Understand Business Type and fiscal year
Understand how Self-Employed and Corporation Workspaces affect bookkeeping and reporting periods.
Business Type determines which bookkeeping choices, reporting periods, accounts, and tax assumptions are available in a Workspace.
How it works
- Self-Employed represents a sole proprietorship. It uses calendar-year reporting from January 1 to December 31 and can use Simple Tracking or Bank Account-Based Tracking.
- Corporation represents a separate incorporated entity. It uses Bank Account-Based Tracking and supports a custom fiscal year for dashboards and reports.
Choose the right option
Create one Workspace for each bookkeeping entity. If a business changes legal structure, retain the old Workspace for its history and create a new Workspace for the new entity.
Important rules
- Business Type is locked as soon as the Workspace has financial activity. This protects earlier reports and account history from being reinterpreted under different rules.
- A Corporation's Fiscal Year End cannot be changed after a reconciliation is completed or a Year End Review is ready for the accountant.
- A Self-Employed Workspace always normalizes the fiscal-year start to January 1.
If xBoox blocks the change
The blocking dialog explains which protection applies and where to continue. Business Type changes require a new Workspace after bookkeeping begins. Fiscal Year End changes require review of closed reconciliations or Year End Review status. Use the dialog's Help Center button for the complete checklist.