Cutoff
In accounting, cutoff means recording each transaction in the period in which it occurred — the boundary tested at every period end.
- Layer
- Lexicon
- Defined in
- Lexicon
- Components
- 1
Not a rule
Audit assertion (AICPA AU-C 315) — not codified in GAAP. US GAAP governs recognition, measurement and presentation — not the mechanics a bookkeeper uses to get there. Anyone citing a standard for this word is citing the wrong thing.
Every citation in this system, with the text we read and the date we checked it, is in US GAAP and where these rules come from.
The lesson that teaches this
Accounting, 0 to 1 — a free course taught end to end on one month of one company, with the spreadsheet exercises to work it yourself.
Cutoff, in use
Quoted from the 9 documents that use the word — what it does to an interface, in the spec's own sentence.
For irreversible movements — wires, ACH past cutoff — the confirm is hold-to-confirm (1500ms linear fill, 200ms release).
Cutoff is the boundary problem: a transaction dated in one period, entered in another.
Blocks posting into a closed period with the cutoff explanation, not a bare rejection.
For founders
The same idea written for a founder: what it costs a startup that ignores it, and what to do in a real month.
What it is not called
Each of these is a real word for a different thing. Using it here is what makes a product read as though it was built by someone who has not done the work.
- period end
Components that render this
The concept is not documentation-only. These are the components that name it in their specification, grouped and stated exactly as the catalog states them.
12Close, controls & consolidation
Family specComponents that render the terms it depends on
Little in the catalog names this concept outright, but its definition is built out of others that are named. These render transaction, period.
1Primitives
Family spec2Cards
Family spec4Swaps & FX
Family spec- TransactionTableThe workhorse. Virtualized, sticky, priority-collapsing.
- TransactionCardThe mobile re-rank.
- TransactionDetailFull detail sheet with attachments and audit trail.
- TransactionRowDesktop row.Spec
- BulkActionBarSelection count + actions, safe-area aware.
- CategoryPickerHierarchical with rule creation.
- ColumnHeaderThe sortable, draggable header cell.
- ExportMenuCSV/XLSX/PDF with a stated scope.
- LedgerTableDouble-entry with debit/credit columns and a balance check.
- TableColumnsSort and resize for a table that renders on the server.
- PeriodGridThe ruled grid. Frozen panes, hidden columns, hover change, ⌘C.
9Accounting core (GL)
Family spec12Close, controls & consolidation
Family specTerms this one depends on
Also in Close
Work with this concept
The calculators that compute it and the ledger payloads that carry it. A definition is where a reader starts; these are where they go next.
- Periods, locking and the closeWhat stops someone posting into a closed month?API
- Journal entry for accrued expensesAt month-end, debit the expense and credit Accrued expenses for work received but not yet billed. Reverse the accrual on the first day of the next month, then book the vendor's bill as usual when it arrives.Entry
- Journal entry for accrued wagesAt month-end, debit Wages and salaries and credit Accrued wages for the days worked since the last payday. On payday, reverse the accrual or debit Accrued wages for the part of the payroll it covers.Entry
- Journal entry for accrued revenueAt month-end, debit Unbilled receivables and credit Revenue for work delivered but not yet invoiced. When the invoice goes out, debit Accounts receivable and credit Unbilled receivables.Entry
Defined in Lexicon. This page is generated from that document, so the two cannot disagree.