Accounting Periods

Accounting periods control when transactions can post. Closing a period rejects edits or new entries dated inside it; locking adds a stronger second tier of protection. A guided close-readiness score, manual checklist, and multi-reviewer sign-offs help you finish month-end with confidence, and every close, lock, and reopen is captured in the audit trail so finalized financial statements stay trustworthy.

Key capabilities

• Three period states — open → closed → locked — with a one-way capability ladder
• Closing blocks posting/edits to any date inside the period (enforced on transaction dates)
• Locking is stronger than closing and requires the period be closed first
• Reopen requires a reason and records who reopened it and when
• Bulk close-and-lock for historical-data migration (1–120 periods in one call)
• Periods can be created monthly, quarterly, or annually; a uniqueness constraint prevents overlapping dates
• AI close-readiness check that scores outstanding work and lists what's blocking close
• Unified close score with components for transaction review, categorization, reconciliation, checklist, and anomalies
• Daily score-history snapshots powering a close-progress sparkline
• Persisted manual checklist acknowledgements (trial balance, P&L, balance sheet, controller review, etc.)
• Multi-reviewer sign-offs by role (preparer, reviewer, controller, partner)
• Audit trail on every close/lock/reopen
• Available with the CFO Suite add-on

How it works

A period starts open. Closing records who closed it and when; locking promotes a closed period to locked. Reopening (always audited) returns it to open so corrections can post.

stateDiagram-v2
  direction LR
  [*] --> Open
  Open --> Closed: Close
  Closed --> Locked: Lock
  Closed --> Open: Reopen (reason)
  Locked --> Open: Reopen (reason)
  note right of Closed
    Closed and Locked both reject
    postings dated inside the period
  end note

How to use it

1. Open Accounting Periods (/books/accounting-periods) to see every period and its open/closed/locked status.
2. Review the close-readiness score and the "What's between you and 100%" blockers for the period you're finishing.
3. Work the checklist — acknowledge manual steps like trial-balance review and controller sign-off as you complete them.
4. Click Close on the period (optionally adding a lock reason) — postings dated inside it are now rejected.
5. Click Lock to apply the stronger protection once the period is closed.
6. Use Bulk close-and-lock to migrate historical months — open periods are closed then locked in one pass; already-locked ones are skipped.
7. To correct something, Reopen the period with a reason; the audit trail records who did it and when.

Pro tips

• Close periods as the last step of month-end so reconciled data can't be edited by accident.
• Drive close to 100% before locking: resolve unreviewed and uncategorized transactions, since those are the heaviest score penalties.
• Use multi-reviewer sign-offs to enforce separation of duties — preparer prepares, controller approves — with a timestamped record at each role.
• Reopen sparingly and always with a clear reason; the reason and reopener are permanent in the audit log and signal control weaknesses if frequent.
• For onboarding a business with years of history, bulk close-and-lock everything through the cutover month in a single operation.

In-depth guide

Period status

State transitions & capabilities

Period close & locking

• Closing — sets the status to closed, records the timestamp and user, and stores any lock reason.
• Enforcement — posting or editing a transaction whose date falls inside a closed or locked period is blocked.
• Locking — a deliberate second step (the period must already be closed) that signals the books are final.
• Bulk close-and-lock — for migrations: closes any still-open period (recording who and when) and moves it straight to locked, skips periods that are already locked, and reports any unknown periods as not found.

Close readiness & score

The readiness check scores a period out of 100, subtracting penalties for unreviewed and uncategorized transactions in range (scaled by count), and returns itemized checks plus period transaction counts. The unified close score breaks readiness into components:

Scores are persisted and recomputed on demand (or after resolving a blocker), and a daily snapshot feeds the close-progress sparkline.

Manual checklist steps

Acknowledgeable steps per period include: trial-balance review, P&L review, balance-sheet review, controller final review, revenue recognition, accruals, depreciation, payroll entries, and intercompany. Re-acknowledging a step updates its note, and acknowledgements survive page refreshes.

Multi-reviewer sign-offs

Sign-offs are recorded per user and role for the roles preparer, reviewer, controller, partner. Each sign-off snapshots the score at the time and triggers a score recompute; revoking a sign-off recomputes again so the gauge reflects reality.

Accounting impact

• Control layer, not a posting event — period close doesn't create journal entries.
• Integrity — once a month is closed, the statements you've shared (P&L, balance sheet, trial balance) can't silently drift because a back-dated edit slipped in.
• Audit value — the trail of who closed, locked, or reopened each period is exactly what auditors and SOC reviewers look for.

Edge cases

• Closing against a date with no existing period auto-creates the monthly period for that date, then closes it.
• Reopening an already-open period is rejected; locking an unclosed period is rejected.
• This feature is gated behind the CFO Suite add-on.

Start free and lock down your close.