Overview

The Close the Books wizard walks you through three steps: reviewing the pre-close checklist, confirming the period roll-forward totals, and accepting the close. When you click Close period on the Accept and close step, Luminous runs all pre-close checks for the period, shows you any outstanding findings, and records a permanent audit event once you confirm.

Step 1 — Pre-close checks

Select the period you want to close in the date picker at the top of the wizard. Step 1 loads all pre-close checks for that window. Checks are grouped into sections and are marked Blocking (must be acknowledged before you can close with them outstanding) or Warning (recorded but do not block).

Filtering the list Use the Blockers only toggle to hide passing and warning checks and focus on what needs attention.

Expanding a check Some checks — including Unposted Orders, Unmapped Items, and Shipped Uninvoiced — show a detailed breakdown when you click to expand them, so you can act without leaving the wizard.

Marking findings as handled If a finding does not require action (for example, your account does not use EDI, so the "Missing EDI 856" check will always show), you can mark it:

  • Reviewed — you have looked at it and are aware of it
  • Not applicable — it does not apply to your workflow
  • Resolved — you have addressed it outside Luminous

A prompt will ask for an optional audit note. Once marked, the finding drops out of the blocking acknowledgement count on Step 3 and the note is stored on the audit record.

Step 2 — Stock snapshot summary

Step 2 shows the five inventory roll-forward cards (starting inventory, received, sold, adjustments, ending inventory) plus in-transit value for the selected period. Click a card to see a breakdown by Warehouse, Category, Sub-Category, and Preferred Supplier.

Step 3 — Accept and Close

What the close does for your account

The lock sentence at the top of Step 3 tells you exactly what closing will do:

  • If period lock enforcement is enabled for your account: Closing sets the close line to the chosen date. After that, Luminous rejects any receipt, adjustment, shipment, or cost-layer edit dated on or before that date.
  • If period lock enforcement is not enabled: Closing sets the close line and records who closed the period and when. It does not prevent later edits — the screen says this explicitly.

If there are outstanding blocking findings

When the checklist has unhandled blocking findings, Step 3 lists each one with a checkbox. You must:

  1. Check every blocking finding to acknowledge it.
  2. Type a reason of at least 20 characters explaining why you are closing with findings outstanding.

You must also tick I understand this close is recorded against my name and cannot be undone from this screen. The Close period button remains disabled until these conditions are met.

Backwards-close protection

If the date you have chosen is on or before your current close line, the button is disabled with the message: "Books are already closed through [date]. Pick a later date." There is no way to reopen a period from this screen, so this guard is the only protection against an accidental mis-click.

Confirming

A confirmation dialog summarises the close date and, if you have outstanding findings, how many will be recorded with your reason. Click Yes, close the books to confirm.

What is recorded

Every close creates a permanent audit record containing:

  • The close-through date
  • Who closed it and when
  • The number of blocking findings that were outstanding at the moment of close
  • The written reason (if findings were acknowledged)
  • The keys of the specific findings that were acknowledged
  • A frozen snapshot of the period's inventory roll-forward totals

Frequently asked questions

Can I close a period more than once? Yes — you can advance the close line forward at any time. Each close creates its own audit row.

Can I move the close line backwards? The wizard prevents this from the UI. The backend does not enforce a floor, but a backwards close would be unrecoverable from this screen, so do not bypass the wizard to attempt it.

A check says the readiness window is too wide. What should I do? The checklist covers up to three months at a time. If your last close was more than three months ago, close the earlier months first, then close the current period.

My account says period locking is not switched on. What does that mean? See What is period lock enforcement, and does closing the books block edits? for details.