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The accounting year
A financial year is the accounting reference period, generally a year (for example 1 January to 31 December). All financial statements are produced for a given year.Periods
A financial year can be split into periods (often monthly). Each period can be:Why close a period?
Closing a period:- freezes validated entries (they can no longer be changed by accident);
- guarantees that the financial statements reflect a validated period.
Closing, locking or reopening a period
The accountant manages periods from the Accounting periods tab of the Accountant portal. The screen lists the periods, filterable by financial year, with their status and the available actions:
The three actions are not equivalent:
- Close freezes the period; the accountant can still reopen it.
- Reopen undoes a close, for example to post a correction before closing again.
- Lock freezes permanently: a locked period can no longer be reopened. It is the year-end position.
Closing the financial year
At the end of the year, closing records the result (profit or loss) in equity. This is an accountant’s operation; it should not be done lightly.The comparative year
Financial statements often show two columns:- N: the current year;
- N-1: the previous year.
In summary
- Create your financial year and its periods.
- Record operations as you go, in open periods.
- Close each period once validated, from the Accounting periods tab.
- At the end of the year, carry out the year-end closing with your accountant, then lock the periods.