Month-End Close Checklist for Accounting Teams
The complete month-end close checklist that accounting teams use to close the books faster. Streamline your closing process, eliminate bottlenecks, and reduce your close time by up to 70% with automation.
Damin MuttiWhy Every Accounting Team Needs a Month-End Close Checklist
Month-end close is one of the most critical recurring processes in accounting. It's when your team ensures all financial transactions are properly recorded, accounts are reconciled, and financial statements accurately reflect the business's position. Yet for many teams, month-end close is also one of the most stressful and time-consuming periods.
Without a standardized month-end close checklist, teams often face missed steps, inconsistent results, and extended closing periods. Whether you're a solo bookkeeper managing multiple clients or part of a larger accounting team, having a comprehensive accounting close checklist transforms a chaotic process into a systematic workflow.
This guide provides a complete month-end close template you can customize for your organization, along with strategies to eliminate the most common bottlenecks, especially the time drain of manual document processing.
Key Takeaways
- A structured checklist reduces month-end close time by up to 70%
- Bank statement processing is the #1 bottleneck for most teams
- Automating document conversion eliminates hours of manual data entry
- Consistent processes lead to accurate, reliable financial statements
Ready to eliminate manual data entry from your close process?
Start your trialComplete Month-End Close Checklist (2025)
A comprehensive checklist covering every step of the month-end close process. Items marked with a star can be automated with Zera Books.
Document Collection
Gather PDF statements from all business bank accounts, credit cards, and lines of credit.
Ensure all vendor invoices for the month are collected and organized.
Round up employee expense reports and supporting receipts.
Get final payroll reports including taxes, benefits, and deductions.
Transaction Recording
Ensure all sales invoices and payments received are entered.
Record vendor bills, employee expenses, and other operating costs.
Record payroll expenses, taxes, and related liabilities.
Enter any equipment, vehicle, or property acquisitions.
Bank Reconciliation
Transform PDF bank statements into Excel/CSV format for reconciliation.
Compare bank transactions with recorded entries in the accounting system.
Research and resolve any unmatched or unusual transactions.
Enter any bank charges, service fees, or interest earned.
Accounts Receivable
Generate current aging report showing outstanding customer balances.
Contact customers with overdue balances and document collection efforts.
Assess uncollectible accounts and adjust allowance as needed.
Verify AR subsidiary ledger matches the GL control account.
Accounts Payable
Verify all outstanding vendor balances and payment terms.
Confirm all received invoices are entered, even if unpaid.
Match vendor statements to AP records and resolve differences.
Plan payment runs to optimize cash flow and capture discounts.
Adjusting Entries
Accrue for expenses incurred but not yet invoiced or paid.
Record earned portion of prepaid customer payments.
Calculate and record monthly depreciation for fixed assets.
Expense the monthly portion of insurance, subscriptions, etc.
Items marked "Automatable" can be streamlined with Zera Books document processing
Automate Your ChecklistCommon Month-End Close Bottlenecks (And How to Solve Them)
These are the issues that extend close timelines from days to weeks. Address these bottlenecks to dramatically reduce your close time.
Waiting for Bank Statements
Problem:
Statements arrive at different times, delaying the start of reconciliation.
Solution:
Download electronic statements immediately at month-end and convert with Zera Books.
Manual Data Entry
Problem:
Typing transactions from PDF statements into spreadsheets takes hours and introduces errors.
Solution:
Automate with AI-powered extraction. Zera Books converts statements in 10 seconds with 99.6% accuracy.
Reconciliation Discrepancies
Problem:
Unmatched transactions and data entry errors require time-consuming investigation.
Solution:
Accurate automated extraction reduces discrepancies. Clean data makes matching faster.
Approval Delays
Problem:
Waiting for manager review and sign-off extends the close timeline.
Solution:
Complete tasks faster so reviews happen sooner. Provide clean reports that speed approval.
Missing Documents
Problem:
Chasing down receipts and invoices delays transaction recording.
Solution:
Implement continuous document collection throughout the month, not just at close.
Multiple Account Formats
Problem:
Different banks use different statement formats, requiring varied processing approaches.
Solution:
Zera Books handles 4,000+ bank formats automatically with consistent output.
Automate document processing and solve these bottlenecks instantly
Convert your first statementThe 3-Day Month-End Close Timeline
With the right processes and automation, most businesses can complete month-end close in just three days. Here's how to structure it.
Document Collection & Recording
- Download all bank statements
- Convert statements to spreadsheets
- Collect outstanding invoices and receipts
- Record any pending transactions
Reconciliation & Review
- Complete bank reconciliation for all accounts
- Reconcile credit cards and lines of credit
- Review and update AR/AP aging
- Investigate any discrepancies
Adjustments & Reporting
- Record all adjusting entries
- Calculate and record depreciation
- Generate financial statements
- Review and approve final close
How Zera Books Automates Your Month-End Close
The biggest time sink in month-end close is manual document processing. Here's how automation changes everything.
