Complete the Year End Close Process

This article explains the full year end close process in Aclarian.

The process includes:

• Pre close verification
• Final period end procedures
• General Ledger close
• Purchasing year end tasks
• New fiscal year setup
• Budget confirmation
• Post close verification

Follow the phases in order to reduce errors and avoid missed year end activity.

Note
Your fiscal year may not follow a January through December calendar.

All period numbers in this article refer to your configured fiscal year.

Year end close phases

The year end close process has seven phases:

1. Pre Close Verification
2. Final Period End Procedures
3. Year End Close in General Ledger
4. Purchasing Year End and PO Rollover
5. New Fiscal Year Setup
6. Budget Confirmation
7. Post Close Verification

Phase 1: Pre close verification

Before closing any periods, review the system for pending activity and balance issues.

Complete the following checks:

• Run the Trial Balance Report
• Clear all pending Journal Entry forms
• Clear all pending Payment and Receipt forms
• Complete Bank Reconciliation
• Review the Outstanding A/P Report
• Review the Outstanding A/R Report
• Run the Revenues and Expenses Report
• Run the Budget vs Actual Report
• Review the Balance Sheet

These checks help confirm that year end reports reflect all approved activity.

Important
Outstanding A/P and A/R reports only reflect fully approved forms.

Pending forms do not appear in those reports.

Tip
Export key reports to Excel or PDF before closing periods.

Point in time files can simplify audit support later.

Phase 2: Final period end procedures

This phase covers final year end items, including depreciation and Period 13 adjustments.

Capital assets and depreciation

If your organization uses the Capital Assets module, confirm all depreciation activity is complete for the fiscal year.

Complete these tasks:

• Run the final Depreciation Schedule Form
• Review Depreciation Management
• Review the Asset Listing and Capital Outlay Report
• Confirm all asset transactions are approved

If depreciation is only completed at year end, the Depreciation Schedule Form may need to be completed for twelve consecutive months.

Note
Depreciation can post to a fiscal period even after that GL month is closed.

If a depreciation run was missed, you do not need to reopen the period.

Confirm with your finance administrator before posting to a prior closed period.

Period 13 adjustments

If your organization uses Period 13, it can remain open after the final fiscal month closes.

This supports audit adjustments without reopening standard periods.

Complete these tasks:

• Submit and approve all final Period 13 Journal Entries
• Run a Trial Balance that includes Period 13

Note
Period 13 is available only through the Journal Entry Form.

It cannot be selected on other form types.

Phase 3: Year end close in General Ledger

The year end close is completed through the Open Close Period Form.

Each month must be closed separately. Months must be closed in order, from oldest to newest.

Closing the final month closes the fiscal year in the General Ledger.

After close:

• Postings to closed periods are blocked
• Period 13 can still remain available, if enabled
• Retained earnings are calculated on the configured rollover date

How to close fiscal year periods

1. Go to General Ledger > Forms > Open Close Period Form.
2. Select Action: Close.
3. Select the fiscal year.
4. Select the month shown by the system.
5. Attach documentation, if desired.
6. Click Save.
7. Submit the form for approval.
8. Confirm the period shows as closed in Open/Close Period Management.

Important
Each month requires its own close form.

Months must be closed in sequence.

Note
Reopening a closed period requires a new Open/Close Period Form with Reopen selected.

Reopens are logged and auditable.

Tip
It is acceptable to keep the prior year open briefly into the new fiscal year.

This can help record expenses in the correct year before payment is issued.

Phase 4: Purchasing year end and PO rollover

At year end, purchase orders with remaining balances should either be rolled over or disabled.

Complete these tasks:

• Identify open POs with remaining balances
• Disable POs not being carried forward
• Submit PO Rollover Forms for applicable POs
• Obtain approvals
• Verify encumbrances in the new year

Rollovers can be submitted in bulk.

Important
Aclarian does not recommend rolling over blanket POs or annual POs.

Best practice is to create new POs for those items each year.

Note
Disabled POs can still be viewed later.

They can also be re enabled and rolled over later, if needed.

Tip
Run the Budget vs Actual Report before and after rollover.

This helps verify that encumbrances transferred correctly.

Phase 5: New fiscal year setup

Before posting activity in the new year, complete the required setup steps.

