Period close and sign-off
A period is closed when a person signs it, and then it stays closed.
Before a period can be signed, Orion checks that every reconciliation is signed off, every movement over threshold is explained, every drafted journal is posted or withdrawn and intercompany agrees. Then the controller signs, the CFO signs, and the period is locked in Orion. Reopening it takes a named person, a reason and a record.
The checks before sign-off
Nothing to sign until everything is true.
- Checklist
- Every task in the period signed off by its reviewer.
- Reconciliations
- Every account signed by its preparer and its reviewer.
- Flux
- Every movement over threshold explained and accepted.
- Journals
- Every drafted journal posted to your ERP or withdrawn.
- Intercompany
- Every pair agrees, or its difference is explained.
- Subledgers
- Atlas, Apex and Cortex agree to the GL for the period.
Sign-off order
The order your company sets, recorded by name.
- 01
Checks pass
Orion shows exactly what blocks the period until nothing does.
- 02
Controller signs
With the checks and the open-item list on the page.
- 03
CFO signs
The last signature your sign-off order names.
- 04
Locked
The period is read-only in Orion. Closing it in your ERP is the last checklist task.
Controls
Controls a reviewer can see, not just trust.
Segregation
Nobody signs what they prepared, in the checklist or the reconciliations.
Named sign-offs
Who signed, when, and what was on the page when they did.
Reopen with a reason
A named person, a reason, and the sign-offs again.
Append-only record
Every sign-off and reopen written in the same transaction as the change.
What Orion works out, and what is yours
Orion does the arithmetic. People sign.
Orion runs the checks and locks the period after the last signature. Every signature and every reopen is a person's.
Orion matches, ties and calculates on its own, from the records already in your foundation. Every journal posted, every difference written off, every reconciliation signed off and every period locked is a person's decision, recorded with their name. Orion never moves money.
Orion works it out
- Runs every check before sign-off
- Shows exactly what blocks the period
- Locks the period in Orion once the last person signs
- Records every sign-off and reopen
Always a person
- Every sign-off
- Reopening a locked period
- Closing the period in your ERP
- Changing the sign-off order
FAQ
Period close and sign-off, run end to end.
What has to be true before a period can be signed off?
Every checklist task signed off, every reconciliation signed by its preparer and reviewer, every movement over threshold explained and accepted, every drafted journal posted or withdrawn, every intercompany pair agreed or explained, and Atlas, Apex and Cortex agreeing to the GL for the period.
Who signs off a period?
The people your sign-off order names, set with you at onboarding: usually the controller, then the CFO. Each signature is recorded with the person, the time and what was on the page.
Can anything sign off a period automatically?
No. Orion runs the checks on its own and shows what blocks the period, but every signature is a person's, recorded with their name.
What happens if we find an error after the period is locked?
A person with the right reopens the period with a reason, the correction is made, and the sign-offs run again in order. Or, if your policy says so, the correction posts to the open period. Either way the record shows what happened and who did it.
Does locking the period in Orion close it in our ERP?
No. Closing the period in your ERP is the last task on the checklist, done by the person who holds that right in the ERP. Orion's lock keeps the period's reconciliations, explanations and sign-offs from changing.
Is the history kept?
Yes. Every sign-off, reopen and change is recorded in an append-only record, written in the same transaction as the change itself, and nothing in it is edited or deleted afterwards.
Related in Orion
- Month-end closeThe close checklist and every task by period, with its owner, its status and the evidence behind it.View
- Audited and unaudited resultsWhich periods your auditors have finished with and which are still management's numbers, labeled on every report.View
- Roles and sign-offThe same four roles as every Ferrata product, preparers and reviewers on every task, and a sign-off order you set.View
- ReconciliationsBank, balance sheet and intercompany reconciliations in one workspace, each with its preparer, reviewer and evidence.View
See the sign-off work on your own close.
Bring last month's close: the checklist, the reconciliations and the trial balance. We run it through Orion beside your team and show you where it would have tied, and give you an honest answer if the close is slow for a reason upstream that you should fix first.
Your close calendar, chart of accounts, thresholds, reviewers and sign-off order are yours, and they stay yours. Orion is configured to the way your team closes. You are not handing over a playbook or fitting into a template.