A lock date prevents users in your organization from recording or modifying any transactions associated with the account, on or before the lock date.
This helps to make sure that any important transactions do not get edited or deleted, which is useful in audit scenarios, or when preparing financial reports.
To set the lock date for an account, click on Lock Date when creating an account to select a Lock Date.
Alternatively, you can also set a lock date for an account that has already been created by clicking on the account you would like to edit, and adjusting the lock date.
If an account that you use for a transaction has a lock date set, you may not be able to modify transactions that make use of this account.
Any actions that may have an impact on records in the General Ledger will be subject to lock date restrictions.
For example, on the 10th of July:
You try to modify the amount for a line item on an invoice created on 4 July, but the line item uses an account with a lock date of 8 July.
You will not be allowed to do so. This is because records relevant to the invoice written to the general ledger will need to be rewritten, but the current date exceeds the account's lock date.
Examples of other actions that may not be allowed include deletion or voiding of transactions.
Deletion and voiding of transactions have effects on the general ledger (e.g. record reversals).
Lock dates affect registrations this way:
If the first depreciation expense that will be recorded to the general ledger is before the lock date of the accounts that you use, you will not be allowed to do so.
For example, you choose an Depreciation Expense Account that has a lock date of 1st August, but the first depreciation entry to be realized is on the 31st of July, you will have to change or remove the lock date on the account.
When you amend a fixed asset, Juan may recreate or record some depreciation expense entries that occur before the lock date.
If your amendments lead to such a scenario, you will have to change or remove the lock date on the account, or make different amendments to your fixed assets.
When you dispose a fixed asset, there might be effects on previous depreciation entries, such as reversals, where records are deleted and rewritten.
If the records that need to be rewritten were originally recorded on a date before the account's lock date, you will not be able to dispose the asset in this scenario.
This is because there is an attempt to amend records that were written before the account's lock date.
In this case, you will have to change or remove the lock date on the account, or modify your asset disposal.
