The account cannot be changed or deleted because it already has movements
Symptom
You open an account's form in Accounting › Configure › Chart of accounts and:
- the Code and the Type cannot be edited;
- Delete (in the form's actions menu) is refused;
- Recode account (in the Portugal tab) is refused.
Message
When deleting, after confirming Delete in the Bye-bye, record! window:
“Account 278900 Devedores e credores diversos (teste) has 1 journal item(s) and cannot be deleted. Archive it instead (the account stays in the history and in the SAF-T, and can no longer be used).”
When recoding an account with journal entries in a period already exported:
“The account 278900 Devedores e credores diversos (teste) cannot be recoded: it has journal entries in 01/01/2026 – 31/12/2026, a period already exported to SAF-T (Exportação SAF-T (PT) — Empresa Demonstração, Lda — 03/11/2026 21:39:46). Archive it and create a new account.”
In Change account type, without choosing a different type:
“Choose a new type, different from the current one.”
In Recode account, after filling in New code and Reason, when you click Recode, on an account with journal entries only in a closed fiscal year, with no SAF-T generated for that fiscal year:
“The account 432 Edifícios e outras construções cannot be recoded: it has journal entries up to 31/12/2025, a period already closed (company Empresa Demonstração, Lda). Archive it and create a new account. If the account has a balance, first move it to the right account (post a movement that settles it): an archived account can no longer be chosen in journal entries.”
Verified causes
- The account has journal entries. The SAF-T and the history point to it, so it cannot be deleted, and the code and type only change through their own buttons, which leave a record.
- The journal entries are in a fiscal year that is already closed. Even without a SAF-T generated, the code is fixed: archive the account and create a new one, as the message says.
- The period of the journal entries has already been exported to SAF-T. The code is fixed, even if the account has only one journal entry in that period. The Recode account window also warns that the change is only allowed while the journal entries are in an open fiscal year.
- Your profile does not reach these buttons. With Accountant, the Chart of accounts does not appear in the menu and the form, opened through a link, is read-only and without Recode account or Change account type.
What to check
Look at what you want to change. Tested on an account with journal entries, with the Certified Accountant / Fiscal Manager profile:
| What you want to change | On an account with journal entries |
|---|---|
| Account Name | Changed on the form. |
| Taxonomy | Changed in the Portugal tab (taxonomies). |
| Type | Changed with Change account type, with a Reason. The window warns that this changes the balance sheet and the income statement retroactively. |
| Code | Changed with Recode account, with a Reason, if the period has not been exported to SAF-T or closed. |
| Delete | Not possible. |
| Archive | Only with the form's Balance at €0.00. Currently, the program also accepts an account with a balance, without warning, but the balance can no longer be moved while it is archived. |
How to fix it
Who does it: Certified Accountant / Fiscal Manager.
The code is wrong and the period has not been exported yet
Use Recode account. The steps are in create and change accounts. The journal entries stay and now show the new code.
The type is wrong
In the Portugal tab, click Change account type, choose the New type, write the Reason and click Change type. The form records the change (for example, “Current Liabilities → Current Assets (Type)”). Pending validation by a certified accountant: the effect of changing an account's type in fiscal years already declared.
The account is no longer used or the code cannot be changed
The order matters: once archived, the account no longer appears on the lines of a journal entry, and the balance cannot be moved while it is archived. The program does not warn you about this when archiving: check the Balance on the form.
- Create the right account, with the taxonomy (create and change accounts). In the example,
278910, with S138. - If the old account has a balance, move it with a journal entry. Pending validation by a certified accountant: the date and the way to transfer the balance between accounts, especially in a fiscal year already declared.
- Open the old account and, in the form's actions menu, click Archive and confirm in the Confirmation window.
In the example, with €100.00 on the debit side of 278900, journal entry OD/2026/00106 left the account's Balance at €0.00 before archiving:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| 278910 Devedores e credores diversos (certa) | €100.00 | — |
| 278900 Devedores e credores diversos (teste) | — | €100.00 |
You archived by mistake or with a balance
In Chart of accounts, choose the Inactive Accounts filter and open the account. In the form's actions menu, click Unarchive. The account appears again on journal entry lines. If it had a balance, move it now and only then archive it again.
Expected result
- The archived account is no longer offered on the lines: when you type
278900, the list only shows the create options. The old journal entries stay in it. - The new account receives the following journal entries.
- After a recoding or a type change, the account's form keeps who, when, the previous value and the new one.
When to contact support
- The delete message appears with 0 journal items.
- Recoding is refused and the SAF-T export the message names does not exist.
- You need to merge two accounts with journal entries: do not do it with mass journal entries without talking to support.
Information to send
- The company, the account code and name.
- The full text of the message, copied from the screen.
- What you wanted to change, and why.
- The profile you logged in with.