Skip to main content
Use Lock posted accounting records on the General Preferences tab of Organization Settings to stop posted records that affect the general ledger from being edited or archived. You can lock every company in the organization or only the companies you choose, so audited or regulated companies stay locked while the others stay editable. For every rule the lock follows, including which record types it covers, see Lock posted accounting records in the General Preferences reference.

Before you start

Check the following before you turn on the lock:
  • Role: You need the Administrator role to change the setting.
  • Scope: Decide whether to lock every company, including companies added later, or only specific companies. A company you add later starts unlocked unless the lock applies to all companies.
  • Existing records: The lock applies to records a company has already posted, not only to records posted afterward. Finish any corrections you still plan to make by editing before you lock the company.
To reach the tab, navigate to Settings → General Preferences, accessible from your organization’s name in the top left corner of the screen. Lock posted accounting records is in the Edit section.

Lock posted records in every company

Lock every company when the whole organization treats posted records as permanent. This also covers companies created later.
  1. In the Edit section, turn on Lock posted accounting records.
  2. Under Apply To, keep All companies selected. It is the default when you turn the lock on.
  3. Choose Save changes.
After you save, no user can edit or archive a posted record in any company. The lock takes effect immediately for records posted before you turned it on, and draft records in every company stay editable until they post. To confirm the lock is working, open any posted journal entry. Edit and Archive are inactive, and hovering over them shows Posted records in this company are locked and can’t be edited. An admin can change this in Org Settings. In the journal entries list, the same two actions are inactive in the row menu. A draft journal entry in the same company still shows both actions as available.

Lock posted records in specific companies

Lock specific companies when only some entities need posted records kept permanent, for example a subsidiary under audit.
  1. In the Edit section, turn on Lock posted accounting records.
  2. Under Apply To, choose Specific companies. The company list opens below it.
  3. Find a company to lock in the list. In a long list, type its name in Search companies.
  4. Select the company’s checkbox. To select a parent company and every company under it at once, choose Include on the parent’s row instead. Repeat these two steps for each company.
  5. Check the selected companies. They appear as tags above the list, and the description under Specific companies shows the count, such as 3 companies selected.
  6. Choose Save changes.
After you save, posted records in the selected companies can’t be edited or archived, and records in every other company stay editable. The selection is a fixed list: a company created later, including a child of a selected parent, starts unlocked until you add it. To add a company later, return to the tab, select the company in the list, and choose Save changes. To unlock a company, clear its checkbox, or choose Exclude on a parent to clear the parent and every company under it, then save. Unlocking restores editing on every record the company has posted.

Correct a posted record in a locked company

To correct a posted record in a locked company, post a new record that offsets it rather than editing the original. This applies to every change, including fixes that only touch classifications, because the bulk Edit classification action is inactive on locked records.
  • Journal entries: Choose Reverse on the entry, then post a corrected journal entry.
  • Other record types: Post a record that offsets the original, such as a vendor credit for a bill or a customer credit for an invoice, then post the corrected record.
The original, its offsetting record, and the corrected record all stay on the ledger, which keeps the history visible to auditors. An Administrator can instead remove the company from the lock, edit the record, and lock the company again. Each of those changes is recorded in the Settings Activity Log, and the record edit is recorded in the audit trail.

Troubleshooting

The problems below are the ones you’re most likely to hit after turning on the lock:
  • Edit and Archive are inactive on a posted record: The record’s company is locked, or the lock applies to all companies. Correct the record as described in Correct a posted record in a locked company, or ask an Administrator to review the setting.
  • Records in a new company can still be edited: Apply To is set to Specific companies, and the new company isn’t in the list. Add it and save. Selecting a parent company doesn’t cover child companies created after you saved.
  • The lock is off after you saved it: You saved with Specific companies chosen and no company selected. The page warns Select the companies whose posted records should be locked, or switch to All companies. before you save. Turn the lock on again and select at least one company, or choose All companies.
  • A company can’t be selected or cleared: The company is inactive. Inactive companies keep their lock status, and you can change it again once the company is active.
  • An API request fails with posted_record_immutable: The request edits or archives a posted record in a locked company, and DualEntry answers 422. The same check applies to dualentry <resource> update in the DualEntry CLI and to record updates through the MCP server. See Errors for the response body.
  • A record still can’t be edited after you unlock its company: Another control may apply. Period locking blocks records dated in a closed period, an approval workflow can block edits to approved records, and paid or reconciled records follow Allow modifications to paid or reconciled records.
Last modified on November 13, 2026