Fiscal years and periods

Every entry in the ledger posts into a period: one month of a subsidiary’s fiscal year. A period that is open takes entries; once you close it, nothing more can post into it, so the figures you reported for that month stay as they were. Generate each fiscal year before its first day, because a document dated in a month with no open period cannot post.

Generate a fiscal year

1. Go to Finance ‣ Setup ‣ Fiscal periods and click New fiscal year.
2. Pick the Subsidiary.
3. Enter the Fiscal year: the calendar year the fiscal year starts in, for example 2027.
4. Click Generate year.

Axon Suite builds twelve monthly periods, starting in the subsidiary’s fiscal year start month, and opens the year’s page. Each period is Open.

Example

A retailer whose fiscal year starts in April generates fiscal year 2026. Its periods run from April 2026 to March 2027, and an invoice dated 15 January 2027 posts into the tenth period.

How period statuses work

A period moves forward one step at a time, and back one step at a time, until it is locked.

Status	What it allows
Open	Entries post into the period.
Soft closed	Nothing posts into the period. Reopen it in one step if something was missed.
Closed	Nothing posts. Axon Suite checks that the period has no draft journal entries and that its debits equal its credits before it lets you close it.
Locked	Nothing posts, and the period can never be reopened.

Periods close in order: a period cannot be closed while the one before it is still Open, and cannot be reopened while the one after it is Closed or Locked.

Close a period

At the end of each month, once the month’s documents are in, close its period so nothing more lands in it.

1. Go to Finance ‣ Setup ‣ Fiscal periods and open the fiscal year.
2. On the Periods tab, open the period’s actions and click Soft close.
3. Read the Pre-close checks. Fix any that are marked Blocking, then click Continue to confirm.
4. Click Close period.

The period shows Soft closed. Nothing more posts into it, but you can still reopen it.

When the month is final, open the period’s actions again and click Close. The period shows Closed.

Note

The checks also report whether every bank account has been reconciled to the period’s end. That check never blocks the close, and it shows as failed until a reconciliation has been recorded on each bank account.

Lock a period

Lock a period once its figures have been audited or filed, so no one can reopen it.

1. On the fiscal year’s Periods tab, open the Closed period’s actions and click Lock.
2. Confirm in the dialog.

Caution

A locked period can never be reopened, by anyone. Nothing can post into that month again, not even a correction.

Reopen a period

To post a missed document or a correction, reopen the period.

1. On the fiscal year’s Periods tab, open the period’s actions.
2. Click Reopen on a Soft closed period, or Reopen (soft close) on a Closed one.
3. Confirm in the dialog.

A Closed period reopens to Soft closed first; reopen it once more to post into it.

Messages you may meet

Message	What to do
The accounting period is closed.	The document’s date falls in a period that is not Open, or in a month with no fiscal year. Reopen the period, generate the fiscal year, or change the date.
The fiscal year already exists.	Open the existing year from the list.
The period still holds draft journals. Post or delete them before closing it.	Open Finance ‣ General ledger ‣ Journal entries, and post or delete the drafts dated in the period.
The period’s ledger debits and credits differ, so it cannot be closed.	Contact support: posted entries always balance, so this points to a fault.
Periods close and reopen in order, so the neighbouring period is dealt with first.	Close the period before it, or reopen the period after it, first.
A period moves Open to Soft-closed to Closed to Locked and back again; Locked is permanent.	Move the period one step at a time.