Period Locking is commonly used when records up to a particular point in time have been verified, such as the end of the fiscal year. A user can lock the data to ensure that the records won't change for all dates up to and including the date selected.

Period locking ensures data accuracy and prevents users from spending countless hours in locating a record that has been added, edited, or removed in error after a period is closed. It provides accountants and bookkeeping professionals with confidence knowing that their clients are starting at a point in time that has good, clean data that matches their records.

Click on Settings in the bottom left hand corner.

The system will default to the Business Details page. Scroll down to Features.

Next, click on the checkbox next to Lock a period to prevent further changes.

You will then see a Locked Period End Date field appear. Simply enter the end date of the period you want to lock your records up until. In the example of a company having a fiscal year end date of June 30, 2024, they would enter that date as the Locked Period End Date to make sure all records up to and including June 30, 2024, cannot be added, edited, or removed.

Note: the Period locking date cannot be the current date or in the future.

Make sure to click on Save Settings after entering the Locked Period End Date.

Once your period lock end date has been set up, editors are in read-only mode when a locked transaction is being displayed. You will see a notification in red if you to try to add, edit, or remove a record up to and including that date. For example, this is a notification that occurs when you attempt to create a new Invoice in the locked period.

Likewise, a locked period notification message will pop up when you try to edit a record within the locked period.

Locked transactions are identified in list views with a lock icon.

You can still perform actions on records that won't result in a change to the data, such as emailing an invoice to a client.

Click on Settings in the bottom left hand corner.

The system will default to the Business Details page. Scroll down to Features.

Next, un-check the checkbox next to Lock a period to prevent further changes.

Then click the Save Settings button.

If you just need to make changes in a specific month then you can update the date that you have locked your account until, add or edit the necessary transactions, and then change the locked period as needed. Ensure to click Save Settings after each change to the period locking.