Config your timezone accordingly in application.rb.

config.time_zone = "Eastern European Time"
# optional - note it can be only :utc or :local (default is :utc)
config.active_record.default_timezone = :local

Don't use Time.parse. Use Time.zone.parse.

# bad
Time.parse("2015-03-02 19:05:37") # => system's time zone.

# good
Time.zone.parse("2015-03-02 19:05:37") # => Mon, 02 Mar 2015 19:05:37 EET +02:00

Don't use Time.now.

# bad
Time.now # => System time and ignores your configured time zone.

# good
Time.zone.now # => Fri, 12 Mar 2014 22:04:47 EET +02:00
Time.current  # => the same thing but shorter.

Sources

• Ruby on Rails 4 Style Guide
• Ruby on Rails Directory Structure