Receipt Date at Header vs Line Level: What’s the Difference?

 

When creating receipts in Oracle Receiving, you may notice that the application asks for a Receipt Date at both the header and the line level. At first glance, this can seem redundant—but each date serves a different purpose.

Understanding this distinction is important, especially for accounting, invoicing, and period control.

Let’s break it down.

·       Receipt Date at the Line Level (The Critical One)

The receipt date at the line level is the most important from a financial perspective.

What is it used for?

This date becomes the transaction date of the receipt and is used by:

• Receipt Accounting
• Oracle Payables (Invoice Matching & Accounting)
• Cost Management

In other words, this is the date that determines:

• Which accounting period the receipt falls into
• When costs are recognized
• When supplier invoices can be matched and accounted

Where is it entered?

• Receive Lines page

Key Point

The application always uses the receipt date at the line level for accounting and invoicing, regardless of the header-level date.

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Receipt Date at the Header Level (Informational)

The receipt date at the header level is more of a reference or informational date.

What is it used for?

• Currently, it has no impact on accounting or invoicing
• It may be used for analytics and reporting purposes in the future

Where is it entered?

• Create Receipt page
• Add to Receipt page

This date can be thought of as the overall receipt creation date, rather than a financial transaction date.

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Why Does Oracle Ask for Both Dates?

When creating receipts in the UI:

• Both header and line receipt dates are mandatory
• Both default to the current system date
• The GL Date also defaults to the current date

However:

• You can change all three dates independently
• Only the line-level receipt date drives accounting and invoicing

This design allows flexibility while ensuring accurate financial control.

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Practical Example:

Suppose:

• Accounting Period follows the calendar month
• Receipt Header Date = 30-Sep
• Receipt Line Date = 01-Oct
• GL Date = 01-Oct

What happens?

• The receipt is accounted in October
• Payables and Cost Management treat the receipt as an October transaction
• The header receipt date remains informational

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Key Takeaways

• Line-level receipt date = Financial transaction date
• Header-level receipt date = Informational only
• Header date may support future analytics
• Receipt Accounting, Payables, and Cost Management rely only on the line-level date

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Final Thoughts

If your organization has strict period controls or month-end cutoffs, always ensure users understand the importance of maintaining the receipt date at the line level. While the header date may look equally important in the UI, it does not influence accounting outcomes.

 

 

Users can enter a past date for a receive, inspect, put away, correct, or return transaction when the Transaction Date Validation Enabled profile option is set to No validation. Also, the value of the Maximum Number of Days Prior to Current Date in Which a Transaction Can Be Created profile option must be within your threshold.