Open the new fiscal year in General Ledger

Complete these tasks:

• Open the first month of the new fiscal year
• Confirm the period is open in Open/Close Period Management
• Create any needed GL accounts
• Create any needed departments or funds

To open the first month:

1. Go to General Ledger > Forms > Open/Close Period Form.
2. Select Action: Open.
3. Select the new fiscal year.
4. Submit the form.

Open the new fiscal year in Purchasing

Complete these tasks:

• Update PO Fiscal Year Config
• Confirm new requisitions and purchase orders can be created

Note
The new year can be opened in Purchasing before it is opened in the General Ledger.

Staff can begin entering new year purchase requisitions in advance.

However, the GL year must be open before payments can be processed.

Phase 6: Budget confirmation

Before posting activity in the new year, confirm that new year budgets are available and correct.

Complete these tasks:

• Confirm Next Year Expenses Budget and Next Year Revenues Budget are approved
• Run Budget vs Actual for the new fiscal year
• Review Budget Balance Management
• Correct budget issues before posting begins

Important
If adopted budgets need to change later, use a Budget Amendment Form.

Note
If balances were entered incorrectly or not fully completed, users with edit access may correct original balances in Budget Balance Management.

Phase 7: Post close verification

After all close steps are complete, perform a final review.

Complete these checks:

• Confirm all prior year periods show as closed
• Run a Trial Balance for new year Month 1
• Verify retained earnings rollover
• Verify rolled over PO encumbrances
• Confirm the depreciation schedule is ready for the new year

Opening balances for balance sheet accounts should match prior year ending balances, except for the dedicated retained earnings account.

Retained earnings review

Aclarian calculates retained earnings automatically during rollover.

The calculation is:

• Prior year ending balance
• Plus revenue
• Minus expenses

If a fund is out of balance, review whether the fund has a retained earnings account assigned.

Common questions

What if I need to reopen a closed period?

Submit a new Open/Close Period Form and choose Reopen for the period.

What if a journal entry was posted to the wrong fiscal year?

If the period is still open, submit a correcting Journal Entry Form.

If the period is closed, use one of these options:

• Submit a Period 13 Journal Entry
• Reopen the period, post the correction, and close it again

Can I post in the new fiscal year before the prior year is fully closed?

Yes. You can open the first month of the new fiscal year while the prior year is still open.

What if I missed a depreciation run?

Submit the missed Depreciation Schedule Form and obtain approval.

You do not need to reopen the period.

Quick reference navigation

Use these navigation paths during year end close:

Item	Navigation Path
Open/Close Period Form	General Ledger > Forms > Open/Close Period Form
Open/Close Period Management	General Ledger > Data Management > Open/Close Period Management
Trial Balance Report	General Ledger > Reports > Trial Balance
Revenues and Expenses Report	General Ledger > Reports > Revenues and Expenses
Balance Sheet Report	General Ledger > Reports > Balance Sheet
Budget vs Actual Report	General Ledger > Reports > Budget vs Actual
Journal Entry Form	General Ledger > Forms > Journal Entry Form
Bank Reconciliation	Treasury Management > Bank Reconciliation Forms and Pooled Cash Bank Rec Transactions
Depreciation Schedule Form	Capital Assets > Forms > Depreciation Schedule Form
Depreciation Management	Capital Assets > Data Management > Depreciation Management
PO Rollover Form	Purchasing > Forms > PO Rollover Form
PO Fiscal Year Config	Purchasing > Data Management > PO Fiscal Year Config
Budget Position Control Management	Budgeting > Data Management > Budget Position Control Management
Next Year Expenses Budget	Budgeting > Forms > Next Year Expenses Budget
Next Year Revenue Budget	Budgeting > Forms > Next Year Revenue Budget
Next Year Personnel Budget	Budgeting > Forms > Next Year Personnel Budget
Next Year Capital Budget	Budgeting > Forms > Next Year Capital Budget

If you want, I can also turn this into a 2 column HTML table for cleaner pasting into the HubSpot KB editor.

Summary

Year end close in Aclarian is a multi phase process that spans General Ledger, Capital Assets, Purchasing, and Budgeting. Completing each phase in order helps ensure clean balances, correct carryforward activity, accurate retained earnings, and a smooth start to the new fiscal year.

Need help?
Contact Aclarian Client Support if you need help during year end close.

• Email: ClientSupport@aclarian.com
• Submit a request through your client portal
• For urgent issues, contact the Help Desk