# Close a month

Check close readiness, complete required checklist items and close a monthly fiscal period.

Canonical: https://demo.qixcount.com/help/period-close-and-audit/close-a-month

Who can do this: Owners, or people with *View fiscal periods* and *Manage fiscal periods (close/reopen/lock)*

Where: Books, then Fiscal periods

You'll need: Period close turned on in Features; an open period with all required checklist items complete

Close a monthly period when you want QixCount to block ordinary posting to its dates. This changes the period status; it does not create the entries used by [General year-end close](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/period-close-and-audit/year-end-close-general).

## Review and close the period

1. Open **Books**, then **Fiscal periods**, and select the month.
2. Check the dates at the top of the page.
3. Review **Period Summary**.
4. Complete the required items in **Close Checklist**.
5. Read **Close Readiness** for blockers and warnings.
6. Select **Close Period** under **Actions**.
7. Enter **Closing Notes (optional)**, up to 1,000 characters, if needed.
8. Select **Close Period** in the dialog.

![An open period with its checklist, readiness messages and close action](https://demo.qixcount.com/images/help/period-close-readiness.webp)

## What happens next

The period becomes **Closed**. QixCount saves the closing time, person and notes. If you previously reopened the month, its active reopen history receives a closed-again date.

Required incomplete items block closing. Unposted transactions and transactions whose debits and credits differ generate warnings, but those warnings do not prevent closing. Completing checklist items records your confirmation; it does not automatically perform the work named in each item.

The summary counts transactions and journal lines in the date range. Its revenue and expense totals exclude year-end closing entries but do not filter out unposted transactions. They can therefore differ from posted financial reports.

For a correction, [reopen the period](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/period-close-and-audit/reopen-a-period). For the separate irreversible screen action, read [lock a period](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/period-close-and-audit/lock-a-period). For Nonprofit year-end posting, use [Close or reopen a Nonprofit fiscal year](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/nonprofit/nonprofit-year-end-close).

## Who can do this and what you need

You need **View fiscal periods** and **Manage fiscal periods (close/reopen/lock)** permissions. The period must be open, and all required checklist items must be complete.

If **Fiscal periods** isn't in the sidebar, someone with settings access can turn on **Period close** in [Features](https://demo.qixcount.com/help/setup/features-and-presets).