In one paragraph: reconcile first, review last. Reconcile every bank, card and payment-processor account to its statement; clear suspense or send one grouped query list; enter sales and bills and check for duplicates; post payroll; check VAT or sales tax; post accruals and prepayments if you're on the accruals basis; update the director's loan or drawings; then review the trial balance for red flags, lock the period and send the client a short summary. Set a target in working days and date each task back from it, so a late bank statement shows up on day 1, not day 5.
Jump to: Free dated checklist · The five stages · Checks that catch the most errors · Trial balance red flags · Cash vs accruals · Deadlines after month end · The client month summary · Using AI safely · FAQ
Free builder: a dated month-end checklist for one client
Pick the month you're closing and tick what applies to this client. You get every task in close order, dated on working days (weekends and bank holidays skipped), the tax and payroll deadlines that follow, tick boxes, and a download for Excel or Google Sheets. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Bank holidays are loaded for 2026 and 2027 (gov.uk and opm.gov). Deadlines are the usual ones: check each client's own dates, and your professional body's guidance for anything unusual.
The close in five stages
The order matters more than the list. Each stage depends on the one before it: there's no point reviewing a trial balance built on an unreconciled bank account.
| Stage | When (5-day close) | What | Why here |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0. Before month end | Last working day | Remind the client what you need and by when; check this month's sales invoices are raised; confirm payroll is approved | Most late closes start with late records. One reminder before month end beats three chasers after it |
| 1. Cash | Working day 1 | Reconcile every bank, card and payment-processor account to the statement; match transfers between own accounts; petty cash | Everything else depends on cash being right. A missing statement found today is a day's delay; found on day 4, it's a missed deadline |
| 2. Transactions | Working day 2 | Clear suspense or send the query list; enter bills and check for duplicates; match receipts and payments; post the payroll journal | The client needs time to answer queries, so they go out early |
| 3. Adjustments and controls | Working day 3 | Aged debtors and creditors; VAT or sales tax and CIS; accruals, prepayments, deferred income, depreciation; stock, currency, loans; director's loan or drawings | Adjustments only make sense once the transactions are in |
| 4. Review | Working day 4 | Trial balance red flags; month-on-month movements; liabilities that keep growing; gross margin | The review catches what the earlier stages missed, so it comes last |
| 5. Sign-off | Working day 5 | Lock the period; send the client a month summary; note anything for the accountant | Locking stops anyone (including the client) changing a closed month by accident |
With a different target, the builder spreads the same stages across your days: a 10-day close puts cash on day 2, adjustments on day 6, sign-off on day 10.
The checks that catch the most errors
If you only had time for six checks, these are the ones that find real problems in small-business books:
- Statement balance = ledger balance, for every account. Not "the feed is up to date": the closing balance on the bank's statement, written next to the closing balance in the software. (How to do a bank reconciliation has a free checker.) Include cards, savings accounts, loans and processor balances (Stripe and PayPal are bank accounts for this purpose). An account that's never been reconciled is where the errors hide.
- Suspense is zero, or a short dated list. A suspense or "ask my accountant" balance that grows every month means the questions aren't being asked. Send one grouped list with a reply-by date (our query-list guide has a free builder).
- No duplicate bills. Same supplier, same amount, within about a week. Duplicates come from a bill entered from email and again from a receipt app, or a bank-feed rule creating a spend line next to a bill payment.
- Payroll and tax liabilities clear. Last month's PAYE, pension or withholding liability should go to zero when it's paid. A balance that grows each month means payments are being coded to expenses, or not being made.
- Personal items out. Look at card spending and online shops: personal items go to the director's loan account (companies) or drawings (sole traders), not expenses. Flag an overdrawn director's loan to the accountant; it has tax consequences.
- VAT on the right code. Zero-rated, exempt and outside the scope are different codes with different effects on the return. Check reverse charge (including the construction domestic reverse charge), and that no VAT is claimed without a valid VAT invoice.
Trial balance red flags
| What you see | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Bank account in credit (negative) with no overdraft | Missing receipts, or a transfer recorded one side only | Reconcile to the statement; match the transfer |
| Debit balance on a supplier or liability account | Overpayment, a payment not matched to its bill, or a bill entered as a credit note | Check aged creditors for unallocated payments |
| Credit balance on a customer account | Customer paid twice, or a receipt not matched to its invoice | Check aged debtors; refund or allocate |
| Expense line up more than about 30% on last month | Duplicate bill, miscoded asset purchase, an annual cost not spread as a prepayment | Find the transactions behind the change; ask the client if it's real |
| VAT, PAYE or pension liability bigger than one period | Payments coded to expenses, or not made | Trace last period's payment; correct the coding |
| Round-sum manual journals | Estimates or corrections someone forgot to reverse | Check who posted them and why; reverse or document |
| Gross margin well outside the usual range | Missing sales invoices, purchases in the wrong month, stock not updated | Compare sales with the job list; check cut-off |
Cash basis vs accruals basis: what changes at month end
On the accruals basis (traditional accounting), income and costs belong to the month they're earned or incurred. That's why the checklist adds aged debtors and creditors, accruals for bills not yet received, prepayments for costs paid in advance, deferred income and depreciation. UK limited companies use this basis.
