customer, invoice number, description, sale or service date, invoice date, amount, due date, and GST/HST treatment when applicable.
The CRA's business-record guidance explains that income and expense entries need supporting source documents. The transfer record supports movement of money; the invoice, receipt, contract, or other document explains the transaction.
2. Post income using the applicable method
Under the accrual method, post earned income in the applicable fiscal period and record the unpaid customer amount in accounts receivable. When the e-Transfer later completes, apply it against the receivable instead of recording revenue again.
For an activity that is eligible for and actually uses the cash method, the receipt event affects the reporting period. Electronic payment does not create cash-method eligibility. Confirm the method already used and obtain advice before changing it.
3. Capture the notification as a payment event
Record the displayed sender, amount, direction, status, reference number when available, and notification timestamp. If the banking name differs from the customer, keep both rather than overwriting the source name.
A send notice, reminder, and deposit notice can describe one transfer lifecycle. Match them by reference, people, amount, and timing so they do not become duplicate payments.
4. Confirm the completed bank date
Match the notification to the receiving account. Preserve the account, final status, completed or posting date, amount, and institution reference. Use this result to clear the payment register and reconcile cash.
Do not silently change the invoice date or email date to equal the bank date. The difference is useful evidence.
5. Apply the payment once
Link the completed amount to the customer and invoice. If several transfers pay one invoice, keep one record for each transfer and use the partial-payment reconciliation guide. If one transfer covers several invoices, retain one payment row plus the allocation to each invoice.
The books should show the original revenue, receivable, completed payment, and remaining balance without counting the deposit as new income.
6. Decide GST/HST timing separately
Do not use the income-tax method or bank date as a shortcut. The CRA's invoice timing memorandum states the general rule: tax on a taxable supply is payable on the earlier of the day consideration is paid and the day it becomes due. It also explains when an invoice, invoice date, undue delay, or written agreement can make consideration due.
Partial payments, deposits, leases, holdbacks, real property, and other special situations can follow more detailed rules. Record the source dates and decision instead of inferring tax from the e-Transfer alone.
7. Reconcile and preserve corrections
At period end, compare invoices, the payment register, bank deposits, accounts receivable, and the general ledger. Investigate:
- revenue recorded again when a receivable was collected;
- a notification with no completed deposit;
- a bank deposit with no customer or invoice;
- an invoice and deposit split across periods without reviewing the accounting method;
- a partial payment applied to the full invoice;
- GST/HST recorded only from the bank date; or
- a cancelled attempt and replacement counted twice.
Keep the original dates and add a dated correction. The CRA's electronic record-keeping guidance emphasizes readable electronic records and an audit trail.
What Happens When an e-Transfer Crosses Year End?
Suppose a business issues an invoice for completed work on December 20. The customer initiates an e-Transfer late on December 31, and the receiving bank posts it on January 2.
Keep all three dates:
- December 20 supports the invoice and, under accrual accounting, may support the period in which income was earned.
- December 31 documents the payment attempt and notification.
- January 2 documents completed bank receipt and clears the payment register.
- GST/HST requires a separate review of when consideration was paid or became due.
For an eligible cash-method activity, deciding when the amount was received can be fact-specific. Autodeposit, the actual completion time, time zones, the financial institution's record, and contract terms can matter. Do not backdate the bank entry or alter the invoice to force the payment into a preferred year.
Which Payment-Date Edge Cases Need Extra Care?
A customer sends a deposit, advance, or retainer
Determine what the amount is before treating it as invoice payment or revenue. Use the customer-deposit workflow and review GST/HST timing.
The transfer is pending on the reporting date
Keep the attempted transfer but leave the customer balance open until the bank confirms the outcome. A replacement is a separate payment linked to the failed attempt.
Autodeposit completes before anyone reads the email
The email-open date is irrelevant. Preserve the notification timestamp and bank completion, then apply the applicable accounting method.
The payer is not the invoiced customer
Keep the displayed payer and customer separately. Verify the relationship through a trusted channel before applying the amount.
Bank posting and value dates differ
Retain the institution's actual fields and follow the accounting policy consistently. Ask the institution or accountant what each field means rather than renaming one as the transfer date.
How Does TransferLog Help Organize Payment Dates?
TransferLog organizes details found in supported incoming and outgoing Interac e-Transfer notification emails from connected Gmail, Outlook, and iCloud inboxes. You can search and filter by date, person, amount, direction, status, reference, category, and connected inbox, then export CSV or PDF on the Pro plan.
Use the export as the notification layer of the timeline, then match it to invoices, contracts, bank deposits, and accounting entries. TransferLog does not access the bank account, determine when income was earned or received, calculate GST/HST, create invoices, post journal entries, or choose a reporting period.
Official Sources
- CRA: Accounting for your earnings
- CRA: Business income tax reporting
- CRA: Business records
- CRA: Invoices and GST/HST timing
- CRA: Electronic Record Keeping
- Interac e-Transfer Terms of Use
This article provides general record-keeping information, not tax, legal, or accounting advice.
Organize e-Transfer notification dates with TransferLog. Start free, then reconcile the export with invoices and bank records.