The Close tab at a glance
Go to Accounting → Close (under Period end in the Accounting menu). The page reads from top to bottom: four figures about your year, any warnings, the Year board with one tile per month, and two cards that answer "what changed?" and "what's frozen?". Click a month's tile to open its month drawer on the right. You do all the work of a close in the drawer.
This page names each part so you can look up a chip, a tile line or a button without reading a whole guide. The figures quoted are examples.
The page is laid out in this order:
- The KPI row: Months closed, Awaiting re-sign-off, Net restated and Provider alignment.
- Alignment warnings, when a provider's lock date disagrees with your hard close date.
- Close your first month, until you sign off a month or set a hard close date.
- The Year board: twelve month tiles, the hard close date marker, a legend and the move button.
- Changes since sign-off and Hard close date, side by side.
The month drawer, and the dialogs it opens, sit on top of the page.
A link can open a month directly. A link to a month, for example from a checklist arrow, an alert email or the Awaiting re-sign-off figure, opens the Close tab with that month's drawer already open. Your browser's Back button closes the drawer again. Without such a link, no month opens on its own. Close settings are on Accounting → Settings → Close.
The KPI row
| Figure | Value | Line underneath |
|---|---|---|
| Months closed | Signed-off months in the year on the board, out of the months that have ended, for example 8 of 10. Closed, Closed – restated and Hard-locked months all count as signed off. | 2026 months that have ended |
| Awaiting re-sign-off | How many months read Closed – restated, in any year | The months by name, for example March 2026, or Nothing waiting. With exactly one month waiting, click the figure to open that month. |
| Net restated | The total net income change across the months awaiting re-sign-off, signed, for example −$1,284.16 | The number of accounts and the gross change, for example 2 accounts, $2,568.32 gross, or Nothing to review |
| Provider alignment | Aligned, Behind, Later or Not set | The connection and its lock, for example Xero — Demo Books has no lock date. Click it to open Accounting → Settings → Close. |
The two restatement figures turn amber while any month waits for a re-sign-off. Provider alignment shows the worst connection: Later outranks Behind, and either one turns amber. See keep your provider lock aligned.
Warnings and the first-close help
One amber banner per connection that disagrees with your hard close date, either way. It quotes the connection's own sentence and ends with a Close settings link, for example:
Xero — Demo Books has no lock date. Your books are locked through Dec 31, 2025, so Xero — Demo Books can still be edited for those months.
Close your first month, in blue, appears until any month is signed off and while you have no hard close date:
Each month you close is signed off and its reports are saved. That's a soft close: the month isn't frozen, and late entries can still land in it. When you're ready to freeze months for good, set a hard close date.
The Year board
The Year board card shows one year at a time.
- The title bar holds Year board, the year and two arrows. The left arrow is unavailable before your first year, with the tooltip No accounting history before 2025. The right arrow is unavailable for a year that hasn't started, with the tooltip 2027 hasn't started.
- Twelve tiles, January to December. Six to a row on most screens, twelve in one row on a very wide one. Each tile shows the short month name, the state icon, the state name and one more line. A tile for a month SKU.io doesn't track yet reads Not started and can't be opened. Click any other tile to open its drawer. The open month's tile is outlined. What each tile line means is in statuses in the close.
- The hard close date marker is a vertical line in the gap after the last frozen month, with a flag that reads Books locked through Dec 31, 2025. A date in an earlier year pins the marker to the left edge, and a date in a later year pins it to the right edge. If you hold the hard close permission, drag the flag to another month end. A ghost marker follows your pointer, reading Lock through Mar 31, 2026 or Lower to Nov 30, 2025. Drop it and the matching dialog opens with that date picked. Without the permission, the flag shows a padlock and the tooltip You do not have permission to move the hard close date. The marker only appears once you have a hard close date.
- The footer holds the legend (Open, In Review, Closed, Closed – restated, Hard-locked and Locked, not closed), then Drag the marker to a month end, or, then Move hard close date…. With no hard close date yet, the button reads Set hard close date…. Without the permission it's unavailable and shows the same tooltip as the flag.
The board opens on the year of the month you're looking at. With no month open, it opens on the year of the month that's up next to close. When you step from January back to December in the drawer, the board turns the year with you.
Changes since sign-off
This card lists every signed-off month whose numbers moved after sign-off, oldest first, so a restatement reads down through the months it carried into.
