A month-end close checklist for small businesses on QuickBooks Online
"Closing the books" just means getting a month finished, checked and locked so the numbers can be trusted and won't quietly change later. Big companies have whole teams for it. A small business needs the same steps, only fewer of them. Here's a checklist you can work through in QuickBooks Online each month.
1. Clear the bank feed
- Open Transactions → Bank transactions and work through everything in "For review" for the month.
- Categorise each line, and create rules for vendors that repeat.
- Match deposits to the invoices they pay, so invoices don't stay open after the customer has paid.
2. Record what isn't in the bank feed
- Bills you've received but not yet paid.
- Invoices you've sent outside QuickBooks.
- Cash purchases and owner-paid expenses.
- Payroll, if your payroll provider doesn't post journal entries automatically.
3. Reconcile every account
- Reconcile each bank account, credit card and loan to its statement for the month, using the Reconcile tool (under the gear icon or the Transactions menu).
- The difference must be zero. If it isn't, look for a duplicate, a missing transaction or a typo in an amount.
- Don't forget payment processors such as Stripe or Square: payouts should match sales minus fees and refunds.
4. Review receivables and payables
- Run A/R Aging Summary: follow up on anything overdue and fix invoices that were actually paid.
- Run A/P Aging Summary: make sure bills shown as unpaid really are, and nothing is due that you've forgotten.
5. Look for the usual problems
- Anything still in Uncategorized Income, Uncategorized Expense or Ask My Accountant.
- Transfers between your own accounts recorded as income or expense.
- Credit card payments recorded as expenses (the purchases on the card are the expenses, not the payment).
- Large one-off purchases that may need to be recorded as equipment rather than expenses. Ask your CPA where to draw the line.
- Balances that should be zero but aren't, such as Undeposited Funds.
6. Review the reports
- Profit and Loss: compare with last month and the same month last year. Any big swing should have a reason you can name.
- Balance Sheet: bank balances should match your statements; loans should match lender statements.
- Write two or three lines on what changed and why. Next month you'll be glad you did.
7. Lock the month
- Set a closing date in Settings → Account and settings → Advanced → Accounting, with a password, so earlier months can't be changed by accident.
- File the statements and reports somewhere you can find them.
How long should it take?
For an owner-run business that keeps the bank feed tidy during the month, the close itself can be short. The time goes on chasing missing information, which is why a fixed close date (for example, the fifth business day) helps: everyone knows when the numbers are due.
Want it done for you?
This checklist is exactly what Cypher runs for clients every month, inside the client's own QuickBooks Online, with the books closed by the fifth business day and a plain-English report by the 10th. We never move your money; you approve every payment. Plans start at $149 a month. See your price.