A Fiscal Period is a specific time interval within a fiscal year during which accountants record, review, and summarize documents. In the AF Code accounting database, this concept is implemented as the FiscalPeriod entity and is one of the main pillars of temporal discipline in document recording.

In the AF Code accounting software, each fiscal period is connected to a fiscal year (FiscalYearId) and has no meaning without it. For businesses operating in Afghanistan, using fiscal periods for preparing monthly and quarterly reports and closing accounts at the end of each period is crucial. AF Code Company has designed this feature considering the needs of the Afghanistan market.

In the AF Code accounting database, each Fiscal Period is stored with this information:

• Related Fiscal Year (FiscalYearId): Relationship with the Fiscal Year entity
• Period Number (PeriodNumber): Unique period identifier within the fiscal year
• Period Name (PeriodName): Descriptive name like 'January' or 'Hamal'
• Start Date (StartDate): Period start date
• End Date (EndDate): Period end date
• Closed Status (IsClosed): Indicates whether the period is open or closed

This structure is integrated with other modules in the AF Code accounting software, and all relationships in the accounting database are designed with referential integrity. The most important rule at the database level is that each period's range must be within the related fiscal year's range and must not overlap with other periods of the same year.

In the AF Code accounting software, fiscal periods have critical applications:

• Temporal discipline in document recording: By defining fiscal periods, all documents are recorded in their correct time frame, and recording in closed periods is prevented.
• Accurate reporting: Financial reports like trial balance, profit and loss statements, and account balances can be prepared based on fiscal periods.
• Account closing: At the end of each fiscal period, accounts are closed and balances are transferred to the next period.
• Tax compliance: In Afghanistan, many businesses are required to submit monthly and quarterly reports to the tax authority, which are defined based on fiscal periods.

For AF Code Company operating in Afghanistan, this temporal discipline is vital for precise financial management and reporting to relevant authorities.

In the AF Code accounting database, the relationship between fiscal period and fiscal year is defined hierarchically:

• Fiscal Year is a large time interval (usually one year) within which fiscal periods are defined.
• Fiscal Period is a subset of the fiscal year and its range must be completely within the fiscal year's range.
• One fiscal year can have multiple fiscal periods (e.g., 12 monthly periods or 4 quarterly periods).
• The open or closed status of fiscal periods affects the fiscal year status: if all periods of a year are closed, the fiscal year is automatically closed.

Simply put: Fiscal Year = Large Frame | Fiscal Period = Small parts inside that frame. This structure is carefully implemented in the AF Code accounting software and enables flexible period management.

In the AF Code system, the fiscal period range is not fixed and pre-defined (e.g., it is not mandatory to be monthly). The financial manager or system administrator determines the Start Date and End Date when creating a period.

However, the AF Code accounting database enforces several strict rules to ensure data integrity:

• Start Date must be before End Date (StartDate < EndDate).
• The period range must be completely within the related fiscal year's range (not outside it).
• It must not overlap with any other periods of the same fiscal year.

So the precise answer to the question 'From when to when?' is: From the date the financial manager defines to the date they set as the end of that period; provided that it is within the same fiscal year and does not overlap with any other period. This flexibility in the AF Code accounting software allows businesses in Afghanistan to define their fiscal periods based on their specific needs.

The short answer: No. In the AF Code project code, no mandatory 'only 12 monthly periods' requirement is seen. The system structure is designed to be completely flexible:

• You can define monthly periods (the most common case in Afghanistan).
• You can define quarterly periods (for businesses that submit quarterly reports).
• You can even define special management ranges (e.g., 45-day periods for specific projects).

We understand this flexibility from the fact that Create and Update methods only receive StartDate and EndDate, and the system only enforces temporal validation rules (no overlap, being within the fiscal year range). In the AF Code accounting database, PeriodNumber is a simple numeric field and is not required to match the month number.

For AF Code Company and its customers in Afghanistan, this flexibility means the ability to customize the system based on real business needs.

In the AF Code accounting database, the open or closed status of a period is indicated by the IsClosed field.

Open Period

• New documents can be recorded in this period.
• Previous documents can be edited or deleted (subject to other rules).
• Open periods can be closed.

