Setting up Fiscal Periods

Fiscal periods are divisions of the fiscal year that define when transaction information is summarized, and financial statements are prepared. Although fiscal periods are typically monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually, you can create a maximum of 54 open fiscal periods for each year. When you no longer want information posted to a period, you can close the period. If you wish to save time setting up the same fiscal periods in both Job Cost and Microsoft Dynamics GP, you also have the option of automatically calculating Job Cost Fiscal periods when you create fiscal periods in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

Creating Fiscal Periods

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Job Cost > Job Cost Setup > Fiscal Periods. The first time you open the Job Cost Fiscal Periods Setup window, if fiscal periods are set up in Microsoft Dynamics GP, they will automatically be created in Job Cost. Select OK to save changes. No further editing is required.

2. Use the Year drop-down list to select a year to set up or enter a new year. 

   The Historical Year checkbox indicates if the selected year has been closed (Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Company > Fiscal Periods).
3. The First Day, Last Day, and Number of Periods fields default based on existing fiscal periods. You can enter different values.
4. Select Calculate.
5. You can change the name of the periods. For example, if you use four fiscal periods, you could enter Quarter 1 for Period 1. To change the name of a period, double-click the period under the Period Name column and type the new name. You can also edit the Date fields.
6. To print the Fiscal Periods Setup report, select File > Print or select the printer button.
7. Select OK.

Creating Microsoft Dynamics GP and Job Cost Fiscal Periods

You can automatically create Job Cost fiscal periods when you set up fiscal periods in Microsoft Dynamics GP. In addition, re-calculating the periods of an existing GP fiscal year also re-calculates existing Job Cost fiscal periods.

If you are editing an existing fiscal year and a closed Job Cost period is detected within that year, the changes you make to the GP fiscal year will affect GP only and will not roll down to Job Cost.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Company > Fiscal Periods.
2. Enter the new fiscal Year and dates for the First Day and Last Day of the year.
3. Enter the Number of Periods that you want in the new fiscal year and select Calculate.
4. When the fiscal periods populate in the scrolling window, make any necessary changes. Refer to the Microsoft Dynamics GP documentation for more information about GP fiscal period setup.
5. When you are finished setting up the GP fiscal year, select OK. A Job Cost fiscal year is automatically created with fiscal periods based on the same setup options. To view or edit the Job Cost fiscal year, select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Job Cost > Job Cost Setup > Fiscal Periods.

Editing an Existing Fiscal Year

The changes that you make in GP fiscal period setup will affect Job Cost only if the fiscal year that you are editing does not contain any closed Job Cost fiscal periods. If, for example, you want to change the length of GP period 4, but Job Cost period 4 is already closed, this change cannot roll down to Job Cost and will be made in GP only. This is true whenever the Job Cost fiscal year contains closed periods, regardless of which periods are closed and which you are editing.

1. Select Microsoft Dynamics GP > Tools > Setup > Company > Fiscal Periods.
2. Select an existing Year from the drop-down menu.
3. You can re-calculate fiscal periods by editing the First Day, Last Day, and/or Number of Periods in the fiscal year and choosing Calculate.
4. Edit the fiscal periods in the scrolling window, as necessary. Refer to the Microsoft Dynamics GP documentation for more information about GP fiscal period setup.
5. When you are finished, select OK. The changes that you made to the GP fiscal year will be reflected in the Job Cost fiscal year as well.