Who this is for: Accountants who are ready to lock in a draft financial report and generate the official PDF.
What you’ll learn: How to finalize a report, what happens during finalization, and the option to set a QuickBooks closing date.
Before you begin #
- The report must be in Draft status.
- All sections and commentary should be reviewed and finalized before this step, as finalization locks the data permanently.
- Live data from QuickBooks should be fully loaded on the report detail page.
Step-by-step instructions #
Step 1: Click the Finalize button #
On the report detail page, click the Finalize button in the header toolbar (shown with a lock icon). This button is only available for reports in Draft status.
Step 2: Review the finalization summary #
The Finalize Report modal opens. Review the report title, period, and the list of sections that will be included. Confirm that everything looks correct before proceeding.
Step 3: Optionally set the QuickBooks closing date #
Under Finalization Options, you can check the box labeled Set QuickBooks closing date. When enabled, this sets a closing date in QuickBooks to the report period end date, preventing modifications to transactions before that date. This is recommended to protect the integrity of finalized reports.
Step 4: Click Finalize Report #
Click the Finalize Report button at the bottom of the modal. The system begins the finalization process.
Step 5: Wait for finalization to complete #
A progress bar appears showing the finalization steps: capturing the financial data snapshot, generating the PDF, and completing the process. When the green checkmark appears and the status reads “Report finalized successfully!”, the process is complete. The modal closes automatically after a moment.
What happens next #
After finalization:
- The report status changes from Draft to Finalized.
- A permanent snapshot of the financial data is stored.
- A PDF is generated and stored for download.
- The report can no longer be edited.
- The Deliver button becomes available so you can send the report to clients.
Troubleshooting #
- “Finalization Failed” error: This may occur if the connection to QuickBooks is interrupted. Refresh the page and try again. If the company is disconnected, reconnect it first.
- I finalized the wrong report: Finalization cannot be undone, but you can create a new report for the same period using the Duplicate action from the Reports tab.
- The Finalize button is not visible: Only draft reports can be finalized. If the report is already finalized or delivered, the Finalize button is hidden.
