All transaction screens have a Post Month field.

The Post Month is the month when the transaction will hit the general ledger and appear in reports.

When you create a transaction, the Post Month field defaults to the current accounting month. In rare cases, you might need to change it. Any user can change it to a future month; users with special permission can change it to a past month.

An accounting month is a period used for reporting. Transactions are entered during the month, and at the end of the month, you run financial reports on all the activity within that period. After running the reports, you close the month and open the next one.

The current accounting month is the month that's open now. It usually corresponds with the calendar month, but in some cases, you might need to extend it by a few days -- for example, you may need to post some transactions that should be included in the reports for that month.

Most transactions are posted in the current accounting month. It is only in rare cases that you post outside the current month. (By default, the Post Month field on transaction screens shows the current accounting month.)

You can close the current accounting month manually, or you can use an automated task.

Yes! You can still add transactions to closed months if you have 'allow posting in closed months' enabled for a user in your user setup. You can review this via your initials > Company Settings > User Setup > edit pencil > check off 'allow posting in closed months' > Save.