Month-End Close
Complete month-end close checklist with day-by-day procedures.
Close Timeline Overview
MONTH-END CLOSE CALENDAR
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PRE-CLOSE CLOSE POST-CLOSE
───────── ───── ──────────
│ │ │
Day -5 ──────►│ │ │
Prep & Review │ │ │
│ │ │
Day -1 ──────►│ │ │
Cut-off │ │ │
│ │ │
│ Day +1 ──────►│ │
│ Lock & Adjust │ │
│ │ │
│ Day +3 ──────►│ │
│ FX & IC │ │
│ │ │
│ Day +5 ──────►│ │
│ Close Period │ │
│ │ │
│ │ Day +7 ──────►│
│ │ Reporting │
Pre-Close Activities (Days -5 to -1)
Day -5: Preparation
DAY -5 CHECKLIST
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ COMMUNICATION
□ Send close calendar to stakeholders
□ Remind AP of invoice cut-off deadline
□ Remind AR of billing deadline
□ Alert payroll of timesheet deadline
□ REVIEW
□ Review prior month open items
□ Check for pending approvals
□ Identify potential issues early
□ RECURRING ENTRIES
□ Review recurring journal entries
□ Update if needed (rate changes, etc.)
Day -3: Final Review
DAY -3 CHECKLIST
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□ ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
□ Follow up on missing vendor invoices
□ Process expense reports
□ Approve pending bills
□ ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
□ Review pending invoices for approval
□ Follow up on billing disputes
□ Apply unapplied payments
□ BANK
□ Begin bank reconciliation
□ Identify outstanding items
Day -1: Cut-off
DAY -1 CHECKLIST (PERIOD END DATE)
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ FINAL TRANSACTIONS
□ Last day for AP bill entry
□ Last day for AR invoicing
□ Complete bank reconciliation
□ Process payroll (if applicable)
□ FIXED ASSETS
□ Run depreciation
□ Process any asset disposals
□ Review asset additions
□ INVENTORY (if applicable)
□ Complete inventory counts
□ Process production orders
□ Review negative inventory
Close Activities (Days +1 to +5)
Day +1: Lock Modules
DAY +1 CHECKLIST - MODULE LOCKING
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ LOCK ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
Setup > Accounting > Manage GL > Manage Accounting Periods
→ Period Close Checklist → Lock A/R
Pre-check:
□ All invoices approved
□ Payments applied
□ AR aging reconciled to GL
□ LOCK ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
→ Period Close Checklist → Lock A/P
Pre-check:
□ All bills approved
□ Payments processed
□ AP aging reconciled to GL
□ LOCK PAYROLL (if applicable)
Pre-check:
□ Payroll complete
□ Taxes deposited
Day +2: Adjusting Entries
DAY +2 CHECKLIST - ADJUSTMENTS
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ ACCRUALS
□ Accrue unbilled expenses
- Utilities
- Professional fees
- Services received
□ Accrue revenue (if applicable)
□ DEFERRALS
□ Recognize prepaid expenses
□ Create amortization journal entries
□ Process revenue recognition (ARM)
□ RECLASSIFICATIONS
□ Customer credit balance reclass
□ Current/non-current splits
□ Related party netting
□ LOCK ALL
After adjustments complete:
→ Period Close Checklist → Lock All
Day +3: FX and Intercompany
DAY +3 CHECKLIST - FX & IC
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ FOREIGN CURRENCY (if multi-currency)
Pre-check:
□ Exchange rates entered for period-end
→ Period Close Checklist → Revalue Open FX Balances
Post-check:
□ Review FX gain/loss
□ Compare to prior period
□ INTERCOMPANY (if OneWorld)
Pre-check:
□ All subsidiaries closed
→ Period Close Checklist → Create IC Adjustments
→ Period Close Checklist → Eliminate IC Transactions
Post-check:
□ IC balances net to zero
□ Eliminations complete
Day +4: Period Close Tasks
DAY +4 CHECKLIST - PERIOD CLOSE TASKS
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ RESOLVE DATE/PERIOD MISMATCHES
→ Period Close Checklist → Resolve Date/Period Mismatches
Action: Edit transactions to align date with period
□ REVIEW NEGATIVE INVENTORY (if inventory)
→ Period Close Checklist → Review Negative Inventory
Action: Resolve negative quantities
□ INVENTORY COST ACCOUNTING
→ Period Close Checklist → Inventory Cost Accounting
