Month-end close checklist
Closing the books each month is a repeatable process. This checklist covers every step in order, from collecting source documents to locking the period, and works with QuickBooks, Xero or any other system. Download it as a spreadsheet, print it, or turn it into a request you send your client.
1. Collect source documents
- Bank statements for every account, including dormant ones
- Credit card statements
- Payroll reports and payroll tax filings
- Sales reports from POS, Stripe, Square, Shopify or marketplaces
- Loan and line-of-credit statements
- Receipts and bills not yet entered
- Any new contracts, leases or large one-off invoices
2. Reconcile bank and credit card accounts
- Reconcile each account to the statement's ending balance
- Clear or resolve uncategorized and unmatched transactions
- Investigate duplicates, unusual amounts and transactions with no support
- Confirm transfers between accounts net to zero
3. Revenue and accounts receivable
- Record all sales and deposits for the month
- Match customer payments to open invoices
- Review the AR aging report and flag overdue balances
- Record deferred or unearned revenue where applicable
- Decide on write-offs or allowances for bad debt
4. Expenses and accounts payable
- Enter all vendor bills dated in the month
- Review the AP aging report
- Accrue expenses incurred but not yet billed
- Categorize receipts and check for duplicate vendors
- Track vendors who will need a 1099
5. Payroll
- Reconcile payroll reports to the general ledger (wages, taxes, benefits)
- Confirm payroll tax liabilities were paid or accrued
- Record contractor payments in the correct accounts
6. Inventory and fixed assets (if applicable)
- Count or estimate inventory and adjust cost of goods sold
- Record equipment and asset purchases
- Post monthly depreciation
7. Prepaids, accruals and loans
- Amortize prepaid expenses such as insurance and software
- Record accrued liabilities (wages, interest, utilities)
- Split loan payments into principal and interest
- Confirm credit card balances match the statements
8. Taxes
- Reconcile sales tax collected and payable
- Review payroll tax accounts
- Note estimated tax payments made or due
9. Review the numbers
- Review the profit and loss and balance sheet for anything that looks off
- Compare to the prior month and to budget, and explain big swings
- Confirm suspense, undeposited funds and uncategorized accounts are zero
- Check owner draws and equity for unexpected activity
10. Close and report
- Lock the period so old entries can't change
- Produce the profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, AR and AP aging
- Send the reports to the client with short notes on anything notable
- Archive the source documents and the completed checklist
Make the first step the easiest
Most late closes are caused by missing documents, not accounting problems. Send the same document request on the same day each month, with a due date a few days before you need to start work. A private upload link and automatic reminders save hours of chasing.
How long should a month-end close take?
It depends on how quickly documents arrive and how many accounts, payroll runs and transactions there are. For a small business with timely documents it is often a matter of hours; the delays are almost always waiting on source documents.
Month-end versus year-end
Year-end adds steps on top of the monthly ones: physical inventory counts, fixed-asset review, 1099 and W-2 preparation, adjusting entries for tax, and a final review with the tax preparer. Run the monthly checklist every month so year-end is mostly a review.
Frequently asked questions
Is this checklist free to use?
Yes. Download the spreadsheet or copy the steps and adapt them to your clients.
Does it work with QuickBooks or Xero?
Yes. The steps are the same in any accounting system; only the report names differ.
What if a client doesn't have a document?
Mark it as not available with a note and move on, then follow up on the real gaps. A request that can't be fully completed shouldn't stall the whole close.