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How ApprovalMax handles lock dates in QuickBooks Online workflows

Updated over 2 months ago

Lock dates are crucial for ensuring financial accuracy by preventing changes to transactions dated before a specified closing period. ApprovalMax supports lock date handling across multiple workflows in QuickBooks Online.

In QuickBooks Online you can Close the Books by finalising financial statements for a particular period and use password protection to prevent any alterations to that information.

Setting a lock/closing date in QuickBooks Online stops people from making changes to transactions done during a past period. Once you've specified such date, users cannot add or edit transactions in QuickBooks Online if the transaction date is earlier than the lock/closing date.

Learn more about lock dates here.


Administrators of QuickBooks Online Organisations have two options for handling documents with a date prior to the lock date:

  • Either such documents are blocked from approval until their date gets changed manually in QuickBooks Online or ApprovalMax

  • Or their date gets automatically changed to "Lock date + 1 day" after approval*

Please note: The date will only get changed automatically to "Lock date + 1 day" if the setting in QuickBooks Online to "Allow changes after viewing a warning" without entering a password has been activated:


This is how to set a lock date for QuickBooks Online Purchase Orders, Bills, Expenses, Journal Entries and Sales Invoices:

  • Open the respective workflow and click on the Gear icon:

  • Select your preferred option:

  • If you select the first option, documents dated earlier than the lock date will be locked:



  • If you select the second option, the date of a document will be changed automatically to "Lock Date +1" after its approval:


For a quick video overview, please see below:

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