What Date Should You Record for an e-Transfer?

Keep every date that describes the transaction, then use each one for its proper purpose. The invoice or earning date supports revenue under the accrual method; the receipt date matters when an eligible business uses the cash method; the completed bank-deposit date clears the payment; and GST/HST can follow a separate “paid or due” timing rule. The date on an Interac e-Transfer email does not decide all four.

For most self-employment income, the Canada Revenue Agency requires the accrual method. Farmers, fishers, and self-employed commission agents can have a cash-method option. Your business structure and facts can change the analysis, so preserve the timeline and have a qualified accountant decide any uncertain tax period.

Which e-Transfer Dates Should You Keep?

One customer payment can have several legitimate dates:

• Sale or service date: when the goods were delivered or the work was performed
• Invoice date: when the business issued the invoice
• Contractual due date: when the customer had to pay
• Transfer initiation date: when the sender submitted the e-Transfer
• Notification date: when the email or text arrived
• Deposit or completion date: when the receiving financial institution shows the funds as deposited
• Bookkeeping entry date: when the transaction was entered or corrected

Do not force these into one field. A useful payment record preserves the invoice date, payment-notification date, bank-completion date, and accounting period separately.

The CRA accounting-method guidance says accrual-method income is reported in the fiscal period it is earned, no matter when it is received. For an eligible cash-method activity, income is reported in the period it is received. Neither instruction says to use the email timestamp automatically.

Does the e-Transfer Email Date Prove When You Were Paid?

No. It proves that a notification was sent or received at a particular point in the transfer lifecycle.

Interac explains that email and text carry notifications while financial institutions move the money through payment networks. Its e-Transfer Terms of Use also describe confirmations for events such as initiation, processing, decline, returned funds, Request Money, and Autodeposit.

That means a notification can describe a transfer that is still pending, was later cancelled, expired, or was replaced. Open the known banking app or website and match the notification to the completed deposit before clearing the customer balance. If the payment did not complete normally, use the pending, cancelled, and expired e-Transfer workflow.

How Do You Record the Dates From Invoice to Reconciliation?

1. Start with the sale, contract, or invoice

Identify what the customer paid for. Keep the invoice number, customer, description, sale or service date, invoice date, amount, due date, and GST/HST treatment when applicable.

The CRA says business-income entries must be supported by original documents such as sales invoices, receipts, bank deposit slips, fee statements, and contracts. The payment notification belongs beside those records; it does not replace them.

2. Determine the income method separately

For accrual-method records, post the income to the period in which it was earned under the applicable rules. Record the later customer payment against accounts receivable instead of creating the revenue a second time.

For an activity that is eligible for and actually uses the cash method, the receipt event affects the reporting period. Do not assume eligibility because the customer paid electronically. Confirm the method already used for that activity and get advice before changing it.

Corporations, partnerships, rental operations, farming, fishing, commission sales, and mixed activities can require different treatment. The CRA rental-income guide is a better starting point for rent than a general customer-invoice rule.

3. Capture the notification without treating it as settlement

Record the displayed sender, amount, direction, status, notification date, and Interac reference when available. If the sender's banking name differs from the customer, keep both names rather than overwriting one.

One transfer can produce several notifications. Connect lifecycle messages by reference, amount, people, and timing so that a sent notice and a deposit confirmation do not become two payments.

4. Confirm the completed bank date

Match the transaction to the deposit in the receiving account. Preserve:

• Bank account used
• Bank posting or completion date
• Amount deposited
• Interac or bank reference
• Any timing difference from the notification

Use this date to clear the payment register and reconcile cash. Do not silently edit the invoice date or notification date to make them match the bank.

5. Apply the completed payment once

Link the completed amount to the invoice or customer balance. For several transfers against one invoice, keep one row for each transaction and use the partial e-Transfer payment workflow. For one transfer covering several invoices, document the allocation.

Your records should show the original revenue entry, the receivable, the completed payment, and the remaining balance without counting the receipt as new income.

6. Review GST/HST on its own timeline

Do not use the income-tax method or deposit date as a shortcut for GST/HST. The CRA's general timing rule for partial payments says tax on a taxable supply is generally payable on the earlier of when the consideration is paid and when it becomes due. Deposits, instalments, holdbacks, real property, and other situations can have special rules.

Record the invoice, contractual due date, payment date, reporting period, and decision source. Ask a GST/HST professional about a material or unusual transaction instead of choosing whichever date is easiest.

7. Reconcile all dates at period end

Compare the invoice register, payment register, bank deposits, and general ledger. Investigate:

• Revenue posted again when the receivable was collected
• A notification with no completed deposit
• A bank deposit with no customer or invoice
• A December invoice and January deposit assigned without reviewing the accounting method
• A partial payment applied to the full invoice
• GST/HST reported from the bank date without checking when it became payable
• A cancelled attempt and replacement counted twice

Keep a dated correction trail. The CRA's electronic record-keeping guidance emphasizes audit trails and preserving electronically created records in a readable form.

What Happens When an e-Transfer Crosses Year End?

Suppose a business issues an invoice in December, the customer sends an e-Transfer late on December 31, and the bank shows the deposit in January. Keep all three dates.

• An accrual-method income entry may belong to the period the income was earned, rather than the January bank date.
• An eligible cash-method activity needs a fact-specific decision about when the amount was received.
• The customer balance should remain open until the payment is completed and matched.
• GST/HST may follow its own paid-or-due rule.

Time zones, bank processing, Autodeposit, and the wording of the notification can matter to the evidence. Do not backdate the bank entry or change the invoice merely to place the payment in a preferred year.

Which Timing Edge Cases Need Extra Care?

A customer sends a deposit or retainer

First decide whether it is a true deposit, advance payment, retainer, or payment of an issued invoice. Use the customer-deposit workflow and review both revenue and GST/HST timing.

The payment is pending on the reporting date

Keep the attempted transfer and leave the invoice balance open until the bank confirms the outcome. A later replacement is a new payment event linked to the first attempt.

Autodeposit completes before you read the email

The email-open date is irrelevant. Preserve the notification timestamp and the completed bank record, then use the applicable accounting method.

The payer is not the customer

Keep the displayed payer and the customer separately. Confirm the relationship through a trusted channel before applying the money.

How TransferLog Helps Organize Payment Dates

TransferLog organizes details found in supported incoming and outgoing Interac e-Transfer notification emails from connected Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud inboxes. You can search and filter by date, sender or recipient, amount, direction, status, reference, category, and connected inbox, then export CSV or PDF on the Pro plan.

Use that 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, or choose a tax reporting period.

Official Sources

• CRA: Accounting methods
• CRA: Business income
• CRA: Business records
• CRA: Partial payments—GST/HST timing
• CRA: Electronic Record Keeping
• Interac e-Transfer Terms of Use
• Interac e-Transfer FAQ

Organize e-Transfer notification dates with TransferLog. Start free, then reconcile the export with your invoices and bank records.