The 12-Step Month-End Close Checklist We Use for Every Client
A consistent month-end close checklist is what separates books that are reliable from books that just look finished. This is the sequence we run for every client, every month, in this order:
1. Reconcile all bank accounts. 2. Reconcile all credit card accounts. 3. Review and clear any suspense or uncategorized transactions. 4. Reconcile accounts receivable to the aging report. 5. Reconcile accounts payable to the aging report.
6. Post accrual and prepayment adjustments for the period. 7. Review and post depreciation on fixed assets. 8. Reconcile payroll accounts to payroll reports. 9. Reconcile loan and financing accounts to lender statements.
10. Reconcile intercompany balances, where applicable. 11. Review every balance sheet account and confirm it's fully supported — no unexplained balances left standing. 12. Review the P&L for anything unusual compared to the prior month, and investigate before finalizing.
The order matters: reconciling cash and clearing suspense accounts first means the adjustments that follow — accruals, depreciation, payroll — are being applied to numbers that are already clean, rather than compounding on top of an error.
The final two steps are the ones most often skipped when a close is rushed — and they're exactly the steps that catch problems before they reach you.
Key takeaway
A reliable close follows the same sequence every time: reconcile cash first, then apply period adjustments, then review every balance sheet account before calling it final.