Close a VAT Period
Closing a VAT period in Stokly takes three stages: reconcile, export VAT201, and close. This walkthrough takes roughly 20 minutes for a tidy period, longer if you uncover discrepancies.
Step 1 — Check the period is complete
Navigate to VAT → Periods. Find the period you want to close (usually the most recently ended one) and click into it.
You should see:
- Status: Open
- Transaction count: all invoices, purchases, and expenses for the period
- Output tax, Input tax, Net payable — live totals
Verify that all sales invoices, purchase invoices, and expenses for the period are entered and posted. Any draft documents won't be included — go back and post them first.
Step 2 — Run the VAT Reconciliation report
Click Reconciliation in the period toolbar.
This report compares two independent calculations of your VAT:
- Control account totals — what's posted to accounts 2200 (Output) and 2210 (Input).
- Transaction-level totals — what's computed by summing the VAT lines on invoices, purchases, and expenses.
These numbers should be identical. If they aren't, the report highlights the difference.
Common reconciliation issues
- Manual journal entries to the VAT accounts — these don't have supporting VAT-coded transactions. Investigate and correct.
- Imported opening balances — may have posted to control accounts without matching transactions.
- Voided documents — confirm the void was processed correctly.
Fix any discrepancies before continuing. You can create a VAT Adjustment (VAT → Adjustments) for corrections that can't be tracked back to a document.
Step 3 — Review the audit trail
Click Audit Trail to see every VAT-affecting action in the period: who created or edited what, when, and for which amount. This is your 5-year SARS-retention evidence.
If anything looks suspicious (e.g. a large invoice edited after the customer was sent the original), investigate before closing.
Step 4 — Generate the VAT201
Click Export VAT201 to download a PDF in SARS format.
The form shows:
- Block 1 — Standard-rated supplies (sales)
- Block 12 — Output tax
- Block 14 — Zero-rated supplies
- Block 15 — Exempt supplies
- Block 14/15 — Input tax (standard purchases)
- Block 20 — Net VAT payable or refundable
Upload this through SARS e@syFile or capture manually on eFiling.
Step 5 — Pay or claim the VAT
- Payable? Pay SARS by the VAT period's due date (usually the 25th of the month following period-end for Cat A/B).
- Refundable? SARS will process and deposit into your account (typically within 21 days if your declaration is clean).
Step 6 — Close the period
Back on the period page, click Close Period. This:
- Locks the period — no new transactions can be posted with dates in that range.
- Any late-arriving transactions must be posted to the next open period, or via a VAT adjustment.
- Generates a closure audit log entry.
After closing
If you later discover a missing invoice for a closed period, you have two options:
- VAT Adjustment — post a compensating entry in the current open period, with a note referencing the original closed period.
- Correction to SARS — if the amount is material, submit a VAT201 correction through eFiling. Consult your accountant first.
Automation
Stokly's background service automatically:
- Creates the next period before the current one ends.
- Assigns new transactions to the correct open period based on their date.
- Alerts you on the dashboard when a period is 5 days from ending.
So most of the time, closing a period is just: reconcile → export → pay → close.
Tip: Keep a copy of the VAT201 PDF and the reconciliation report together in case SARS ever audits. Both are available for download at any time from the closed period page.