diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index bba65bbc30..fc2aa8be36 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ if GNUCASH_ENABLE_GUI
 else
   GNUCASH_SUBDIR =
 endif
-SUBDIRS = . doc borrowed common libgnucash bindings ${GNUCASH_SUBDIR} po data
+SUBDIRS = . borrowed common libgnucash bindings ${GNUCASH_SUBDIR} doc po data
 
 GNC_CTAGS_FILE = @GNC_CTAGS_FILE@
 GNC_ETAGS_FILE = @GNC_ETAGS_FILE@
diff --git a/doc/CMakeLists.txt b/doc/CMakeLists.txt
index 4586803637..d93f99683d 100644
--- a/doc/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/doc/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -28,23 +28,6 @@ SET(doc_DIST ${doc_DIST_local} ${examples_DIST} PARENT_SCOPE)
 
 FILE(COPY ${doc_DATA} DESTINATION ${DATADIR_BUILD}/doc/gnucash)
 
-IF (${CMAKE_VERSION} VERSION_GREATER 3.1)
-  EXECUTE_PROCESS(
-    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E  env date +"%B %Y"
-    OUTPUT_VARIABLE DATE_IN
-    OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
-  )
-ELSE()
-  EXECUTE_PROCESS(
-    COMMAND date +"%B %Y"
-    OUTPUT_VARIABLE DATE_IN
-    OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
-  )
-ENDIF()
-
-# Remove any quotes present in the DATE string
-STRING(REGEX REPLACE "\"" "" DATE "${DATE_IN}")
-
 # Generate the tip of the day file.
 
 EXECUTE_PROCESS(
@@ -72,9 +55,34 @@ FILE(COPY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/tip_of_the_day.list
   DESTINATION ${DATADIR_BUILD}/gnucash)
 
 # ---
+IF (BUILDING_FROM_VCS)
+  SET(VCS_INFO_BASE_DIR ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR})
+ELSE()
+  SET(VCS_INFO_BASE_DIR ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR})
+ENDIF()
+SET(VCS_INFO_FILE ${VCS_INFO_BASE_DIR}/libgnucash/core-utils/gnc-vcs-info.h)
+
+# The copious use of backslashes below is to escape escape sequences that
+# have to end up in the file being written...
+# eg \\\" will become \", \\\\1 will become \\1 (which cmake will then interpret as \1)
+FILE(WRITE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/manpage.cmake
+"FILE(STRINGS \${VCS_INFO_FILE} ym_line REGEX \"GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M\")
+STRING(REGEX REPLACE \"^.* \\\"(.*)\\\"\" \"\\\\1\" DATE \${ym_line})
+CONFIGURE_FILE(\${SRC} \${DST} )
+FILE(COPY gnucash.1
+  DESTINATION \${DATADIR_BUILD}/gnucash)
+")
+
+
+ADD_CUSTOM_COMMAND(OUTPUT gnucash.1
+  DEPENDS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/gnucash.1.in gnc-vcs-info
+  COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -D SRC=${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/gnucash.1.in
+                           -D DST=gnucash.1
+                           -D VERSION=${VERSION}
+                           -D VCS_INFO_FILE=${VCS_INFO_FILE}
+                           -D DATADIR_BUILD=${DATADIR_BUILD}
+                           -P ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/manpage.cmake
+  )
+ADD_CUSTOM_TARGET(gnucash-manpage DEPENDS gnucash.1)
 
-GNC_CONFIGURE(gnucash.1.in gnucash.1 )
 INSTALL(FILES ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gnucash.1 DESTINATION share/man/man1)
-
-FILE(COPY ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gnucash.1
-  DESTINATION ${DATADIR_BUILD}/gnucash)
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/doc/Makefile.am b/doc/Makefile.am
index 39a307f04f..0bca4504fd 100644
--- a/doc/Makefile.am
+++ b/doc/Makefile.am
@@ -38,18 +38,28 @@ EXTRA_DIST = \
   tip_of_the_day.list.in \
   CMakeLists.txt
 
