The fiscal close is a process every company must carry out at the end of a tax year. It means reviewing, consolidating and preparing all the financial information generated during the year. In Mexico the tax year runs from January 1 to December 31. The procedure ensures financial reports are accurate and comply with the tax rules set by the SAT.
Why does getting the fiscal close right matter?
A proper fiscal close ensures transparency and accuracy in financial reports, which are fundamental both for meeting legal obligations and for assessing the company's financial performance internally. On top of that:
- It ensures transparency: it lets you present clear, reliable financial reports, not just for the SAT but also for investors, partners and other stakeholders. Transparency builds trust and strengthens the organization's reputation.
- It avoids penalties: complying with tax rules prevents penalties, fines or interest from late or incorrect tax payments, protecting the company from legal and financial trouble.
- It optimizes resources: a clear picture of income and expenses makes it easier to manage resources, cut costs and make better-informed financial decisions.
¿Qué actividades incluye el cierre fiscal?
To get the fiscal close right, these tasks need to be completed:
- Verify income and expenses: review invoices, receipts, purchases and other accounting documents to make sure everything is recorded correctly.
- Reconcile accounts: compare book balances against actual balances at banks and other sources to spot and correct discrepancies.
- Prepare financial statements: produce key documents such as the balance sheet and income statement, essential for assessing financial performance and meeting tax obligations.
Checklist: tasks for the fiscal year-end close
Before the close:
- Reconcile bank accounts and confirm the balances match the statements.
- Record and approve every customer and vendor invoice, making sure none are left outstanding.
- Verify that all expenses are recorded correctly.
- Record depreciation and deferred revenue entries.
- Close all suspense accounts and code incoming payments properly.
During the close:
- Generate the tax report and check that it is accurate.
- Update bank balances in Odoo and reconcile bank and cash account transactions.
- Audit every account (loans, fixed assets, and so on) and understand each transaction.
- Reconcile customer and vendor invoices through payment matching (optional).
- Let the accountant review the balance sheet and manually adjust accounts, including work in progress, amortizations and tax adjustments.
This checklist keeps your fiscal close organized and efficient.
Simplify your fiscal year-end close with Odoo
With Odoo, handling the fiscal year-end close is quick and straightforward thanks to its intuitive, customizable tools. The system not only makes recording and reconciling accounts easier, it also lets you adjust the fiscal period settings to your company's specific needs.
By default the fiscal year lasts 12 months and ends on December 31. Those settings can vary, however, for cultural, administrative or economic reasons.
How do you adjust the fiscal period in Odoo?
Go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings.
In the Fiscal Periods section, change the Last Day field as needed.
To change these values, go to Accounting ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings. The Last Day field is in the Fiscal Periods section; change it if you need to.
If the period lasts more or less than 12 months, enable fiscal years and save: go back to the fiscal periods section and click ➜ Fiscal Years. Click Create, give it a name and set the start and end dates.
Once the fiscal period you set has ended, Odoo automatically restores the default periodicity, using the value specified in the Last Day field.