Every financial transaction belongs to a Fiscal Period. There are 13 periods defined for each Fiscal Year:

• The first 12 periods approximate the months in the year (Period 1 starts July 1st).
• The 13th period is for the Fiscal Close process.

The first twelve periods approximate the months of the Fiscal Year (beginning with Period 1 for July) because the fiscal periods do not close exactly at the end of the month. There are two main reasons for this:

• It is common to receive invoices early in the month that are more appropriately recorded in the prior month's ledger. In anticipation of this circumstance, all transactions approved during the first three working days of the month are posted to the prior month's fiscal period. Beginning with the fourth working day of the month, all transactions are posted to the current month's fiscal period.
• Payroll transactions are created after the month has ended. These transactions are generated by the Office of the President, and transmitted to UC Davis on, or about, the fourth working day of the month. These transactions are also included in the prior month's fiscal period.

When all of the processes are complete, the Fiscal Period is closed. Any reports run prior to the close of a fiscal period are subject to change.