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ctharinger
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Our nonprofit is switching our fiscal year to match the calendar year. How/when do we make the switch--and do it in a way that will still let us see reporting from past years, that were a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year? Thanks!!
11 Comments 11
JessT
Moderator

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Welcome, and thank you for posting in the Community, ctharinger!

 

Changing your fiscal year or the start of your financial year will also change the dates in your report. However, your data will not change, so you can simply enter the dates (Jul-Jun) when you need to see the data in your previous financial year.

 

To change the start of your fiscal year in the settings:

  1. Click on the Gear icon and choose Accounts and Settings.
  2. Select the Advanced tab and click on the Accounting section.
  3. Choose January for the first month of fiscal year option.
  4. Click Save, and then Done.

 

 

You can also check about customizing and saving your customized reports. This will guide you to create reports for the previous FY and save them, so you won't have to customize again when you need the same report in the future.

 

If you need my help with reports, feel free to go back to this thread.

 

For more information on taxes, forms, filings, payroll and other Year End activities, make sure to check out our Year End Resources page.

ctharinger
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Ok, great, thanks for the reply--I think that all makes sense.  

One follow-up question: how will the changing FY dates impact past Budgets set up in QB? I'm assuming those those previous years' Jul-Jun budgets will also be adjusted retroactively to match with other reports? i.e. we could still run Budget vs Actuals reports for previous year periods and have them sync up properly--either on the new Calendar Year cycle, or by entering custom dates to reflect the old Jul-Jun cycle?) 

IamjuViel
QuickBooks Team

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Greetings, @ctharinger.

 

Let me share additional information on how updating the fiscal year of your account affects your reporting.

 

Modifying your Fiscal Year End Date does not change any data in your account. Also, the effect is not retroactive especially when viewing your previous years' Budget vs Actual Report. It will still display the specific date parameters you've previously used.

 

12.JPG

 

However, it will affect report dates when generating new sets of reports or budgets

 

13.JPG

 

For example, you've changed the Fiscal Year End date is changed from January to March. Moving forward, any report where a Fiscal Year End Date is requested, the report will display transactions between March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021. If you wish to see reports using the previous Fiscal Year End Date, the date parameters must be entered manually (not using the Fiscal Year End option). 

 

You can read through these articles to help you manage your reports in QuickBooks:

 

Keep us posted here if you have other questions or concerns. I'm always here to help.

kristofur
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

I also have a specific fiscal year, but have a 2014 version and can't find any settings.  Closest I cam find is preferences under "file" but no way I can find to set a fiscal year.

Rea_M
Moderator

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Let me show you how you can set a fiscal year with QuickBooks Desktop (QBDT), @kristofur.

 

When a new year starts, we recommend closing your books. While you don’t need to do this at the end of a fiscal year, closing them will prevent any accidental changes that will affect your reports.

 

With QBDT, you're able to set your fiscal year through the Set Closing Date option from the Company menu. Then, you'll be routed to the Preferences window's Accounting page. Just make sure to sign in as the admin to make any changes to your account. You can set a closing date and password by following these steps:

  1. Go to the Company menu.
  2. Select Set Closing Date.
  3. Select Set Date/Password.
  4. Enter a Closing Date and Closing Date Password.
  5. Select OK to close the window.

 

I've attached screenshots below for your reference.

82.PNG

 

Once done, there'll be a notification when you void a check that has a transaction date before the closing date and has an expense type of account. When you select Yes, QuickBooks will create 2 journal entries (JE) to balance the accounts affected by the check. However, creating JE is optional. You can still void the check if needed.

 

After that, you can check any reports to verify if the updated fiscal year date is correct. Then, customize the report to focus on the info that matters to you the most.

 

Additionally, you don't have to worry about closing your books at the end of every fiscal year. QBDT creates automatic adjustments in preparation for the coming year. If you wish to learn more about this, you can refer to this article: Close your books in QuickBooks Desktop.

 

Please know that you're always welcome to post again here in the Community if you need further assistance in updating your account's fiscal year. Just drop a comment below and I'm just around to help. Take care always.

Exp5950
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Hello,

I followed the above directions to change a fiscal year end in QBDT but it doesn't seem to stick. I'm trying to set it to a Dec 31 year end to create year-over-year comparison reports when the company reported on a calendar year in the past.  QB reverts to the previous closing date of May 31 and creates reports from Jun 1 - May 31 as a fiscal year. Is there any other way around this? To create each calendar year report separately for comparison would be extremely time consuming.

AileneA
QuickBooks Team

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Hi there, Exp5950. 

 

In QuickBooks Desktop, you can create budgets based on your accounting data. Once your budgets are in QuickBooks, you can review and adjust everything. Then run financial reports to compare your fiscal year data. 

 

Make sure the beginning of your fiscal year is set in QuickBooks. You can create a budget any time, but it helps if you start at the beginning of the fiscal year. 

 

Once done, we can run Profit and Loss YTD Comparison. Here's how: 

 

  1. Click Reports and select Company and Financial
  2. Customize the Date and run reports. 

 

I'm also adding these articles for reference in case you need tips and related articles:

 

 

You may also want to consider memorizing reports. Doing so helps save the current customized settings for easy access in the future.

 

I'll be around the corner if you have other questions. Take care and have a great day!

QueenKong
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Hi! 

Is this mean previous year end dates will be stay as June 30th but new fiscal year end will be effective and continue show as Dec 31 (now, new year end is July 1 to Dec 31 and continues to Jan to Dec 31). Is this correct?

ZackE
Moderator

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

Thanks for joining this thread, QueenKong.

 

QuickBooks registers the first month that your fiscal year begins and automatically understands when it ends. For example, if the fiscal year ends in April, you'll have to choose May as your first month; or, if December is the end of your fiscal year, you'll have to pick January.

 

Data will remain intact after changing the financial year. Changes to your year only affect the report. You can manually change the date range on your report to display a longer period of data.

 

You'll also be able to find many detailed resources about using QuickBooks in our help article archives.

 

Please feel welcome to send a reply if there's any questions. Have a lovely day!

kswietek
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

i am not able to find where I change my year end in Quickbooks pro 2019.  Can anyone help?  Thank you, Kay

Dave Fitz 1
Level 1

How do we change from a Jul-Jun Fiscal Year to a Jan-Dec Fiscal Year in QB?

I just changed in 2017 - old version
Company
My Company

Pencil on Top of Company Information

Report Information
First Month of fiscal Year - Choose New first month
(I had a company with 4/30 year end and merged with another company with 5/31 year end)
I needed to run reports with new fiscal year

The Newer Versions - have a "GEAR" button which is much nicer

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