Action: Recalculate inventory costs
□ GL AUDIT NUMBERING (if enabled)
→ Period Close Checklist → GL Audit Numbering
Action: Assign gapless numbers
Day +5: Close Period
DAY +5 CHECKLIST - FINAL CLOSE
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ FINAL REVIEW
□ Trial balance balanced
□ All reconciliations complete
□ All adjustments posted
□ Checklist tasks complete
□ CLOSE PERIOD
→ Period Close Checklist → Close Period
Confirmation:
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Are you sure you want to close January 2026? │
│ │
│ This will prevent any future transactions. │
│ │
│ [Cancel] [Close Period] │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
□ NOTIFICATION
□ Notify stakeholders of close completion
□ Document close date/time
Post-Close Activities (Days +5 to +7)
Financial Reporting
POST-CLOSE CHECKLIST
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
□ FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
□ Generate Balance Sheet
□ Generate Income Statement
□ Generate Cash Flow Statement
□ Generate Statement of Equity
□ MANAGEMENT REPORTS
□ Revenue by segment
□ Expense analysis
□ Budget vs Actual
□ KPI dashboard
□ ANALYSIS
□ Month-over-month comparison
□ Year-over-year comparison
□ Variance analysis
□ Ratio analysis
□ DISTRIBUTION
□ Share reports with management
□ Executive summary
□ Board package (if required)
Complete Month-End Checklist
MONTH-END CLOSE MASTER CHECKLIST
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Period: ____________ Close Date: ____________
PRE-CLOSE (Day -5 to -1) Done Init Date
──────────────────────── ──── ──── ────
□ Send close calendar notification □ ___ ___
□ Review prior month carryover items □ ___ ___
□ Follow up on missing AP invoices □ ___ ___
□ Complete AR billing □ ___ ___
□ Apply customer payments □ ___ ___
□ Complete bank reconciliation □ ___ ___
□ Run fixed asset depreciation □ ___ ___
□ Complete inventory counts □ ___ ___
CLOSE (Day +1 to +5) Done Init Date
──────────────────── ──── ──── ────
□ Lock A/R □ ___ ___
□ Lock A/P □ ___ ___
□ Lock Payroll □ ___ ___
□ Post accrual entries □ ___ ___
□ Post deferral entries □ ___ ___
□ Revenue recognition (ARM) □ ___ ___
□ Expense amortization □ ___ ___
□ Lock All □ ___ ___
□ FX revaluation □ ___ ___
□ IC adjustments □ ___ ___
□ IC eliminations □ ___ ___
□ Resolve date/period mismatches □ ___ ___
□ Review negative inventory □ ___ ___
□ Inventory cost accounting □ ___ ___
□ GL audit numbering □ ___ ___
□ Close period □ ___ ___
POST-CLOSE (Day +6 to +7) Done Init Date
──────────────────────── ──── ──── ────
□ Generate financial statements □ ___ ___
□ Variance analysis □ ___ ___
□ Distribute reports □ ___ ___
□ Close meeting/review □ ___ ___
Completed By: ____________ Date: ____________
Reviewed By: ____________ Date: ____________
Close Timeline by Company Size
Small Company (1-2 Days)
| Day | Activities |
|---|---|
| +1 | Lock A/R, A/P, adjustments, close |
| +2 | Reports, distribution |
Medium Company (3-5 Days)
| Day | Activities |
|---|---|
| +1 | Lock A/R, A/P |
| +2 | Adjustments, Lock All |
| +3 | FX, IC (if applicable) |
| +4 | Period close tasks, close |
| +5 | Reports, analysis |
Large Enterprise (5-10 Days)
| Day | Activities |
|---|---|
| +1-2 | Subsidiary AR/AP close |
| +3 | Lock All (subsidiaries) |
| +4 | FX revaluation |
| +5 | IC adjustments, eliminations |
| +6 | Consolidated rates |
| +7-8 | Consolidation review |
| +9 | Close all periods |
| +10 | Reporting |
Continuous Close
Reducing Close Time
CONTINUOUS CLOSE STRATEGIES
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DAILY ACTIVITIES:
• Real-time bank reconciliation
• Same-day AP entry
• Daily revenue recognition
WEEKLY ACTIVITIES:
• Weekly reconciliations
• Rolling accrual estimates
• IC balance review
AUTOMATION:
• Scheduled recurring entries
• Auto-approve workflows
• Script-based adjustments
RESULT:
Traditional Close: 10 days
Continuous Close: 3-5 days
Related Topics
- Year-End Close - Annual procedures
- Module Locking - Lock details
- Period Close Checklist - NetSuite tasks