Accounting Periods

Accounting periods define the time intervals used for depreciation calculations and journal production. Each depreciation run processes one period at a time, so the period structure directly controls when and how often depreciation is calculated. This page explains the three-level hierarchy and how to configure it for your organisation.

Prerequisites

• You must be in the Fixed Asset Management profile (see Fixed Asset Management Profile).
• You should know your organisation's financial year-end date and period structure (monthly, 4-4-5, 13-period, etc.).

The Three-Level Hierarchy

xAssets organises accounting periods in a three-level hierarchy:

This structure supports:

• Companies with different year-end dates — Put them in separate accounting period sets
• Non-standard period conventions — 4-4-5 weekly periods, 13-period years, or quarterly periods
• Multiple financial years — Each set contains a history of years and their periods

Accessing Accounting Periods

Navigate to Financial > Depreciation Setup > Accounting Periods:

Setting Up Accounting Periods

Step 1: Create an Accounting Period Set

If you do not already have a set, create one. The set is simply a named container — for example, "Standard Calendar Year" or "UK Financial Year".

Step 2: Create Financial Years

Within the set, create a financial year for each year you will be processing. Each financial year specifies its year-end date.

Tip: Create financial years at least one year ahead of your current processing period. If you reach the end of a financial year without the next year's periods defined, you will not be able to run depreciation for the new year.

Step 3: Create Accounting Periods

Within each financial year, create the individual periods. For a standard monthly setup:

For non-standard period structures (e.g. 4-4-5), set the start and end dates to match your organisation's calendar.

Warning: Periods must be contiguous — there should be no gaps between the end of one period and the start of the next. Gaps will cause depreciation to be missed for transactions dated within the gap.

How Periods Affect Depreciation

The period structure controls depreciation in several ways:

• Frequency — If you have monthly periods, depreciation is calculated monthly. Quarterly periods mean quarterly calculations.
• Transaction dating — Each transaction is assigned to a period based on its apply date. The transaction falls into whichever period contains that date.
• Recovery period interpretation — A recovery period of 60 with monthly periods means 60 months (5 years). With quarterly periods, 60 would mean 60 quarters (15 years). Ensure your depreciation type recovery periods are set in the same units as your periods.
• Current period tracking — The system tracks which period is "current" for each accounting period set. Period-end processing always calculates for the current period, then advances the pointer to the next period.

Period Status

Each period has a status:

Tip: After producing and posting journals for a period, close it to prevent accidental postings. This is especially important at year-end to ensure the closing balances are not disturbed.

Common Configurations

Related Articles

• Multi Company Environments — Assigning companies to accounting period sets
• The Monthly Accounting Process — How periods drive the depreciation cycle
• Financial Setup Introduction — Where accounting periods fit in the overall setup sequence
• See the main user guide for detailed step-by-step instructions on creating and configuring accounting periods.