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this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2025
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Personal Finance
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I use GnuCash for tracking my transactions, but I'll describe exactly how I handle "accounts payable", to borrow a term from big-time accounting.
Firstly, I have scheduled transactions for all bills that I regularly receive, but since the gas or electric bill varies per month, I have the automatically-created transaction use a placeholder value, usually something that is approximate to my average bill. This transaction is scheduled to be created 25 days before the due date, so that it will appear in my accounts register in advance (so I don't overspend and can't pay the bill when it's due), post-dated to when the bill is actually paid.
On this scheduled transaction, I leave a "TODO" in the description field, which is my standard marker for transactions that aren't finalized. Specifically, when there's a placeholder value, I would write "TODO: need bill", which reminds me that I have to see the real bill first. This also implies that no bill payment has been made yet.
After receiving the bill -- which might arrive 25-30 days in advance of being due -- I would then update the transaction to the real value owed. And I would change the description field to "TODO: pay this", as an indicator that the bill still isn't paid yet. Sometimes I've reconciled a half-dozen bills and don't want to log-in to my online banking to pay them yet. I'm lazy; don't @ me lol.
Other times, I'll also do the payment right there-and-then, so the TODO would be removed and the transaction is complete (in the sense that all actions on my part are done, and the ledger is representative of the state of my accounts, now and once the payment goes through). Whenever I want to look at my accounts, the first thing to check is if there are any outstanding TODOs that require my attention. GnuCash lets me easily search the description field.
My accounting process is basically a state machine, leaving myself breadcrumbs here and there, so that I can pick up where I left off, as long as I've made sure to complete each step atomically.
Speaking of accounts receivable, TODOs, and physical paper, I have a separate system for tracking things I have to do IRL and also things I expect to receive in future. This consists of two lists kept on single sheet of paper, which I keep on my fridge.
On the left is my TODO list, which records stuff that I need to do, for whom, and by when. Example: "groceries; party supplies; 21 December". Completed items are crossed off the list.
On the right is my "receivables" list, which records anything that someone else will supply to me. This includes tools being returned to me by friends, as well as parcels in transit to me, plus transactions that I need to be dead-certain have completed successfully (eg property tax bill). These items have an expected due date, or the latest date before I have to follow-up on what happened. For example, I would mark most online orders as expected no later than 10 business days after the order date, or 5 business days after being shipped. The expected date is updated when I learn more. When these items arrive or are complete, I cross them off.
In this way, I never lose track of packages ordered months ago (as is common for eBay or AliExpress orders), and can also schedule things months in the future that I need to deal with (eg buy concert tickets once available).