How to close the fiscal year and export the FEC in OPS
Closing the fiscal year is the point at which you lock the accounting records for a twelve-month period, produce the statutory financial statements, and export the FEC file required by French law. In OPS the closing wizard automates the most error-prone steps: it checks that no entries remain in draft, posts the closing entry for income and expense accounts, and opens the new year with carry-forward balances. This guide walks you through the full process, from a final review of the ledger and financial reports to exporting the FEC and confirming the irreversible close.
Before you start
- A Full plan subscription (accounting module required)
- Accounting administer permission on your OPS account
- All bank reconciliations for the year completed and closed
Steps
Check that no entries are still in draft
Open the "Entries" tab and filter by status Draft. Validate every entry that should be posted, or delete any that were created by mistake. The closing wizard will not run while drafts remain.
Review the financial reports
Open the "Reports" tab and review the "General ledger", "Balance sheet" and "Income statement" for the year. Confirm that totals are as expected and that the balance sheet balances before proceeding.
Export the FEC file
In the "Reports" tab, click "FEC Export". Save the file to a safe location — this is your legal accounting archive and must be kept for at least ten years under French law.
Open the closing wizard
Go to the "Settings" tab (or "Fiscal years" in the accounting settings), find the current fiscal year and click "Close fiscal year…". A wizard opens and explains that the action is permanent.
Confirm the closing
Review the summary shown by the wizard. When you are ready, confirm the close. OPS posts the closing entry for classes 6 and 7, generates the à-nouveaux carry-forward balances for the new year, and marks the year as closed.
Verify the new fiscal year and opening balances
Switch to the new fiscal year in the fiscal-year selector. Open the "Entries" tab and confirm that the à-nouveaux opening entries are present. The balance sheet of the new year should equal the balance sheet of the year just closed.
Tips
- Run a final bank reconciliation before closing — any unmatched transactions become harder to trace once the year is locked.
- The FEC export is also available mid-year for interim reviews; exporting it before closing the year gives you an extra copy at the same state as the close.
- If the balance sheet does not balance, go back to the Entries tab and look for unbalanced manual entries created with the generic entry form.
Frequently asked questions
Can I reopen a closed fiscal year?
No. Closing a fiscal year in OPS is irreversible. Make sure all entries are validated and all reconciliations are closed before running the wizard.
What are à-nouveaux (opening balances)?
À-nouveaux are the opening entries OPS creates automatically in the new year. They carry forward the balance-sheet account balances (classes 1–5) from the closed year so the new year starts with the correct financial position.
When is the FEC file required?
The FEC (Fichier des Écritures Comptables) is a standardised export of all accounting entries. French law requires associations subject to accounting obligations to produce it on request from the tax authority. OPS generates it in the correct format.
My income statement shows a result that does not match what I expected. What should I check?
Verify that all expense (class 6) and income (class 7) entries for the year are validated and correctly dated. Entries with a date outside the fiscal year, or entries still in draft, will not appear in the income statement.