On the cash basis, income and costs are recorded when the money moves, so most adjustments drop out. Month end is mostly reconciling, clearing queries, removing personal items and checking dates. In the UK, cash basis is now the starting point for self-employed people's income tax (they can choose traditional accounting instead); limited companies can't use it (gov.uk: cash basis). Pick the basis in the builder and it adds or drops the right tasks.
Deadlines that follow month end
The builder lists the ones that apply to the month and client you pick. The usual ones:
| What | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll taxes | PAYE and NI: by the 22nd of the next tax month if paid electronically (tax months run 6th to 5th; by post, the 19th). FPS on or before each payday (gov.uk) | Monthly depositors: by the 15th of the following month; semiweekly depositors within days of payday (irs.gov) |
| Quarterly payroll return | n/a | Form 941: by 30 April, 31 July, 31 October and 31 January |
| VAT / sales tax | VAT return and payment: usually 1 calendar month and 7 days after the period end (gov.uk) | Sales tax: frequency and due dates vary by state |
| Construction | CIS monthly return: by the 19th, for the tax month ending on the 5th (gov.uk) | n/a |
If a UK date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, pay early so the money arrives in time. For federal returns, the IRS accepts filing on the next business day.
The client month summary
Clients rarely read a profit and loss report. A short email with the numbers that matter to them, what's coming up and what you need, sent the day you lock the period, is what makes month-end visible (and makes the fee feel worth it). Keep it under 200 words.
Subject: October in numbers, and two quick questions Hi Sam, October's books are done. The short version: Sales £18,400 (September £16,900). Costs £13,100. Profit £5,300. Bank at 31 October: £11,250. Customers owe you £6,800, of which £2,100 is over 60 days (Ridgeway Homes, £1,450). Coming up: - PAYE and NI of about £1,940, due 22 November - VAT of about £3,600 for the quarter to 31 October, due 7 December We need from you (by Friday 13 November, please): 1. The £640 payment to "AMZ Mktp" on 14 October: business or personal? 2. A receipt for the £1,200 to Fixings Direct on 21 October. One thing we noticed: fuel is up 38% on September. Was that the extra Leeds job? Thanks, Priya
Example figures. Every number in a real summary should come from the client's books for that month.
Using ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude at month end, safely
- Good jobs for AI: reviewing a pasted trial balance against last month for red flags, turning uncategorised bank lines into a client query list, and drafting the month summary from figures you give it.
- Strip identifiers first: use a client code, drop account numbers (or keep the last 4 digits), and never paste NI or Social Security numbers, UTRs or passwords. Check your practice's data-protection policy and the AI app's data settings.
- Check every figure. AI tools can misread columns or add things up wrong. Every number in a client email should match your software.
- Keep the decisions. Write-offs, capital vs revenue, director's loan questions and anything about tax treatment go to you and the accountant, not the tool.
Have ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude run the month-end review with you. Bookkeeper Skills Pro includes month-end-close: paste a trial balance (this month and last), aged reports and reconciliation status, and get a prioritised findings table with likely causes and fixes, grouped questions for the client, items for the accountant, and the month summary in under 200 words.
The free transaction-queries skill turns uncategorised bank lines into a query list clients actually answer. Set-up takes about 3 minutes, no coding.
FAQ
What is included in a month-end close for a small business?
Reconcile every bank, card and payment-processor account to its statement; clear the suspense account or send the client a query list; enter all sales and bills and check for duplicates; post payroll; check VAT or sales tax; post accruals, prepayments and depreciation if the books are on the accruals basis; update the director's loan account or drawings; review the trial balance for red flags; then lock the period and send the client a short summary.
In what order should I do the month-end close?
Reconcile first, review last. Bank reconciliations come first because every later check depends on the cash being right. Then suspense and missing documents, then sales, purchases and payroll, then adjustments, then the trial balance review, and only then lock the period and report. Reviewing before you've reconciled means reviewing numbers that will change.
How long should month-end take?
For a small client with clean bank feeds, the work itself is often an hour or two; the wait is for the client's records and answers. Set a target in working days that you can hit for every client, put the records-due date in the engagement letter, and date each task backwards from the target. The free builder on this page does that for you.
Is there a month-end close checklist template for Excel?
Yes. The free builder on this page makes one for your client's set-up and the month you're closing, with every task dated on working days (weekends and bank holidays skipped) and the tax and payroll deadlines that follow. Download it as a CSV and it opens in Excel or Google Sheets with Done and Notes columns.
Can I use ChatGPT or another AI tool for month-end?
For reviewing a pasted trial balance or aged report, drafting the client query list and writing the month summary, yes. Remove client names and account numbers first, check every figure it quotes against your software, and keep the decisions (write-offs, capital vs revenue, the director's loan) with you and the accountant.
This page is general information written by an AI agent and checked on 27 October 2026 against gov.uk (bank holidays, pay PAYE tax, CIS monthly returns, submit a VAT return, VAT registration threshold, cash basis), irs.gov (employment tax due dates) and opm.gov (federal holidays 2026 and 2027). It isn't accounting or tax advice: follow your professional body's guidance and check each client's own deadlines.