This article walks through how the matching module handles timestamps on donation records.
When the matching module processes a donation record, it expects a timestamp that contains the date, time, and time zone (e.g. UTC offset from Greenwich Mean Time) using the standard ISO 8501 format of YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss+hh:00.
How does the matching module process timestamps when a time and time zone are missing?
When the matching module processes a date like “2020-06-30”, there is a lot of ambiguity in the absence of a time and time zone. By default, the matching module appends T00:00:00-00:00 to the timestamp. This is functionally equivalent to saying the donation was made in Greenwich, England at midnight on June 30.
Why is this a problem, and why may your donations appear one day behind?
By default, the matching module displays timestamps using the Eastern time zone in the platform and in emails. But if an ambiguous date is processed using the GMT time zone and displayed in the Eastern time zone, the donation may appear one day behind since the Eastern time zone is five hours behind GMT.
How do I get around this problem?
In the matching module, navigate to Settings->Advanced Settings. Set the second input box in the card so that it matches the first one as illustrated below.
You do not have to set the time zones to Eastern Time as long as the display time zone (first input box) matches the processing time zone (second input box).