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The Close Sheet ​

The Close Sheet is where a close period actually gets worked. Open it from any row in Close Overview, or from the client's own close page.

Everything about one period lives here: what is done, what is left, who did it, what evidence is attached, and what has to happen before the period can be locked. The sheet uses the full width of the window, so the wider columns — What Kraal did, Evidence, Needs — are readable without horizontal scrolling.

The header ​

The title row carries, left to right:

  • the client, the period being closed, and the period's status;
  • progress, written as 14 of 22 items done (64%);
  • the package due date.

Beneath it you may also see a catch-up line — "April 2026 is still open — close it first." — when an earlier period has to be finished before this one.

The package due date ​

Every close carries an expected delivery date for the client's close package. The header states it plainly and, just as importantly, says where it came from.

When your client has committed to a date, the header reads:

Package due Aug 14, 2026

When no date has been committed, the firm default fills in and is labelled as a default so it can never be mistaken for a client commitment:

Package due Aug 14, 2026 (default · 10th business day)

The firm default is the 10th business day of the month after the period being closed — Monday to Friday, weekends excluded.

Set a client's committed date ​

  1. Click the pencil beside the package due date. (It appears on unlocked periods only.)
  2. Pick the date the client has committed to.
  3. Click Save.

The header drops the (default …) label, because the date is now a real commitment rather than a fallback. Kraal confirms with Package due date saved.

Go back to the firm default ​

  1. Click the pencil.
  2. Click Use default.

Kraal clears the committed date and the labelled default applies again: Package due date cleared — the default applies. Use default only appears when there is a committed date to clear.

Cancel closes the editor without changing anything.

If the date cannot be saved, the message names the reason rather than failing silently — "Couldn't save the due date — …". Fix what it names and try again.

TIP

On a multi-entity client, the editor applies to the entity you are focused on. Switch entities with the entity filter before editing if you meant a different one.

Gates and entity focus ​

A row of gate chips summarises what still stands between this period and a lock: Order (no earlier period left open), Books, Review, Package, and Posting lock. Hover any chip for the specific reason, for example "An earlier period is still open."

Multi-entity clients also get an Entity filter: All entities plus one chip per entity, with a lock icon on the ones already locked and a count such as 2 of 4 entities locked. When you focus on an entity other than the one this sheet was opened for, Kraal says so and offers Open {Entity} for full gates — that entity's books and package gates load in its own close.

Needs you (N) filters the item list down to rows waiting on a person.

Read the canonical close picture ​

Above the item table, three panels tell the period's current story without asking you to assemble it from separate counters.

Close status and next action ​

This panel names who owns the close now—Kraal, the client, a preparer, a reviewer, or an approver—and shows one next action. The precedence list beneath it explains why that step comes before later work.

Examples include collecting missing client input, reviewing evidence that arrived, rerunning a stale reconciliation, repairing setup, preparing close items, building the candidate package, submitting for review, approving, and finalizing.

Kraal offers an action button only when the step is safe to perform from this page and your role allows it. A human-only step stays visible as an instruction, not a button that implies Kraal can make the judgment for you.

Client inputs ​

Client requirements are grouped by who owes the next move:

  • Firm action needed
  • Arrived — needs firm review
  • Waiting on the client
  • Accepted evidence
  • Closed without being satisfied

A response arriving does not satisfy the requirement by itself. Review and accept it before relying on it as close evidence. If it is wrong or incomplete, request a replacement; the earlier response remains in the history.

Close projection ​

The projection rolls the period up into the same sections every time:

  1. Close status and next action
  2. Kraal work / waiting state
  3. Client inputs
  4. Close checklist
  5. Canonical reconciliations
  6. Adjustments and judgments
  7. Review manifest
  8. Candidate / final package
  9. Finalization / lock
  10. Timeline and audit

Each section says whether it is complete, in progress, waiting, blocked, or not reported. Not reported and an em dash mean Kraal does not have a current answer; neither means zero, complete, or lock-ready. A partial projection cannot produce an all-clear.

The order steps appear in ​

Rows read top to bottom in the order a close actually flows:

  1. Collect documents
  2. Reconcile
  3. Adjustments and readiness gates
  4. Review the financials
  5. Package and binder
  6. Lock

Adjustments and readiness gates come before the review pass, and the binder and lock always land last — so working the sheet from the top is the same as working the close in the right order. Inside a stage, rows follow their target completion date, then section, then entity (client-wide first, then entities alphabetically), then name.

