Understanding Accounting Periods

Accounting periods are date intervals used to group accounting transactions and produce financial statements. They are a central element of sound financial management.

Each accounting period includes all accounting entries recorded between its start and end dates.

An open period can still be modified, allowing you to adjust or correct entries until it is officially closed. By default, an accounting period spans 12 months.

Accounting Period Rules

• Every accounting entry must be linked to an accounting period.
• Accounting periods must follow one another without interruption (mandatory continuity).

First Accounting Period

When your account is created, an initial accounting period is automatically generated: from January 1st to December 31st of the current year.

You can modify the start and end dates of this period to match your actual fiscal year.

Possible Statuses of a Period

• Current: the end date has not yet been reached.
• To be closed: the end date has passed, but the period is not yet closed.
• Closed: the period has ended and has been officially closed.

Modifying an Accounting Period

You can only modify a period if it is current or to be closed. Click on Edit.

• For the initial period, you can adjust the start date and end date.
• For other periods, only the start date can be changed, and subsequent periods will be automatically adjusted.

Important: Changes made to one period can impact future periods. We recommend making adjustments starting from the oldest period to the most recent.

Note: A period that is already closed can no longer be modified.

Deleting an Accounting Period

You can only delete a period if:

• No accounting entries are linked to it.
• It is the oldest period on the list.

For example, to delete the 2020 period, you must first delete the 2018 and 2019 periods.

Closing a Period

Closing a period is an irreversible action. It should only be performed once your financial statements have been finalized by your accountant or certified public accountant.

Only the oldest period with a "to be closed" status can be closed.