Accounting
ERP
Financial Management
Month-End Close Checklist Template for Controllers: Tasks by Business Day, Owners and Evidence
Last updated: October 7, 2026 · Independent guide · We do not sell rankings or coverage.
A month-end close checklist is a dated list of every task needed to finalize the books for a period, with a named preparer, a reviewer, a due day and the evidence each task produces. The template below runs from three business days before month end through business day 8 and covers cutoff, subledger closes, reconciliations, accruals, review, reporting and the period lock. You can copy it into Excel or Google Sheets and change the days and owners to fit your team.
How to use this template
Each row is one task. “BD” means business day after month end, so BD -3 is three business days before month end and BD 1 is the first business day of the new month. The owner column names the preparer, then the reviewer, and the last column says what the reviewer should be able to open when the task is done. The schedule assumes a calendar month end, one entity and one currency. Move the due days as you need, but keep the order of the rows, because each phase depends on the one before it. In a spreadsheet, add columns for status and the preparer and reviewer sign-off dates.
Month-end close checklist template
| Day | Task | Owner (preparer / reviewer) | Evidence or output |
|---|---|---|---|
| BD -3 | Send the close calendar and the cutoff dates for vendor invoices, expense reports and receiving to department heads. | Controller | Close calendar and cutoff notice saved in the close folder |
| BD -3 | Review open purchase orders and receipts, and chase goods received but not invoiced. | AP lead / Controller | Open PO and receipts report with follow-up notes |
| BD -2 | Confirm that recurring and auto-reversing journal entries are scheduled for the period. | Staff accountant / Senior accountant | Recurring entry schedule, checked off |
| BD -1 | Run a preliminary trial balance and flux review to spot accounts that need attention. | Senior accountant / Controller | Preliminary trial balance with flagged accounts |
| BD 1 | Post final billing and cash receipts, then close AR for the period. | AR lead / Controller | AR aging report; AR subledger closed in the ERP |
| BD 1 | Import bank and card activity for every account. | Staff accountant / Senior accountant | Statements or feeds loaded for all bank and card accounts |
| BD 2 | Post approved vendor invoices and payments, then close AP for the period. | AP lead / Controller | AP aging report; AP subledger closed in the ERP |
| BD 2 | Post payroll journals from your payroll provider, including employer taxes and benefits. | Payroll or staff accountant / Senior accountant | Payroll register tied to the journal entry |
| BD 2 | Close inventory: count adjustments, cost roll and receiving cutoff. | Cost accountant / Operations controller | Inventory valuation report tied to the GL |
| BD 2 to 3 | Reconcile bank and cash accounts, including sweep and payroll accounts. | Staff accountant / Senior accountant | Signed bank reconciliations with reconciling items listed |
| BD 3 | Reconcile the AR subledger to the GL and review the allowance. | AR lead / Controller | AR reconciliation and allowance support |
| BD 3 | Reconcile the AP subledger to the GL. | AP lead / Senior accountant | AP reconciliation |
| BD 3 | Book goods received not invoiced and service accruals against final AP and department head input. | Senior accountant / Controller | Accrual schedule with PO and department support |
| BD 3 | Accrue unpaid wages, bonuses, commissions and PTO based on payroll timing and plan terms. | Staff or payroll accountant / Controller | Payroll accrual calculation |
| BD 3 | Confirm that last month’s auto-reversing accruals reversed. | Staff accountant / Senior accountant | Reversal report or GL detail |
| BD 4 | Roll forward prepaids, fixed assets and accumulated depreciation, including additions and disposals. | Staff accountant / Senior accountant | Rollforward schedules tied to the GL |
| BD 4 | Record revenue adjustments such as deferrals, unbilled revenue and returns reserves. | Senior accountant / Controller | Revenue adjustment schedule |
| BD 4 | Reconcile accrued liabilities, payroll liabilities, sales tax payable and deferred revenue. | Senior accountant / Controller | Signed reconciliations; payroll liabilities tied to tax deposits |
