Concepts: Periods & Close

Financial statements only mean something if the numbers stop moving. Fiscal periods are how Horizon makes that true.

The Calendar and Its Periods

Your fiscal calendar (set in Setup) divides the year into periods — usually months. Every posted document lands in exactly one period, determined by its date. That’s what makes “the January numbers” a real, answerable question.

Open vs. Closed

• Open — the period accepts postings. Normal life.
• Closed — the period is locked. Nothing new posts into it, so its statements are final.

The lock is the entire point: once you’ve reviewed a month and signed it off, no late entry can quietly change what you reported. If something genuinely belongs to a closed month, it posts to the current one — visibly, as accounting has always handled it.

The Close Is a Process, Not a Moment

Month-end in Horizon is a checklist you run from Period Close:

1. Finish the period’s business — post the stragglers, reconcile the bank, run depreciation.
2. Review — walk the working trial balance, post adjusting entries where the numbers need truing.
3. Tick the checklist — tasks with owners and evidence, so nothing relies on memory.
4. Close the period — the lock drops, and the statements for that month are yours to stand behind.

Tip

Small businesses often skip closing because it feels like ceremony. Do it anyway — a closed month is the difference between “our June revenue was $23,900” and “our June revenue is currently $23,900.” The first sentence is the one you can put in front of a bank.