Copy either or both. The structure matters more than the wording, each stage assumes the one before it is genuinely complete, which is why closes fall apart when documents arrive halfway through reconciliation.
Stage 1: Before the month ends
- Confirm the client list to be closed this month and each agreed due date.
- Send the pre-close reminder so clients start gathering documents.
- Flag known one-offs: asset purchases, new loans, grants, insurance claims, unusual transactions.
- Confirm any staffing or capacity constraints for the close window.
- Check for clients with outstanding items from last month that will block this one.
Stage 2: Collect source documents
- Bank statements for every account, complete and with no gaps.
- Credit card statements for every card.
- Receipts and invoices supporting expense transactions.
- Sales records and invoices issued.
- Payroll reports for the period.
- Loan, lease and finance statements.
- Industry-specific documents (settlement statements, POS summaries, remittance advice, grant records).
- Mark each client complete or outstanding, and chase only the outstanding ones.
Stage 3: Record
- Import or enter all transactions.
- Categorise expenses and attach receipts to the matching transactions.
- Record sales and customer receipts.
- Post payroll journals.
- Record accruals, prepayments and depreciation.
- List anything you cannot code and send the client one consolidated question list.
Stage 4: Reconcile
- Reconcile every bank account to its statement.
- Reconcile every credit card account.
- Reconcile merchant, POS and payment platform clearing accounts to zero.
- Reconcile loan balances to lender statements, splitting principal and interest.
- Review accounts receivable and payable ageing for stale or duplicated items.
- Reconcile any trust, premium or restricted fund account, where applicable.
- Investigate and document any unreconciled difference, do not carry it forward silently.
Stage 5: Review
- Compare the P&L against prior months and flag anything unexpected.
- Check the balance sheet for negative balances, suspense accounts and stale items.
- Confirm no personal expenses have been coded as business without a note.
- Confirm every material transaction has supporting documentation.
- Check the prior month's open questions have been resolved.
Stage 6: Deliver and close out
- Produce the client's monthly reports.
- Write a short commentary on anything the client should notice.
- Send reports and log the delivery date.
- Record open items and questions for next month.
- Lock the period if your software supports it.
- Note anything that slowed this close down, and fix one of them before next month.
Where the days actually go: stages 3 to 6 take hours. Stage 2 takes days, and almost all of it is waiting. If you want a faster close, that is the only stage worth optimising.
The client-facing version
Send this one. Rewriting your internal checklist into client language every month is wasted effort, this is the short version, ready to use.
☐ Bank statements, every account, full month ☐ Credit card statements, every card ☐ Receipts for any expense over {{amount}} ☐ Sales invoices you issued ☐ Payroll reports, if you have staff ☐ Anything unusual: new loans, big purchases, insurance claims, grants
Send everything here: {{upload link}}, no login, works from your phone.
If I have all of this by {{date}}, your {{month}} accounts will be with you by {{date}}.