| BD 4 | Tie debt balances and interest to lender statements. | Senior accountant / Controller | Lender statement tie-out |
| BD 4 | Approve manual journal entries above your threshold. | Preparer / Controller (independent approver) | Approved entries with support attached |
| BD 5 | Run flux analysis of the income statement and balance sheet against prior month and budget. | Controller / CFO | Flux file with written explanations above your materiality threshold |
| BD 5 | Draft the financial statements and management package. | Controller or FP&A / CFO | Draft package |
| BD 6 to 7 | Review the package and sign off. | CFO | Signed or approved package |
| BD 7 | Lock the period in the GL so nothing posts to it after sign-off. | Controller | Period lock confirmed in the ERP |
| BD 8 | Send the final package to management and the lender, if your loan requires one. | Controller | Final package and the date it was sent |
| BD 8 | Hold a short close retrospective, record blockers and update this checklist. | Controller / whole team | Updated checklist and list of blockers |
How to fill in each part of the template
Pre-close (BD -3 to BD -1)
The pre-close rows surface cutoff problems before month end rather than on BD 3. Give department heads a firm date for invoices, expense reports and receiving records. The open purchase order review feeds your goods received not invoiced accrual.
Cutoff and subledgers (BD 1 to BD 2)
Close each subledger in your ERP before anyone reconciles it. If AR or AP stays open, entries keep arriving after the reconciliation is signed. For payroll, tie the journal entry to the payroll register and reconcile the tax liability to your provider’s deposits. Monthly schedule depositors must deposit a month’s employment taxes by the 15th of the following month (IRS Topic 757, September 24, 2026).
Reconciliations (BD 2 to BD 4)
Every balance sheet account with a balance needs a reconciliation, a preparer and a reviewer. Use the evidence column to define “done” for each account: a signed bank reconciliation, a subledger report that ties to the GL, or a rollforward schedule.
The person who prepares a reconciliation or journal entry should not approve it. In small teams the controller often becomes the bottleneck by BD 4, so tier the review: senior accountants review lower-risk reconciliations, and the controller reviews cash, revenue, accruals and unexplained variances. Our guide to accounting software for internal controls covers role-based access and approval workflows.
Accruals and adjusting entries (BD 3 to BD 4)
Book accruals only after AP is closed, or the accrual and the late invoice both land in the same month. Confirm that last month’s auto-reversing accruals reversed, because a missed reversal doubles the expense. Write your approval threshold for manual journal entries into the template. Our article on accrual accounting automation explains how recurring templates and automatic reversals reduce the manual work here.
Review, reporting and lock (BD 5 to BD 8)
Set a materiality threshold above which any flux or reconciling item needs a written explanation, and put it at the top of the checklist. Lock the period in your ERP as soon as the CFO signs off, then use the retrospective to change next month’s template.
Choosing your due days
The BD 8 finish is an example schedule, not a benchmark. APQC’s open standards benchmark for monthly close cycle time shows a cross-industry median of 8.0 days across 3,389 organizations, measured for finance shared services centers (APQC, no date shown). Numeric, which sells close software, summarizes an earlier APQC study with a median of 6 calendar days and top performers at 4.8 days (Numeric, January 22, 2024). Set your days from your own reporting deadlines.
Common mistakes with a close checklist
- No named reviewer. A task with only a preparer has no control over it.
- Stale reconciliations. An entry posts after a reconciliation is signed, and nothing in a spreadsheet flags the change.
- No evidence trail. The tracker says “done” but the support sits in a personal folder or an email thread.
- Order is not enforced. Accruals get booked before AP is closed and duplicate invoices that arrive on BD 2.
- Open periods. Without a lock in the ERP, a late entry changes a month you already reported.
