Month-End Close Services for Small Businesses
Dari & Associates helps U.S. small businesses complete a structured month-end close so each accounting period ends with organized, reconciled, and reviewed books. We bring together transaction categorization, account reconciliations, payroll and AP/AR activity, balance sheet review, and financial reporting into a consistent monthly bookkeeping process.
Our practice is led by a Certified Accountant and QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor with more than 10 years of experience supporting U.S. clients. The goal is a repeatable close process that keeps the books current and gives business owners and their CPAs organized financial records to work from.
Closing the month is more than finishing transaction entry.
A month-end close is the process of completing and reviewing the accounting activity for a reporting period before the month's financial reports are finalized.
Transactions need to be recorded, accounts within scope reconciled, outstanding bookkeeping items reviewed, and relevant balance sheet activity considered before the period's reports can provide a dependable summary of the books.
Instead of treating bookkeeping as a collection of separate tasks, the month-end close brings those tasks together into a consistent monthly workflow.
What our month-end close can include
Transaction Review
Review the month's recorded activity for uncategorized, incomplete, duplicated, or unusual bookkeeping items requiring attention.
Bank Reconciliation
Reconcile bank accounts included in scope against the corresponding account statements.
Credit Card Reconciliation
Reconcile business credit card accounts included in scope and review outstanding reconciliation items.
Accounts Receivable Review
Review customer balances and outstanding receivables when accounts receivable is included in the bookkeeping scope.
Accounts Payable Review
Review vendor balances and outstanding payables when accounts payable is included in the bookkeeping scope.
Payroll Bookkeeping Review
Review payroll-related bookkeeping activity and relevant payroll accounts using available payroll reports.
Balance Sheet Review
Review relevant asset, liability, and equity accounts for balances or activity requiring bookkeeping attention.
General Ledger Review
Review account activity for classifications, balances, or entries that require follow-up before the reporting period is finalized.
Financial Reporting
Prepare the agreed financial reports after the bookkeeping and month-end review are completed.
A repeatable process from transaction activity to financial reports.
The steps included in each close depend on the engagement scope.
- 01Complete
Finish the month's bookkeeping activity.
Transactions and available supporting information for the period are recorded and organized within the accounting system.
- 02Reconcile
Compare accounts with their underlying records.
Bank and credit card accounts within scope are reconciled and discrepancies requiring attention are reviewed.
- 03Review
Review the accounting records.
Relevant receivables, payables, payroll activity, general ledger accounts, and balance sheet balances are reviewed according to the engagement scope.
- 04Resolve
Address supported bookkeeping issues.
Missing, duplicated, incorrectly classified, or otherwise unresolved bookkeeping items are corrected when the available records support the correction.
- 05Report
Prepare the month's financial reports.
Once the bookkeeping process is complete, the agreed financial statements are prepared from the finalized accounting records.
Why reconciliation comes before reporting.
Financial reports are generated from the accounting records, which means unresolved differences in bank or credit card accounts can carry through to the numbers being reported.
That is why reconciliation is an important part of the month-end close.
Before the reporting package is prepared, accounts within the bookkeeping scope should be reconciled and outstanding differences reviewed so the reports are based on more complete accounting records. Learn more about our bank & credit card reconciliation services and financial reporting.
The close goes beyond the profit and loss statement.
A profit and loss statement shows income and expenses for a period, but it does not show every part of the accounting records.
The balance sheet can include bank accounts, credit cards, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll liabilities, loans, fixed assets, owner activity, and other balances depending on the business.
Reviewing relevant balance sheet accounts as part of the close can help identify balances or activity that require bookkeeping attention before the month is considered complete. The accounts reviewed depend on the business and the agreed bookkeeping scope.
A structured month-end close inside QuickBooks Online.
For businesses using QuickBooks Online, the month-end close brings together the recurring bookkeeping work performed throughout the month.
Transactions are categorized, accounts within scope are reconciled, relevant balances are reviewed, and the agreed reports are prepared from the completed QuickBooks records.
The process helps keep QuickBooks organized from one reporting period to the next instead of allowing unresolved bookkeeping issues to accumulate. See how this fits into our QuickBooks Online bookkeeping.
Month-end close and monthly bookkeeping work together.
Monthly bookkeeping is the ongoing work that keeps transactions and accounting records current throughout the month.
