Description

This knowledge base article provides definitions and explanations for handling dates and timezones within the software system. It introduces two key concepts: "Accounting Date" and "Timestamp". An Accounting Date is a date-only value (YYYY-MM-DD) without any associated timezone, while a Timestamp is a date and time value (YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ) that includes a timezone identifier.


The article also discusses the concept of "Tenant Timezone," a per-tenant setting that controls how Timestamps are input, displayed, and converted to Accounting Dates in the user interface. It clarifies that while Accounting Dates are timezone-agnostic, Timestamps are affected by the Tenant Timezone setting.



Definitions

Accounting Date 

A date only value in the format YYYY-MM-DD where there is NO TIMEZONE. For example, if a user in New York views enters an Accounting Date as 2024-03-10. A different user in Hong Kong will also view this Accounting Date as 2024-03-10, in the UI and API.

Timestamp 

A date + time value with a timezone YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ssZ  (Z = timezone identifier)

Tenant Timezone

A per SoftLedger tenant timezone selection available to be adjusted in the System Settings. When no timezone is selected, the default is UTC. The Tenant Timezone will:
  • Control what timezone Timestamps are input into the User Interface
  • Control what timezone Timestamps are viewed in the User Interface
  • Control what timezone Timestamps are presented in, when converted to an Accounting Date. For example when a Crypto Transaction Date is converted to a Journal Entry Posted Date.


How this affects the User Interface/App

Accounting Dates are all input and viewed without any timezone. 
Timestamps are input and viewed using the Tenant Timezone value (this is set under System Settings). 



Note: When operating with digital assets in the crypto module, it is recommended to keep the Tenant Timezone as UTC time, as almost all providers return data with a UTC timestamp, and SoftLedger exports data with a UTC timestamp.


How this affects the API

Tenant timezones have no affect on the API.
All Accounting Date values are returned as a string value with no associated timezone.
All Timestamps are returned in ISO 8601 Date and time in UTC format. (ex. YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ssZ)


Timestamp Conversions to Accounting Dates

Timestamps entered for transactions such as Crypto Digital Asset Transactions and Inventory Stock Adjustments are converted to Accounting Dates using the set Tenant Timezone.


Example
A user is working in New York, but has a set tenant timezone for Los Angeles. The user creates a digital asset transaction with the below Date:
  • Date = 2024-03-18T17:00:00 PDT, which is 2024-03-19T02:00:00Z 
From this Date input, the Journal Entry created from this digital asset transaction is then created based on the Timestamp above through the below process:
  • Extract YYYY-MM-DD  from the Timestamp, 
    • View Database Timestamp2024-03-19T02:00:00Z in the Tenant Timezone2024-03-18T17:00:00 PDT 
    • Extract Date from it 2024-03-18
  • Journal Entry Transaction Date = 2024-03-18 
  • Journal Entry Posted Date = 2024-03-18