> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.pragmachartered.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Close a client's books

> Lock a client's books through a date once the year's accounts are final, and reopen them when a correction is needed.

![The Close the books panel on a client's Vouchers tab](https://help.pragmachartered.com/images/books/close-books.png)

Once a year's accounts are final, close the client's books through a date. After that, nothing dated on or before it can be keyed, corrected or approved for the client's books, whether it is a [manual voucher](https://help.pragmachartered.com/books/manual-vouchers.md), an invoice or a [bank line](https://help.pragmachartered.com/books/bank-import.md). The rule also applies to vouchers prepared by Autopilot. The date is your practice's own sign-off, not a statutory date.

Only Owners (every client) and Managers (clients they are assigned to) can close, move or reopen the books. Everyone who can open the client's **Vouchers** tab sees the current date as a **Books closed through …** badge in the tab's toolbar.

## Close the books

**1. Let approved vouchers reach the books**

Before closing, every voucher in the period that has been approved must have been handed off to the client's books. If any are still waiting, Pragma refuses to close and tells you how many. Let them post, or reopen and correct them, first. See [Understand the Tally handoff](https://help.pragmachartered.com/invoices/tally-handoff.md) or [Post to Zoho Books](https://help.pragmachartered.com/invoices/zoho-books.md).

**2. Open the panel**

Open the client, choose **Books**, then **Vouchers**, and select **Close books** in the toolbar. If the books are already closed, the button reads **Change**.

**3. Choose the date**

In **Close the books**, enter **Books closed through**. It is usually the last day of a financial year whose accounts are final. The date cannot be in the future.

**4. Save**

Select **Close books**. The panel closes and the toolbar shows **Books closed through** with the date. The change is recorded in the client's audit trail with the date before and after.

## Move or reopen the books

Select **Change** on the **Vouchers** tab.

* To move the lock, enter a new **Books closed through** date and select **Close books**. Moving it later is refused in the same way while approved vouchers in the extra period are still waiting to post.
* To unlock completely, select **Reopen books**. Vouchers in the period can then be entered, corrected and approved again. Close the books again when the correction has posted.

**Cancel** closes the panel without changes.

## What closed books change

* The earliest **Date** in the manual voucher form is the later of the normal open window and the day after the closed-through date. Its hint shows **books closed through** with the date.
* Setting a ledger on a bank line dated in the closed period is refused.
* Correcting or approving an invoice or voucher dated in the closed period is refused.

The refusal reads: "The books are closed through \<date>, so nothing dated \<date> can be entered, corrected or approved. A manager reopens the books from the client's Vouchers tab." An invoice whose date has not been read yet is checked once it has a date.

## If something is refused

| Message | What to do |
| - | - |
| An approved voucher dated on or before … is still waiting to be posted to the books. Let them post, or reopen and correct them, before closing the books. | Wait for the handoff to finish, or reopen the vouchers, then close again. |
| … cannot be in the future | Choose today or an earlier date. |
| Your role does not allow this action. Ask a firm owner or manager. | Ask an Owner, or a Manager assigned to the client. |

> [card] Still stuck?
>
> [Open a case](https://app.pragmachartered.com/support) from **Help & support** in Pragma, or [book a walkthrough](https://help.pragmachartered.com/support/book-a-walkthrough.md) and the team will show you around on a call. Can't sign in? [Contact support](https://app.pragmachartered.com/contact-support).


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