How do I finalise the previous year?
Overview
SFM allows posting into two financial years simultaneously. This means that users have the option to finalise the previous year (during the current year) and at the same time keep on posting in current year. The Finalise Previous Year procedure will close the previous year from further postings. If it is required to post any entries after the year was finalised, there is a permission function that will allow authorised persons to un-finalise the previous year.
Finalising the Previous Year
The Finalise Previous Year option is found in Previous Year > Utilites > Finalise. The option is only available to those users who have access to the Finalise Previous Year permission.
If you don’t have access to the Finalise option (it is greyed out), add the secure permission from the Groups & Permissions option under the Administration menu. This is done by clicking on the permissions available tab sheet , selecting the permission having the code “FINALYEAR” and then clicking on the Add Permission to Group button (circled in red) or pressing CTRL+R on the keyboard.
What happens when you Finalise the Previous Year?
During the Finalise of the Previous Year procedure the system will perform the following events in the respective order:
- Check that a Yearly Profits (not retained) nominal account exists as a balance sheet item and set within the System Control Accounts. This account is not the Accumulated Profit & Loss / Retained Earnings account.
- Run all validation checks for the previous (if any validations fail, the system will stop the Finalisation process).
- Checks if there is an opening balance brought forward in the Profit for the Year nominal account in the current year:
- If a balance other than 0 exist, the system will prompt the user to select the Profit & Loss (Accumulated) nominal account as shown in the screen shot below.
- On confirmation by the user, the system will automatically post a journal entry between the Profit/Loss for the year and the Accumulated account.
- The user has the option to Cancel the process if required to enable further checking.
- Runs the Update Opening Entries procedure.
- Closes all the postings in the Previous Year.
Why isn’t it Working?
The table below provides some troubleshooting solutions:
Problem: The Finalise menu option is not highlighted (grayed out).
Solution: This reason is that the current user does not having access rights to the FINALYEAR secure permission. Add this function from the Groups & Permission option under the Systems Administration menu. If after having added the permission, the End of Year menu option is still unavailable, then you need to update the Current Year opening balances by clicking on the Previous Year > Update Opening Entries option.
Problem: Yearly Profit & Loss Account does not exist.
Solution: If the Profit & for the Year or the Accumulated/Retained Earnings Account are not defined in the System Control Accounts, the process will not run.
Problem: Data Validity Failed.
Solution: This indicates the existence of Invalid data and requires our support team to fix this. Please send an email to support@shireburn.com and paste the Validity errors in the email.
Related Articles
How do I Post an Invoice or Credit Note in the previous year?
A user can post sales transactions in the previous year by going to Previous Year Menu > Purchases > Postings. Every time a transaction is posted in the previous year, the Update Opening Entries option under the Previous Year menu is enabled, and the ...How do I close the Posting Periods in SFM?
There are two sets of posting periods in SFM: - Current Year > Utilities > Posting Dates - Previous Year > Utilities > Posting Dates The system will allow posting from the ledgers within the set date ranges from the posting dates options of the ...How do I process an End Of Year in SFM?
Overview SFM allows posting into two financial years simultaneously. This means that users do not need to finalise 2024 before starting to post entries into 2025. The end of year procedure will move the “Current Year” data into the "Previous Year". ...How do I update the opening balances after posting in the previous year?
After the end of year run, SFM provides the option to authorised users to keep on posting into the Previous Year for the next 12 months. When users post in the previous year, SFM will trap this and makes available a function, 'Update Opening ...Do I need to Process an End-of-Year in SIMS?
SIMS does not require an end of year procedures to be run. However, SIMS controls users to only allow posting of transactions, such as sales invoices, cash sales, adjustments and purchases, within a range of dates referred to as the Posting Period. ...
Recent Articles
How to Reverse a Sales/Purchases Transaction in SFM
Reversing Entries in SFM Once users confirm an entry in SFM, they cannot modify any of its elements. The only available option is to reverse the entire transaction and re-post it with the correct values. The system supports both simple reversals and ...Setting Up BOV SEPA v9
Before proceeding, please ensure you are using the latest version of SFM. Starting October 5th, 2025, Bank of Valletta (BOV) will begin processing live transactions using the new SEPA file format (version 9). The older version 3 format will no longer ...How do I process a Nominal Reconciliation?
Procedure for Reconciling a Nominal Account (Current Year > Nominal > Nominal Reconciliation) Account Field: Select the relevant Nominal Account from the drop-down menu that you wish to reconcile. Details Field: Enter any necessary free text in the ...How to Update SFS
For optimal results, update SFS directly from the server. Important notes before updating: - All Users: Log out of SFS, SIMS and SFM (if applicable). - Remote Desktop Users: Log out of SFS, SIMS and SFM before disconnecting from the remote session. ...How to Add Custom Footers per Client basis
If you want to apply the same footer across all your invoices or the same footer across all your statements, please refer to this article: How to insert document footers in SFM If you need to use different footers for specific clients, SFM also ...
Popular Articles
How do I process an End Of Year in SFM?
Overview SFM allows posting into two financial years simultaneously. This means that users do not need to finalise 2024 before starting to post entries into 2025. The end of year procedure will move the “Current Year” data into the "Previous Year". ...Do I need to Process an End-of-Year in SIMS?
SIMS does not require an end of year procedures to be run. However, SIMS controls users to only allow posting of transactions, such as sales invoices, cash sales, adjustments and purchases, within a range of dates referred to as the Posting Period. ...How to setup a System Control Account in SFM? (Bank Account, Cash Account, Stock Control, etc...)
Create the Account in your Chart of Accounts as seen below. Please make sure you use the code depending on your Heading and Sub-Heading digits. After creating the account, you need to specify the account as a System Control Account. Go to Support > ...How to reset your Shireburn remote desktop service (RDS) account password
The password for the Shireburn RDS Account used to connect to RDS server is set to expire after 90 days. A notification is provided to the user daily starting 5 days prior to the expiry date. In order to change password, the following steps need to ...How to run the SIMS Archive process
The SIMS Archive function reduces the size of the data store in Live by splitting the same data set in a different database, within the same company. This process improves the SIMS performance as it compacts the Live data set. Users can then access ...