9.7.2.� Accounting Periods

9.7.2.1. Accounting Period

To access the master list of Accounting Periods, select the "Accounting Periods" option. The following screen will appear:

Accounting Periods Master List

Note

Users will be prevented from posting transactions into closed Accounting Periods if Accounts are marked to prevent it. Otherwise, users will be allowed to post into closed Periods.

The "Accounting Periods" screen displays information on all existing Accounting Periods, including Period name, Period start date, Period end date, and closed status.

To the far right of the list, the following buttons are available:

CLOSE: Closes the screen, returning you to the application desktop.
PRINT: Runs the report associated with this screen.
NEW: Opens screen for creating a new Accounting Period.
EDIT: Enables you to edit highlighted Accounting Period. The edit screen is the same as that for creating a new Accounting Period—except that when editing, the fields will contain Accounting Period information. Double-clicking on an Accounting Period will also bring you to the editing screen.
VIEW: Highlight an Accounting Period and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.
CLOSE PERIOD: Highlight an Accounting Period and then select this button to close the Period.
FREEZE PERIOD: Highlight an Accounting Period and then select this button to freeze the Period.
DELETE: Highlight an Accounting Period and then select this button to remove the Accounting Period from the list.

Right-clicking on an Accounting Period enables you to select from the following menu options:

View: Highlight an Accounting Period and then select this button to reach a read-only view of the "Edit" screen.
Open: Select to open the specified Accounting Period.
Freeze: Highlight an Accounting Period and then select this button to freeze the Period.
Export Contents: Export the data displayed on the screen into a plain-text, TAB-delimited file. This file may subsequently be imported into a spreadsheet or other office tool.

9.7.2.1.�Accounting Period

To create a new Accounting Period, select the NEW button. The following screen will appear:

Create New Accounting Period

When creating a new Accounting Period, you are presented with the following options:

Name: Enter a name to describe the Accounting Period. This name will be used as the Period's column header text when a Financial Report is generated. If not specified, then the Period's start and end dates will be used as the column header text.
Start Date: Specify the start date for the Accounting Period.
End Date: Specify the end date for the Accounting Period.
Closed: Select to indicate the Accounting Period is closed. You may not close an Accounting Period until a subsequent Period has been created. If an Accounting Period is closed, Trial Balances for the Period may not be updated—except for Accounts which specifically allow posting into closed Periods. Reopening a closed Accounting Period will cause any pending Account activity to be posted into the Period. For more information on posting into closed Periods, see Section�9.7.3, “ Topic: Closing Periods and Years”. If this option is not selected, the Accounting Period is considered open.

Note

The Trial Balances for an Accounting Period will automatically forward-update at the moment when the Accounting Period is closed. Also, the system will automatically reset the beginning balances for Revenue and Expense Accounts to $0 at the start of a new Fiscal Year.

Frozen: Select to indicate the Accounting Period is frozen. You may not freeze an Accounting Period unless the Period is already closed. Trial Balances may not be updated for Accounting Periods which are frozen. This restriction applies to all Accounts, even those Accounts which may be posted into closed Accounting Periods. Trial Balances may only be updated for Accounting Periods which are not frozen. If this option is not selected, the Accounting Period is considered not frozen.

Note

The "Closed" and "Frozen" options apply only to Trial Balances. Account activity is always posted to the General Ledger (G/L) regardless of whether Accounting Periods are closed or frozen.

To the far right of the screen, the following buttons are available:

CANCEL: Closes the screen without creating an Accounting Period, returning you to the previous screen.
SAVE: Creates the Accounting Period and adds it to the master list of Accounting Periods.