+gnucash.1: gnucash.1.in Makefile
+	rm -f $@.tmp
+if BUILDING_FROM_VCS
+	GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M=`perl -ne 'print if $$_=~s/.*GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M "(.*)"/$$1/' ${top_builddir}/libgnucash/core-utils/gnc-vcs-info.h` ; \
+	${SED} < $< > $@.tmp \
+            -e 's:$${VERSION}:${VERSION}:g' \
+            -e 's:$${DATE}:'$${GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M}':g'
+	chmod +x $@.tmp
+	mv $@.tmp $@
+else
+	GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M=`perl -ne 'print if $$_=~s/.*GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M "(.*)"/$$1/' ${top_srcdir}/libgnucash/core-utils/gnc-vcs-info.h` ; \
+	${SED} < $< > $@.tmp \
+	-e 's:$${VERSION}:${VERSION}:g' \
+	-e 's:$${DATE}:'$${GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M}':g'
+	chmod +x $@.tmp
+	mv $@.tmp $@
+endif
+
 ## We borrow guile's convention and use @-...-@ as the substitution
 ## brackets here, instead of the usual @...@.  This prevents autoconf
 ## from substituting the values directly into the left-hand sides of
 ## the sed substitutions.
-gnucash.1: gnucash.1.in Makefile
-	rm -f $@.tmp
-	${SED} < $< > $@.tmp \
-            -e 's:@-VERSION-@:${VERSION}:g' \
-            -e 's:@-DATE-@:$(shell date +'%B %Y'):g'
-	chmod +x $@.tmp
-	mv $@.tmp $@
-
 tip_of_the_day.list: tip_of_the_day.list.in Makefile
 	${CC} -E -P -x c -D'N_(x)=x' -o $@.tmp $<
 	cat -s $@.tmp | ${SED} -e 's/^ *"//' \
diff --git a/doc/gnucash.1.in b/doc/gnucash.1.in
index 32b97ba3ca..9c4f68be39 100644
--- a/doc/gnucash.1.in
+++ b/doc/gnucash.1.in
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 .\" Process this file with
 .\" groff -man -Tascii foo.1
 .\"
-.TH GNUCASH 1 "@-DATE-@" Version "@-VERSION-@"
+.TH GNUCASH 1 "${DATE}" Version "${VERSION}"
 .SH NAME
 gnucash \- personal finance manager
 .SH SYNOPSIS
diff --git a/gnucash/CMakeLists.txt b/gnucash/CMakeLists.txt
index b939be531f..5422385128 100644
--- a/gnucash/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/gnucash/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@ ADD_EXECUTABLE (gnucash
   ${gnucash_SOURCES}
 )
 
+ADD_DEPENDENCIES (gnucash gnucash-manpage)
+
 TARGET_COMPILE_DEFINITIONS(gnucash PRIVATE -DG_LOG_DOMAIN=\"gnc.bin\")
 