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Month | The month, as a link that opens its drawer |
| State | Closed – restated, Balance moved, Can't compare or Closed |
| Net income change | How much the month's net income moved since sign-off, from entries dated in it. Hover the figure for the gross change and the number of accounts. |
| Carried in (gross) | The gross change that came from an earlier month being restated, or —. It needs no sign-off here. |
| The last column | Needs sign-off on a restated month, Open the month on a month that can't be compared, and No action otherwise |
Can't compare means at least one of the month's reports can't be checked against what was signed. Hover the chip to see which. A month whose change is at or below your review threshold still appears here, as Closed with No action.
With nothing to list, the card reads Every signed-off month still matches its report pack., or Nothing has been signed off yet.
The drawer's Changes by account shows gross figures per account. This card shows net income. The two never share a column name. See when a closed month changes.
The Hard close date card
- The date, as Books locked through Dec 31, 2025, or No hard close date yet with Nothing is frozen by a hard close date.
- Set by, with who set it and when.
- One line per accounting connection: its lock date, or No lock date, and an Aligned, Behind, Later or No lock dates yet chip.
- Lower hard close date… (only once you have a date) and Move hard close date…, or Set hard close date… when you have none. Without the hard close permission both are unavailable, with the tooltip You do not have permission to move the hard close date.
- Hard close date settings, a link to Accounting → Settings → Close, where the same card adds the date's full History. See close settings and custom checklist items.
- Your hard close date falls mid-month, a blue notice, when the date isn't a month end. This only happens with a date kept from your old lock date. Only days through that date are frozen, and the next move must land on a month end.
On a phone
Phones don't show the Year board or its marker, because dragging needs a pointer and room. Below the KPI row they show:
- Period, a picker listing every month as, for example, Jan 2026 · In Review (1 blocking).
- Periods, a list of months, newest first. A bold Books locked through line sits above the newest month the hard close date covers. Each row is described in statuses in the close.
Changes since sign-off and Hard close date follow underneath, and the month drawer fills the screen.
The month drawer
The drawer slides in from the right and stays open while you use the page behind it. Click another tile to switch months. To close the drawer, click the cross or press Esc.
The drawer header
- The month name in full, for example March 2026.
- The state chip, with the state's icon. See statuses in the close.
- Tags, when they apply: a red 2 blocking, Balance moved, Locked by Xero, or Locked through Mar 15, 2026.
- The date range, for example Mar 1, 2026 – Mar 31, 2026. While any lock is in force, it adds · books locked through Dec 31, 2025. When a provider lock is part of it, hover it to see Provider lock dates: with each connection and its date.
- Previous and next arrows to step one month back or forward, and a cross to close the drawer.
The drawer buttons
| Button | When it appears | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Re-check | While the month is In Review, or while it's Closed or Closed – restated | In review, it re-runs every automated check. Tooltip: Re-run every automated check against the current state of the books. On a closed month, it compares every report with the live books again. Tooltip: Compare every report with the live books again. It doesn't appear on a Hard-locked month. |
| Export pack | Always | Builds the month's workbook in the job tray. Tooltip: Download the full report pack as one XLSX workbook — cover sheet, checklist outcomes and all 9 reports., plus Open periods export as PRELIMINARY. on a month that isn't closed. It's unavailable while the month is Closing…. See the close pack workbook. |
| Start close | On an Open month | Starts the close: saves the checklist against the month and runs the checks. |
| Close for the record | On a Locked, not closed month | The same as Start close, for a month a lock already froze. |
| Close period | On a month In Review or Closing… | Opens the close dialog. |
| Re-sign-off | On a Closed – restated month | Opens the re-sign-off dialog. |
Only one primary button shows at a time, on the right, so the drawer always offers one next move.
A greyed-out button explains itself:
| Tooltip | What to do |
|---|---|
| Close March 2026 first — periods close oldest-first. | Work the named month first. |
| This month can't be closed yet — periods close oldest-first. | The same rule, when no month is up for closing. |
| 2 blocking failures must be resolved before this period can close. | Fix the rows in the Blocking checks card, then click Re-check. Checks that can be closed over don't count here. You deal with them in the dialog. |
| The close job is already running — track it in the job tray. | Wait for the close in progress. |
| The reason a second person is needed, for example that you prepared the month | Someone else closes it. See review and close a month someone else prepared. |
| You do not have permission to run close actions. | You need Accounting → Sync. |
| You do not have permission to close or reopen a period. | You need Accounting → Manage Settings. |
| You do not have permission to sign off a period. | The same permission, for Re-sign-off. |
See who can do what in the close.
