Fiscal Period Controls

A Firm Admin uses Fiscal Periods to define the entity's accounting calendar and mark periods open or closed. Closing a reviewed month blocks new entries dated in that month. Reopening is a controlled correction step when finance has approved further work in the period.

These controls are the final part of a broader close process. Reconcile and review the underlying transactions before changing a period's state.

Before you start

• Access: You need the Firm Admin permission. To see the Fiscal Periods menu item, you also need Manual GL Transactions.
• Where: Select the correct entity, then open Setup > Company > Fiscal Periods.

Confirm the period dates, completed reconciliations, approved adjustments, and person authorized to close the books before changing period status.

Set up the accounting calendar

Review before resetting: Under Set Fiscal Year Start Date, Autoset Periods deletes every existing period for this entity, including 13-period and custom periods, then rebuilds the standard calendar. Check the impact on transactions and reporting with finance before using it.

1. On Fiscal Periods, review 12-month Fiscal Years and the listed start and end dates. If the standard calendar needs to be established or reset, enter Start of First Fiscal Year under Set Fiscal Year Start Date, then select Autoset Periods. This creates 20 fiscal years with quarters and months.
2. If the entity has Enable 13 period Fiscal Year Periods turned on under Setup > Feature Settings > General Ledger, review 13-month Fiscal Years. For an eligible fiscal year that needs these periods, enter Last Day of First Period and choose Autoset Periods. The first period must be 2 to 5 weeks long. Periods 2 through 12 are four weeks each, and period 13 ends at the fiscal-year end.
3. Check the resulting periods and dates against the approved accounting calendar before any close action.

Setting the first 13-period end date clears the existing 13-period rows for that fiscal year. Confirm the affected year before resetting it.

Close a reviewed period

1. On Fiscal Periods, find the exact year, quarter, month, or 13-period row. Check its start and end dates, then select Close on that row. Closing a year also closes its quarters, months, and 13-period rows. Closing a quarter closes its months.
2. Return to the list and confirm that the row now offers Open. Keep the close decision and any supporting review with your finance records.

Entries dated in a closed standard-calendar month cannot be posted until that month is reopened. Closing a 13-period row does not by itself impose that posting block. Close All Periods and Open All Periods change every year in that calendar for the selected entity, including future years. There is no confirmation. Use these broad controls only under an approved finance procedure, and check the resulting rows afterward. The 13-period bulk buttons may show an error after applying the change, so inspect the period list rather than assuming the action failed or succeeded from the message alone.

Reopen for an approved correction

1. Identify the transaction or reporting issue and obtain the required finance approval. Confirm whether it belongs in the closed month or a later open month.
2. Open the month that needs the correction. Opening a year or quarter reopens every month in it. Check that the affected row now offers Close.
3. Make and review the correction through its normal transaction process. Re-run affected reconciliations and reports. Tell report recipients if previously issued figures changed.
4. After approval, select Close again. Confirm that the row offers Open.

For the full financial review, see Month-End Financial Close.

If you don't see what you expect

• Fiscal Periods is missing: Check the selected entity and ask an administrator to confirm both Firm Admin and Manual GL Transactions access.
• No periods appear: Have finance confirm the fiscal-year start date before generating them.
• 13-period section is absent: Ask an administrator whether the entity's 13-period setting is enabled.
• A period will not change state: Review the message shown on the page and have finance check related period status before retrying.