Unlock a Payments Journal batch

Owned by Knowledge Assistant
Last updated: Feb 07, 2023
Description of Issue

An accounts receivable batch in Payments Journal is locked. This is indicated by the lock icon displaying next to the batch in Payment Entry and Payments Journal. A Batch Could Not Be Selected message will be surfaced when searching for this batch in Payments Journal. The text of the message will read: Unable to select Payment batch XXXX because XXXX has locked it. This batch will not be included in your selection. 

Context
  • Accounts Receivable 
  • Property Tax Billing 
  • General Billing 
  • Community Development 
  • Business License 
  • Utility Billing 
  • Payments Journal (arrctpst) 
  • Locked Batches
Cause

Batches can get locked for a few different reasons including multiple users attempting to make changes in the same batch or with two different programs, server connectivity issues, and even users clicking the browser (X) to close out of programs instead of using the built in Back button which allows processing to finish before closing out properly. There are also times where users might be selecting all of the batches for posting in a program like Payments Journal and this can erroneously lock the batch for posting by that user.

There are also times where sites may see a POST_IN_PROGRESS message related to one or more batches after a failed posting which these are due to server connectivity or users hard closing out of Payments Journal before the posting finishes either from the program, Chrome, or another supported browser. In these cases, the batch will lock and populate the clerks name as:  (*POST_IN_PROGRESS*)

Recent functionality has been added to allow sites to unlock their own batches. This article details how to use that functionality. 

Resolution
  1. Before completing the below steps it is important to verify that the lock is not locking a batch because the batch is being posted. Do this by making sure that no other users have the Payments Journal program open and are attempting to post. If no other users have the program open, then the lock is not caused by the posting process and is safe to remove. 
  2. Before using the new functionality detailed below, a user's permissions will need to be updated to allow the use of this new functionality. Steps to do this can be found here: Permission to override Payment Locked Batches
  3. When steps 1 and 2 are completed, navigate to the Payments Journal program either by searching or using the following path: General Revenue > Payment Processing > Payments Journal 
  4. Click Search. 
    1. Enter the batch number of the locked batch in the Batch field to unlock one batch. 
    2. If multiple batches are locked, leave all search fields empty. 
  5. Click Accept. 
  6. A Batch Could Not Be Selected message will be surfaced indicating that the program has tried to select a locked batch. 
  7. Click OK. 
    1. Optionally, select the box for In the future, do not show this message. before clicking OK to stop this message from surfacing again. 
  8. Click the Batches tab. 
  9. Click Update. 
  10. Click the lock icon next to the locked batches. 
  11. A message may surface Batch XXXX (XXXX, XXXX) is locked by 'XXXX' but posting has not yet begun. Do you want to override this posting lock? 
  12. To remove the lock, click Override. Otherwise, click Cancel. 
  13. If Override was selected, the following message will be given: Overriding this posting lock when another post is still in progress will terminate both processes. Are you sure you want to override?  
  14. Click Yes, Override to confirm the override. Otherwise, click No. 
  15. If the user who unlocked the batch will not be posting, click the Checkmark next to the batch to de-select it, otherwise, it will be locked again because the user has selected it for posting. 
  16. Click Accept. 
  17. The batch is now unlocked and can be posted. For a guide on posting, please see: How to post a payment batch in Payments Journal
Additional Information
  • For all information regarding Accounts Receivable locked batches, please see: Master Article - Munis Accounts Receivable Locked Batches
  • If additional assistance is needed, please contact the appropriate support team based on the category of the receipts or adjustments in the locked batches.Â