Solution Properties
Solution ID:
251027091651007
Last Modified Date:
Mon Jul 20 07:59:36 UTC 2026
Taxonomy Path:
Case category//How do I...//year-end
Author:
[email protected]
How to shorten the financial year
Description

As the financial year is always 12 months in Sage 50 Accounts, you can shorten your financial year by moving the start date back. This process recalculates balances and removes prior year and budget values.

Cause
Resolution

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How it works

In Sage 50 Accounts, the financial year is always 12 months. If you need to shorten it, move the start date back to reflect the new end date.

Year 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 26 26 26
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Current      
Start
                    
End
New Start *                
End
      


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How the balances are recalculated

When you use the Financial Year option to change the start date of your financial year the following changes occur:
  • The system rebuilds monthly nominal code balances based on transactions in your audit trail
  • The system recalculates year-to-date turnover figures for your customers and suppliers based on transactions in your audit trail
  • The system recalculates monthly sales balances on product records based on product transactions

Running the Financial Year Change option removes all prior year and budget values from the nominal codes. You can't produce Prior Year or Budget reports without this information. Only follow this step if you use prior year reports or values.

There are two options:

Option one

Archive your company data.

Option two

Export and import nominal codes: 

  1. Go to Nominal codes then select Reports.
  2. Select Nominal details then the Nominal Record CSV (Extended) report. 
  3. Select Export, edit the location and change Save as type to CSV Files (*.csv).
  4. Click Save.
  5. Edit the exported file to allow for the shift in months. 
▼ Example

If you shorten the year-end by three months, using the dates in the example above, update the months as follows:

  1. Change Month 1 from April 2025 to January 2025.
  2. Move April’s figures three months forward so that Month 1 contains July 2025.
  3. Adjust the remaining months consecutively.
  4. Set the final three months to zero, as they have no prior year values.
  1. Import the amended data.

Run the reports for the end of the shortened financial year

If you want the new financial year to start in January 2026, set the financial year to January 2025.

  1. Back up your data.
  2. Run your year end reports up to the end of December 2025 if your new year starts in January 2026. 
Common reports include:

Change the financial year start date

When you change the financial year start date, set it to the previous year.

For example, if you want the new financial year to start in January 2026, set the financial year to January 2025.

  1. Go to Settings then select Financial Year.
  2. Select Change.
  3. Click Yes to the prompt regarding backups and check data.
  4. Click Yes to the prompt regarding nominal historical data.
  5. Set the required financial year start month and year. For example, if your new financial year to starts in January 2026, set the financial year to January 2025.
  6. Click OK then Yes.
  7. Click OK then OK again.

NOTE: Run financial reports for the shortened financial year period. Avoid running reports for the whole financial year, as the P&L figures won't accurately reflect the current state.

Run the Year End

This clears the profit and loss figures up to and including the year-end date and advances the financial year start date to the required date.

  1. Back up your data.
  2. Click Tools, click Period End then click Year End and click Run Year End.

 TIP: For a complete guide to running the year-end, see how to complete a financial year end.

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