Fiscal years and closing
Set up fiscal years
Add a fiscal year for each branch and calendar year so that postings are accepted, activate or deactivate a year, and correct or delete a year that has not been closed.
3 min readLast updated
In this article
A fiscal year tells the system that a branch may post entries dated in a given calendar year. Every posting checks it: an invoice, a receipt or a journal entry is accepted only when its date falls in a fiscal year of your branch that is active and not closed. Adding next year's fiscal year before the year starts is the simplest way to avoid a blocked first day of January.
How fiscal years work
One per branch and year. Each fiscal year belongs to one branch and covers one calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December. Two branches need two records for the same year, and you cannot add the same year twice for one branch.
Active. Only an active year accepts postings. Turn a year off to stop all postings into it without closing it.
Closed. Closing is the year-end procedure that moves the year's profit or loss to equity and locks the year. See Close a fiscal year.
Add a fiscal year
Open Accounting › Fiscal Years and select Add fiscal year.
In Select branch, choose the branch.
Enter the Year, between 2020 and 2999.
Optional: add a Note.
Turn on Active so that the branch can post into the year straight away.
Select Save.
Repeat for each branch that works in that year.
Find and read fiscal years
The list shows the Year, the Branch, whether the year is Active, whether it is closed, the Close date, Closed by and the Note. Filter by branch, by year, by active state with All (active), or by closing state with All (closed). Export saves the list to Excel or PDF.
Select a row to open the year. The page shows the Fiscal year details. For a closed year it also shows the Closing entry: its Entry no., the number of Legs, and the Total debit and Total credit of the amounts the close moved.
Edit or delete a fiscal year
To edit, open the row's actions menu, or the year's page, and select Edit. You can change the branch, the year, the note and the Active switch. A closed year cannot be edited: reopen it first.
To delete, select Delete and confirm. Deleting removes only the fiscal year record and posts nothing. A closed year cannot be deleted.
Common questions
Every posting is refused with fiscal_yar_not_active. Why? The entry's date falls in a year that has no fiscal year for your branch, or the year is inactive or closed. Check the list for your branch and the year of the entry's date, then add or activate the year.
Do I need a fiscal year for each branch? Yes. Each branch checks its own fiscal years, so add the year for every branch that posts in it.
Can a fiscal year start in July? No. A fiscal year always covers a calendar year. Your reports can still use any date range you choose.