Skip to content

Free toolsFree accounting tool

Build your month-end close checklist in 60 seconds.

Tell us how your accounting team works. Get a customized checklist with tasks, owners, deadlines, and review steps. Download it as Excel. Free, no signup required.

  • Free to use
  • No signup
  • Excel download

Your close

Five questions. Each has a default, so change only what differs for your team.

Number of legal entities
Accounting team size
Target close timeline

Business days after period end

Which of these apply to your business?

Runs in your browser. Your checklist is never uploaded.

Preview

Your month-end close checklist

Customized for your accounting system, 1 entity, and a 5-day close.

Total tasks
39
Close target
5 business days
Categories
10
Tasks requiring review
24

Generate the checklist to tick off tasks, edit them and download Excel.

Pre-close preparation

4
  • Publish the close calendarAccounting ManagerD-5
  • Send cut-off remindersStaff AccountantD-3
  • Clear open items from last month’s closeSenior AccountantD-3Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Review new vendors, customers and accountsStaff AccountantD-2Reviewed by Senior Accountant

Cash and bank reconciliations

3
  • Collect bank statementsStaff AccountantD+1
  • Match bank transactionsStaff AccountantD+1
  • Reconcile bank accountsStaff AccountantD+2Reviewed by Senior Accountant

Accounts payable and expenses

4
  • List goods and services received but not invoicedAP SpecialistD-1
  • Enter supplier invoices for the periodAP SpecialistD+1
  • Close payables for the periodAP SpecialistD+1
  • Reconcile accounts payable to the ledgerAP SpecialistD+2Reviewed by Senior Accountant

Accounts receivable and revenue

6
  • Issue the month’s invoicesAR SpecialistD+1
  • Apply customer receiptsAR SpecialistD+1
  • Close receivables for the periodAR SpecialistD+1
  • Reconcile accounts receivable to the ledgerAR SpecialistD+2Reviewed by Senior Accountant
  • Check revenue cut-offSenior AccountantD+3Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Review receivables and the bad debt allowanceSenior AccountantD+3Reviewed by Controller

Payroll and people expenses

2
  • Record payrollSenior AccountantD+1Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Accrue unpaid wagesSenior AccountantD+3Reviewed by Accounting Manager

Accruals and cut-off

3
  • Check that last month’s accruals reversedStaff AccountantD-3
  • Prepare accrual estimatesSenior AccountantD-1
  • Book and true up accrualsSenior AccountantD+3Reviewed by Accounting Manager

Prepaid expenses

3
  • Record new prepaid expensesStaff AccountantD+2Reviewed by Senior Accountant
  • Amortize prepaid expensesStaff AccountantD+2Reviewed by Senior Accountant
  • Reconcile prepaid expensesStaff AccountantD+3Reviewed by Accounting Manager

General ledger and journal entries

7
  • Post recurring journal entriesStaff AccountantD-1Reviewed by Senior Accountant
  • Clear suspense and clearing accountsStaff AccountantD+3Reviewed by Senior Accountant
  • Prepare and approve adjusting entriesSenior AccountantD+4Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Run cost allocationsSenior AccountantD+4Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Reconcile tax accountsSenior AccountantD+4Reviewed by Controller
  • Reconcile the remaining balance sheet accountsSenior AccountantD+4Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Review the period’s journal entriesAccounting ManagerD+4Reviewed by Controller

Trial balance and financial statement review

3
  • Review the preliminary trial balanceSenior AccountantD+4Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Analyze fluctuationsSenior AccountantD+5Reviewed by Accounting Manager
  • Prepare the financial statementsAccounting ManagerD+5Reviewed by Controller

Final approvals and period lock

4
  • Approve all reconciliationsAccounting ManagerD+5Reviewed by Controller
  • Sign off the closeControllerD+5
  • Lock the periodControllerD+5
  • Archive the closeStaff AccountantD+5

A suggested starting point, not a guarantee that your team can close in 5 business days. Adapt the tasks, owners and days to how you work.

D is the last day of the period; D+1 is the first business day after it.

Beyond the checklist

What if the work was already prepared?

A checklist tells your team what needs doing. Our agents prepare the reconciliations, investigate exceptions, and draft supported journal entries, so your team can focus on reviewing and approving the work.

Explore Autonomous CloseBook a working session

What belongs in a month-end close checklist?

A month-end close checklist lists every task that has to happen before a month’s books can be called final: who does each one, who reviews it, and by when. A good one is organized by workstream, so each part of the close has an owner and nothing falls between two people.

