Close Books¶
Overview¶
The Close Books page defines an open posting window for each property or entity so that ledger activity stays within the periods you are actively managing. Credence enforces these boundaries whenever bundles are posted, reversed, or impacted by payables, receivables, and other posting surfaces.
Each property can optionally set two boundaries:
- Closed Through (past close): closes the selected month and every earlier month.
- Closed From (future close): closes the selected month and every later month.
The months between the two boundaries form the property's open window. Leave either boundary blank to leave that side of the window unbounded.
Who Can Edit¶
Users with the Close Books property permission (property.close_books) can set or clear either boundary per property. Click a period value to edit it inline, then save. Leave the field blank and save to remove that boundary.
How Closings Affect Posting¶
Credence blocks General Ledger activity in any period that is outside a property's open window. The block applies to bundle create, post, approve, reverse, and to the locked-period checks used by payables and receivables.
| Reason a period is blocked | Who can still post there |
|---|---|
| Past closed period — at or before Closed Through | Users with the Post to Closed Period permission can still create, approve, and reverse bundles in past closed months during close-out. |
| Future closed period — at or after Closed From | No one. Future close is a hard block for all users. |
| Property is locked | No one. A locked property blocks all bundle posting regardless of period. |
When a user without permission tries to post to a closed past period, Credence stops the action and shows a message that the period is closed and to contact an administrator if posting during close-out is required.
Validation Rules¶
- Closed Through must be before Closed From. The future boundary cannot fall on or before the past boundary.
- Year must be within two years of the current calendar year. Period values for either boundary must fall within two years before or after the current year to be saved. Credence automatically locks activity outside of this time period to prevent typos (e.g. 2026 instead of 2206).
- Setting a boundary does not retroactively reverse anything already posted in that period. It only prevents future posting in the now-closed months.
Common Scenarios¶
- Month-end close-out: set Closed Through to the last completed month so the team stops posting to prior months while the books are reviewed, while designated close-out users keep posting to fix late entries using the Post to Closed Period permission.
- Lock future periods during migration: set Closed From to next month to prevent forward-dated entries while a period is being reconciled, then clear it once posting is reopened.
- Reopen a closed month: clear Closed Through back to a later month (or remove it) to widen the open window again.