Locking a financial document

3 minute read

Once a financial document has been exported from Found, it is recommended that it be locked to prevent further edits. Locking ensures data integrity between Found and your external accounting software, helping to eliminate discrepancies and maintain accurate financial records.

Financial documents can be locked in bulk during the export process, which is the recommended method, or individually from the document’s detail page.

Why lock financial documents?

Locking a financial document safeguards against unintentional or unauthorised edits after export. This is particularly important when reconciling records with your accounting system or preparing for audit. Once a document is locked:

• No additional line items can be added or removed.

• Core fields such as Issue Date, Due Date, and Payment Collection Date (for direct debit payments) become uneditable.

• The document's status changes from Unlocked to Locked, ensuring a fixed financial position.

How to lock financial documents

Option 1: Lock financial documents in bulk (recommended)

This method is used when exporting financial documents and is the preferred approach for maintaining accounting accuracy.

1. Navigate to the Billing tab from the left-hand menu.

2. Select Invoices & Credit Notes.

3. Choose either the Line Item Table or the Headers Table, depending on your exporting preference.

4. Apply the appropriate filters to ensure only the relevant documents are included in the export. This is typically all the documents that have not been marked as exported.

5. Click Export All.

6. Select One-off Export.

7. Under Mark as Exported, change the default from Maintain Exported Status to Mark as Exported.

8. Click Download Export.

Once the export is complete, each financial document included in the export will have its status updated from Unlocked to Locked.

Option 2: Lock an individual financial document

In some cases, you may need to lock a financial document manually. It’s important to note this does not trigger an export but marks the document as exported, which also locks it.

1. Navigate to the relevant financial document.

2. Click Edit Details.

3. Change the Mark as Exported field from No to Yes.

4. Click Save Changes.

This will update the status of the financial document to Locked, even though no export file is generated.

What Is a locked financial document?

A locked financial document is one that can no longer be edited. The following actions are restricted once a document is locked:

• Editing or removing line items

• Changing key dates (Issue Date, Due Date, Payment Collection Date)

• Amending any details associated with billing or payment terms

This ensures all exported financial data remains fixed and auditable.