Month-end close checklist for bookkeepers
A month-end close checklist makes sure every transaction for the month is recorded, every account is reconciled and nothing is left pending before the month is locked. Here are the 13 steps bookkeepers run for each client in fiscal50, in four stages, followed by a checklist for onboarding a new client.
Month-end close checklist
What is on a month-end close checklist?
Run the stages in order for each client. Each step says where it happens in fiscal50; a plan note marks the steps that need a particular plan.
Get everything in
Every transaction for the month is in fiscal50 before anything is reviewed.
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Record every bank and card transaction
Work the month in Banks to Books until nothing for the period is waiting. Bank and card feeds sync through Plaid from the day an account is linked; upload earlier periods from bank files.
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Collect missing receipts and statements
Ask the client for anything you cannot book without. On Practice and Firm, client requests go through a secure portal with automatic reminders. Bills and receipts can be uploaded or e-mailed into fiscal50.
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Match deposits and payments
Match deposits to open invoices and withdrawals to bills, so receivables and payables are cleared by the money that actually moved.
Review and adjust
The month’s entries are checked and corrected while it is still open.
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Review each AI recommendation before you post
Each transaction shows the recommended account and contact with a reason, a confidence percentage and the evidence. Accept or change it, then click Post. Posted entries can be sent back to pending while the month is open.
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Clear the approval queue
Invoices, bills, payments and automated entries held for approval still count as pending for the period. Approve them or send them back.
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Post adjusting journal entries
Record accruals, reclassifications and corrections as journal entries dated in the month. Approve any scheduled asset depreciation entries waiting for you.
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Look for exceptions
Check for negative and suspense balances and old uncleared items. In the Bookkeeper Workspace they appear in one review queue for every client.
Reconcile
The books agree with the bank for every account.
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Reconcile every bank, card and loan account
Bank accounts reconcile month by month, credit cards statement by statement and loans period by period, in order, until the Difference is 0. On Business and Business Pro, auto-reconciliation does this for you and stops where a period needs you.
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Check nothing changed after reconciliation
A transaction posted or deleted in a reconciled period changes the reconciled balance. The Workspace reconciliation view flags these for every client.
Review, close and deliver
The month is reviewed by a second person, locked and sent to the client.
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Review the reports
Read the trial balance, balance sheet, income statement and receivable and payable aging for the month, and drill down to the ledger from any figure that looks wrong.
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Get a second person’s sign-off
The preparer submits the close and a different person approves it or sends it back. Nobody approves their own close.
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Close and lock the month
In Configuration › Month End Closing, click Close Month on the next month due. The Pre-Closing Verification checklist must show every item cleared before Start Process closes the month.
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Send the close package
Deliver a PDF and Excel close package with the summary, reconciliations, exceptions and open questions through the client portal.
Built into fiscal50
What does fiscal50 check before a month can close?
The last step is enforced by the software, not left to memory. fiscal50 will not close a month until its Pre-Closing Verification checklist is clear.
Pre-Closing Verification
Each month opens a checklist that shows Action needed on every item until it is resolved, with a cleared counter. Start Process stays faded until every item is cleared.
Bank transactions and reconciliation
fiscal50 checks that every bank and credit card transaction for the month is recorded and that every bank and credit card account is reconciled.
Anything else pending
Extra items appear only when something else is pending for the month, such as invoices, asset depreciation, transactions waiting for approval or inventory.
Months close in order
A month can close only after it has ended, and Close Month appears only on the next month due, so no month is skipped.
Closed means locked
Nothing dated in a closed month can be created, edited or deleted. Reports for it still run, with figures that no longer change.
Closing posts nothing
Closing moves no balances to Retained Earnings. Income and expense accounts start at zero each financial year on their own.
Client onboarding checklist
What is on a client onboarding checklist?
Get a new client’s starting point right once, and every month-end after it runs from clean books. In the Bookkeeper Workspace each new client gets this checklist for its source system, and steps tick themselves where fiscal50 shows them done.
- QuickBooks Online
- QuickBooks Desktop
- Xero
- Wave
- FreshBooks
- Zoho
- Sage
- Spreadsheets
- New business
- Already on fiscal50
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Agreement and access
Agree the scope and decide who pays fiscal50: you at partner prices, or the client. A business already on fiscal50 connects you with your connect code and chooses Full access, Standard or View only.
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Company setup
Create the client’s company in fiscal50 and pick its fiscal year and the date its fiscal50 books start.
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Bring in the data
Export the chart of accounts and a trial balance or balance sheet from QuickBooks Online or Desktop. The configuration agent matches accounts by name, checks that debits equal credits and shows errors and warnings before you choose Approve & Import. Customers, vendors, products and items can be imported too.
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Opening balances
Balances as of the day before the books start are recorded in one opening journal entry. Customer and vendor opening balances become opening receivables and payables. Transaction history is not migrated.
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Banks and cards
Link each bank and card account through Plaid. New transactions sync from the day an account is linked; upload earlier periods from bank files such as Web Connect, Excel or QuickBooks IIF.
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Review the starting point
Compare the fiscal50 trial balance on the start date with the report from the old system, and set up approvals and user access for the client’s own team.
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Client steps
Anything only the client can do, such as approving your access request or reconnecting a bank feed, sits on the same checklist, so you can see what you are waiting for.
For bookkeepers with many clients
Can I run this checklist for every client at once?
Yes. The Bookkeeper Workspace puts every client’s close on one board. On Practice and Firm you start the month for all clients in one click, the checks tick themselves from fiscal50 data and a reviewer signs off. Connect, the first plan, is free.
What should a month-end close checklist include?
Four stages: get every transaction in (bank and card transactions recorded, missing receipts collected, deposits and payments matched), review and adjust (AI recommendations reviewed, approvals cleared, adjusting journal entries posted, exceptions checked), reconcile every bank, card and loan account, then review the reports, get a second person’s sign-off, lock the month and send the close package. This page lists all 13 steps.
Which software helps a bookkeeper close the books for multiple clients faster?
The fiscal50 Bookkeeper Workspace puts every client’s month-end on one close board. On the Practice and Firm plans you start the month for all clients in one click, the checks (Banks to Books empty, accounts reconciled, nothing posted after reconciliation, approvals cleared) tick themselves from fiscal50 data, and a second person signs off before fiscal50 locks the month.
Do I have to reconcile before closing the month?
In fiscal50, yes. Every bank and credit card account must be reconciled for the month before it can close, and every bank and card transaction for the month must be recorded.
Can I close the current month or skip a month?
No. A month can close only after it has ended, and months close in order: Close Month appears only on the next month due.
What is the difference between month-end and year-end close in fiscal50?
Month End Closing closes one completed month at a time. Year End Closing closes every month of a completed fiscal year in one step, after the same Pre-Closing Verification checklist.
What should a client onboarding checklist include?
Agreement and access, company setup, the data import (chart of accounts and trial balance), opening balances, banks and cards, a review of the starting point and the steps only the client can do. In the Bookkeeper Workspace each new client gets a checklist for its source system, and steps tick themselves where fiscal50 shows them done.
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