Each row shows its section — Documents, Automation, Reconciliation, Review, or Other — along with status, owner, what Kraal did, journals, evidence, what it still needs, and who completed or reviewed it.

Row actions are Run, Upload, Review, and Reopen. A row that belongs to a sibling entity shows Open instead, because that work can only be run in the entity's own period.

Request a document from the client ​

Document rows that are still waiting on a file carry a Request button next to Upload.

Request takes you to the client requests hub with the create form already open and the title prefilled from the close item, so you are not retyping what Kraal already knows. Finish the request there — add instructions, a portal contact, a priority, and a due date — then submit it.

The request behaves like any other client request from that point on: the client sees it in their portal, uploads the file, and it lands in your Recently received list for review. The close requirement clears only after the firm accepts the response as evidence. See External Client Portal for the full flow, and PBC Engagement Tracking when you want to track a whole engagement's document list rather than one close item.

Finishing the period ​

The finalize button always names the next real step rather than a generic "finish":

  • Submit {Entity} for review
  • Approve review
  • Final approve
  • Lock {Entity} books

When the button is unavailable, the reason is printed next to it instead of leaving you guessing — for example "3 blockers to clear first.", "Close the earlier open period first.", "Lock gates not passed yet.", or "Close is still in progress. Submit opens when the required work completes."

Review lock gates opens the gate detail so you can see exactly which gate is holding the period. On a finished period, Download close summary becomes available.

Locking archives the Close Binder as the audit record for that lock.

Missing action versus unavailable action ​

  • If an action is not shown, your role does not have that action for this client, or Kraal cannot safely offer it from the current evidence.
  • If an action is shown but unavailable, you have the authority but a named prerequisite is still blocking it. Read the reason beside the control.

Do not work around a missing control by guessing a status or opening a different client's period. Use the exact linked reconciliation, item, or client request.

Package approval and finalization ​

The client deliverable is the current approved financial package. The Close Binder is the internal evidence archive; it supports the review but is not a second client package.

The normal sequence is:

  1. Build the candidate package from current close evidence.
  2. Submit the exact package and evidence set for review.
  3. Complete reviewer and final approval.
  4. Finalize and lock the period.
  5. Release the approved package only after the lock is confirmed.

If evidence, reconciliations, or accounting results change after approval, return or reopen the close for revision. Kraal keeps the previous approval and package in history, marks the old deliverable stale or superseded as appropriate, and requires fresh review of the changed evidence.

Posting lock is not the whole close

A control labelled Lock books only prevents further posting. It does not by itself mean client inputs were accepted, reconciliations were signed, the package was approved, or finalization completed. Rely on the Close Sheet's status, projection, and finalization step for the complete close verdict.

When an item won't complete ​

Kraal never reports work as done when it isn't. If marking an item done fails, the message names the item and the reason:

Couldn't mark "Bank reconciliation" done — this period is locked.

Common reasons:

  • This period is locked. Locked periods block further posting. Reopening a period is not self-serve — contact your Kraal administrator or support.
  • The step isn't in a completable state yet. Its prerequisites have not finished. Steps are dependency-gated; clear what it depends on first.

An empty list is also explicit: Nothing needs you right now. when the needs-you filter is on, or No close items yet. before the checklist has populated.

Troubleshooting ​

  • The due date shows a date I never agreed with the client — check for the (default · 10th business day) label. If it is there, no date has been committed and Kraal is showing the firm default. Set the client's date with the pencil.
  • I edited the due date on the wrong entity — the editor applies to the focused entity. Switch entities with the Entity filter and edit again.
  • The finalize button is greyed out — read the reason printed beside it, then use Review lock gates for the detail.
  • A step I expected is missing — close steps come from the client's close template, and schedule-driven steps appear only once their schedule is configured. See Client Setup & Close Workflow.
  • A row's action says Open instead of Run — the item belongs to another entity. Open that entity's close to run it.
  • A client response arrived but the input still blocks — review and accept it as evidence, or request a replacement. Arrival alone does not clear the requirement.
  • A reconciliation changed after signoff — open the linked Reconciliation Hub, rerun it, and obtain fresh signoff before advancing the close.
  • A period was approved before a new material exception appeared — return or reopen it for revision. Do not try to change an item inside the approved run.

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