Closing a month locks it so the numbers stay put. Here’s what that does, and why the app asks you to close and reopen months in order.
Closing a month seals it. Once it’s closed, no new transactions can land in that month, so the numbers you signed off on stay exactly as they were. Close a month after you’ve reviewed it: bank transactions matched, receipts attached, and nothing left in your review queue. Only the admin or finance role can close or reopen a month.
You close months oldest first: January, then February, then March. If February is still open and you try to close March, the app asks you to close February first. That can feel like the app is being fussy, so here’s the real reason.
Your reports are a running total from day one, so what they show on March 31 depends on every month before it. If February were left open, a late February transaction (a delayed bank sync, or a receipt you add next week) would quietly change your already-closed March numbers. Closing in order keeps a sealed month sealed for good.
The short version: a closed month should never move. That only holds if no open month is sitting underneath a closed one, which is why the order matters.
Reopening is the mirror of closing. If you need to fix something in February but March is already closed, the app asks you to reopen March first, then February. Editing February while March is sealed would shift March’s numbers behind your back, the same problem in reverse.
So you reopen from the most recent closed month backward, make your fix, then close the months again in order. Nothing is lost while a month is reopened, and closing it again re-seals it.