Close an Accounting Period

Last updated: 2026-06-06 Summary:

• Closing a period locks it: no new postings land in a month you’ve already reported on.
• The wizard walks a pre-close checklist before letting you confirm — failed checks block the close.
• Close monthly even if you only file quarterly; small months are easier to reconcile than big quarters.

Steps

1. Go to General Ledger → Close Period.
2. Select the open period you’re closing and review its details.
3. Work the pre-close checklist:
   • All entries posted — no drafts left in the period.
   • Trial balance balanced.
   • Bank accounts reconciled through period end — see Reconcile a bank account.
   • Adjusting entries complete — accruals, depreciation, corrections. A failed item blocks the close until you resolve it.
4. Review and confirm. The period is now closed.

What closing locks

Postings can no longer land in the closed period — back-dated entries, late edits, and “just one more correction” are all stopped at the door. That’s the point: the numbers you reported from that period stay the numbers in the books, which is exactly what an examiner checks. See Accounting model for how periods fit the ledger.

Where people get tripped up

• Closing with unposted drafts. The checklist catches it, but the fix is on you: post or delete each draft deliberately — don’t bulk-post without reading them.
• Closing before the bank rec. A reconciliation done after the close that surfaces a missing transaction now has nowhere to put it except the next period — with a note explaining why. Reconcile first.
• Never closing at all. An always-open year means any error, any time, can silently change reports you already filed from. Close as you go.

See also

• Accounting model
• Run a P&L report