 TARGET_LINK_LIBRARIES (gnucash
diff --git a/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-main-window.c b/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-main-window.c
index 2538e21454..33a3c3301e 100644
--- a/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-main-window.c
+++ b/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-main-window.c
@@ -4464,7 +4464,7 @@ gnc_main_window_cmd_help_about (GtkAction *action, GncMainWindow *window)
 	const gchar *fixed_message = _("The GnuCash personal finance manager. "
                                    "The GNU way to manage your money!");
 	gchar *copyright = g_strdup_printf(_("© 1997-%s Contributors"),
-			                             GNUCASH_BUILD_YEAR);
+                                           GNUCASH_SCM_REV_YEAR);
 	gchar **authors = get_file_strsplit("AUTHORS");
 	gchar **documenters = get_file_strsplit("DOCUMENTERS");
 	gchar *license = get_file("LICENSE");
@@ -4483,16 +4483,16 @@ gnc_main_window_cmd_help_about (GtkAction *action, GncMainWindow *window)
                     2nd %s is the scm type (svn/svk/git/bzr);
                     3rd %s is the scm revision number;
                     4th %s is the build date */
-	message = g_strdup_printf(_("%s\nThis copy was built from %s rev %s on %s."),
-				  fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM, GNUCASH_SCM_REV,
-				  GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE);
+	message = g_strdup_printf(_("%s\nThis copy was built from %s rev %s (commit date %s)."),
+                                  fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM, GNUCASH_SCM_REV,
+                                  GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE);
 #else
     /* Translators: 1st %s is a fixed message, which is translated independently;
                     2nd %s is the scm (svn/svk/git/bzr) revision number;
                     3rd %s is the build date */
-	message = g_strdup_printf(_("%s\nThis copy was built from rev %s on %s."),
-				  fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM_REV,
-				  GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE);
+	message = g_strdup_printf(_("%s\nThis copy was built from rev %s (commit date %s)."),
+                                  fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM_REV,
+                                  GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE);
 #endif
 	priv->about_dialog = gtk_about_dialog_new ();
 	g_object_set (priv->about_dialog,
diff --git a/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-splash.c b/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-splash.c
index 83a9f96ffe..bd7c795ef5 100644
--- a/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-splash.c
+++ b/gnucash/gnome-utils/gnc-splash.c
@@ -99,16 +99,16 @@ gnc_show_splash_screen (void)
                     2nd %s is the scm type (svn/svk/git/bzr);
                     3rd %s is the scm revision number;
                     4th %s is the build date */
-    ver_string = g_strdup_printf(_("Version: GnuCash-%s %s (rev %s built %s)"),
+    ver_string = g_strdup_printf(_("Version: GnuCash-%s %s (rev %s, commit date %s)"),
                                  VERSION, GNUCASH_SCM, GNUCASH_SCM_REV,
-                                 GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE);
+                                 GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE);
 #else
     /* Dist Tarball */
     /* Translators: 1st %s is the GnuCash version (eg 2.4.11);
                     2nd %s is the scm (svn/svk/git/bzr) revision number;
                     3rd %s is the build date */
-    ver_string = g_strdup_printf(_("Version: GnuCash-%s (rev %s built %s)"),
-                                 VERSION, GNUCASH_SCM_REV, GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE);
+    ver_string = g_strdup_printf(_("Version: GnuCash-%s (rev %s, commit date %s)"),
+                                 VERSION, GNUCASH_SCM_REV, GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE);
 #endif
 
     version = gtk_label_new(NULL);
diff --git a/gnucash/gnucash-bin.c b/gnucash/gnucash-bin.c
index 0b51a1837e..671ab95087 100644
--- a/gnucash/gnucash-bin.c
+++ b/gnucash/gnucash-bin.c
@@ -452,9 +452,9 @@ gnc_parse_command_line(int *argc, char ***argv)
                             2nd %s is the scm type (svn/svk/git/bzr);
                             3rd %s is the scm revision number;
                             4th %s is the build date */
-            g_print ( _("%s\nThis copy was built from %s rev %s on %s."),
+            g_print ( _("%s\nThis copy was built from %s rev %s (commit date %s)."),
                       fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM, GNUCASH_SCM_REV,
-                      GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE );
+                      GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE );
         }
         else
         {
@@ -463,8 +463,8 @@ gnc_parse_command_line(int *argc, char ***argv)
             /* Translators: 1st %s is a fixed message, which is translated independently;
                             2nd %s is the scm (svn/svk/git/bzr) revision number;
                             3rd %s is the build date */
-            g_print ( _("%s\nThis copy was built from rev %s on %s."),
-                      fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM_REV, GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE );
+            g_print ( _("%s\nThis copy was built from rev %s (commit date %s)."),
+                      fixed_message, GNUCASH_SCM_REV, GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE );
         }
         g_print("\n");
         g_free (fixed_message);
diff --git a/libgnucash/core-utils/CMakeLists.txt b/libgnucash/core-utils/CMakeLists.txt
index 37b72d9769..59dd00c04d 100644
--- a/libgnucash/core-utils/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/libgnucash/core-utils/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -57,32 +57,41 @@ SET (GNC_VERSION_H_IN
 #define GNC_VERSION_H
 
 #define GNUCASH_SCM \"git\"
-#define GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE \"@GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE@\"
-#define GNUCASH_BUILD_YEAR \"@GNUCASH_BUILD_YEAR@\"
 #include \"gnc-vcs-info.h\"
 #endif
 ")
 
-STRING(TIMESTAMP GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE "%Y-%m-%d")
-STRING(TIMESTAMP GNUCASH_BUILD_YEAR "%Y")
-
 STRING(CONFIGURE ${GNC_VERSION_H_IN} GNC_VERSION_H_CONTENT)
-
 FILE (WRITE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gnc-version.h ${GNC_VERSION_H_CONTENT})
 
