Close

Close temporary accounts for "$ARGUMENTS". Zero out revenue, expense, and dividend accounts by transferring their balances to retained earnings.

Arguments. $ARGUMENTS may contain the project name and optional flags. Take the first token as <project> and treat --skip-checks as a flag; never include flags in file paths. All paths below use <project>. If --skip-checks is present, skip the prerequisite check and, before writing any artifact, append one line to .singularskills/log.jsonl: {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-close","workflow":"accounting","phase":8,"project":"<project>","event":"skipped","artifact":"08-close.md","note":"<reason or \"none given\">"}.

Compute with code. Perform every calculation (totals, balances, ratios, variances, projections) with a script — Bash, Python or a spreadsheet formula written to a file — and include the computation alongside the result. Never do arithmetic mentally.

Prerequisites

Part of a workflow. This skill is phase 8 (Close) of the Accounting Cycle workflow (accounting); cross-domain workflows run it too. First check .singularskills/log.jsonl for an open run for this project: a run-started line with "project":"<project>" and no later run-finished line for the same workflow and project. If one exists, the conductor is running you: continue here. Otherwise, if the user asked to start, run, continue or resume a process or workflow rather than this one step, do not continue here: invoke the workflow skill with the workflow the user asked for, or accounting when they named none, followed by <project>; it runs this phase in order, asks before it writes and records the run. Otherwise continue here: a later phase runs on its own, behind its gate.

Run this skill's gate before writing: sh <this skill's folder>/scripts/gate.sh <project> <project root>, where <project root> is the folder that contains .singularskills/ (use . when you are already there). If it exits non-zero, stop and tell the user what it printed, unless --skip-checks was given (see Arguments). On a refusal, before you stop, append this line to .singularskills/log.jsonl (create the folder and file if missing): {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-close","workflow":"accounting","phase":8,"project":"<project>","event":"refused","artifact":"08-close.md","note":"<what the gate printed>"}. Once the gate has passed, or under --skip-checks once you have appended the skipped line, append this line before you start work: {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-close","workflow":"accounting","phase":8,"project":"<project>","event":"started","artifact":"08-close.md","note":""}.

Read .singularskills/accounting/<project>/07-statements.md for the financial statements and .singularskills/accounting/<project>/06-adjusted-balance.md for the adjusted trial balance.

Process

1. Close revenue accounts:

   • Debit each revenue account for its full balance
   • Credit Income Summary for the total revenue
   • All revenue accounts should now have zero balances

2. Close expense accounts:

   • Credit each expense account for its full balance
   • Debit Income Summary for the total expenses
   • All expense accounts should now have zero balances

3. Close Income Summary:

   • If Income Summary has a credit balance (net income): debit Income Summary, credit Retained Earnings
   • If Income Summary has a debit balance (net loss): credit Income Summary, debit Retained Earnings
   • Income Summary should now have a zero balance

4. Close dividends/draws:

   • Credit Dividends (or Owner's Draws) for its full balance
   • Debit Retained Earnings
   • Dividends account should now have a zero balance

5. Prepare post-closing trial balance:

   • List only permanent accounts (assets, liabilities, equity)
   • Verify debits equal credits
   • These balances become the opening balances for the next period

6. Write the artifact to .singularskills/accounting/<project>/08-close.md with sections:

   • Closing Journal Entries — all closing entries with accounts and amounts
   • Post-Closing Trial Balance — permanent accounts only
   • Period Summary — net income transferred, dividends closed, ending retained earnings

Output

The closing entries written to .singularskills/accounting/<project>/08-close.md. Present a summary highlighting:

• Net income transferred to retained earnings
• Ending retained earnings balance
• Confirmation that all temporary accounts are zeroed

Record the run. After you have written the artifact, append this line to .singularskills/log.jsonl (the started line of Prerequisites, with "event":"finished"): {"ts":"<ISO timestamp>","skill":"accounting-close","workflow":"accounting","phase":8,"project":"<project>","event":"finished","artifact":"08-close.md","note":""}.

Open the artifact with this frontmatter (agent is the agent you run in, or unknown; gate is passed when the gate ran clean and skipped under --skip-checks):

---
skill: accounting-close
workflow: accounting
phase: 8
project: <project>
started: <ISO timestamp>
finished: <ISO timestamp>
agent: <the agent you run in, or "unknown">
gate: <passed|skipped>
---

End the artifact with ## Decisions and ## Open questions, in this shape:

## Decisions
- <what was chosen> — <why> — <what was rejected>

## Open questions
- <what the next phase or a reviewer must settle>

End the artifact with this paragraph, verbatim:

Not financial or tax advice. This artifact is generated analysis for review by a qualified accountant or financial professional before any filing, reporting or decision relies on it.