Overview of Locking and Closing the Books and the Reversal Function
Overview:
In this article, we will review the Commission Lock Date and the Close Book Date tools. Please find the available resources below.
Brokerage Engine provides two independent period-control settings in the BE Accounting Configuration Panel: the Commission Lock Date and the Close Book Date. Together, they govern when transactions can still be closed, when accounting adjustments can still be made, and how the system handles a revoke once a period is locked. The reversal function is the mechanism that protects the integrity of already-issued financial reports when a transaction in a closed period must be adjusted. This article explains each control, how the reversal function is triggered, and how revoke behavior differs between open and closed periods.
These settings are independent of QuickBooks Online. Closing or opening a period in QBO does not change the BE configuration, and vice versa; the two must be managed in parallel.
For an overview of the BE Accounting Configuration Panel, click here.
The Two Period-Control Tools
Commission Lock Date. Prevents any additional commissions transactions from being uploaded into a closed accounting period. It is applied once the commission side of the month is final and production reports are ready to issue, while the accounting team is still working on Accounts Receivables, Accounts Payables, and bank reconciliations. Setting it stops new transactions from landing in the period without blocking the accounting operations that remain in progress.
Close Book Date. Applied once all reconciliations and miscellaneous accounting adjustments are complete and financial reporting is ready to issue. This is the date that governs the reversal function: a transaction is treated as belonging to a closed period when its close date falls on or before the Close Book Date.
A typical month-end sequence sets the Commission Lock Date first (commissions final, production reports ready), then the Close Book Date once accounting adjustments are finished and financials are ready.
How the Reversal Function Is Triggered
The reversal option appears only when the transaction's close date falls inside the closed accounting period — that is, on or before the Close Book Date. If the transaction's close date is outside the closed period, the reversal option is not offered, and the transaction is handled by a standard revoke instead.
Revoke Behavior by Period State
Open period. A standard revoke deletes the main journal entry and agent bills cleanly. No reversal is created, because there is no closed-period reporting to protect.
Closed period. The journal entry and bills cannot be deleted, because the financial reports for that period have likely already been issued. Instead of deleting, the system creates a Reversal Journal Entry (RJE). The original JE and bill remain in place, and the RJE offsets them — preserving the integrity of the issued financial reports.
Bill reversal. For an agent commission bill in a closed period, the system does not delete the bill. It creates a "reversal of bill" journal entry, applying the same closed-period protection used for main journal entries.
Commission Deposit revoked from the widget. Revoking a Commission Deposit from the widget on the Commission Details page in a closed period does not create a reversal.
Journal Entry Dating
When a reversal occurs in a closed period, both the Reversal Journal Entry and the resulting new journal entry post as of the current date.
Quick Reference:
Link to Full Step-by-Step Guide
