The month-end close is where bookkeeping becomes information you can act on. A close that drags into the third week of the following month leaves owners making decisions on stale numbers and leaves CPA firms chasing documents during their busiest season. We close a typical file in five business days, in the same sequence every month, with a senior accountant reviewing the result before it is delivered.
What a complete close pack contains
Every close we deliver comes as a pack, formatted with your firm's name if you are an accounting firm or with your company's name if you are a business:
| Section | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Close summary | Revenue, gross margin, net income, cash and receivables over 60 days on one page, with the close checklist and dates |
| Profit and loss | The month and year to date, against the prior period |
| Balance sheet | Every balance supported by a reconciliation or a schedule |
| Cash flow statement | Operating, investing and financing movements for the month |
| Bank and card reconciliations | Each account reconciled to its statement, with reconciling items and expected clearing dates |
| AR and AP agings | Who owes you, whom you owe, and what is overdue |
| Query log | Open questions, who owns them and what they are holding up |
You can see a complete example for a fictional design studio, with every figure tied out, in our sample close pack.
The five-day close, day by day
- Day 1, capture. Bank and card feeds imported, every transaction categorized, receipts matched. Anything unclear goes into the query log immediately rather than into a suspense account.
- Day 2, reconcile cash. Bank, credit card and payroll accounts reconciled to their statements. Clearing and undeposited-funds accounts brought to zero.
- Day 3, payables and receivables. Bills matched to vendor statements, customer receipts applied, both agings reviewed, anything over 60 days flagged.
- Day 4, adjust. Prepaids, accruals, depreciation and deferred revenue posted. Payroll journals tied to the payroll register. Capitalize-or-expense questions settled in writing.
- Day 5, review and deliver. A senior accountant who did not prepare the file reviews it: balance sheet tie-outs, a comparison against last month, every open query. The pack goes out and the period is locked.
"Business days" exclude public holidays. Five days is our target for a typical file; very high-volume or multi-entity closes are scheduled individually, and the date is agreed before we start. Our article on the 5-day month-end close sets out the checklist in full.
What makes a fast close possible
- Work before month-end. Recurring journals scheduled, a cutoff reminder sent to the client, and prepaid, accrual and fixed-asset schedules rolled forward in advance.
- A query log, not a suspense account. Questions are asked on day one, not discovered on day five.
- One owner per account. Everyone knows who reconciles what.
- Review on the calendar. The senior review is a scheduled day, not something squeezed in at the end.
- A locked period. Once a month is delivered and signed off, changes go through an adjusting entry with a note, never a silent edit.
For CPA and accounting firms
Firms use our close service to take the month-end off their staff's desks during tax season, or all year. We work inside your QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite or Sage files, deliver the pack to you under your firm's name, and never contact your client. You review, ask for changes if you need them, and release the pack. Read more about our white-label bookkeeping and outsourced bookkeeping for CPA firms.
For growing businesses
Owners and finance leads use the same service to get a reliable set of monthly numbers without hiring a controller. We keep the books, close the month and send the pack to you and, if you like, to your CPA or auditor. Year-end becomes a review of twelve closed months rather than a reconstruction. See our outsourced accounting services for the full scope.
Catch-up closes
If the books are several months behind, we start with a catch-up: each month is closed in sequence, reconciled and locked, until the file is current. You receive a pack for each month, so the history is as reliable as the months that follow. Catch-up projects are quoted as a fixed fee for the backlog, then move onto the monthly cycle.
Pricing
The close is quoted per file, on its transaction volume, number of accounts and entities, and the reporting you need. One fixed monthly fee, agreed before we start, with no lock-in contract. The first close is free, so you can judge the pack and the review notes before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
What is a month-end close?
The month-end close is the set of steps that turns a month's transactions into a finished set of accounts: every account reconciled, adjusting entries posted, the period locked and the financial statements issued. A good close produces numbers that will not change later.
How long does the month-end close take?
Our target is five business days from month-end for a typical file. Larger or multi-entity files are scheduled individually, and the delivery date is agreed before the first close.
What do you need from us each month?
Access to the accounting file and bank feeds, the documents we ask for in the query log, and answers to any open questions. The cutoff reminder we send before month-end lists exactly what is needed.
Can you close in our software and to our chart of accounts?
Yes. We work in QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Sage, Zoho Books, Tally and FreeAgent, and we follow your chart of accounts and close checklist. If you do not have one, we bring ours.
Do you prepare the close under US GAAP or IFRS?
We agree the reporting basis per file: US GAAP for US companies, IFRS or IFRS for SMEs for UAE companies, and UK GAAP (FRS 102 or FRS 105) for UK companies.
Can we see an example before we start?
Yes. Our sample close pack is a complete nine-page close for a fictional company, with every figure tied out. Then we close one of your own files for free.