The drawer body, by state
Below the header, the drawer shows the cards that fit the month's state, in this order:
| Card | When it appears | What it holds |
|---|---|---|
| The close is running | Closing… | The close is running — progress shows in the job tray. The checklist runs one last time, then the report pack is saved and the month is signed off. |
| The restatement panel | The month changed since sign-off, carries a Balance moved tag, has a report that can't be compared, or has signed-off changes that can't reach your provider | On a restated month: figures for Net income change, Accounts changed, and Reaching your provider with Nothing held back, or Can't reach your provider with the number of entries held back. Then when the change was found and last signed off, Changes by account, Changes by report and Why it changed. On a Balance moved month: the gross amount carried in and from which month. See when a closed month changes. |
| The sign-off banner | Any closed month | Described below |
| The reopened notice | A month that was closed and then reopened | March 2026 was reopened, a Reopened chip, who originally closed it and when, who reopened it, when and why, and a note that the earlier report pack is kept in History, flagged stale |
| Locked, not closed | Locked, not closed | March 2026 is locked, not closed, and that nobody signed it off, so there's no saved report pack, but it's frozen and can still be closed for the record |
| Open | Open | March 2026 is open, and either This is the next month to close. or which month to close first |
| The review panel | In Review | Independent review required, Self-review with a reason or Independent review not required. Prepared by, with the name and date, and Also worked on by. A line saying who may close, a Change this in Settings link and, when a second person is required, Take over preparation. See review and close a month someone else prepared. |
| The progress ring | In Review or Closing… | A ring with 25/33 in the middle, then 25 of 33 done and the number of blocking checks. It turns green when everything is done. |
| Blocking checks | In Review, with any blocking check failing | Each failing blocking check, as a full checklist row, so you can act on it without scrolling |
The sign-off banner
A closed month's banner shows:
- The headline: March 2026 is closed, with a green check, or March 2026 is hard-locked, with a blue-grey padlock.
- The sign-off line, with the date and time. After a first close it reads, for example, Prepared by Morgan Ellis · Reviewed and closed by Riley Chen. Other forms are listed in what gets recorded. After a re-sign-off it reads Re-signed off by Riley Chen · Mar 3, 2026, 4:12 PM · revision 2 (see History).
- What the close means for this month. On a Closed month: This is a soft close: the month is signed off and its report pack is saved, but late entries can still land here. If that happens it stays Closed and shows the change. On a Hard-locked month: Why it's frozen., which names your hard close date, and How to undo it., which says someone with the hard close permission can lower the date with a reason.
- A provider sentence, on a month with a Locked by tag: the provider's lock covers the month, so it's frozen in SKU.io too, and changes can't reach the provider until that lock is lowered.
- Why nobody else reviewed it:, with the reason, on a self-reviewed month.
- Reason: and Notes: from the latest sign-off. After a re-sign-off, these are the re-sign-off's reason and notes.
- Previously reopened, with who reopened it, when and why, when it applies.
- Closed over 1 blocking check, with each check, its exposure, the reason and who recorded it, when the month was closed over a blocking check.
- The buttons: Lower hard close date… (on a Hard-locked month only), Verify and Reopen….
Reopen… is unavailable with one of these tooltips:
| Tooltip | Why |
|---|---|
| Lower the hard close date first. | The month is Hard-locked. |
| You do not have permission to close or reopen a period. | You don't hold Accounting → Manage Settings. |
| Only the latest closed period can be reopened — reopen later months first. | A later month is closed. |
The drawer sections
Four sections run down the rest of the drawer. Each one expands and collapses. Close checklist opens each time you open a month, and the others start collapsed.
| Section | What it holds |
|---|---|
| Close checklist | Every check and manual item, in numbered groups. Described below. |
| Report pack | The nine month-end reports as cards, a chip that dates the pack, a Sign-off revision picker once there's more than one view, and Capture provider balances on a month that isn't closed or is Closed – restated. See read the close reports. |
| Sync status — why isn't everything on the provider? | On the provider and Not synced totals, then a Reason, Entries and Total table with a View link on each row. See why entries haven't reached your provider. |
| History | Every event and saved revision for the month, newest first. See history events and revision kinds. |
The Close checklist
The checklist groups its items in a fixed order, each group numbered and labelled in small capitals with its own counter: 1. DATA COMPLETENESS, 2. SYNC & RECONCILIATION, 3. REVIEW, 4. SIGN-OFF and 5. CUSTOM. A group with everything done gains a small green tick. A group with no items isn't shown, so a business with no custom items sees four groups.
