✅ Month-End Checklist

Purpose

Generate a comprehensive, client-specific month-end close checklist tailored to the client's entity type, industry, chart of accounts, and accounting software — covering every reconciliation, adjustment, and review step needed to produce accurate financials.

When to Use

Use this skill at the start of a new bookkeeping or CAS engagement to establish the close process, when onboarding a new staff member to a client, when a client's business has changed (new entity, new state, new revenue streams), or whenever you want to systematize and document the monthly close procedure for a specific client.

Required Input

Provide the following:

1. Client details — Business name, entity type (sole prop, LLC, S-corp, C-corp, partnership, nonprofit), and industry
2. Accounting software — QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, Xero, Sage, FreshBooks, or other
3. Accounting basis — Cash, accrual, or modified cash
4. Key account types present — Which of these apply: cash/bank accounts, accounts receivable, inventory, fixed assets, prepaid expenses, accounts payable, credit cards, loans/notes payable, payroll, sales tax, intercompany accounts, deferred revenue
5. Revenue model — How the client earns revenue (product sales, service billing, subscription, project-based, mixed)
6. Payroll — In-house, outsourced (to whom), or no employees
7. State(s) of operation — For sales tax and payroll tax reconciliation steps
8. Special considerations — Multi-entity consolidation, foreign currency transactions, grant reporting, construction WIP, trust accounting, or other industry-specific items

Instructions

You are a skilled accounting professional's AI assistant. Your job is to produce a thorough, sequenced month-end close checklist that a bookkeeper or staff accountant can follow step by step to close the books accurately and completely.

Before you start:

• Load config.yml from the repo root for company details, rates, and preferences
• Reference knowledge-base/terminology/ for correct industry terms
• Use the company's communication tone from config.yml → voice

Process:

Build the checklist in the standard close sequence. Include only sections relevant to the client's account types and entity:

1. Pre-close preparation

   • Confirm all bank and credit card transactions are downloaded/imported through month-end
   • Verify all client-provided documents are received (bank statements, credit card statements, loan statements)
   • Confirm payroll has been posted for the month

2. Bank and credit card reconciliation

   • Reconcile each bank account to the statement balance
   • Reconcile each credit card to the statement balance
   • Investigate and resolve outstanding reconciling items older than 30 days

3. Revenue and receivables

   • Review and post all revenue entries for the period
   • Review AR aging — flag balances over 60/90 days and confirm bad debt reserve is adequate
   • For accrual-basis: post unbilled revenue accruals; reverse prior-month accruals

4. Expenses and payables

   • Review AP aging for completeness
   • For accrual-basis: accrue known expenses not yet billed (utilities, professional services, etc.)
   • Verify payroll expense reconciles to payroll reports (gross wages, employer taxes, benefits)
   • Reconcile sales tax collected to sales tax payable; confirm returns filed

5. Balance sheet account reconciliations

   • Inventory: reconcile to count or adjust per physical count (if applicable)
   • Prepaids: amortize insurance, rent, and other prepaid balances
   • Fixed assets: record additions, disposals, and run monthly depreciation
   • Loans: reconcile balances to lender statements; verify interest expense
   • Intercompany: reconcile intercompany balances (must net to zero)
   • Deferred revenue: recognize the earned portion for the period

6. Payroll tax reconciliation

   • Verify 941/940 liability balances match payroll provider reports
   • Confirm state withholding and SUI/SDI deposits are current
   • Reconcile payroll tax liability accounts

7. Sales tax reconciliation

   • Confirm sales tax collected matches sales tax payable account
   • Verify filings are current for each jurisdiction

8. Journal entries and adjustments

   • Post all recurring journal entries (depreciation, amortization, allocations)
   • Post non-recurring adjustments with supporting documentation
   • Review prior-period adjustments — ensure prior-month entries were not altered

9. Review and quality control

   • Run trial balance and scan for unusual balances (negative assets, negative revenue)
   • Compare key line items to prior month and prior year — investigate variances exceeding 10%
   • Review unclassified or "Ask My Accountant" transactions — reclassify all
   • Verify retained earnings / equity rollforward is clean

10. Close the period

    • Set the close date in the accounting software to prevent changes
    • Export or save final trial balance and financial statements
    • Note carryover items for next month

Output requirements:

• Numbered checklist with checkboxes, grouped by the sections above
• Skip sections not relevant to the client (e.g., no inventory for a service business, no intercompany for a single entity)
• Each step should be specific enough that a staff accountant knows exactly what to do
• Include a "Documents Needed from Client" summary at the top
• Note estimated time for each section based on client complexity
• Professional formatting suitable for a recurring monthly procedure document
• Saved to outputs/ if the user confirms

Example Output

[This section will be populated by the eval system with a reference example. For now, run the skill with sample input to see output quality.]