> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.arcuserp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Period Close
> Period Close locks an accounting date range so backdated postings cannot quietly change prior financial results. Use it after AP, AR, banking, payouts, journal entries, and reports have been reviewed for the period.
## Open Period Close
The page shows open, pending approval, and closed accounting periods. It also suggests
recent periods that are still open so accounting can review them before new activity drifts
into old dates.
## What Should Be Done First
* Post or delete draft journal entries that belong in the period.
* Approve or reject journal entries waiting for approval.
* Complete bank reconciliation for cash accounts that need review.
* Review open vendor bills and AP aging.
* Review outstanding AR and collections items.
* Review marketplace clearing balances and pending payouts.
* Run reports and compare expected balances before locking the period.
**Closing is a control, not a cleanup shortcut**
Do not close a period to hide unfinished accounting work. The close checklist is designed
to catch items that would make financial statements unreliable.
## Choose The Close Path
* **Close**: closes the period directly when your role has close permission and the checklist passes.
* **Request Close**: moves the period to pending approval so another authorized user can review it.
* **Approve Close**: completes a requested close. The approver must be different from the requester when separation of duties applies.
* **Reopen**: unlocks a closed period for a legitimate correction, then requires the period to be reviewed and closed again.
**Pending close is not closed yet**
A period in pending approval still needs an authorized approver before the close is final.
Keep reviewing late postings until the period shows closed.
## Close A Period
1. Open **Accounting**.
2. Open **Period Close**.
3. Use the suggested period or click **Close Period** for a custom date range.
4. Enter the period name, start date, and end date when using a custom range.
5. Click **Review Checklist** or **Close**.
6. Review every checklist item.
7. Use the checklist links to fix blockers before closing.
8. Acknowledge non-blocking warnings only after they are understood.
9. Close the period or request approval, depending on your permission model.
## Checklist Items
The pre-close checklist looks for accounting work that can change the period. Some items
block the close. Others are warnings that accounting can acknowledge after review.
* **Unposted journal entries**: blocking items that need to post, be deleted, or move to a later period.
* **Entries pending approval**: blocking items that need an approve or reject decision.
* **Bank accounts needing reconciliation**: warning items for cash accounts that still need bank statement review.
* **Open AP bills**: warning items that can affect liabilities and expense timing.
* **Outstanding AR**: warning items that can affect receivables review, collections, and bad-debt decisions.
* **Clearing-account drains**: marketplace clearing balances that should have a pending payout or a reviewed reason. Unexplained clearing drains can block close.
Treat warning rows as review work, not as decoration. A warning can still point to an item
that accounting policy requires you to resolve before final close.
**Separation of duties may apply**
Some teams use request-and-approve close. In that workflow, one user requests the close
and a different authorized user approves it. This protects the final close from single-user
mistakes.
## Marketplace Clearing Review
Period close checks marketplace clearing balances because platform activity often posts
before the bank payout arrives. A pending payout can explain a clearing balance. An old
balance with no pending payout needs review before close.
* Open the payout link from the checklist when a clearing row appears.
* Confirm the platform, payout date, net amount, and posting status.
* Match posted payouts to bank feed deposits during bank reconciliation when the bank transaction arrives.
* Document any expected timing difference before acknowledging the warning.
## Blocking Issues Versus Warnings
* **Blocking issues** must be fixed before a normal close can proceed.
* **Warnings** can be acknowledged only when accounting has reviewed the risk.
* **Admin force close** may appear for authorized users when policy allows an override.
* **Force close reasons** are required and become part of the audit trail.
**Use checklist links as the work queue**
When the checklist shows an issue, follow the action link directly to journal entries,
reconciliation, AP bills, AR, or payouts. Fix the source item first, then return to close.
## What Closing Does
* Locks the date range so ordinary backdated postings cannot change prior financial results.
* Records who closed or approved the period and when the action happened.
* Stores an integrity snapshot so later changes can be audited if the period is reopened.
* Feeds period-close review status into accounting dashboards and month-end routines.
## Reopen A Closed Period
Reopening allows new postings inside a previously closed date range. Use it only when the
business has a legitimate correction that cannot be posted in the current period.
1. Find the closed period row.
2. Click **Reopen**.
3. Enter a clear reason for reopening.
4. Make the correction.
5. Review the period again and close it when complete.
**Reopens should be rare**
Reopening a period changes the control state of prior financials. Use a detailed reason
that explains what changed and why the current period could not handle it.
## Common Problems
* **Close button is disabled**: review blockers, permissions, pending checklist load, or warning acknowledgment.
* **Journal entries block close**: post, approve, reverse, or delete the entries before closing.
* **Clearing account blocks close**: review marketplace payouts and confirm whether a pending payout explains the balance.
* **Cannot approve close**: another user may need to approve if separation of duties is enabled.
* **Need to correct a closed period**: use reopen with a reason, or ask accounting leadership whether to post a current-period adjustment.
## Related Articles
Use the accounting dashboard and calendar to triage cash, AP, AR, close work, recurring items, leases, and fixed asset dates.
Create, review, and reverse journal entries.
Compare control accounts to subledgers, review clearing account health, and audit GL integrity check logs.
Match bank transactions to payments, deposits, payouts, and checks.
Record vendor bills, approve them, post them, and track AP aging.
Track customer balances, aging, statements, and collections work.