Fiscal years & closing

A fiscal year is the reference accounting period: every voucher, every journal, every entry belongs to it. Without an open fiscal year covering a voucher’s date, SynkriaOps rejects the entry and notifies you immediately. Under OHADA, the standard duration is 12 months — most SMEs align their fiscal year with the calendar year (1 January → 31 December).

The lifecycle of a fiscal year follows a linear progression: Open → current-period data entry and voucher posting → Pre-closing (trial balance check, clearing 471 suspense accounts) → Closed → automatic carry-forward of opening balances (à-nouveaux) → new fiscal year opened. SynkriaOps automates the carry-forward of closing balances (N) into opening balances (N+1) using the dedicated AN journal.

SynkriaOps automatically creates the first fiscal year at sign-up, covering the current calendar year. You can start entering vouchers immediately without any additional setup. If your accounting year does not match the calendar year, you can adjust the dates in Settings → Company during initial configuration.

Fiscal year lifecycle

Phase	Status	Available actions
Initial setup	OPEN	Data entry, editing draft vouchers
Active data entry	OPEN	Posting vouchers, reconciliation, OCR imports
Pre-closing	OPEN	Balance check, clearing 471xxx suspense accounts
Closing	CLOSED	Read-only consultation, reversal still possible
Reopening	CLOSED → OPEN	ADMIN only, justification ≥ 10 characters required

Caution

Closing a fiscal year is irreversible without ADMIN intervention. Make sure the trial balance is in equilibrium (ΣDebit = ΣCredit) and all 471xxx suspense accounts are cleared before closing. Once closed, no new voucher can be entered for that fiscal year.

Available guides

Opening a fiscal year Create and configure a fiscal year, manage dates without overlap, historical data entry.

Closing a fiscal year Complete pre-closing checklist and step-by-step procedure to lock the fiscal year safely.

Understanding opening balances Carry-forward of balances from N to N+1, the AN journal, verifying balance after automatic carry-forward.

Reopening a closed fiscal year ADMIN-only procedure, mandatory justification ≥ 10 characters, audit trail and accounting risks.

Import historical accounting data Import opening balances from a legacy system before opening your first fiscal year.

Frequently asked questions about fiscal years

Can I have two fiscal years open at the same time? Yes. SynkriaOps allows multiple fiscal years to have OPEN status simultaneously — useful if you are still finalising year N while starting to enter year N+1 entries. Each voucher is automatically assigned to the fiscal year matching its date.

What happens if a voucher date falls outside any open fiscal year? SynkriaOps blocks the entry and displays an error message indicating that no open fiscal year covers that date. You must create the missing fiscal year or correct the voucher date.

Does closing a fiscal year automatically generate financial statements? Yes. When you close a fiscal year, SynkriaOps calculates the net result and generates a closing entry to account 12 (Net result). Financial statements (balance sheet, income statement, TAFIRE cash flow) remain available in read-only mode after closing.

How many fiscal years can I create? There is no limit. You can create as many fiscal years as needed — particularly useful for historical data migration where you will create one fiscal year per prior year to import.

Who can close or reopen a fiscal year? Closing is available to Admin and Accountant roles. Reopening a closed fiscal year is reserved for Admins only, and requires entering a justification of at least 10 characters that is permanently stored in the audit trail.

SYSCOHADA best practices

• Close within 3 to 6 months after the fiscal year end date to maintain accounting integrity.
• Verify the trial balance before closing: ΣDebit = ΣCredit is mandatory. An imbalance indicates a mis-entered voucher.
• Clear all 471xxx accounts (accruals and prepayments) before closing — these suspense accounts must not carry over into the new fiscal year.
• Never reopen a closed fiscal year without a documented justification: the reopening leaves a permanent trace in the audit trail.

Tip

Under OHADA, most SMEs align their fiscal year with the calendar year (1 January – 31 December). If your industry requires a non-calendar fiscal year, configure it at company creation in Settings → Company to avoid complications at first closing.