Closing January before closing prior year

QUESTION: Do we need to close the year before closing January?

RESPONSE: No, you do not have to close the prior year before closing January.

However it is good practice to close your year as quickly as possible, as this will both reduce the risk of having unwanted transactions accidentally applied against it as well as ensuring that any permissions for ‘prior year’ activity are enabled. Permissions associated with 'prior year' functionality are not enabled until the year is closed.