QuickBooks Tip: Protect Your Data from Accidental Changes

All your accounts have been reconciled, ledgers have been reviewed, and your QuickBooks file has been sent to your accountant to perform year-end services.  Your accountant makes a plea: Please do not make any changes to the file.  You promise you won’t, but what about the other people with access to QuickBooks?  The following steps are your best defense in preventing other users from inadvertently changing transactions in closed periods.

Set a closing date and closing date password 

Setting a closing date and securing it with a password prevents users from entering, changing or deleting transactions dated on or before the closing date.

Only the QuickBooks Administrator can set a closing date.  The closing date can be set by selecting the following:

Go to “Edit” and “Preferences”
Choose “Accounting” and look under the tab labeled “Company Preferences”
Select “Closing Date” and click on “Set Date/Password”
Select the closing date and set a password

If you sent your QuickBooks file to your accountant, the closing date should be the period end date the accountant is working on or any period that follows. The closing date should be updated each time a period has been fully reconciled.

Edit user preferences to prohibit bypassing the closing date

All users except the Administrator can be restricted from bypassing the closing date.  To accomplish this, the user must be set up with access to “Selected Areas” of QuickBooks.  (If you have users set up with full access, you can edit their rights at any time.)

When you choose to limit access to “Selected Area’s» of QuickBooks, you will see a series of screens prompting you to choose the access level for each user.  The last screen restricts a user’s ability to alter transactions.   You will be asked if the user should also have the ability to change or delete transactions recorded before the closing date. When prompted, select “No.”

By following these steps, you can keep closed periods intact, better protecting yourself from paying additional accounting fees.  Contact Kaufman Rossin’s QuickBooks ProAdvisors if you would like more information about protecting your data.