 ### Create gnc-vcs-info.h
+# This can only be done when building from a vcs (git/svn/bzr/svk) working directory.
+# This file is shipped in the distribution tarball, so no need to generate it in that case anyway.
 # The meta-cmake gymnastics here come from https://cmake.org/pipermail/cmake/2010-July/038015.html
-
+IF (BUILDING_FROM_VCS)
 FILE(WRITE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/gnc-vcs-info.h.in
-   "/* Autogenerated. Do not change. */\n#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV \"@GNUCASH_SCM_REV@\"\n"
-)
+"/* Autogenerated. Do not change. */
+#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV \"@GNUCASH_SCM_REV@\"
+#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE \"@GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE@\"
+#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV_YEAR \"@GNUCASH_SCM_REV_YEAR@\"
+#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M \"@GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M@\"
+")
+
 SET(SCM_REV_COMMAND "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/util/gnc-vcs-info -r")
+SET(SCM_REV_DATE_COMMAND "${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/util/gnc-vcs-info -d")
 FILE(WRITE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/version.cmake
   "EXECUTE_PROCESS(
     COMMAND ${SHELL} ${SCM_REV_COMMAND} ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
     OUTPUT_VARIABLE GNUCASH_SCM_REV
     OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
   )
+  EXECUTE_PROCESS(
+    COMMAND ${SHELL} ${SCM_REV_DATE_COMMAND} ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}
+    OUTPUT_VARIABLE GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE
+    OUTPUT_STRIP_TRAILING_WHITESPACE
+  )
+  STRING(SUBSTRING \${GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE} 0 4 GNUCASH_SCM_REV_YEAR)
+  STRING(SUBSTRING \${GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE} 0 7 GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M)
   CONFIGURE_FILE(\${SRC} \${DST} @ONLY)
 ")
 
@@ -101,7 +110,9 @@ ELSE()
                      -P ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/version.cmake
   )
 ENDIF()
-
+ELSE(BUILDING_FROM_VCS)
+  ADD_CUSTOM_TARGET(gnc-vcs-info DEPENDS ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/gnc-vcs-info.h)
+ENDIF(BUILDING_FROM_VCS)
 ### Compile library
 
 SET(core_utils_noinst_HEADERS
diff --git a/libgnucash/core-utils/Makefile.am b/libgnucash/core-utils/Makefile.am
index b7da796ed3..05f5178ccf 100644
--- a/libgnucash/core-utils/Makefile.am
+++ b/libgnucash/core-utils/Makefile.am
@@ -168,11 +168,10 @@ _gnc-version.h: gnc-vcs-info.h Makefile
 	if [ $$? = 0 ] ; then \
 		echo "#define GNUCASH_SCM \"$$scm_info\"" >> _gnc-version.h ; \
 	fi
-	@echo "#define GNUCASH_BUILD_DATE \"`date +%Y-%m-%d`\"" >> _gnc-version.h
-	@echo "#define GNUCASH_BUILD_YEAR \"`date +%Y`\"" >> _gnc-version.h
 	@echo "#include \"gnc-vcs-info.h\""          >> _gnc-version.h
 	@echo "#endif"                               >> _gnc-version.h
 
+if BUILDING_FROM_VCS
 gnc-vcs-info.h: _gnc-vcs-info.h
 	-if [ ! -f gnc-vcs-info.h ]; then cp _gnc-vcs-info.h gnc-vcs-info.h; fi
 	-cmp -s _gnc-vcs-info.h gnc-vcs-info.h || cp _gnc-vcs-info.h gnc-vcs-info.h
@@ -180,20 +179,23 @@ gnc-vcs-info.h: _gnc-vcs-info.h
 
