How to post transactions?

Is there a way to make invoices, bills, checks, entries, etc. post? Meaning that you cannot edit them once they have been created? Right now, we can modify/delete invoices, bills, checks, and entries. I would rather this not be the case. I would like for it to be impossible to edit an invoice once it has been created, same for everything else. Are there controls in QuickBooks to keep this from happening?

@vytronaccounting 

For your reference

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/learn-support/en-uk/run-reports/close-your-books-in-quickbooks-desktop...

Does this mean that if I enter an invoice in January, I can change it anytime during the year until I close the books the following January? I would like to make it so that when I create the invoice in January, I cannot edit that invoice again, even the next day, instead of having to wait a year until it is "locked".

You can decide when your closing date is. You don't have to wait until the end of the fiscal year to close the book. Open a dummy file and learn how it works.

Is setting a closing date the same thing as closing the books? I do not want to close the income statement to retained earnings each month, only at the end of the year. I am having trouble in the dummy file seeing how this works. I have tried closing the books at the end of the year, still nothing happened to retained earnings when I pull a balance sheet.

This may not be possible, but this is what I am used to and would like to do:

1. Choose the date and the account that I close the income statement to (it is not the QuickBooks retained earnings account), and then see the entries where this happens in the general ledger. This is what I am having trouble with. Even at the end of my year in the dummy file, nothing happens to the chart of accounts.

2. Restrict ability to modify previously created transactions. I can see now that I do that by setting a closing date (just seems weird to use language of "closing" date if you are not really closing the books to the income statement).

Thanks for reaching out to the QuickBooks Community, @vytronaccounting.

I can share some insights to help you with your year-end book closing.

The option to close selected accounts is currently not an option at the moment. This is to make sure that QuickBooks adjustments are accurate for the next calendar or fiscal year. To explain the closing books process and effects, please see this article: Close your books in QuickBooks Desktop.

Regarding your second question, the purpose of setting up a closing date is to prevent accidental changes to past books in QuickBooks Desktop. This way, any updates to your past entries will require a password to proceed.

Visit us anytime if there's anything else you need assistance with QuickBooks Desktop year-end processes. We are always here to help you out. You can also mention me in your posts anytime.