# Start a company period

**For:** Admin
**You'll need:** An open period that hasn't been started.

You'll start a period and create the initial leave grants for every active employee, prorated by their service date.

## Start the period

1. Go to **Company → Periods** in the left sidebar.
2. Open the period.
3. Click **'Start period'**.
4. In the **'Start period?'** dialog, click **'Start period'**.

{{ app_name }} creates a leave grant per active employee for every leave policy assigned to their employment type. Grants are prorated by service date, so someone hired mid-period gets a partial allowance.

```{warning}
Starting a period is the trigger for the year's leave allowances. Make sure your employment types and leave-policy links are correct before you start — see {doc}`/set-up-your-company/employment-types/edit-an-employment-type`.
```

## Verify it worked

The period status now shows it's started. Open any active employee and check their leave balance — you should see the new grant in the leave-transaction ledger.

## Related

- {doc}`close-a-company-period`
- {doc}`/set-up-your-company/employment-types/edit-an-employment-type`