Is there a way to lock the month transactions so that people cannot post?

Welcome to Community!  I can understand your concern when it comes to changes being made in your books, after you've completed your month's end.  QuickBooks Online provides the option to lock your books, to prevent any changes.  I would be glad to assist!

One of the many valuable features in QuickBooks Online, is the ability to close the books.  This secures your numbers, and anyone who attempts to make changes, will get a warning.  When you 'close the books', and include a password, changes will not be saved without opening the books, and a password will be required.  

Follow these steps to close your books;

1. Open your Settings ⚙, then Accounts and settings

2. Click on the Advanced tab

3. Select Edit ✎ in the Accounting section

4. Turn on Close the books 

5. Enter a Closing date

Note; You shouldn't need to edit any transactions before this date. Your new bookkeeping work will start after this point.

6. Select the Allow changes after viewing a warning and entering a password option from the dropdown menu, if you want to require a password before editing your closed books.

7. Hit Save, then Done.

Please ensure that passwords are between 8-16 characters, and that non-alphanumeric characters aren't being used. For example: . - $#, !)

Feel free to reach out again, with any other questions.  We would be happy to help!

Hi, 
Am I correct in assuming that entering the date and "closing the books" according to this method is solely to lock the period up to the date entered and that it will not trigger a reallocation of net income to retained earnings? To ask the same question in a different way: does the net income move to retained earnings automatically because the year end date passes and independently of this closing the books process?  

Thank-you.

At the end of the fiscal year , after you close your books, QuickBooks Online (QBO) automatically transfers the prior year's net income into the Retained Earnings account, TKP79

This process is an automated adjustment within QBO, sometimes referred to as an electronic swap that moves money to Retained Earnings. However, this doesn't appear on reports unless additional entries are added to Retained Earnings account. 

You can run a Profit and Loss report and view details for the Profit (Loss) amount, to see what makes up your Retained Earnings.

To give you more information about the details of Retained Earnings accounts and review the Quick Report, check out this article for your reference: View Retained Earnings account details.

If you have any other questions or concerns when closing of books or anything about Retained Earnings, let me know. I'm always around to assist. 

Thank you for the response; however, it did not directly address whether or not the action of closing the books (locking the books) operates independently. Can I lock them monthly even though QBO calls it "closing" which I -perhaps erroneously- associate solely with year end procedures? I just want to avoid having other users back-posting transactions either intentionally or accidentally once a month is finalized.

Thank you for your response and for clarifying your concerns, TKP79. Yes, you can close your books monthly to prevent accidental changes and ensure the accuracy of your financial records.

Closing your books locks your accounting data before the closing date, helping maintain accurate records for tax filings, audits, and financial reporting while protecting the integrity of your transactions.

To enhance security, you can select the "Allow changes after viewing a warning and entering a password" option. This will require a password for any changes to your closed books, ensuring only authorized individuals can make changes.

Before making any changes to your closed books, it's recommended to consult an accountant to ensure accurate and compliant records.

Feel free to leave a reply below if you have further questions about closing books in QuickBooks. We're here to help you.