  • Pre-close preparationThe calendar, cut-off reminders, and the estimates and recurring entries that can be done before the period ends.
  • CashBank, card and processor activity matched to the ledger, and every bank account reconciled to its statement.
  • Payables and receivablesThe month’s invoices and receipts recorded, and each subledger tied to its control account.
  • Payroll, accruals and prepaidsCosts recorded in the month they belong to, whether or not the invoice or the payment has arrived.
  • Assets, inventory, intercompany and currencyDepreciation, counts and costing, intercompany balances and revaluation, where the business has them.
  • Journal entriesAdjustments prepared with their support and approved by someone other than the preparer.
  • Review and sign-offThe trial balance, fluctuation analysis and financial statements, then the controller’s approval and the period lock.

Every balance sheet account should end the close reconciled to something outside the ledger: a statement, a subledger, a schedule or a count. The checklist is how a team shows that happened. Our month-end close checklist guide walks through each task, and the month-end close process explains the order they run in.

Example month-end close timeline

An illustrative five-day close for one entity, as the generator plans it. Pre-close work runs before the period ends; everything from D+1 waits for the period’s final numbers.

Before period end

  1. D-5
    • Publish the close calendar
  2. D-3
    • Send cut-off reminders
    • Clear open items from last month’s close
    • Check that last month’s accruals reversed
  3. D-2
    • Review new vendors, customers and accounts
  4. D-1
    • List goods and services received but not invoiced
    • Prepare accrual estimates
    • Post recurring journal entries
  5. D

    Period end: the month’s last invoices, receipts and payroll are recorded.

After period end

  1. D+1
    • Collect bank statements
    • Enter supplier invoices for the period
    • Issue the month’s invoices
    • Record payroll
  2. D+2
    • Reconcile bank accounts
    • Reconcile accounts payable to the ledger
    • Reconcile accounts receivable to the ledger
    • Record new prepaid expenses
  3. D+3
    • Check revenue cut-off
    • Book and true up accruals
    • Accrue unpaid wages
    • Reconcile prepaid expenses
  4. D+4
    • Prepare and approve adjusting entries
    • Reconcile the remaining balance sheet accounts
    • Review the preliminary trial balance
  5. D+5
    • Analyze fluctuations
    • Prepare the financial statements
    • Sign off the close
    • Lock the period

Customize the checklist for your ERP

The work of a close is the same in every system: cut-off, reconciliation, adjustment, review and lock. What differs is how each system closes a period, keeps its subledgers and handles entities and currencies, so the generator words those tasks for the system you choose and adds a note on how it handles them.

  • NetSuite

    Periods close through a period close checklist that locks receivables and payables before the period itself. With several subsidiaries, consolidated exchange rates are calculated before consolidated reporting.

  • QuickBooks Online

    One closing date locks every posting at once, and each entity is a separate company, so consolidation and some schedules, such as prepaid amortization, usually live in spreadsheets beside it.

  • Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central

    Periods are locked by moving the allowed posting dates. Batch jobs adjust item costs, exchange rates and depreciation, and consolidation runs from business units into a consolidation company.

  • SAP S/4HANA

    Posting periods open and close by account type, the GR/IR clearing account shows what was received but not invoiced, and depreciation and foreign currency valuation run as period-end jobs.

Using another system? Choose Other / Not sure for wording that fits any ledger.

Questions

  • What is a month-end close checklist?

    A list of every task needed to finalize a month’s books, from cut-off and reconciliations to accruals, journal entries, review and sign-off, with an owner, a reviewer and a target day for each. It makes the close repeatable and shows auditors what was done and checked. Our month-end close checklist guide goes through each task.

  • How many days should month-end close take?

    There is no single right number: it depends on how many entities you close, how many transactions you have, and how much work happens before period end. A shorter close usually comes from moving work earlier, reconciling and estimating during the month, rather than working faster after it. Plan for 3, 5 or 10 business days here, or set your own target, and read how long month-end close should take for more.

  • Can I download the checklist in Excel?

    Yes. You get a real .xlsx workbook with three sheets: the checklist as a filterable table, a summary of your settings and task counts, and short instructions. It includes your edits: renamed tasks, changed owners and days, the tasks you added or removed, and the ones you ticked off.

  • Does the checklist work with NetSuite or QuickBooks?

    Yes. Choose NetSuite, QuickBooks Online, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or SAP S/4HANA, and the tasks that differ by system, such as period locks, subledger closes, revaluation, depreciation and consolidation, are worded for it, with a note on how that system handles them. For any other ledger, choose Other / Not sure.

  • Does this tool connect to my accounting system?

    No. It doesn’t connect to your ERP, read your data or do any accounting work: it builds a plan in your browser, and your checklist never leaves it. If you want the work itself prepared (the reconciliations, the exception investigations and supported journal entries), that is what our agents do in Autonomous Close, with a person approving every posting.

  • Is the checklist free?

    Yes. There’s no signup, no email and no limit: generate, edit and download as many checklists as you like.