 _gnc-vcs-info.h: Makefile
 	@scm_info=`${top_srcdir}/util/gnc-vcs-info -r ${top_srcdir}` ; \
-	if [ $$? = 0 ] ; then \
-		if [ -z "$$scm_info" ] ; then \
+	info_result=$$? ; \
+	scm_date=`${top_srcdir}/util/gnc-vcs-info -d ${top_srcdir}` ; \
+	date_result=$$? ; \
+	if [ $$info_result != 0 ] || [ $$date_result != 0 ] ; then \
+		echo "You're building from svn/svk/git/bzr...  But your build system is broken" ; \
+		echo "Don't do that.   Complain to your build-system creator." ; \
+		exit 1 ; \
+	else \
+		if [ -z "$$scm_info" ] || [ -z "$$scm_date" ] ; then \
 			echo "gnc-vcs-info failed.  figure out why." ; \
 			echo "can't determine svn/svk/git/bzr revision from ${top_srcdir}." ; \
 			exit 1 ; \
 		fi ; \
 		echo "/* Autogenerated. Do not change. */"    > _gnc-vcs-info.h ; \
 		echo "#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV \"$$scm_info\"" >> _gnc-vcs-info.h ; \
-	else \
-		if [ -r $(srcdir)/gnc-vcs-info.h ] ; then \
-			cp $(srcdir)/gnc-vcs-info.h _gnc-vcs-info.h ; \
-		else \
-			echo "You're building from svn/svk/git/bzr...  But your build system is broken" ; \
-			echo "Don't do that.   Complain to your build-system creator." ; \
-			exit 1 ; \
-		fi ; \
+		echo "#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV_DATE \"$$scm_date\"" >> _gnc-vcs-info.h ; \
+		echo "#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV_YEAR \"$${scm_date%%-*}\"" >> _gnc-vcs-info.h ; \
+		echo "#define GNUCASH_SCM_REV_Y_M \"$${scm_date%-*}\"" >> _gnc-vcs-info.h ; \
 	fi
+endif
diff --git a/po/CMakeLists.txt b/po/CMakeLists.txt
index de4098a6f3..80ecf60a79 100644
--- a/po/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/po/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ FOREACH(lingua ${ALL_LINGUAS})
       OUTPUT ${_OUTPUT_FILE}
       COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND_TMP} ${MSGFMT} -o ${_OUTPUT_FILE} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR}/${lingua}.po
   )
-SET(_BUILD_FILE_DIR ${DATADIR_BUILD}/locale/${lingua}/LC_MESSAGES)
+  SET(_BUILD_FILE_DIR ${DATADIR_BUILD}/locale/${lingua}/LC_MESSAGES)
   MAKE_DIRECTORY(${_BUILD_FILE_DIR})
   SET(_BUILD_FILE ${_BUILD_FILE_DIR}/gnucash.mo)
   LIST(APPEND BUILD_CATALOGS ${_BUILD_FILE})
diff --git a/util/gnc-vcs-info b/util/gnc-vcs-info
index cf8298966c..79282bf42d 100755
--- a/util/gnc-vcs-info
+++ b/util/gnc-vcs-info
@@ -83,6 +83,12 @@ then
     exit 0
   fi
 
+  if [ "$request" = "date" ]
+  then
+    echo $(svn info "$real_srcdir}" | awk '/Last Changed Date/ { print $4 }')
+    exit 0
+  fi
+
   # svnversion without options returns the most recent revision in the repo
   # at the time of the last svn update/checkout even if that revision
   # didn't hold any changes in the current path. Not very useful as a
@@ -116,9 +122,10 @@ then
   [ -n "$GIT_CMD" ] || GIT_CMD=git
   if [ "$request" = "date" ]
   then
-    exec "$GIT_CMD" --git-dir "${real_gitdir}" log -1 --format=%ct
+    exec "$GIT_CMD" --git-dir "${real_gitdir}" log -1 --format=%cd --date=format:"%Y-%m-%d"
     exit 0
   fi
+
   githead=`"$GIT_CMD" --git-dir "${real_gitdir}" log -1 --pretty=format:"%h" HEAD 2>/dev/null`  # short hash only
   if test $? = 0 ; then
     /bin/echo -n $githead
@@ -143,6 +150,13 @@ then
     exit 0
   fi
 
+  if [ "$request" = "date" ]
+  then
+    # FIXME Don't know how to extract the commit's date from a bzr commit...
+    echo $(date +%Y-%m-%d)
+    exit 0
+  fi
+
   bzrhead=`(cd "${real_srcdir}"; bzr version-info --custom --template='{revno}\n')`
   if test $? = 0 ; then
     echo "$bzrhead";
@@ -180,6 +194,14 @@ then
   exit 0
 fi
 
+if [ "$request" = "date" ]
+then
+  # FIXME Don't know how to extract the commit's date from an svk commit...
+  echo $(date +%Y-%m-%d)
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+
 # Parse out the revision info, print it out, and then output 0.  Just combine
 # all the revision numbers into a single string by combining them
 # with periods.