Freezing a year
Once your assets are settled, lock them. Giving stays open, and if something genuinely changes later there is an amendment trail rather than a quiet edit.
A year stays open while you are still working it out. When your assets are settled, freeze it.
What freezing does
Freeze assets asks Freeze the assets? and then locks:
- every asset line and its value
- the rates that were applied
It does not lock your giving. You carry on recording what you give afterwards — that is the normal way round, since giving usually continues past the day you settle the figures.
Why it matters
An unfrozen year is a moving target. Freeze it and:
- the total stops being provisional
- Rates used preserves what was applied, so the year explains itself later
- it appears in Across the years — unfrozen years do not
Amendments
Frozen does not mean untouchable. If something was genuinely wrong — a plot valued from the wrong figure, an account you forgot — you amend it.
Amend asks Amend this year? and requires What changed (required) before it will let you save. Then Save amendment, and Seal amendment when you are done. Changed your mind mid-way? Cancel amend.
The rhythm of a year
- Open the year; last year's structure comes forward for review.
- Work through the categories, confirming or changing each line.
- Pull what you can from your books.
- Set the rate; read the calculation.
- Freeze the assets.
- Keep recording giving until the year's obligation is met.
Only step 5 is irreversible-ish, and even then only through an amendment with a note.