We would like XBert to alert us whenever a user creates, edits, or deletes a transaction dated on or before the lock date / closing date set in the accounting file. Priority should be given to changes involving transactions that carry a tax (GST) code, as these can alter a BAS that has already been lodged.

As BAS Agents, we close and lock the books once a BAS has been lodged for a period. The lodged BAS, and the financial reports prepared at that point, represent a finalised position.

In practice, users sometimes go back and change, delete, or add transactions dated within that closed period. Journals, transfers, income or expense transactions. When this happens:

Lodged BAS figures no longer match the file. If the changed transaction carried a tax code, the GST position for a lodged period has shifted, potentially requiring a BAS amendment or adjustment in a later period.

Other financial reports are affected. Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and any management reports prepared from the closed period no longer reconcile to what was previously reported.

We often don't find out until much later. Typically when reconciling the next period and discovering opening balances or comparative figures have moved. By then, identifying exactly what changed, who changed it, and when is time-consuming detective work.

Lock dates in Xero and QuickBooks reduce this risk but do not eliminate it: advisor-level users can still make changes behind a lock date, lock dates can be moved or removed, and in QuickBooks the closing date can be overridden with a password. There is currently no proactive notification when this happens — which is exactly the gap we'd like XBert to fill.

Raise an XBert alert when any of the following occurs to a transaction dated on or before the lock/closing date:

An existing transaction is edited (amount, account/category, tax code, contact, date — including a date moved into or out of the closed period)

A transaction is deleted or voided

A new transaction is created with a date in the closed period

Transaction types in scope should include, at minimum: manual journals, bank transfers, invoices/income transactions, bills/expense transactions, spend/receive money transactions, and credit notes.

The alert should identify whether the affected transaction carries a tax/GST code (or whether the change altered a tax code or tax amount). These are the changes that can affect a lodged BAS, so they should be:

Flagged at a higher severity than tax-exclusive changes (e.g. "Critical — may affect lodged BAS" vs. "Warning — closed period change"), and

Filterable, so we can quickly review all BAS-impacting changes for a client or period.

A closed-period change alert would let us:

Catch BAS-impacting changes immediately rather than discovering them at the next reconciliation

Determine quickly whether a BAS amendment or a current-period adjustment is required

Maintain an audit trail of who changed what behind a lock date

Have informed conversations with clients about closed-period discipline

We'd expect this to be valuable to virtually any bookkeeping or BAS agent practice using XBert, not just ours.

Thank you in advance.