List of "Accounting Periods"
An accounting period is a period for which an accounting entity prepares financial statements. An accounting period typically lasts one year (i.e., 12 consecutive calendar months). Only in exceptional cases may it be shorter (for example, when an accounting entity ceases to exist) or longer (this situation may occur when changing the accounting period from a calendar year to a fiscal year).
Accounting periods are continuous in time, meaning each subsequent accounting period must directly follow the previous one. The accounting period code can be used as a prefix or suffix in document numbering series, where the number serves as a variable symbol.
The following types of accounting periods apply:
Calendar accounting period: corresponds to the calendar year (starts on January 1 and ends on December 31)
Fiscal accounting period: does not necessarily start on January 1 and has a defined length of 12 months.
When creating a new company, a default accounting period is automatically created that corresponds to the current calendar year. In this list, you can edit this accounting period or create a new one.
For companies that operate on a fiscal year that does not coincide with the calendar year, the accounting period 2009, for example, is defined as running from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.
The selected accounting period is displayed in the sidebar navigation header. It defines the time interval within which you can work in the system — that is, create accounting documents, edit them, and perform period-end closings. For this purpose, the posting date on the document in the "Posting and VAT Line" tab is the determining factor. This is the calendar date by which documents are entered into the accounting records.
Switching between accounting periods is done via a dedicated dialog,
where you can use the drop-down list via the
button to select the desired accounting period. This "Accounting Period" dialog can be opened in several ways:
in the "Company" menu by selecting "Change or add accounting period",
by clicking the accounting period shortcode (typically the year) in the sidebar navigation header.
If you have selected accounting period 2016, documents will be created in accounting period 2016. If you try to create a document with a posting date of December 31, 2015 or earlier, or January 1, 2017 or later, an error message will be displayed:
and the document cannot be saved in accounting period 2016. You must either change the posting date or the accounting period.
Outside the selected accounting period, you can only view documents. To do so, you must set the value "Year unrestricted" in the filter bar in the left panel.
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Main Panel
When creating a new company, a default accounting period is automatically created that corresponds to the current calendar year and is saved to the list of accounting periods, which can be opened in two ways:
in the "Company" menu by selecting "Change or add accounting period" and then clicking the "Manage Accounting Period" button,
by clicking the accounting period shortcode (typically the year) in the top navigation header and then clicking the "Manage Accounting Period" button.
If you want to switch to a new accounting period that you have not yet worked in, you must first create that period — that is, add a new row to the table with the new year. The system automatically monitors the time validity of each accounting period based on the "Valid from date" and "Valid to date" values.
Most code lists that are tied to an accounting period — such as the chart of accounts, VAT lines, cost centers, projects, etc. — have "Valid from" and "Valid to" fields in the "Administration" tab. These fields are linked to the values in this "Accounting Period" dialog and determine the validity (visibility) of a given record within an accounting period. By default, these fields are set to "Valid from 0" and "Valid to 9999", which means the records are displayed without any restriction.
For example, you can deactivate a cost center for accounting period 2010 by entering "Valid from 0" and "Valid to 2009" in the "Administration" tab. When you open the accounting records in period 2010, that cost center will not be visible in the cost centers code list.
The toolbar at the top of the table contains a number of buttons whose functions are described in the dedicated chapter "Program Controls". Updates to the "Accounting Period" code list are permitted for the administrator and users authorized by them.
Note:
The table contains additional columns that cannot be edited manually:
"Change after closing" – this checkbox is set automatically in connection with running the period closing.
Based on our example, this means:
Year 2008 – the period is closed; there is no document that was posted or edited in 2008 after the period closing. If you create or edit an accounting document after the period has been closed, the checkbox will be checked after the accounting period is reloaded or the application is restarted. At the same time, the sidebar navigation header will display "Period 2008 not closed".
Year 2009 – accounting period 2009 has not yet been closed."Revaluation error" – this column is not normally displayed in the table, as it is only relevant for companies that use foreign currency accounting. It is always printed in the "Accounting Period" report. If you want to display it in the table, right-click a table row and select "Column Selection".
This checkbox is set automatically in connection with running the period closing, in relation to the recalculation of unpaid invoices, other receivables, and other liabilities held in foreign currency. During period closing, an automatic recalculation is performed based on the exchange rate as of December 31. If the checkbox is unchecked, it means the period is closed and there is no invoice, other receivable, or other liability in foreign currency that was created, settled, or edited after the period closing. If you create a new invoice, other receivable, or liability in foreign currency after the period has been closed, or if you modify, settle, or otherwise change an existing one, the checkbox will be checked — again, only after the accounting period is reloaded or the application is restarted.
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Tab "Basic Information"
Click the button to open the form for a new record,
where values for the new accounting period will be set automatically, continuing directly from the previous period.
For example, if you have accounting period 2009 corresponding to the calendar year — defined as January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009 — the new accounting period will automatically be set to 2010, defined as January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010.
If accounting period 2009 is a fiscal year defined as June 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010, the new accounting period will automatically be set to 2010, defined as June 1, 2010 to May 31, 2011.
If you have inventory cards set up — that is, if you are working with stock — you must run the "Initialize next accounting period" option in the "Accounting" module after creating a new accounting period in order to continue working with the stock.
The toolbar at the top of the record contains a number of buttons whose functions are described in the dedicated chapter "Program Controls".
Code: The "Code" field can contain up to 20 characters. It identifies the year representing the accounting period. Default value: YYYY based on the current year. If you have a fiscal year, you can set the code to, for example, 2009/2010. When creating a new accounting period, the code in this format will not be set automatically — you will need to enter it manually.
Year code for series: The value of this field is limited to four characters. It contains a value — typically a year — used to form the internal document number. In the settings of the relevant document numbering series, there is a postfix that can take the form /%YYYY%, where the value of YYYY is substituted with the value from this field. For more details, see the Document Numbering Series chapter.
Default values:
accounting period corresponds to the calendar year -> the value from the "Code" field is used.
accounting period does not correspond to the calendar year (fiscal year) -> the last two digits of the "Valid from date" value and the last two digits of the "Valid to date" value are used. Example: from 01.06.2009 to 31.05.2010, the resulting number is: 0910 (or 910 after saving — leading zeros are not included).
Valid from date: The start of the accounting period's validity; the start date must be the first day of a month, and if the accounting period corresponds to the calendar year, it is set by default to 01.01.YYYY,
Valid to date: The end of the accounting period's validity; the end date must be the last day of a month, and if the accounting period corresponds to the calendar year, it is set by default to 31.12.YYYY
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Tab "Texts"
The "Texts" tab is present in all code lists and all record lists. It contains two fields that you can fill in according to your own needs. Completing them is optional.
Description: A more detailed description of the accounting period.
Note: An additional note related to the given accounting period.
Save the newly created accounting period by clicking the Save and Close button.