How do I add an account to the chart and close a period?

Two tasks the accountant does alone and should not leave to a data-entry clerk: adding an account, and closing a period.

Adding an account

1. Open Accounting → Chart of accounts — Figure 1 — and review the chart before adding; the account you want usually already exists.
2. Press Add account — Figure 2 — and choose the parent account; from it the account inherits its type and its place in the reports.
3. Enter the name in both languages. The code is generated by the system and is not typed by hand — this is what prevents clashing codes.
4. Set whether it is a group account (holding accounts beneath it) or a posting account (entries land on it directly), then Save.

Closing an accounting period

A closed period — Figure 3 — refuses any new document dated inside it, and that is the point: to protect figures you have approved and filed a return or a balance sheet on.

Open Accounting periods and press Close against the period. It can be reopened when needed, but do not make a habit of it.

When to close a period

• After every invoice and voucher of the month is approved.
• After the bank reconciliation and the monthly depreciation entry.
• After filing the period’s tax return, not before.

Notes

• Do not create an account per customer or supplier; they have their own screens, and the chart is for classification, not for names.
• Do not delete an account that has movement; deactivate it, so it leaves the lists while its history stays in the reports.
• Close each month on time; a document keyed with an old date changes a report you already showed your manager or the authorities.