Closed Period

• Recording new documents in this period is impossible.
• The ValidateOpenAsync service in the AF Code accounting software exactly checks this: if the document date falls in no period → 'Fiscal period not found' error, and if the period is found but closed → 'Fiscal period is closed' error.
• Closed periods can be reopened (if needed).

This simple but vital mechanism prevents mistaken document recording in closed periods and ensures financial discipline for AF Code Company and its customers in Afghanistan.

1. Create

In the creation stage:

• The related fiscal year must exist and be open
• The period number (PeriodNumber) must not be duplicate within that year
• The time range (StartDate and EndDate) is validated: start < end, within fiscal year range, no overlap with other periods
• The period is created with open status (IsClosed = false)

2. Update

• Editing is only allowed for open periods
• If dates change, overlap and range rules are checked again
• Period number must not be duplicate

3. Delete

• Deletion is performed as Soft Delete
• Only periods with no documents attached can be deleted

4. Open

• Only closed periods can be opened
• When a period is opened, the related fiscal year also comes out of closed state (if it was closed)

5. Close

• Only open periods can be closed
• After closing, new document recording in that period is not possible
• If all periods of a year are closed, the fiscal year is automatically closed

6. Close All

• Closes all periods of a fiscal year at once
• Also closes the related fiscal year

These operations are implemented in the PeriodService of the AF Code project and executed in the accounting database while maintaining data integrity.

In the AF Code accounting software, the fiscal period module is accessible in the FiscalYears/Periods page and includes these features:

• List of periods for a fiscal year: Display all periods with filtering by status (open/closed)
• Open/closed period count: Display number of open and closed periods for each year
• Open Period: Change period status from closed to open
• Close Period: Change period status from open to closed
• Close All Periods: Close all periods of a year at once
• Create New Period: New period creation form with complete validation
• Edit Period: Edit open periods
• Delete Period: Delete periods with no documents

These pages are clearly implemented in the Accounting area and controlled with separate permissions. For the convenience of accountants in Afghanistan, AF Code Company has designed a simple and effective user interface that makes fiscal period management easy.

In the AF Code system, these permissions are defined for fiscal periods:

• View (FiscalPeriodsView): Ability to see the list and details of periods
• Manage (FiscalPeriodsGenerate): Ability to create, edit, and delete periods
• Open/Close (FiscalPeriodsOpenClose): Ability to change period status from open to closed and vice versa

This separation is very important for organizations operating in Afghanistan that want to restrict sensitive operations like closing fiscal periods to specific individuals. AF Code Company has implemented these access levels in the accounting database and these permissions are enforced in the UI.

Assume 'ABC Trading Company' in Kabul defines fiscal year 1403 from Hamal 1, 1403 to Hoot 29, 1403 (according to the Solar calendar common in Afghanistan).

The company's financial manager wants to have monthly fiscal periods to submit monthly reports to the tax authority. In the AF Code system, periods are defined as follows:

• Period 1: Hamal 1, 1403 to Hamal 31, 1403
• Period 2: Sawr 1, 1403 to Sawr 31, 1403
• Period 3: Jawza 1, 1403 to Jawza 31, 1403
• ...
• Period 12: Hoot 1, 1403 to Hoot 29, 1403

The AF Code accounting database allows these ranges to be defined, provided:

1. All periods are within the fiscal year range (Hamal 1 to Hoot 29).
2. None overlap with each other.
3. Each period's start date is less than its end date.

At the end of each month, after ensuring all documents for that month have been recorded, the company's accountant closes the relevant period. When all 12 periods are closed, fiscal year 1403 is automatically closed, and the company can prepare its annual reports.

This example shows how AF Code Company, through flexible fiscal period module design, enables precise time range management for businesses in Afghanistan.

• Fiscal Period → Fiscal Period
• Fiscal Year → Fiscal Year
• Open Period → Open Period
• Closed Period → Closed Period
• Start Date → Start Date
• End Date → End Date
• Period Number → Period Number
• Period Name → Period Name
• Overlap → Overlap
• Close All Periods → Close All Periods