Check a service period that starts in the prior year

This task only concerns businesses that keep a balance sheet (accrual accounting). It is a warning and doesn't block any document. Under Invoices in the "To review" tab it is called "Service period in a prior year"; in the task reminder email (sent in German) it is "Umsatzrealisierung in einer Vorperiode prüfen". On the dashboard it shows as "Review task" with the task text.

What happened

An invoice was issued whose service period starts in an earlier calendar year than the invoice date. Rechnungskit checks this on every regular invoice, not on cancellation invoices, and only if the accounting method under DATEV settings is set to accrual accounting ("Bilanzierung"). There is at most one task per invoice.

This only happens when a service period arrives backdated:

• via the API with a service_period in the past
• with a Stripe invoice created after the fact

Checkout, subscriptions and shop connections never set a start date in the past.

The task text starts with "Leistungszeitraum beginnt am …" (service period starts on …) and names the invoice date. It ends with "Die bereits vergangenen Monate gehören periodengerecht ins Vorjahr; ggf. ist eine Bilanzberichtigung nötig." (the months already past belong to the prior year; a balance sheet correction may be needed). The dates are shown as year-month-day.

Why Rechnungskit stops here

Under accrual accounting, Rechnungskit spreads revenue from service periods over the months from the invoice month onwards. The months already past in the prior year therefore land in the invoice month instead of the prior year.

Within one year this does no harm; across a year end it does. Rechnungskit can't decide whether a correction is needed. So it reports the case instead of booking it silently.

How to resolve it

1. On the dashboard, click "Check again" on the task. The button opens the affected invoice with its service period. Under Invoices in the "To review" tab you only see the task text, without the invoice number.
2. Pass the case to your tax advisor. They decide whether the prior year needs a balance sheet correction, especially if the annual accounts are already done.
3. If the backdated period comes from your own application, check that it sets service_period correctly.
4. Once the case is passed on, click "Mark as done" under Invoices in the "To review" tab.

When the task closes on its own

Never. The document is the cause of the task, not its solution, and the decision lies outside Rechnungskit. You close the task yourself.

Related settings

• Settings → DATEV settings: accounting method (accrual accounting or cash-basis EÜR) and chart of accounts
• Products → All products: SaaS billing period for time-based products