When to move from a spreadsheet to software
A spreadsheet version of this template works for a single entity with a small team and no audit findings on reconciliation evidence. Consider software when reviews become the bottleneck, when you add entities, or when auditors ask for sign-off evidence you cannot produce quickly. See our guides to accounting close automation and ERP for the financial close.
Your ERP handles the ledger side. Oracle NetSuite has a Period Close Checklist of ordered system tasks such as locking A/R and A/P, currency revaluation and the final close, but not reconciliations or reviews (Oracle NetSuite documentation, no date shown). Sage Intacct closes subledgers separately from the GL and locks closed periods, and its documentation does not describe a close task checklist (Sage Intacct help, last modified October 1, 2026). Business Central restricts posting through allowed date ranges (Microsoft Learn, August 2, 2024), and QuickBooks Online offers a password-protected closing date but no checklist (Intuit QuickBooks help, September 22, 2026).
Close management tools hold the checklist itself. FloQast timestamps each sign-off and flags a reconciliation that changes materially afterward (FloQast help center, no date shown). BlackLine sells Task Management within a broader reconciliation and matching suite (BlackLine, no date shown). Numeric offers close management and analytics. None of the three publishes list prices (FloQast and Numeric pricing pages, no date shown).
How we researched this
We reviewed the top-ranking checklist pages from Baker Tilly, SolveXia, Rippling, Nominal and Numeric. Most give task lists without day-by-day timing, owner roles or the evidence each task should produce. We then read vendor documentation, the APQC benchmark and IRS guidance, and we note where a source sells close software.
Related guides
- Adjusting Journal Entries: 5 Types, Examples, Automation
- General Ledger Reconciliation: Steps, Frequency and Review
- Reversing Entries: When to Use Them, Examples, ERP Settings
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a month-end close checklist?
A month-end close checklist should include pre-close cutoff reminders, subledger closes for AR, AP, payroll and inventory, balance sheet reconciliations, accruals and adjusting entries, flux review, financial statement preparation, approval and the period lock. Each task needs a preparer, a reviewer, a due day and a place to store the evidence.
How many days does a month-end close usually take?
APQC’s open benchmark, which APQC describes as a finance shared services measure, shows a median of 8.0 days across 3,389 organizations. An earlier APQC study summarized by Numeric put the median at 6 calendar days and top performers at 4.8 days.
Can I use this month-end close checklist in Excel?
Yes. Copy the table into Excel or Google Sheets, then add columns for status, preparer sign-off date and reviewer sign-off date.
Does NetSuite have a month-end close checklist?
Yes. NetSuite’s Period Close Checklist runs ordered system tasks such as locking AR and AP, revaluing foreign currency, recognizing revenue, eliminating intercompany transactions and closing the period. It does not track reconciliation sign-offs or flux explanations.
Sources
- APQC, Cycle time in days to complete monthly financial close, open standards benchmarking measure (finance shared services), no date shown. apqc.org
- Numeric (sells close software), Month-End Close Benchmarks: Where Does Your Close Rank?, January 22, 2024. numeric.io
- IRS, Topic no. 757, Forms 941 and 944 deposit requirements, September 24, 2026. irs.gov
- Oracle NetSuite, Using the Period Close Checklist, no date shown. docs.oracle.com
- Sage Intacct, Open and close process overview, last modified October 1, 2026. intacct.com
- Microsoft Learn, Optional activities for closing periods, August 2, 2024. learn.microsoft.com
- Intuit, Lock your books in QuickBooks Online, September 22, 2026. quickbooks.intuit.com
- FloQast (sells close software), Performing a Sign Off in FloQast, no date shown. help.floqast.com
- FloQast (sells close software), Pricing, no date shown. floqast.com
- BlackLine (sells close software), Task Management, no date shown. blackline.com
- Numeric (sells close software), Pricing, no date shown. numeric.io
- Baker Tilly, How to streamline reporting with a month-end close checklist, January 10, 2024. bakertilly.com
Sherman Hsieh
Independent analysis of enterprise software — ERP, CRM and more
