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 Opening and Closing Posting Periods Locate this document in the navigation structure

Use

You define posting periods in your fiscal year variants. You can open and close these posting periods for posting. As many periods as you require can be open for posting simultaneously.

Usually, only the current posting period is open for posting, all other posting periods are closed. At the end of this posting period, the period is closed, and the next posting period is opened.

Special periods can be open for closing postings during the period-end closing.

Features

You have the following options for opening and closing posting periods.

  • Posting Period Variants

    You can specify which company codes are open for posting in a posting period variant. Posting period variants are cross-company code and you have to assign them to your company codes. The posting periods are then opened and closed simultaneously for all company codes via the posting period variants.

    Working with posting period variants is recommended if you are responsible for a large number of company codes. Since you only have to open and close the posting period once for the variant, your work is considerably reduced.

  • Account Type

    You can differentiate the opening and closing of posting periods by account type. This means that for a specific posting period, postings can be permitted to customer accounts, but not to vendor accounts.

    Caution Caution

    For each posting period that should be open, you must always specify at least account type + (valid for all account types). You can exercise more detailed control by specifying further account types.

    Using the minimum entry, when you enter the posting date in the document header, the system checks whether the posting period determined in the posting period variant can be posted to. As soon as you then enter an account number, in a second step, the system checks whether the posting period is permitted for the account specified.

    End of the caution.

  • Account Interval

    You can differentiate the opening and closing of posting periods by account intervals. This means that you only open a posting period for posting to specific G/L accounts.

    Account intervals are used exclusively with G/L accounts. If you want to open subledger accounts, you have to enter the corresponding reconciliation account and the account type.

    Example Example

    During the closing operations, you can use the reconciliation accounts to close customer and vendor accounts before G/L accounts, for example. This allows you to prevent further postings to these accounts after you have confirmed the balances with your customers and vendors. Balance confirmation is one of the prerequisites for further closing operations.

    End of the example.

  • Users

    You can open and close posting periods only for specific users. To do this, enter an authorization group for account type + (at document header level) and, if necessary, for other account types (at the line item level).

    Note Note

    This authorization group is effective only in time period 1 and prevents users who do not have the appropriate authorization for the authorization object F_BKPF_BUP (accounting document: Authorization for posting periods) from posting in periods that are only open for time period 1 .

    For more information on allocating authorizations, see the following sections of the Implementation Guide:

    • For new General Ledger Accounting, choose   Financial Accounting (New)   Financial Accounting Global Settings (New)   Authorizations   Maintain Authorizations  

    • For classic General Ledger Accounting, choose   Financial Accounting   Financial Accounting Global Settings   Maintain Authorizations   .

    End of the note.

Activities

You make the settings for opening and closing posting periods in Customizing:

  • For new General Ledger Accounting, choose   Financial Accounting (New)   Financial Accounting Global Settings (New)   Ledgers   Fiscal Year and Posting Periods   Posting Periods   .

  • For classic General Ledger Accounting, choose   Financial Accounting   Financial Accounting Global Settings   Document   Posting Periods   .