Before Automation
- 2-3 hours per bank account for manual data entry
- Frequent typos and transposition errors
- Different formatting for each bank statement
- Extended reconciliation from data errors
- Month-end close takes 5-7 days minimum
After Zera Books
- 10 seconds per bank statement conversion
- 99.6% accuracy eliminates data entry errors
- Consistent output regardless of bank format
- Clean data means faster reconciliation
- Month-end close in 3 days or less
"We were drowning in bank statements from two provinces and multiple revenue streams. Zera Books cut our month-end reconciliation from three days to about four hours."
Manroop Gill
Co-Founder at Zoom Books
Results Achieved:
Month-End Close Best Practices for 2025
1. Implement Continuous Accounting
Don't wait until month-end to start your close process. Implement continuous accounting practices where transactions are recorded and reconciled throughout the month. This spreads the workload and identifies issues before they become month-end bottlenecks.
2. Automate Document Processing
Manual data entry from bank statements is the single biggest time sink in month-end close. Automated document processing eliminates hours of tedious work and reduces errors that extend reconciliation time.
3. Standardize Your Checklist
Create a master month-end close template that your team follows every month. This ensures consistency, makes it easy to track progress, and helps onboard new team members quickly. Include task owners and deadlines for accountability.
4. Close Subledgers First
Complete accounts payable and accounts receivable reconciliation before starting the general ledger close. This catches inter-module issues early and ensures your financial statements will balance on the first pass.
5. Use a Pre-Close Checklist
In the last week of each month, complete a pre-close checklist: ensure all invoices are sent, follow up on outstanding receivables, verify pending vendor bills are recorded, and resolve any obvious issues. This prevents surprises during the actual close.
6. Document Everything
Maintain clear documentation for all adjusting entries and reconciling items. This speeds up audits, helps with institutional knowledge when team members change, and provides an audit trail for any questions that arise later.
Frequently Asked Questions About Month-End Close
Common questions about month-end close checklists, timelines, and automation.
What is a month-end close checklist?
A month-end close checklist is a standardized list of tasks that accounting teams complete at the end of each month to ensure all financial transactions are recorded, reconciled, and reported accurately. It typically includes bank reconciliation, accounts receivable/payable review, adjusting entries, and financial statement preparation. Using a checklist ensures nothing is missed and creates consistency across months.
How long should month-end close take?
For small businesses, month-end close typically takes 1-3 days. Mid-sized companies may take 5-7 days, while larger enterprises can take up to 10-15 days. However, with proper automation and streamlined processes, many teams can significantly reduce these timelines. Teams using Zera Books for document processing often reduce their close time by 70% or more by eliminating manual data entry.
What are the most common month-end close bottlenecks?
The most common bottlenecks include: waiting for bank statements to arrive, manual data entry from documents (especially bank statements), bank reconciliation discrepancies, missing invoices or receipts, inter-company transactions, and approval delays. Of these, manual data entry is often the biggest time sink. Automating document processing with tools like Zera Books eliminates this bottleneck entirely.
How can I speed up my month-end close process?
Speed up month-end close by: (1) Automating bank statement conversion to eliminate manual data entry, (2) Implementing continuous accounting practices throughout the month, (3) Using standardized templates and checklists, (4) Automating reconciliation matching where possible, and (5) Reducing approval layers while maintaining controls. Zera Books can convert bank statements to spreadsheets in seconds, eliminating hours of manual data entry per account.
What should be included in a month-end close template?
A comprehensive month-end close template should include: document collection checklist, bank reconciliation steps for each account, accounts receivable aging review and collection follow-up, accounts payable verification, inventory adjustments (if applicable), payroll reconciliation, fixed asset depreciation entries, accruals and deferrals, intercompany eliminations (for multi-entity organizations), and financial statement review and approval procedures.
How do I automate bank reconciliation for month-end close?
Automate bank reconciliation by using tools like Zera Books to convert PDF bank statements to Excel or CSV format instantly. This eliminates manual data entry and provides clean, structured transaction data that can be easily matched against your accounting records. With 99.6% extraction accuracy, you spend less time investigating discrepancies caused by data entry errors and more time on actual analysis.
Should I do month-end close in QuickBooks or Excel?
Most businesses use both. QuickBooks (or your accounting software) houses the official books and generates financial statements. However, Excel remains essential for bank reconciliation preparation, analysis, and working papers. Zera Books bridges this gap by converting bank statements to Excel format for reconciliation, then you import the clean data into QuickBooks.
How do I handle month-end close with multiple bank accounts?
For businesses with multiple bank accounts, efficiency is key. Download all statements at once, batch convert them using Zera Books, then reconcile systematically. Our multi-account detection automatically separates transactions when a single statement contains multiple accounts. Create a tracking sheet to monitor reconciliation status across all accounts.
Ready to Speed Up Your Month-End Close?
Join accounting teams who've reduced their month-end close from days to hours. Start automating your bank statement processing today.
$79/month unlimited conversions | 99.6% accuracy | 10-second processing