Month-End Close Checklist for Small Businesses Using QuickBooks

By Kapil Garg, Chartered Accountant (India) · November 2026

A clean month-end close is a routine, not a scramble. This is the checklist we run for clients in QuickBooks Online, with roughly when each step should happen.

Days 1-3: get the data in

• Make sure every bank and credit card feed is connected and up to date.
• Download statements for any account without a feed (loans, merchant processors, PayPal).
• Enter or approve all bills dated in the month.
• Make sure every invoice for the month has been sent.

Days 3-6: categorize and reconcile

• Review and categorize everything in the bank feed. Don't auto-accept rules blindly.
• Clear Uncategorized Income, Uncategorized Expense and Ask My Accountant to zero.
• Reconcile every bank, card and loan account to the statement ending balance.
• Match payments to open invoices and bills so A/R and A/P aging is accurate.

Days 6-8: adjust

• Record payroll from your payroll provider's journal, including employer taxes.
• Book accruals for bills received late and expenses incurred but not yet billed.
• Amortize prepaid expenses (annual insurance, software) and record depreciation.
• Check sales tax liability against your filings.

Days 8-10: review and close

• Compare the P&L to last month and to the same month last year. Investigate any line that moved more than 10-15%.
• Review the balance sheet: every balance should be explainable.
• Write a short summary for the owner: cash, profit, anything unusual.
• Set a closing date in QuickBooks (Account and Settings, Advanced, Close the books) with a password so nobody changes a finished month.

Common shortcuts that cause problems

• Reconciling to the feed balance instead of the bank statement
• Leaving undeposited funds sitting for months
• Recording owner transfers as expenses
• Skipping the close date, so old months keep changing