Accounting for fines, late fees, and other charges: assessed date vs due date
Fines, late fees, interest, attorney fees, and similar charges often have two different dates. The books, autopay, and “past due” status do not all use the same one.
This article explains what each date means, what Vlge does today, and what the board or accountant should decide.
📆 Two dates on every charge
Assessed date (when the charge is created)
This is the day the charge is added — by a person on the unit ledger, or automatically (late fee, interest, mailed violation, and similar). The owner can see it on their account that day.
Due date (when it is owed)
This is the day the owner must pay it. Autopay will not collect it before this date. It is not past due before this date.
Those two dates can be the same day, or the due date can be days later (a payment term).
Why they are often different
Associations commonly give owners time to pay after a charge is assessed:
A late fee or interest charge is assessed today, but the owner has 10 days to pay before it is treated as due.
A fine is assessed today, but governing documents or a hearing period give 30 days before it is due.
An attorney or demand-letter fee is billed today with a due date of the next billing cycle.
👉 Example: On August 24 you add a $25 late fee with a due date of September 3. The owner sees the $25 immediately. Autopay will not take it, and it will not show as past due until September 3.
What this means for the General Ledger
When a charge posts to the books, Vlge records income (and the amount the owner owes) on the due date, not on the day the charge was created. (This is configurable - see below).
So in the example above:
The charge appears on the unit on August 24.
The journal entry is dated September 3 and shows as posted.
Income and receivables hit September, not August.
That is why you may see posted entries dated in the future if you look at the general ledger before the due date arrives. The work already happened; the date on the books is the due date.
If the assessed date and due date are the same day, the ledger date matches the day you added the charge.
What the Association should decide
This is an accounting policy choice. Vlge follows the due date on the books by default. The board (with the association’s accountant, if they use one) should be explicit about which date they want income recognized. See below for how to configure this.
If you want… | Set the due date to… | What happens |
Income in the month the charge is assessed | The same day the charge is created (“Charge due in” blank or 0) - OR - configure the Charge Type differently. | The ledger date is today. Autopay can collect immediately. The charge can become past due immediately. |
Income in the month the owner must pay, with a payment window | Today plus N days | The owner sees the charge now. Autopay and past-due wait until the due date. The ledger date is that due date. |
Neither choice changes whether the owner was charged. It only changes when the books, autopay, and overdue status treat the amount as due. (See configurability setting below).
If your accountant wants income recognized when assessed, but owners still need time to pay, that is a different policy than the Vlge default (the ledger follows the due date). To change this setting by Charge Type, visit Financial Dashboard → Billing Settings → scroll to Charge Types and set the Genera ledger date as Date created.
How to set the payment window
For new automatic charges (late fees, interest, and other types that support it):
Go to Billing Settings → Charge Types.
Find the type (Late Fee, Interest, Fine, and so on).
Set Charge due in to the number of days after the charge is created.
Blank or 0 means the charge is due the day it is created. A number such as 10 means new charges of that type are due 10 days later. Autopay will not collect, and the charge is not past due, until then.
This default applies to new charges of that type. It does not rewrite charges that were already created.
When you add a charge yourself on a unit, you choose the due date on the form. The Charge Types default is only a starting point; you can pick a specific date (for example, September 3 for a whole batch).
What owners see vs what the books show
| On the Unit / Owner Account | On the General Ledger |
Charge exists | As soon as it is created | Journal entry is created at the same time, dated the due date |
Autopay | Will not collect before the due date | — |
Past due | Not until after the due date | — |
Which month’s income | — | The month of the due date |
A charge can be visible on the unit today and still be dated next month on the ledger. That is expected when there is a payment window.
🔍 Common questions
Why do I see posted entries dated in the future?
The charge was already assessed. The journal uses the due date, so the ledger shows that future date as posted. When that calendar day arrives, nothing extra posts - the entry is already there.
Can we change the accounting treatment for post date?
Yes. Visit Financial Dashboard -- Billing Settings -- look in Charge Types and set it by charge type.
Does “Charge due in 10 days” change old late fees?
No. It only affects new charges of that type from the time you save the setting.
We entered late fees by hand with a due date of September 3. Is that the same as the automatic setting?
Yes, in effect. You chose the due date on the charge. The books, autopay, and past-due status all follow that date, whether it came from the Charge Types default or from the date you typed.
Monthly assessments
Regular assessments usually already have a due date (for example, the 1st). This article is about extra charges — fines, late fees, interest, legal fees — where the assessed date and due date are easy to mix up.
Should we talk to our CPA?
Yes, if you are unsure which month should show the income. The product will follow either the default (due date) or the created date (assessed date) if so configured.