Set Up Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Desktop and Online

To change the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop, ensuring accurate financial records is imperative. The procedure comprises setting up the fiscal year, adding opening balances for every account, and checking business financial reports.

This guide talks about the significance of setting and modifying your fiscal year in QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. In addition to this, this guide explains the importance of a fiscal year in both editions.

Let’s get started!

How to Set Up Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Desktop and Online?

Set Up Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Desktop

To set up the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop, select the first month from the Company menu. You cannot mention a specific date.

Follow these steps to select the first month of the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop:

• Sign in to your QuickBooks Desktop account.
• Open the "Company" menu and choose the option, "My Company."
• Hit the "Pencil" icon in the "Company Information" screen to edit.
• Go to the "Report Information" tab.
• Choose the desired first month of the fiscal year.
• QuickBooks Desktop will record the first month and determine the fiscal year-end.
• Setting the fiscal year does not impact the existing financial data.

Set Up Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Online

First, confirm the starting month and set up the fiscal year in QuickBooks Online. Enter the right month and proceed to change the first month via the QuickBooks Online settings.

Users should make the required changes to set the desired fiscal year start using the steps below:

• Open the QuickBooks Online application on your system.
• Go to the top of the screen and hit the “Gear” icon.
• On the drop-down menu, choose “Account and Settings”.
• A new window appears, hit the “Advanced” section.
• Check the settings in the “Accounting” section. Hit the Edit button in case the first month of the fiscal year is wrong.
• Make changes and enter the right first month of the fiscal year.
• Hit the "Save" button after the changes are done.
• Hit the "Done" button to save the changes. QuickBooks will record the first month and evaluate the fiscal year-end.

What is a Fiscal Year?

Every business sets a fiscal year for financial reporting. This fiscal year is a 12-month period that can begin from any month of the year.

As per the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a fiscal year period ends on the last day of any month, except December. Selecting the right fiscal year is crucial to address the company’s financial requirements.

Why Should You Set Fiscal Year in QuickBooks?

The start and end dates of the fiscal year vary each year, and the conclusion of the fiscal year brings about several implications. These include the preparation and filing of tax returns, the creation of financial statements, the submission of HST/GST returns (Setting up HST or GST in QuickBooks), and more. If the default completion date of the fiscal year is inconvenient for the organization, it is possible to set up a custom fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop or QuickBooks Online (subject to specific conditions).

In QuickBooks Online, users do not have the option to specify a specific start date for the fiscal year. Instead, they can choose the fiscal starting month. On the other hand, QuickBooks Desktop users have the flexibility to begin their fiscal year on a specific date within their account. If you would like to learn more about how to set up the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop, please stay with us for detailed instructions.

How to Change Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Desktop?

To change the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop, follow these steps. These steps ensure accurate financial management and reporting for the updated period.

• In QuickBooks Desktop, choose the “Company” option from the top menu.
• Press the option, More>Fiscal Year Change.
• Backup the company files to safeguard your financial data.
• Follow the prompts to modify the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop.
• Ensure accuracy to maintain financial record integrity and comply with reporting standards.

How to Change Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Online?

To change the fiscal year in QuickBooks Online and ensure accurate financial management and reporting for the updated period, follow these steps:

• Hit the Gear icon on the QuickBooks Online dashboard and select the “Accounts and Settings” option.
• Choose the “Advanced” tab and hit the Accounting section.
• Select “September” as the first month of the fiscal year option.
• Click the “Save” option.
• Now click the “Done” option.

Note: Once completed, start extracting transaction reports for the past and present financial year.

Issues/ Problems that Users face while changing dates in QuickBooks

• Issue Type one: If say, you are trying to change the company’s Fiscal Year End date and while doing so reporting of the previous fiscal years is also getting affected.
• Issue Type Two: How to prevent the changing of the closing date to another date format when the file is opened on another computer?

How to Enter a Fiscal Year into QuickBooks?

The correct fiscal year is of vital importance because it is very helpful in keeping the graphs and reports accurate. January will be used as the beginning of the calendar as default by the program, for the records you have entered, until and unless a different month of starting is mentioned by you.

In case you are looking forward to getting the fiscal year changed then, go to the program settings to edit it, anytime.

To Do That:

• Get the QuickBooks opened and then go to the company menu. After that tap on Company Information
• Now from the drop-down of the Fiscal Year, choose the correct month
• As soon as you click on the OK button, the fiscal year’s new start will be recorded

Read This: How to close year-end in QuickBooks

How to End the Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Desktop?

The closing fiscal year can still be modified by users, even though QuickBooks knows when it will be completed. To remove the closing date, users should go to the Company Preferences and remove the date from the Closing Date field. To follow the steps in detail, follow the given steps below:

• Go to the "Edit" menu in QuickBooks.
• Click on "Preferences" from the dropdown options.
• Choose the "Accounting" menu.
• Navigate to the "Company Preferences" tab.
• In the "Closing Date" section, select the "Set Date/Password" option.
• Remove the date from the "Closing Date" field.
• Click the "OK" button to save the changes.
• Once you have completed these steps, QuickBooks will remove the closing date, and the fiscal year will be closed in QuickBooks Desktop.

For any kind of issue, you can always get in touch with our SMB QuickBooks technical support team. Experts at SMB will ensure that you receive timely solutions to all your issues within the minimum time frame. QuickBooks customer support team will listen to your queries carefully and then answer them accordingly.

How to set up a new budget for the New Fiscal Year in QuickBooks Desktop?

Set up a new budget with a new fiscal year in QuickBooks with the right financial year. Follow the steps below to proceed:

• Hit the “Company” tab on the menu bar.
• Choose Planning and Budgeting.
• Select Set up Budgets.
• Make sure to mention the year and type for a new budget.
• Hit the “Next” button and then click the “OK” button.

Final Words

Managing finances is challenging. QuickBooks simplifies the process. This article explains how to start a new fiscal year. It guides users on setting up the fiscal year in QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online.

We hope that after reading this article, all your queries on the topic of how to set a fiscal year in QuickBooks Online and Desktop are cleared. Still, if there are certain doubts or questions, you can reach out to our team of experts. Call us at +1800-961-4963.

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