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Closing the books and setting a closing date

A prior month or year that was already reviewed keeps changing. A beginning balance in reconciliation no longer matches, or a tax return no longer ties to the profit and loss you printed.

QuickBooks Online (US): sign in as a primary or company admin, then Settings, Account and settings, Advanced, and Edit in the Accounting section. Turn on Close the books, enter the date, and choose whether changes require a warning only or a warning plus a password. Desktop for Windows: Edit, then Preferences, then Accounting, then Company Preferences, then Set Date/Password. Mac menus differ slightly.

Likely causes

• No closing date is set, so anyone with edit access can change older invoices, bills, or journal entries.
• The closing date is set, but the option is only a warning, and people are clicking through it.
• Someone with the closing-date password (or admin rights) made a change after the books were reviewed.

Quick fixes

1. Finish the period first: categorize the bank feed, reconcile accounts, and review the profit and loss and balance sheet. Setting a closing date does not replace that work.
2. In QuickBooks Online, go to Settings, then Account and settings, then Advanced. In Accounting, turn on Close the books and enter the closing date (usually the last day of the month or year you just finished).
3. Choose the tighter option when you can: allow changes only after a warning and a password. Enter a password you will remember and that you share only with the people who should edit a closed period. Save, then Done.
4. Tell the team the date is set. If a later correction is truly needed, make it deliberately, use the password, and keep a note of why. Then consider moving the closing date forward again.
5. If a closed-period change already happened, use the audit log to see who changed what, and fix the transaction or the following reconciliation as needed.

A few more questions

Does closing the books file my tax return?

No. It only limits changes to dates on or before the closing date. You still prepare and file returns separately.

Who can change a closing date?

In QuickBooks Online, a primary or company admin sets and changes it. Share the closing-date password only with people who should edit a closed period.