# Define the fiscal year

Set the last day of the company's fiscal year, and when a year is shorter or longer than twelve months, turn on fiscal years and record its start and end dates.

Reports and closing work on the fiscal year. Most companies close on 31 December, and one setting says so. A first year that starts in the middle of the year, or a change of closing date, needs a year of its own length: that is what **Fiscal Years** is for.

## Before you start {#before-you-start}

- You need the **Administrator** access right on **Accounting**.

## Set the last day of the year {#last-day}

1. Open **Accounting/Configuration/Settings** and find **Fiscal Year**.
2. **Last Day** takes the month, then the day: **December** and **31** for a calendar year.
3. Click **Save**.

## Record a year of a different length {#custom-year}

1. In the same place, tick **Fiscal Years** and click **Save**. A **Fiscal Years** link appears under the option, and **Accounting/Configuration/Accounting/Fiscal Years** joins the configuration.

![The Fiscal Year group of the settings, with Last Day and the Fiscal Years option.](https://jaah.app/web/image/9463-a0fd3119/accounting-start-here-fiscal-year-fiscal_years_option-en.png)

2. Open **Accounting/Configuration/Accounting/Fiscal Years** and click **New**.
3. Type a **Name**, the **Start Date** and the **End Date**. The end cannot come before the start, and two years of the same company cannot overlap.

![A fiscal year of six months, with its name, start date and end date.](https://jaah.app/web/image/9467-62fac352/accounting-start-here-fiscal-year-fiscal_year_form-en.png)

4. Click the cloud icon **Save manually**. From now on, the reports and the closing follow this year for the dates it covers; outside it, the **Last Day** rules.

![The list of fiscal years with the year just recorded.](https://jaah.app/web/image/9471-39d50eff/accounting-start-here-fiscal-year-fiscal_years_list-en.png)

## FAQ {#faq}

### Do I need a record for every year? {#every-year}

No. Only a year that differs from the regular one needs a record; a normal year is computed from **Last Day**.

### The system refuses my year. {#refused}

Its dates cross another fiscal year of the company, or its end comes before its start. Adjust the dates of one of the two years.

### Fiscal Years is ticked, but I cannot open the list. {#no-access}

Opening fiscal years needs an accounting access right; adding or changing them needs the **Administrator** access right on **Accounting**.

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- Source: https://jaah.app/docs/accounting-start-here/define-the-fiscal-year
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Version: Accounting: start here 19.0.1.4.2
- Verified: 2026-10-22