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Reopen a closed month

Reopening pulls back a sign-off and returns the month to review. Use it when a month was signed off by mistake: the wrong month, or too early. You don't need it to fix a closed month. A late bill or a correction lands in a closed month on its own date, and the month asks you to re-sign-off instead.

Before you begin​

  • Only the latest closed month can be reopened. On an earlier one, Reopen… is greyed out and its tooltip reads Only the latest closed period can be reopened — reopen later months first.
  • The month must not be hard-locked. On a month on or before your hard close date, Reopen… is greyed out with Lower the hard close date first. Use Lower hard close date… on the same banner if the month really must open again. See Lower or clear the hard close date.
  • You need the Accounting Manage Settings permission (accounting.manage_settings). Without it, Reopen… is greyed out with You do not have permission to close or reopen a period. See Who can do what in the close.
  • No close can be running. If one is, the reopen is refused with A period close is running — wait for it to finish before reopening.
  • Have your reason ready. It's required and kept on the month's History, so write it for someone reading it a year from now.

Steps​

  1. Go to Accounting → Close.
  2. On the Year board, click the month's tile. The month drawer opens.
  3. Scroll to the sign-off banner, for example June 2026 is closed.
  4. Click Reopen…. The Reopen June 2026 dialog opens: Reopening pulls back this sign-off and returns the month to review. You don't need this to fix a closed month: a change just lands in it and asks for re-sign-off. The saved report pack is kept in History, flagged stale, and closing again makes a new revision. A reason is required.
  5. Type why you're reopening the month in Reason (required), for example Signed off the wrong month by mistake. Until you do, the confirm button's tooltip reads Enter a reason first.
  6. Click Reopen June 2026.
  7. Read the message. June 2026 reopened. means nothing else covers the month. If it says the month is still locked, see When the month is still locked.

What a reopen changes​

  • The month returns to In Review. The drawer header offers Re-check, Export pack and Close period.
  • The sign-off banner is replaced by a notice headed June 2026 was reopened, with a Reopened chip. It shows who originally closed the month and when, then who reopened it, when and the reason in quotes: The sign-off has been pulled back. The previous report pack is kept in History but marked stale — closing again saves a new revision as the month's numbers of record.
  • The saved pack is kept, not deleted. In the Report pack, the chip reads Preliminary — period open, every card reads Superseded, and opening a card shows live figures marked Live and Preliminary. The Sign-off revision picker still opens each earlier revision.
  • Any restatement waiting on the month is set aside. Closing again saves a new baseline, so there's nothing left to re-sign.
  • Acknowledgements from the earlier close are cleared. Anything still outstanding needs a fresh tick when you close again.
  • Overrides recorded on the checklist are cleared, so a check that still fails needs a new override and a new reason.
  • You become the month's preparer. When an independent reviewer is required, someone else closes it again, and the manual checklist items are unticked so the checklist is signed afresh. See Review and close a month someone else prepared.
  • The checks run again in the background, as they do when you click Re-check, so the checklist shows today's results rather than the original close's. The job tray shows the re-check.
  • Verify isn't offered until the month is closed again.
  • History records Reopened with your name and reason. Every reopen is kept there, not only the latest.

When the month is still locked​

Reopening pulls back the sign-off. It doesn't lift locks that something else holds. When one still covers the month, the message is amber and names it:

  • June 2026 reopened, but the month is still locked: your accounting provider still has it locked — reopen it there too. Your Xero or QuickBooks lock date covers the month. Move it back in your provider. SKU.io reads that lock but never changes it. See Keep your provider's lock aligned.
  • …your hard close date falls inside this month — lower it in Accounting › Settings › Close before posting changes. Your hard close date falls in the middle of the month, so it still covers the days up to it. See A hard close date in the middle of a month and Lower or clear the hard close date.

Both parts appear when both apply. Click Re-check once the lock is gone.

Closing the month again​

When you're done, work through the checklist and close the month again. The new close saves a new revision as the month's numbers of record, and the earlier revision stays readable in History and the Sign-off revision picker. The new sign-off banner also carries a Previously reopened line with who reopened the month, when and why.

Next steps​

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