The built-in list is 31 rows: 28 automated checks and three review items. Your own items are added under Custom. So a business with two custom items reads 33 in its total. See the close checks.
What a checklist row shows
Reading a row from left to right:
- The status indicator: a status icon on an automated check, or a tick box on a manual item. On a closed month, a manual item left unticked at sign-off shows a blue check-circle outline instead. An acknowledged warning keeps its amber triangle.
- The title. Hover it for a longer explanation of what the check looks at.
- A Blocking chip, on an automated check whose failure blocks the close. It's red while the check fails and grey while it passes. Hover it to see which kind of block it is: This check must pass before the period can be closed — while it fails, the close is refused., or, on a check that can be closed over, This check blocks the close, but it can be closed over: you will be asked for a reason, and it is recorded against the period along with the exposure at the time. A blocking check that doesn't apply this month drops the chip.
- The one-line result, in red on a failing check and amber on a warning. A check with nothing to report shows no line at all, so a clean row is a title and a green tick.
Underneath the title, a row can carry:
- The reason a check doesn't apply, printed in full.
- Who ticked a manual item, and when, for example Dana Wu · Jul 16.
- The override line, for example Override by Morgan Ellis · Nov 6: and the reason in quotes, with Remove for the person who recorded it.
- Acknowledged at close, on a row that was outstanding when the month was signed off.
At the right-hand end, a row can have:
- Record override, on a failing check that can be closed over, while a second person is required and nobody has recorded an override yet. It opens Record an override, described below.
- An arrow with the tooltip Open the fixing surface, which opens exactly the records the row's number refers to, already filtered to the month.
- A report icon with the tooltip Open this report, on rows whose number describes a report and on the three review items.
When the tick box is unavailable
| Tooltip | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Start the close to check items off | The close hasn't started, so the checklist is a preview. | Click Start close. |
| This period is closed — the checklist is read-only | The month is closed or closing. | Nothing. The checklist is now the record of the close. |
| Working — one moment | Another close action is running. | Wait. The boxes come back on their own. |
The dialogs
Close period
Close period opens a dialog headed Close March 2026. Everything the close will record is on this one screen, in this order:
| Part | What it holds |
|---|---|
| A red panel, when a blocking check that can't be closed over is failing | 1 blocking failure must be resolved before closing: and the check, with its count. Close period is unavailable while one fails, so you rarely see this. |
| An amber panel per blocking check you can close over | The check and its count, and either a Why is this being closed over? box (with Accounting → Period Override), a sentence that you don't hold that permission, or, when a second person is required, a note that someone else must record the override on the checklist first |
| An amber panel per override recorded on the checklist | The check, the reason in quotes, and Morgan Ellis recorded this override. Closing accepts it, and it goes on March 2026's record under their name. |
| The acknowledgement list | Acknowledge each outstanding item to close the period with it unresolved:, then one tick box per warning and per unticked manual item. Warnings carry an amber triangle. Manual items end with — not ticked on the checklist. |
| The ready line, when nothing needs acknowledging | All checks pass and every manual item is signed off — March 2026 is ready to close. |
| A self-review panel, for the only accounting user when review is required | You are the only accounting user, so nobody else can review March 2026., and the box Why is this closing without a second reviewer? |
| Close notes (optional) | A free-text box. The notes are kept with the sign-off and shown on the closed month's banner. |
| The soft-close note | This is a soft close. It signs off March 2026 and saves the report pack as the month's numbers of record, but it doesn't freeze the month. Late entries can still land in it, and any change shows as a restatement that asks for re-sign-off. |
| Also lock through this month, with the hard close permission only | — moves the hard close date to Mar 31, 2026 once the close finishes. Tick it to show Reason for locking (required), a warning when an earlier month waits for a re-sign-off (the close goes ahead but the lock is refused), and The usual hard close date rules apply. If one fails, March 2026 stays Closed and the job tray says why. |
| The buttons | Cancel and Close March 2026 |
Close March 2026 stays unavailable, with a tooltip, until the dialog is complete: blocking failures resolved, a reason for each check you close over, the self-review reason, every acknowledgement ticked and, with Also lock ticked, the locking reason. Cancelling discards everything you typed. See close a month.
