Changing your accounting period dates

Most Scout groups run a straightforward 12-month accounting year — for many that's 1 September to 31 August, matching the programme year. But sometimes it doesn't line up: you've moved your year end, you're a new group settling into a cycle, or you need one transitional period that's shorter or longer than a year while you shift dates. This article explains how to change when your year starts, and how to handle a period that isn't a full 12 months.

The short version: you set a start date in settings, and Scoutworks fills in the end date for you as a full year. When you genuinely need a period that isn't a year, you set the real end date at the moment you close the period — not in advance.

Where to find your accounting year settings#

Open Finance → Accounting from the sidebar, then switch to the Settings tab. The first section, Accounting Year, is where you set your start date and see your current period.

You'll need treasurer access (or to be a group admin) to see and change these settings.

Changing when your accounting year starts#

The Accounting Year section has a single date picker: your year start date. You don't enter an end date — Scoutworks works it out as the day before the same date a year later. Pick 1 September, for example, and your period runs to 31 August.

To change it:

1. Click the date picker and choose your new year start date. There's a Use 1 September shortcut for the most common Scout year.
2. Check the preview chip. It updates live to show the period those dates produce — labelled Preview while you're deciding, and Current year once saved.
3. Click Update Period to save.

A couple of rules apply to the start date:

Running a period that isn't a full year#

The settings page always produces a neat 12-month year — so if your current period genuinely needs to be shorter or longer than a year (say you're moving your year end and need one 15-month transitional period), you don't do it there. Instead, you set the real end date when you close the period.

1. Make sure your books are ready to close — see Accounting and Bookkeeping for the year-end checklist (uncategorised transactions and unresolved expense claims need clearing first).
2. Open the Finance Actions dropdown (top right of the Accounting page) and choose Close Accounting Period.
3. In the dialog, find the Close date field. It defaults to your period's end date. Change it to the date you actually want this period to end.
4. Confirm. The period ends on the date you chose, and — if you leave Create next period switched on — the next period starts the following day and carries on at the normal 12-month cadence.

Two rules apply to the close date:

That second rule is the key thing to understand:

• For a shorter period — close early, on any date up to today.
• For a longer period — wait until the later date you want has actually arrived, then close on that date. Because you can't pick a future close date, you can't schedule a long period in advance; you simply hold off closing until the day you want, then end it there.

A note on reports#

Your accounting year is what groups your finances into "this year's accounts". Reports like Receipts & Payments and Budget Variance, plus your budgets, all read from the current period's dates — so getting your start and end dates right means your annual accounts cover exactly the cycle you expect. Scoutworks also shows a year-end reminder as your period end approaches, nudging you to close it and roll into the new year.

What's next#

• Accounting and Bookkeeping — the full year-end checklist and how closing a period works.
• Budgets and Financial Reports — budgets are scoped to your accounting period, so they follow the dates you set here.