The Month-End Close Checklist

About this guide

A month-end close done in the wrong order produces figures that move after you have looked at them, which is worse than having no figures at all. This checklist sets out the close in seven stages, in the sequence that actually holds together: cash first, then what you are owed, then what you owe, then payroll, VAT, adjustments and review.

Each stage is a list you can work down: bank and card reconciliations to the cent, debtors and creditors agreed to their control accounts, supplier statements reconciled, payroll journals agreed to the EMP201, the VAT control account reconciled to the return, depreciation posted, stock movement processed and gross margin sanity-checked.

It ends with the five questions worth asking before you call a month closed, and a seven-working-day timetable you can hand to whoever does your processing. It is written for a South African small business using cloud accounting, and it is the same routine we run for clients on a monthly service.

What each section covers

Why order matters

A close done out of order produces numbers that move after you have looked at them. Cash first, then what you are owed, then what you owe, then the adjustments. Each stage depends on the one before it.

Stage 1 — Cash

Every bank account reconciled to the statement, to the cent · Credit card and loan accounts reconciled · Card machine and payment gateway settlements matched to deposits

Stage 2 — What you are owed

All sales invoices for the month raised and sent · Debtors age analysis agreed to the debtors control account · Credit notes processed in the correct month

Stage 3 — What you owe

All supplier invoices captured, including those still sitting in an inbox · Creditors age analysis agreed to the creditors control account · Supplier statements reconciled for your major accounts

Stage 4 — Payroll and people

Payroll journal posted and agreed to the payroll reports · Net pay per the payroll agreed to what actually left the bank · PAYE, UIF and SDL liabilities agreed to the EMP201

Stage 5 — VAT

A VAT control account that never quite balances is the single most common sign that a set of books needs attention.

Stage 6 — Adjustments and assets

Depreciation posted for the month · New assets added to the fixed asset register, not expensed by accident · Assets disposed of or scrapped removed, with the profit or loss recognised

Stage 7 — Review before you call it closed

Print the income statement and balance sheet and ask these five questions. If any answer is a shrug, the close is not finished.

A close timetable that works