A/P expenses showing up on I/S in wrong month

[mnewell]

I am having a problem. When I run my Income Statement for the month of January and then compare the total expenses to the total deductions from my actual check register, the amounts do not match. In going through the PCA report, I am finding that invoices entered with a Jan date but actually paid in Feb are posting on the January I/S as an expense. Should it not be shown as an expense in the month it was actually paid? These same invoices do show up on the B/S under Current Liabilites as Accounts Payable. How do I fix this problem???

Thanks!

[LauraG]

If you are on an accrual basis, then the date of the invoice determines what month the expense shows up on the I/S not when paid. That's basic accrual accounting.

IF you need them to match then don't create invoices in January to be paid in February. Only do the payments. Then there is only one transaction and one date to deal with.