What does closing a financial year do?

Closing finalises the figures for that year, so the accounts you reported to your committee and your examiner cannot drift afterwards.

What is locked once a year is closed?

• Transactions dated inside it cannot be added, changed or deleted
• Expense claims cannot be paid with a date inside it
• Money cannot be moved between funds with a date inside it
• Stripe payouts paid inside it are not posted until it is reopened
• Its budget is fixed

How do I close a year?

1. Go to Finances > Year End and choose the year at the top of the page
2. Make sure your accounts are reconciled and your assets and liabilities are entered
3. Open the Manage menu and choose Close This Year
4. Add a closing note if you wish, and confirm

Why can't I close this year?

• An earlier year is still open. Years close in order, because this year's opening figure comes from last year's closing figure. Close the earlier year first.
• A restricted or endowment fund is overdrawn. That means another fund's money is paying for it at the year end. You can still close, but a closing note is required explaining how it will be met. Usually the answer is to move money from general funds to cover it before closing.

Can I reopen a closed year?

Yes, deliberately. Choose Reopen This Year from the Manage menu, make the change, and close it again. If the accounts have already been reported, anything you change will no longer match what your committee or examiner saw, so keep a note of why.

A year cannot be reopened while a later year is closed. Reopen the later one first; otherwise, this year's figures could move underneath accounts already reported.

Related reading

• Setting up a financial year
• Entering your assets and liabilities at the year end
• What report do I get at the end of the year?