The month-end close is the structured review that brings that work together at the end of the reporting period before financial reports are finalized.
For recurring clients, the two processes work together as one consistent bookkeeping workflow through our monthly bookkeeping services.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Ongoing recording, categorization, account maintenance, and bookkeeping activity throughout the month.
Month-End Close
Reconciliation, review, resolution of outstanding bookkeeping items, and preparation of the agreed reporting package for the completed period.
Close the books with the same discipline every month.
A repeatable month-end process makes it easier to know what has been completed, what still needs attention, and when the financial reports are ready.
Using a consistent sequence also reduces the need to reconstruct the accounting workflow from scratch each month.
The exact close schedule depends on the business, availability of statements and supporting records, and the agreed bookkeeping scope.
Books already behind?
A recurring month-end close works best when the starting accounting records are current enough to support the process.
If several months of bookkeeping are incomplete, catch-up work may be needed first.
If the books are current but contain reconciliation differences, incorrect balances, duplicate activity, or other historical bookkeeping issues, cleanup may be the better starting point.
Bring incomplete or overdue bookkeeping periods current before establishing the recurring close process.
Catch-up BookkeepingReview and correct existing QuickBooks records when the books contain errors or unreliable balances.
QuickBooks CleanupThe close ends with financial reports built from completed books.
Once the month's bookkeeping has been completed and the relevant accounts reviewed, the agreed financial statements can be prepared from the accounting records.
Depending on the engagement, reporting can include a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and comparative financial reports.
The purpose of the close is not simply to generate reports. It is to complete the bookkeeping work that supports those reports first. Explore our financial reporting services.
One close process connects the whole bookkeeping workflow.
The month-end close sits at the point where the recurring pieces of bookkeeping come together.
- 01QuickBooks Online Bookkeeping
The accounting platform where the month's activity is recorded and the close takes place.
- 02Bank & Credit Card Reconciliation
Accounts within scope compared with their statements before the period is finalized.
- 03Accounts Payable & Receivable
Vendor and customer balances reviewed when they are part of the bookkeeping scope.
- 04Payroll Bookkeeping Support
Payroll activity and related accounts reviewed using available payroll reports.
- 05Financial Reporting
The agreed reports prepared from the completed books at the end of the close.
Questions about month-end close
- What is a month-end close?
- A month-end close is the recurring process of completing, reconciling, reviewing, and finalizing a month's bookkeeping records before the agreed financial reports are prepared for that period.
- What is included in a month-end close?
- The exact scope depends on the engagement. A close can include transaction review, bank and credit card reconciliation, accounts payable and receivable review, payroll bookkeeping review, balance sheet and general ledger review, and financial reporting.
- Why is bank reconciliation part of the month-end close?
- Reconciliation compares the accounting records with the underlying bank and credit card statements, so differences can be identified and reviewed before reports are prepared. Learn more about our bank reconciliation services.
- Is month-end close the same as monthly bookkeeping?
- They are closely connected but not identical. Monthly bookkeeping is the ongoing work throughout the period, while the month-end close is the structured completion and review process at the end of the period. Both are part of our monthly bookkeeping workflow.
- Do you perform month-end close in QuickBooks Online?
- Yes, when QuickBooks Online is your accounting platform and the work is within the agreed bookkeeping scope. Our practice is led by a QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor, and the close is a regular part of our QuickBooks Online bookkeeping.
- What financial reports are prepared after the close?
- The reporting package depends on the engagement and can include a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and comparative reports. See our financial reporting services for more detail.
- How quickly do you close the books each month?
- The close schedule depends on the bookkeeping scope, account complexity, statement availability, payroll and AP/AR information, and how quickly required documentation is available. The reporting schedule is established as part of the client engagement.
- What if my books are several months behind?
- If several months of bookkeeping are incomplete, catch-up bookkeeping can bring those periods current first, so the recurring month-end close can start from organized records.
- What if prior months contain errors or unreconciled accounts?
- When the books are current but contain errors, unreconciled accounts, or unreliable balances, a QuickBooks cleanup can review and correct the existing records before the recurring close begins.
Finish every month with organized books.
If your bookkeeping is current but the month never feels fully complete, we can review your existing workflow and determine how a structured month-end close can fit into your recurring bookkeeping process.