Monthly Close Process

The A/R lead enters all customer invoices for revenue earned in the period and posts any outstanding credit memos. Run the open invoices report after posting and confirm no draft invoices remain in QBO/Sage Intacct/NetSuite for the closing month.

Process Bill.com / Ramp / Stampli queues and enter any paper bills with invoice dates on or before period end. Watch for invoices received in the first few days of the new month that relate to prior-period services — those accrue back, not forward.

Confirm Gusto / ADP / Rippling has posted the final pay date plus employer taxes through the period end. Reconcile expense reports submitted in Expensify / Ramp and post reimbursable amounts to the right cost centers.

The controller confirms A/R, A/P, payroll, and inventory sub-ledgers are at cutoff before close work begins. A missed cutoff downstream means re-running every reconciliation.

If any sub-ledger is not at cutoff, identify the blocker (missing vendor bills, unposted payroll, open A/R batches) and clear it before Day 1. Document the delay and the cause for the close postmortem.

Run the fixed-asset module (or the depreciation schedule workpaper) and post the monthly depreciation and intangibles amortization JEs. Tie the post-entry accumulated depreciation balance back to the FA roll-forward before moving on.

Run the saved/recurring JE list — prepaid amortization, deferred revenue recognition, rent straight-lining, lease ROU amortization (ASC 842), software subscription allocations. Each recurring JE should reference its supporting schedule.

Stage one-off reclasses, intercompany allocations, and management fee charges as draft JEs. Senior accountant routes for review before posting on Day 2.

Post the JEs cleared by the controller. Every entry needs a memo and a workpaper reference — partners will block close if the AJE log shows blank descriptions.

Lock each sub-ledger module so no further period-dated entries can post. In QBO this is the closing date password; in NetSuite/Intacct it's a period status change. After locking, tie each sub-ledger control total to the GL.

Pull the intercompany matrix across all entities and confirm due-to / due-from accounts net to zero before consolidation. Mismatches usually trace to one-sided JEs or FX timing — resolve before drafting financials.

Reconcile each bank, sweep, and credit-card account: book balance to bank balance with outstanding checks and deposits in transit identified. Investigate any uncleared item over 30 days — stale checks and forgotten deposits are the most common rec failure.

Accrue uninvoiced revenue, unbilled COGS, sales/use tax payable, and income tax provision. Tie sales-tax accruals to Avalara or TaxJar reports — economic-nexus states need accruals even before registration.

Generate the working trial balance, P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow. Compare current month vs. prior month and current YTD vs. prior YTD; flag any line with a variance over 10% or $25K for follow-up.

For each variance flagged on Day 3, confirm with the cost center owner whether the swing is real activity, a misclassification, or a missing accrual. Document the explanation in the close binder.

For each misstatement identified during variance review, post a correcting AJE with a memo tying back to the variance investigation. Update the trial balance and re-run the comparative reports.

Write disclosure footnotes (debt covenants, lease activity, subsequent events) and the management commentary covering top variances, A/R aging concerns, cash position, and KPI movement.

Senior accountant walks the controller through the trial balance, balance-sheet recs, and the P&L variance commentary. Capture review notes; clear them before CFO routing.

Set the closing date and password in QBO, or change the period status to Locked in NetSuite / Intacct. After this point, any back-dated entry requires controller approval and a documented reason.

Send the signed package to the executive team, the board, and any lenders required by debt covenants. Watch covenant-reporting deadlines — late delivery can trigger technical default even when the numbers are clean.

Push closed actuals into Fathom / Vena / Cube / Mosaic and update the rolling forecast. FP&A meets with department heads to refresh the next-quarter outlook based on this month's variance signal.

Capture what slipped (late vendor bills, missing PBC items, unreconciled stale checks) and assign owners to fix the upstream cause before next month's close. The compounding payoff of this step is faster close cycles over time.