Month-end close checklist: 30 steps from bank to lock date
A month-end close checklist is the ordered list of tasks that turns a month of transactions into reliable statements: reconcile cash, receivables, payables and inventory, post accruals, prepayments and depreciation, revalue foreign currency, review the trial balance, prepare statements and lock the period. This free template lists 30 steps over five working days.
How the checklist is organized
Tasks run in dependency order. Transactions are completed first (days 1 and 2), reconciliations follow (days 2 and 3), then period-end adjustments (day 3), tax and review (day 4), and reporting and the lock (day 5). A small team can finish in five working days; a single bookkeeper may need longer, but the order still holds.
Each row has an owner and a due working day. Fill the Done column with a date and initials, and use Notes for the evidence, such as the file name of a bank reconciliation, so the next reviewer can follow your work.
| Working day | Focus |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Complete sales, receipts, stock movements and bank statements |
| Day 2 | Bank reconciliation, supplier bills, payroll, fixed asset changes |
| Day 3 | Subledger reconciliations, accruals, prepayments, depreciation, revaluation |
| Day 4 | VAT and tax review, trial balance and budget variance review |
| Day 5 | Statements, sign-off and lock date |
The reconciliations that matter most
Three reconciliations catch most errors before they reach the statements. The bank reconciliation proves cash. The customer and supplier subledgers must agree with their control accounts in the general ledger, which shows invoices posted without a party or to the wrong account. If you keep inventory, the stock ledger must agree with the inventory accounts.
Do not post a plug to make a reconciliation agree. An unexplained difference is information: track it to the transaction that caused it.
Adjusting entries at month end
Accrual accounting needs a few entries that no invoice triggers: expenses incurred but not yet billed, the monthly share of prepaid insurance or rent, depreciation, revenue billed in advance that is not yet earned, and exchange differences on foreign currency balances. See adjusting entry and the multi-currency accounting guide for the revaluation step.
Locking the period
The last step is to stop anyone from changing the closed month. In Ledgeriano you set a lock date on the fiscal year: entries dated on or before it cannot be created, edited or posted, and posted entries can only be corrected through reversals. For multi-company groups, the intercompany step confirms that the balances each company holds with the others agree before the lock.
Preview
The first rows of the downloadable sheet.
| Step no. | Area | Task | Owner | Due (working day) | Done | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cash | Download bank statements for every account up to the last day of the month | Accountant | 1 | ||
| 2 | Cash | Count petty cash and post the expenses and top-up with receipts | Accountant | 1 | ||
| 3 | Receivables | Post all sales invoices and credit notes dated in the month | Receivables clerk | 1 | ||
| 4 | Receivables | Apply customer receipts to open invoices | Receivables clerk | 1 | ||
| 5 | Inventory | Post all receipts, issues, deliveries and transfers in date order | Inventory controller | 1 | ||
| 6 | Cash | Reconcile each bank account to the general ledger and explain every reconciling item | Accountant | 2 | Attach the reconciliation | |
| 7 | Payables | Post all supplier bills for goods and services received in the month | Payables clerk | 2 | ||
| 8 | Payables | Accrue goods and services received but not yet invoiced | Payables clerk | 2 | ||
| 9 | Payroll | Post payroll, employer contributions and accrued leave; reconcile payroll liabilities | Payroll | 2 | ||
| 10 | Inventory | Count stock (full or cycle count) and post count adjustments | Inventory controller | 2 | ||
| 11 | Fixed assets | Capitalise new asset purchases and record disposals | Accountant | 2 | ||
| 12 | Receivables | Reconcile the customer subledger to the trade receivables control account | Receivables clerk | 3 | ||
| 13 | Receivables | Review aged receivables and update the allowance for doubtful debts | Controller | 3 | ||
| 14 | Payables | Reconcile the supplier subledger to trade payables and match supplier statements | Payables clerk | 3 | ||
| 15 | Inventory | Reconcile the stock ledger to the inventory accounts in the general ledger | Inventory controller | 3 |
Download the template
Free, no signup. The Excel file keeps account codes as text so leading digits survive.
How to run a month-end close
- 1
Finish the month's transactions
Post every sales invoice, receipt, supplier bill, payment and stock movement dated in the month.
- 2
Reconcile
Agree bank, customer, supplier and inventory balances to their source documents and subledgers.
- 3
Post adjustments
Record accruals, prepayment releases, depreciation, deferred revenue and currency revaluation.
- 4
Review
Run the trial balance, investigate unusual balances and compare actual results with the budget.
- 5
Report and lock
Prepare the statements, get sign-off and set the lock date on the closed month.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a month-end close take?
Many small and mid-sized finance teams aim for five working days. Faster closes come from posting transactions daily, reconciling bank accounts weekly and using recurring entries for predictable accruals.
What is the difference between month-end and year-end close?
Month-end close produces reliable monthly figures and locks the month. Year-end close does the same and then closes income and expense accounts into retained earnings and opens the next fiscal year, often with an audit.
Who should own the close checklist?
Usually the controller or finance manager owns the checklist and the sign-off, while individual tasks belong to the people who know the data: receivables, payables, payroll and inventory.
Can I change the order of the tasks?
Yes, as long as dependencies hold: reconcile and adjust before reviewing the trial balance, and review before preparing statements and locking the period.
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