Monthly Financial Review Checklist

Check the client portal (SmartVault, Liscio, or TaxDome) for every operating account and credit card on the chart of accounts. A missing statement is the most common reason close slips a day; chase the client before opening QBO, not after starting recs.

Pull the Gusto, ADP, or Rippling journal export and confirm the last pay date in the period plus any tax deposits (federal 941, state withholding) have synced into QBO. Mid-period pay dates always require an unpaid-wages accrual later — flag now.

Pull from Bill.com, Ramp, or Dext. Run an unposted-bills report; ask the client about any vendor whose invoice typically arrives but is missing this month. Cutoff errors here flow into A/P aging and accruals.

Tie bank balance to book balance for every operating, sweep, and payroll account. Outstanding checks and deposits in transit are normal; uncleared items older than 30 days are not. Save the QBO reconciliation report PDF to the workpaper folder.

Reconcile each card account to the statement balance. Watch for personal charges miscoded as business — a recurring source of late-cycle adjusting entries.

List every uncleared transaction over $1,000 or older than 30 days on the reconciling-items workpaper. Stale checks are usually voids the client never told us about; large deposits in transit can be undeposited funds left in the clearing account.

Send the controller a single consolidated email with the list of items needing disposition (void, reissue, or research). Do not write off stale checks unilaterally — most states have escheatment rules on uncashed payroll and vendor checks.

Aging total must equal the GL A/R control account to the penny. Differences typically come from journal entries posted directly to A/R (always a reclass) or invoices voided in a closed period.

For every customer in 60+, confirm last contact and next planned action with the client's collections owner. Flag any single customer over 5% of total A/R for partner review — concentration risk drives the allowance estimate.

Apply the client's standing methodology (specific identification or aging-bucket percentages). Document the calculation in a workpaper and post the AJE if the reserve moves more than the materiality threshold.

Reconcile the A/P sub-ledger to the GL control account. Most differences trace to bills paid through the bank feed without matching to the open bill in QBO — research and clear before close.

Pick the top 10 vendors by spend plus any that historically run reconciliation differences. Missing bills become next month's surprise accrual; duplicates become next month's overpayment.

Run the 30+ A/P aging and route to the controller for pay-or-hold decisions. Note any vendor on credit hold or threatening collection — these belong in the management commentary.

Tie gross wages, employer taxes, and benefit deductions from the Gusto or ADP register to the corresponding GL accounts. Class-tracking by department should match what the client expects to see on the departmental P&L.

Confirm federal deposits hit on the semiweekly or monthly schedule based on the client's lookback period. Late deposits trigger 2/5/10/15% penalties — catch a missed deposit at month-end, not at the next 941 filing.

If the period ends mid-pay-cycle, accrue gross wages plus employer taxes for the unpaid days. Reverse the entry on the first day of the next period so the next pay run posts cleanly.

Pull the current-month and YTD comparison against budget. Use class or location tracking; if the report is unreadable because the COA has 800 accounts, that's a sign for a separate COA cleanup project.

Walk every line over the engagement's materiality threshold (typically 5% of budget or $5,000, whichever is greater). Common causes: timing differences, miscoded transactions in suspense, prepaid amortization not yet posted.

For each material variance, write a 1-2 sentence explanation in plain language for the controller. Tie back to the operational driver (one-time vendor true-up, headcount ramp, marketing campaign timing) — not just the dollar swing.

Reconcile QBO revenue accounts to the source billing system (Stripe, Chargebee, Salesforce, or the client's invoicing module). Differences usually come from refunds, chargebacks, or revenue posted directly through the bank feed.

For SaaS or service clients: confirm that any new contract signed in the period is being recognized over the service term, not booked as cash on signing. Annual prepayments hit deferred revenue first; only the earned portion flows to P&L.

Update the schedule: opening balance + new billings - revenue recognized = ending balance. Tie ending balance to the GL deferred revenue account. Post the recognition AJE.

Run a 13-month trial balance and scan for accounts with unusual movement, sign flips, or balances that haven't moved in months (often a sign of a stale accrual or a control account that needs reclass). This is the partner-style sanity check before lockdown.

Standard package: P&L (current month, YTD, prior-year comparison), balance sheet, cash flow (indirect method), and KPI dashboard. Use Fathom or Spotlight for the visual layer if the engagement scope includes it.

Set the closing date and password under Account and Settings → Advanced. Without this, partners and clients can post backdated entries that change the financials you just delivered.

Send the package through the client portal with the management commentary in the body. Note open items, accrual estimates that will true up next month, and any decisions needed from the controller. Schedule the monthly review call if the engagement includes one.