Close a fiscal year, step by step

Why it matters

As long as a fiscal year stays open, any entry can still change the year's result, and the new fiscal year starts without opening balances. Closing freezes the year: it calculates and allocates the result, carries the balance sheet balances to the next fiscal year and locks the entries. This is the step that makes your accounts presentable to your accountant, the bank and the tax authority.

Summary

Closing is done in Accounting Settings, tab Fiscal Years, with a four-step wizard: Diagnostic, Preview, Confirmation, Done. Before launching it, the next fiscal year must exist, all periods must be closed, no entry may be in draft and entries must balance. A Closed fiscal year can still be reopened; a Locked one never can.

Prerequisites

• Accounting is turned on and set up in Genuka.
• Permission accounting.fiscal_years.close (or accounting.*) to close, reopen and lock; accounting.fiscal_years.* to create the next fiscal year.
• The year-end work is done with your accountant: bank reconciliations up to date, the year's depreciation posted, tax returns filed, last invoices received.

Steps

1. Create the next fiscal year

1. Open Menu › Finances › Accounting › Configuration › Settings (/accounting/settings), tab Fiscal Years.
2. If the next fiscal year does not exist, click Create Fiscal Year, enter its Name, Start Date and End Date, then confirm. Its periods are created automatically.

Without a next fiscal year, closing still works, but without carry-forward entries: the new fiscal year would start without opening balances.

2. Close the periods one by one

1. In the list, click the row of the fiscal year to close to display its periods.
2. Click Close next to the first period that is still Open. The button only appears on the oldest open period: periods close in order.
3. Repeat until the last period of the fiscal year.

3. Launch the closing wizard

1. On the fiscal year's row, click Close Fiscal Year.
2. Diagnostic: Genuka checks that the fiscal year is open, that All periods are closed, that there are No draft transactions and that All entries are balanced. It also shows the Net result (profit or loss), the Revenue, the Expenses, the number of unreconciled entries (for information) and the fiscal year that will receive the carry-forward entries. The Close periods and View drafts links lead straight to what is blocking. The Next button stays greyed out as long as a check fails.
3. Preview: review the entries that will be created, account by account, with their debit and credit:
   • Result allocation, in the miscellaneous operations journal: each expense account (class 6) and revenue account (class 7) is closed, and the result is carried to account 121 if it is a profit, to account 129 if it is a loss;
   • Carry-forward entries (A-Nouveau), in the opening journal, dated the first day of the next fiscal year: each balance sheet account (classes 1 to 5) picks up its balance there.
4. Confirmation: tick I confirm that the data is correct and the fiscal year can be closed, then click Close fiscal year.
5. Done: View generated entries opens the result allocation entry; Back to settings returns to the list of fiscal years.

4. Lock, once everything is validated

When your accountant has validated the accounts, click Lock on the closed fiscal year's row, then Lock Permanently. This lock is irreversible.

What closing does

The statuses of a fiscal year

Edge cases & common errors

• "No next fiscal year found — carry-forward entries will not be generated." Create the next fiscal year before closing. If closing is already done, Reopen the fiscal year, create the next fiscal year, then close again.
• "X period(s) still open." Close them in order from the Fiscal Years tab. A Locked period can no longer be reopened, and the dashboard does not offer to reopen a closed period: check your entries before closing.
• "X draft transaction(s) to resolve." Post or delete each draft of the fiscal year. Closing is impossible as long as one remains.
• "Entries unbalanced — difference: …". The total of debits and credits for the fiscal year does not match. Look for the entry at fault with your accountant before going further.
• Unreconciled entries. This check is informational: it does not block closing, but an unreconciled third-party or bank account deserves a review beforehand.
• The result account used. Genuka carries the result to 121 (profit) or 129 (loss), whatever your framework. If your accountant expects other accounts, they will post a reclassification entry in the next fiscal year.
• An invoice for the year arrives after closing. Reopening the fiscal year does not reopen its periods, and the dashboard does not let you reopen a closed period: the invoice is therefore recorded in the current fiscal year. Wait until you have received all documents before closing the last periods.

FAQ

Can I cancel a closing? Yes, as long as the fiscal year is not locked: Reopen deletes the result allocation and carry-forward entries, and unlocks the fiscal year's entries: they become plain posted entries again. After locking, it is no longer possible.

Do I need to close to start entering in the new fiscal year? No. The new fiscal year receives entries as soon as it exists. Closing is for freezing the old one and carrying its balances forward.

Where do I find the entries created by the closing? The result allocation is in the miscellaneous operations journal, dated the end of the fiscal year, under the reference "CLOSE-" followed by the fiscal year name. The carry-forward entries are in the next fiscal year's opening journal, under the reference "AN-" followed by that fiscal year's name.

See also

• Fiscal years and accounting periods
• Record, post and correct an entry
• Bank reconciliation
• Fixed assets and depreciation
• Generate financial statements
• The audit trail