Period locks in AccBooks AI

What are period locks?

A period lock prevents any new journals, transaction reclassifications or other changes being posted to periods on or before the lock date. Locks are essential for maintaining data integrity — once your accounts for a period are finalised, you don’t want them changed accidentally.

Types of locks

AccBooks has two levels of lock:

Lock type	Who can remove it	Effect
Soft lock	Company Owners and Accountants	Prompts a confirmation warning before allowing changes
Hard lock	Company Owners only	Completely prevents changes — requires lock removal

Use soft locks for monthly closes and hard locks for year-end.

Setting a period lock

1. Go to Settings → Period locks.
2. Click Set lock.
3. Enter the lock date — all periods on or before this date will be locked.
4. Choose Soft or Hard.
5. Click Save.

AccBooks immediately prevents changes to any period up to and including the lock date.

How locks affect different workflows

Action	Soft lock	Hard lock
Post a journal	Warning shown, confirmation required	Blocked entirely
Edit a transaction classification	Warning shown	Blocked
Delete a transaction	Warning shown	Blocked
Reconcile a bank transaction	Allowed (reconciliation is not a ledger change)	Allowed
File a VAT return	Allowed (filing doesn’t change historical data)	Allowed
Generate a report	Allowed	Allowed

Removing a lock

If you need to make a correction to a locked period:

1. Go to Settings → Period locks.
2. Click Remove lock next to the lock date.
3. Enter a reason (required for audit purposes).
4. Make your correction.
5. Re-apply the lock.

Every lock removal is recorded in the audit log with the user who removed it, the time, and the stated reason.

Recommended locking schedule

Period end	Recommended action	Timing
Each month	Soft lock	After bank reconciliation is complete
Each quarter (VAT quarter)	Soft lock	After VAT return is filed
Each year-end	Hard lock	After statutory accounts are filed

Importing historical data into locked periods

When importing historical data (e.g., a CSV import of prior-year transactions), AccBooks warns you if the import date range overlaps with a locked period. You can choose to:

• Skip transactions in locked periods.
• Remove the lock, import, and re-apply the lock.

Audit trail

All transactions posted after a lock removal are clearly marked in the audit log, making it easy for auditors to identify and review post-period adjustments.

Period lock and VAT

Period locks don’t interfere with VAT return preparation — you can always view and prepare a VAT return for a locked period. The lock prevents the underlying transaction data from changing, which is exactly what you want for tax compliance.

Bulk lock import

If you’re migrating to AccBooks with years of historical data, use Settings → Period locks → Bulk lock to set a single historical lock date (e.g., 5 April 2025) covering all prior years in one action.