The month-end checklist we run on every client file

By Barbara Davis · Published 2026-02-11 · Approx. 4 minute read

A closing checklist is not bureaucracy. It is the reason two different people can look at the same file in March and reach the same conclusion. This is ours, lightly simplified.

Before anything else

• Every bank and credit card account reconciled to the statement, not to the feed balance.
• Merchant settlements matched line by line, with processor fees booked as expense rather than netted into revenue.
• Undeposited funds cleared to zero, or explained.

The balance sheet review

• Accounts receivable aged and compared against what the owner believes is collectible.
• Accounts payable checked for duplicate bills — the most common cause of overstated expenses.
• Payroll liabilities tied to the payroll provider's reports, penny for penny.
• Sales tax payable agreeing to the filed return.
• Loan balances agreeing to the lender statement, with interest split out from principal.
• Fixed asset additions reviewed against the capitalization policy.

The income statement review

• Revenue compared to the prior three months and the same month last year; anything moving more than 15 per cent gets a written explanation.
• Owner draws separated from wages and from business expenses.
• Uncategorized income and expense accounts emptied.
• Personal transactions identified and reclassified, without judgement.

Finally

The last step is a one-page summary in plain English: what changed, what needs a decision, and what is coming in the next 60 days. A report nobody reads is not a deliverable.