Re-sign-off
Re-sign-off opens Re-sign-off March 2026, in this order:
- Net income change, Accounts changed (with the gross change) and Report differences (for example 2 of 6, or how many can't be compared).
- A warning when some reports can't be compared with the last sign-off, so the review is partial.
- Review of changes: the report-by-report comparison.
- Checks, with Run all checks (runs every check now, the slow ones too) and Re-check, then the checks as they run now, with the same panels and acknowledgements as the close dialog.
- What happens when you sign off: a new report pack becomes the month's baseline, the month goes back to Closed, later months' Balance moved tags clear, and nothing posts or changes in your accounting provider.
- Independent review required, when a second person is required. It names who changed the month since its sign-off, for example Someone other than Morgan Ellis has to sign March 2026 off again. If you're one of them, it says why you can't re-sign. When you're the only accounting user, a self-review box takes its place.
- Reason for re-sign-off (required) and Notes (optional).
- Cancel and Re-sign-off March 2026.
See re-sign-off a restated month.
Record an override
Record override on a checklist row opens Record an override. It names the check and says your name and reason go on the month's record, that whoever closes the month accepts it, and that you can't close the month yourself while your override stands. Type the reason in Why can this month close with this check failing?, then click Record override.
Reopen
Reopen… opens Reopen March 2026:
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.
Fill in Reason (required), then click Reopen March 2026. Until you type a reason, the button shows Enter a reason first. See reopen a closed month.
Move, set or lower the hard close date
The Year board button, the card buttons, the marker and the banner's Lower hard close date… all open one dialog. Its title is Set hard close date, Move hard close date forward or Lower hard close date.
- Moving forward: Lock books through, a month-end picker, then Before you move it, which lists each blocker with a Blocking chip and Review links to the months concerned, or Nothing blocks this move. Holders of Accounting → Period Override can tick Lock the months that were never closed anyway. That override covers only months nobody closed.
- Lowering: Lower hard close date to, with Clear the hard close date as the last choice, then What will happen: the months that go back to Closed, carry-forwards withdrawn, frozen day snapshots cleared, skipped postings re-queued, and a warning that the nightly rebuild may rewrite those months.
- Both: warnings, with I understand these will redate or be skipped after the move. to tick when entries are still in flight, what each provider's lock will look like afterwards, and Reason (required).
- After you confirm: a success line, a reminder per provider to set its own lock to the new date with an Open connections link, and Done.
See move the hard close date and lower or clear the hard close date.
Verify results
Verify on a closed month's banner compares every report with the live books and shows the answer inside the banner. Its tooltip reads Recompute every report live and compare it with the report pack from the last sign-off — shows whether the month's numbers have moved since then. It never changes anything.
The answer is one summary line, No drift or Drift detected, then one line per report: matches, drifted, changed (informational), could not be produced or snapshot missing, with · snapshot stale after a reopen. A report that drifted adds a Figure, At last sign-off and Live now table. See verify a closed month.
The job tray
Close period, Re-sign-off, Re-check, Run all checks, Export pack and every hard close date move run in the background and show their progress in the job tray. A message tells you each one has started. The board and the drawer refresh by themselves when it finishes, and a finished export puts its download in the tray. A move or a re-sign-off that's refused when it runs says why in the tray, and nothing changes. See follow background jobs.
Loading and errors
Each part of the page loads on its own, with a grey placeholder while it does. Action buttons show a spinner while their work runs, and the other close actions wait meanwhile. When you switch months, the drawer clears before the new month arrives, so you never see one month's figures under another month's name. If anything fails to load, a red message with Retry takes its place.
Next steps
- Statuses in the close: what each state, tag and tile line means
- The close checks: what each automated check measures
- Close a month
- Re-sign-off a restated month
- Move the hard close date
- Who can do what in the close