Close Dated items are products that are close enough to the expiration date that action needs to be taken to try and sell them, but they don't need to be removed from the shelf yet.  Like expired products, this is different for every department and the store and is set for each company.  Grocery items might be checked 30 days in advance while dairy and processed meat items might only checked a week before expiring.  

Date Check Pro will make smart decisions for you based on the movement data for the items in the store that you are checking.  If the best decision is to try and sell items at full price, the program will tell you to rotate those items to the front.  If the best decision is to put a coupon on the items, or move them to a specific mark down area in your store, the program will give you those instructions instead.  You have to have the program setup this way, as it can be set to rotate only or mark down only if you wish as well.