Around this time of the year, I usually get several calls regarding when the best time to close Project Controller is.  So I have created a little checklist of things to check before you close Project Controller for the year.

1. First, become familiar with the settings in Project Controller Setup (PA.SET.00) and review what has been entered in the field marked “Modules Checked in Period Closed”.  Typically, you will see something like: “GL AP AR IN PR PO”.  You would want Project Controller to check all the financial modules that you are using so that you can ensure all project-related transactions are being transferred.  If the field is blank, Project Controller will automatically check the General Ledger, Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable modules.
2. Next check the field “Financial Modules Integrated” in Project Controller Setup.  You should see a similar set of modules that you saw in the previous step.  This field indicates which modules have transactions transferred to Project Controller through the Financial Transaction Transfer (PA.TRN.00) process.
3. The last thing to review in Project Controller Setup is the checkbox “Allow Posting of a Financial Batch to a Prior Period”.  If it is checked then you can skip Step 4 and go on to Step 5.
4. If you are not allowing the posting of a batch from a prior period then you need to review each of the modules identified in Step 1 to make sure there aren’t any open batches for the period/year you are trying to close.  You should also run Financial Transaction Transfer (PA.TRN.00) to make sure all transactions have been transferred to Project Controller.  And finally, make sure all batches in Project Charge Entry (PA.CHG.00) are released.
5. If you are using the Time and Expense for Projects make sure all labor transactions have been posted to the General Ledger.
6. All batches in Project Allocator must be processed for the current period as well.
7. The Indirect Rate Calculator (AL.IRC.00) should be run if you are having Dynamics SL calculated your actual indirect rates.
8. Related to indirect rates, run Close Project Year At Actual (AL.CPA.00) – this updates projects with the difference between target and actual and updates the PJPTDAIC and PJYTDAID tables with the balance forward information.  Make sure you do this before the General Ledger Closing (01.560.00), before you close Project Controller for the year and only after you are satisfied that all transactions are entered and allocations have run.
9. If any of the above checks fail, then an error message is displayed and period closing will be stopped.  Review the content of the errors and correct and simply try closing the period again.
10. If Close Period (PA.CLO.00) detects that the period you are trying to close is the last period of the fiscal year, then the “Begin Processing” button will change to “Begin Year-end Close”.  When you click the button, balance forward amounts are calculated for those projects that have their balance forward switch on in Project Maintenance and summary records are written for the new year.  This is really the only thing that is different than a regular period end close.

There could be a situation where you have closed the year, but you realize there is another transaction in the close fiscal year that needs to be processed.  You can re-open the year by going to Project Controller Setup and changing the current period back to the period of the transaction that needs to be entered (although call us if running Indirect Rate Calculator before you do this).  However, you MUST use Close Period (PA.CLO.00) to then close the period again or else the balances on your project will not roll-forward correctly.