QuickBooksHelpIntuit

Lock your books in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•744• Updated 1 week ago

Learn how to lock your books in QuickBooks Online.

Lock your books to stop changes to past transactions. This helps keep your financial data accurate for tax filings, audits, and reports.

This article is for customers who use QuickBooks Online.

Overview

When you lock your books, you set a lock date. You can’t change any transactions on or before that date without approval. If someone tries to change or delete these transactions, QuickBooks will either give a warning or ask for a password, depending on your settings.

Step 1: Review your accounts for accuracy

Before you lock your books, verify that your financial data is complete and accurate.

Sign in to QuickBooks Online as a primary or company admin.
Review all accounts for completeness and accuracy.
Enter any outstanding invoices, expenses, and payments.
Reconcile your accounts up to your lock date.
Review your stock quantities for accuracy.

Step 2: Lock your books

Go to Settings and select Account and settings.
Select the Advanced tab.
In the Accounting section, select Edit.
Turn on Close the books.
Enter a Closing date.
Note: You can't edit any transactions before the closing date.
Select your preferred security option from the dropdown menu.
- Allow changes after viewing a warning: Users see a warning but can still make changes.
- Allow changes after viewing a warning and entering password: Users must enter a password to make changes. This is for better security.
Select Save.

Any attempt to change transactions dated on or before the lock date will trigger the warning or password prompt you set.

Year-end adjustments

After you review and reconcile your accounts, you can set the lock date in your settings.

When a new financial year starts, QuickBooks Online moves last year’s net income to the retained earnings account on your balance sheet. This account shows your company’s total income and expenses from all previous years.

Note: The retained earnings account isn’t the same as the retained earnings line item shown on the balance sheet.