XBert Type: Standard
Accounting Software: Xero
Country Restriction: All supported countries
Risk Type: Compliance Risk
Business Function: Compliance
Overview
The "Lock date change" XBert tells you when a lock date in your organisation has been moved backwards to an earlier date. Rolling a lock date back reopens periods you had already closed, which lets finalised data be edited after reports were lodged or tax obligations met.
What it does
This XBert watches the two lock dates in your accounting settings and compares each one to its previous value:
The period lock date, which restricts edits to earlier periods.
The end-of-year lock date, which protects a finalised financial year.
If either date is now set earlier than it was before, the XBert raises an alert.
How it works
XBert remembers the lock dates it last saw and compares them with the current settings. It raises an alert only when a lock date is currently in place and has been moved to an earlier date than the one recorded before, for either the period lock date or the end-of-year lock date.
It deliberately ignores harmless changes. Setting a lock date for the first time, or moving a lock date forward to close more of the past, does not trigger the alert. Only a genuine move back to an earlier date is flagged. This check runs for Xero organisations only, because moving lock dates backwards is often a routine, legitimate step on other accounting platforms.
Example/Use Case
Priya, a bookkeeper, finishes the year-end reconciliation and sets the end-of-year lock date to 30 June 2025 so the completed year cannot be touched. A few weeks later a colleague rolls that lock date back to 31 March 2025 to reissue an old $4,200 supplier invoice. The change quietly reopens three months of finalised records, putting an already-lodged BAS at risk. The XBert flags the move backwards, Priya checks who changed it and why, corrects the invoice through the proper process, and resets the lock date to 30 June 2025.
Accounting software
Xero.
Which countries it supports
All supported countries. This XBert runs for Xero organisations in every region XBert supports.
Processes
This XBert is part of the Pre-Work area. When a lock date is flagged as moved backwards:
Confirm who changed the lock date and why, using your accounting software's settings or history.
Check whether any finalised periods or lodged reports are affected by reopening that date range.
If the change was not intended or authorised, move the lock date back to where it should be to reprotect the closed period.
If a genuine correction is needed in a locked period, make it through your normal review process and then reapply the correct lock date.
Once the lock date is correct again, mark the XBert as resolved.