Skip to main content
Closing a period means proving your books against the bank statement. Most people do it monthly, but the same workflow works for a quarter, a year, or any reporting period. The goal is simple: each bank or credit account should match the statement’s closing balance.

​
When to use this

Use this when you want to answer:
  • Are all bank transactions accounted for?
  • Are supplier bills and customer invoices in the right period?
  • Did a transfer get miscounted as income or expense?
  • Do the books match the bank statement?

​
Two ways to do it

1

Refresh bank feeds

Start with the bank. If a feed is stale, reconnect or refresh it before trusting the checklist.
2

Categorize and confirm transactions

Clear anything uncategorized or still in the inbox. Once confirmed, it counts in the ledger.
3

Mark internal transfers

Pair money moved between your own accounts so it doesn’t show up as income or expense.
4

Confirm bills and invoices

Make sure supplier bills and customer invoices that belong in the period are recorded.
5

Close payables and receivables

Link payment transactions to bills and collection transactions to invoices.
6

Link receipts and support

Link receipts, contracts, and supporting documents so the period is reviewable.
7

Reconcile each account

Prove every bank and credit account against its statement’s closing balance — see Reconcile an account. Each account carries its own proof; the period is closed when they all tie out.
What Equated checks: stale bank feeds, bills or invoices still in the inbox, unlinked receipts, transfers that need review, and payables or receivables that may need settlement. Unconfirmed transactions aren’t here: each account counts its own, for its own statement period.
For why reconciliation matters, how the math works, and what’s shipped versus coming, see Reconciliation.