Close down report.
Checking for changes after month-end or year-end
Closing the period is one moment. Knowing whether its recorded transactions have changed since is another. Keep a dated reference point, then review later additions and amendments against it.
What can change after a period is finalised?
A transaction can keep its original accounting date while its values change later. A newly captured entry can also be dated in a period you have already reviewed. Looking only at the current month’s transactions can miss changes affecting earlier periods.
- New entries with earlier dates: an invoice, bill or manual journal is captured after finalisation but dated on or before the period end.
- Financial amendments: a captured total, nominal account or tax treatment differs from the saved closing evidence.
- Moved dates or changed status: a captured record moves into or out of the closing scope, or another tracked field changes.
- Changes later undone: the current value may match the saved version, while separately captured audit events still show intervening activity.
A difference is a reason to investigate, not proof of an error. Review the source transaction and supporting evidence before deciding whether the change is expected.
How to check for changes after closing a period
- Check the latest sync.
Confirm that the supported records you intend to review have been successfully captured. A missing or failed sync can leave the comparison incomplete.
- Save the closing reference point.
In Accaud’s Close Down view, select the client, month-end or year-end, and period end. An authorised reviewer or administrator can finalise it.
- Keep the finalisation timestamp.
Accaud saves the actual closing time, who finalised it and the transaction snapshots held at that moment. This is captured evidence—not a live read of the entire source ledger.
- Return after a later successful sync.
Open the saved close and choose “Check for changes”. The result compares saved snapshots with current captured records and relevant audit events recorded after finalisation.
- Review the summary and audit trail.
Start with “Changes since finalisation”, then inspect the relevant audit rows. Supported transaction links open the original record in a new tab; a user name appears only where recorded evidence supports it.
The period end and the finalisation time answer different questions. A 31 October period end sets the accounting-date boundary. Finalising on 3 November records when the closing evidence was saved.
An October close must also consider September
Accaud’s closing scope is cumulative: captured transactions dated on or before the period end. An adjustment to a September invoice can therefore be relevant to an October month-end, even when there are no October-dated changes.
| Date | Reference | Evidence captured after finalisation | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Sep | DEMO-0101 | Invoice value changed from 600.00 to 720.00 | Changed |
| 28 Oct | DEMO-J02 | Manual journal first captured after the close | New |
| 2 Nov | DEMO-0103 | New invoice dated after 31 October | Outside scope |
“New” means new to the captured comparison. It does not, by itself, establish when someone created the transaction in Xero. For additions, the check shows “New”; changed records retain the available field-level evidence.
Dates moved across the period boundary also matter. A transaction previously included in the saved close should not disappear from the investigation simply because its current date is later.
For help interpreting cancellations and corrected postings, read the Xero audit trail guide.
Lock dates and change monitoring are different controls
A lock date is a source-account control intended to restrict changes to earlier periods. A saved comparison answers a different question: what captured evidence differs from the closing reference point?
Accaud’s accounting connection is read-only. Finalising in Accaud does not set or change a Xero lock date, stop someone editing a transaction, or post a correction. Manage source-account controls separately under your practice’s closing procedures.
Xero’s official explanation of lock-date controls distinguishes restrictions that allow adviser changes from restrictions for all users. These controls are separate from the evidence Accaud saves for a later comparison.
Keep the original close when you close again
If you finalise the same client, period end and close type again, Accaud marks the older close as superseded and identifies the later close. The older saved evidence is retained; it is not silently overwritten.
Choose the reference point appropriate to your review. A later close can incorporate changes that were not present in the original finalisation.
What a closing check can - and cannot - tell you
The check uses saved snapshots, current captured records and relevant subsequent audit events. It can highlight differences and captured activity within that evidence, including supported changes that were subsequently undone.
It cannot recover every edit made before the first capture or between successful syncs. Missing records, unavailable user attribution and provider permissions can limit the evidence. A record absent from the current capture is not, on its own, proof that it was deleted in Xero.
“No changes found” means no relevant differences or later events were found in the captured evidence. It is not assurance that the complete ledger is unchanged. Accaud’s transaction coverage is not a complete general-ledger feed.
To compare captured reporting evidence at two selected moments rather than against a saved close, see the Change down report.
Month-end and year-end questions
Does a year-end check work differently from month-end?
Both use a saved period end and finalisation timestamp. The check covers captured transactions dated on or before that end date. The close type distinguishes the month-end and year-end reference points.
Will a backdated journal be included?
A supported manual journal first captured after finalisation can appear as New when its accounting date falls within the closing scope. Manual journals are presented with separate debit and credit sides; this does not imply access to the full general ledger.
What if a change is made and then reversed?
If the intermediate changes were captured as relevant audit events after finalisation, the check can still show those events even if the latest snapshot matches the original. Changes made and undone between syncs may not be captured.
Can I see who made an adjustment?
The review shows a recorded user where the transaction evidence supports attribution. The person who finalised the close is recorded separately; neither the finaliser nor the sync operator is assumed to be the transaction’s editor.
Does finalising lock the books?
No. Accaud saves the closing evidence and timestamp. It does not lock or amend the source ledger, and its later checks reflect the latest successfully captured data.
What happens if I finalise the same period again?
The earlier close remains saved and is marked superseded by the later close for the same client, period end and close type. You can retain the original reference point while reviewing the newer one.