How to lock a period in Xero, step by step

Written by an ACA-qualified finance manager · about the author · Last reviewed 1 July 2026

Locking the month is the single cheapest control in Xero, and half of small businesses never switch it on. Here’s exactly how, what each of the two lock dates means, and the gap to know about once it’s set.

Before you lock: finish the month

A lock date freezes whatever is in the period - including anything wrong. So lock after the month is reconciled and reviewed, not before. If you don't have a close routine yet, our month-end close checklist is the order of operations; the lock is its final step.

Where lock dates live

In Xero, go to Accounting → Advanced → Financial settings (if your menus differ, search Xero Central for "financial settings" - Xero moves furniture occasionally). You'll find two lock date fields, and the difference between them matters:

• Stop all users (except advisers) - the everyday lock. Your team can no longer add or edit anything dated on or before this date, but users with the adviser role can still make corrections. Set this to the month-end you've just closed, every month.
• Stop all users - the hard lock. Nobody, advisers included, can post into or edit the period. Most businesses set this at year-end once the accounts are filed, and move the softer lock monthly.

The steps

1. Finish and review the month - reconcile bank, tie out the balance sheet, get sign-off.
2. Open Financial settings - Accounting menu → Advanced → Financial settings. You need the adviser role (or standard with the right permissions) to see the fields; if you can't, ask whoever administers your Xero.
3. Set "Stop all users (except advisers)" to the last day of the month you've closed.
4. At year-end, also set "Stop all users" to the filed year-end date once the accounts are out the door.
5. Save, and tell the team - a lock nobody knows about generates support questions, not control. "The month is locked; anything for a closed period goes through [name]" is the whole policy.
6. Repeat monthly - roll the soft lock forward each time a month is signed off. A lock date that's three months stale protects three-month-old numbers.

What locking does not do

This is the part most people find out the hard way. A lock date is a gate, not a witness: an adviser can post past it, anyone with access can move or remove it, and Xero won't alert you to either. It doesn't record what the balances were when you signed off, so it can't tell you something has changed - and there's no forced reason or note when someone does work past it. We've written up exactly where the edges are in Xero lock dates: what they do (and don't) do, and what to do when a closed period changes anyway.

The short version: set the lock dates - they stop the accidents. Then pair them with a snapshot of what you signed off and something that re-checks it, so the deliberate changes can't happen silently either.

Frequently asked questions

Who can set lock dates in Xero?

Users with the adviser role manage lock dates in Financial settings; a standard user generally can’t. If you can’t see the fields, ask whoever administers your Xero subscription or your accountant.

What’s the difference between Xero’s two lock dates?

One stops all users except advisers - the everyday month-end lock. The other stops everyone including advisers - the hard lock, typically set at year-end once accounts are filed.

Do lock dates stop bank feeds and integrations?

Feeds keep importing, but transactions can’t be reconciled or posted into dates on or before the lock - integrations trying to write into a locked period will error. Watch for connected apps that backdate.

Does locking a period snapshot the numbers?

No. A lock date is a rule, not a record: it doesn’t store what the balance sheet said at sign-off, and it won’t alert you if someone with access works past it or moves the lock. That’s the gap a post-lock monitoring tool closes.