Finacle SOD / BOD — Start of Day Process Explained Step by Step

It is 7:45 AM. The branch is empty. The guard is at the door. You are at your workstation with a cup of tea and Finacle is open on screen. Before the first customer walks in, a set of things must happen — in the right order. Miss one step and you will spend the first hour of your counter day troubleshooting instead of serving customers.

This article explains what BOD (Beginning of Day) actually does in Finacle, what the system processes automatically while you are still unlocking the branch, who is responsible for what, and how to verify that everything is ready before you open the counter. If you want to understand what happens at the end of the day, read the companion article on Finacle EOD — End of Day Process.

What BOD Actually Does in Finacle

Finacle works on a business date cycle. At any given moment, the system operates on one business date — and every transaction posted that day carries that date as its value date. To move from one business date to the next, the system must run two batch processes:

• EOD (End of Day) — runs at the end of the previous business day to close the books, calculate interest, generate reports, and mark the day as complete.
• BOD (Beginning of Day) — runs the next morning to advance the system to the new business date and prepare it for transactions.

Without BOD completing, Finacle is still sitting on yesterday’s business date. Every transaction you try to post will fail with “Transaction not permitted — BOD pending” or “SOL not open for transactions.” The system is not broken — it is simply waiting for the morning batch to finish.

BOD is not something you run from the branch. It runs centrally at your bank’s data centre, either automatically on a schedule or triggered by the data centre team after EOD has fully completed. Your role at the branch is to confirm that it has run and then execute the branch-level opening steps that follow.

What Gets Processed Automatically During BOD

While BOD is running — typically between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM depending on your bank — Finacle processes several things automatically without any branch action needed.

Standing Instructions Marked ‘B’ (BOD Execution)

Standing Instructions (SIs) in Finacle have an execution time field that determines when they run. SIs marked with execution type ‘B’ are processed at BOD — meaning they execute automatically as the system opens the new business day, before any branch staff can even log in. These are typically recurring transfers, loan EMI debits, and any SI where the customer or branch has specified “beginning of day” execution.

After BOD, check SIETR (SI Executed Today Report) to see which SIs ran and whether any failed due to insufficient balance. Failed SIs are carried forward in CFLM (Carry Forward List Maintenance) for review.

Interest Accrual

Finacle accrues interest on loans and deposits daily. During BOD, the interest accrued for the previous business day is posted to the respective GL accounts. For loans, this means the interest accrual entry for the prior day is booked. For deposits, interest builds up in the accrual ledger until it is actually paid (on due dates or at maturity).

This is a system entry — you will not see individual transactions hitting customer accounts. But it is why your GL balances for interest receivable and interest payable change each morning without any manual entry.

Maturity Alerts and Auto-Renewal

FDs and RDs maturing on today’s business date are flagged by the system during BOD. Accounts set for auto-renewal are renewed automatically based on the renewal instructions on the deposit. Accounts set for payment on maturity generate an alert for the branch. Check your maturity reports first thing after BOD — deposits maturing today need to be handled before the customer calls.

Inward Clearing Returns

Cheques that were sent for clearing the previous day and have come back dishonoured are processed during BOD. The return entries — reversing the provisional credit given when the cheque was deposited — are posted automatically. The customer’s account gets debited back. You will see these in your inward returns report.

Who Is Responsible for BOD at the Branch

BOD itself runs at the data centre — no one at the branch triggers it. But what happens after BOD is a branch responsibility, and there is a clear sequence of tasks that must be completed before the counter opens.

In most banks, the Branch Manager or a designated officer (Senior Clerk or Accountant) is responsible for the branch opening sequence. They must arrive before counter hours, confirm BOD has run, and complete the steps below before any teller begins serving customers.

The Branch Opening Sequence After BOD

Follow this sequence every morning. Each step depends on the one before it.

How to Check BOD Status Using HSSI

HSSI (SOL Status Inquiry) is the first command you should run every morning. It tells you the current state of your SOL in Finacle.

Open HSSI and enter your SOL code. The screen shows:

• Current Business Date — this should match today’s calendar date. If it shows yesterday’s date, BOD has not completed.
• SOL Status — should show “Open” or “Active.” If it shows “Closed,” EOD has run but BOD has not.
• Last EOD Date — confirms when the previous day’s EOD completed. Useful for diagnosing delays.

If HSSI shows today’s date and the SOL is open, BOD is done and you can proceed to step 2 of the branch opening sequence.

When BOD Is Delayed — What to Do

BOD is usually complete by 8:30–9:00 AM. On most days you will not think about it — you log in, HSSI shows today’s date, and you get on with opening the branch. But sometimes BOD runs late or does not complete at all. Here is what causes it and what to do.

What Not to Do While Waiting for BOD

What you can do while waiting: account inquiries (CI), statement printing (STMTPR), CUMM Inquire, and any non-transactional work. Use the time to check your maturity report, review the previous day’s pending items, and prepare for the day.

The Difference Between BOD and SOD

You will hear both terms used in branch banking — BOD (Beginning of Day) and SOD (Start of Day). In Finacle, these refer to the same concept: the morning batch that opens the new business date. Some banks and documentation use SOD, others use BOD. They mean the same thing. When your data centre team says “SOD is pending,” they mean BOD has not yet run.

BOD in the 24×7 EODMU Model

Larger banks running Finacle in the 24×7 EODMU (End of Day Multi-User) model work differently. In this model, EOD processing happens in the background without blocking branch transactions — the system processes day-end batches for completed transactions while still allowing new ones to be entered. BOD in this model is largely transparent to branch staff. If your bank runs EODMU, you will rarely encounter a “BOD pending” error because the business date advances automatically without a hard stop window.

If you are at a smaller bank or a branch running traditional EOD, the morning BOD sequence described above applies fully.

BOD Checklist — Print and Keep at Your Desk

The BOD sequence takes 10–15 minutes when everything works. The days it takes longer are the days you will be glad you knew exactly what to check. For what happens at the other end of the day, read the companion article: Finacle EOD — End of Day Process, Common Failures & What to Do.