In General Ledger, you can only open up periods in the immediately prior fiscal year based on your current GL fiscal year. 

In GL > Go. to Tasks > Open/Close Prior Period.  You will see the months available to be opened or closed.

Making entries to the prior fiscal year affecting income or expense will require you to use Tasks > Close Fiscal Year. You will be prompted that there are entries from the prior fiscal year to be closed to retained earnings and asking your permission to proceed. Be especially careful if you are in the last month of your current fiscal year, and do NOT receive a warning that prior fiscal year entries need to be closed, you could prematurely close your current fiscal year, thus limiting your ability to affect the prior year.

The General Ledger allows posting to six future periods, allowing you to continue to process the months following December (if you're on a calendar fiscal year), without having to actually "close" the fiscal year that your system identifies as the "current" fiscal year.

Hope this information helps.

Art MInds
Senior Independent Consultant
Pasadena, California

How can I open prior periods if they are not listed on the "Open/Close Prior Period?" The previous person in my position closed 2020 without reconciling the bank account. I'm trying to reconcile but it will not let me post new transactions for the closed period. The oldest date I see is 02/28/2021

Thank you!

The prior period you're looking for isn't displayed because you can't make entries that far back, as I explained above. You would have to make your entry in the current or immediately prior year.

Hi Gabriela,

It would be best for you to work with your Sage Consultant or Sage Expert Services on the best ways to get reconciled going back that for. There are different options based on your reporting needs that could be considered.