The management of posting periods in SAP Business One is an essential process for the correct and timely allocation of business transactions. In this context, posting periods act as decisive delimitation elements within integrated financial accounting. They enable the precise allocation of business transactions to the respective posting periods, which are made up of financial years and their sub-periods such as quarters or months. The categorisation of the sub-periods is based on the company's reporting requirements, e.g. the deadlines for internal and external reporting.
Accounting periods & sub-periods
The process begins in the Administration module under System initialisation, where the Posting periods window is located. A new posting period is created using the "New period" button. The period code, which can be for the 2024 financial year, for example, and the period name are then entered in the input window. The choice of sub-periods, such as annual, quarterly or monthly periods, depends on the specific requirements of the company. The number of periods results directly from the selection of sub-periods.
Accounting periods are essential in the context of accounting.
Here are some important aspects:
Timely bookings:
Business transactions should be recorded as soon as they occur. Regular posting is important and simply collecting receipts for later entry is not up to standard.
Daily cash accounting:
The cash register's income and expenditure must be recorded on a daily basis, as stipulated in Section 146 (1) sentence 2 AO.
Periodic bookings:
It is acceptable to post business transactions periodically instead of on an ongoing basis, as long as completeness and timely account assignment are ensured.
Allocation to accounting periods:
Each business transaction must be allocated to the period in which it occurred, whether this is the financial year or a shorter, prescribed period.
Recording by computerised systems:
If business transactions are recorded immediately in computerised systems, the problem of prompt recording is eliminated. It is important that the records serve as supporting documents. If there is a longer period between recording and posting, the transactions must be recorded continuously and correctly in the land registers.
These rules ensure proper and punctual accounting, which is essential for the accuracy and reliability of financial data.
Period indicators, numbering series & period status
You can use the period indicator to Posting periods The period status determines which business transactions can be posted in the respective posting periods. The period status determines which business transactions can be posted in the respective posting periods.
Booking & due date
The fields for posting date and due date delimit the posting period and define the periods for open item accounting and the value date. Equally important is the Demarcation the permitted service periods in the fields for the document date in order to take into account any discrepancies between service and posting periods. The start of the financial year and the financial year itself are for information purposes, especially if several general ledger periods are to be combined into one financial year.
Status for a posting period in SAP Business One
Once the posting periods have been created for a financial year, e.g. 2024, they are displayed in the main "Posting periods" window and the sub-periods are automatically labelled. There are four possible statuses for a posting period: "Unlocked", "Unlocked except sales", "Closing period" and "Locked". Each status has certain functions, ranging from complete booking freedom to complete blocking.
Change in the period status for the closing period
An automatic change of the period status for the closing period is set up via the main window "Posting periods". There you can set a date for the automatic change. This function is particularly useful to ensure that no ongoing business transactions are posted after a certain period.
Authorisations in connection with posting periods in SAP Business One
To the Authorisations in connection with posting periods include the authorisation to change the period status and the authorisation to post in the closing period. These authorisations are managed in the "Administration" module under "System initialisation" and "Authorisations". They are particularly relevant for the "Finance" authorisation group in order to ensure correct and secure handling of posting periods.
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