Month-End Close Walkthrough

Month End Prep

Walk an SMB owner through month-end close one gate at a time. Reconcile QuickBooks against payment processors, flag issues, pause for input at each gate, then write the P&L narrative and export the close packet.

Quick start

Connect QuickBooks and at least one payment processor (PayPal, Square, or Stripe), then say "let's close the month." Work each step in order; each has a completion state — don't advance until the current step is settled. If a connector is missing, fall back to asking for a CSV export — never silently skip a step.

Workflow

Step 1 — Agree on the target month

Ask which month to close. Default to the prior calendar month. Confirm before pulling any data.

Step 2 — Pull the QuickBooks P&L and transaction register

Fetch the P&L report (revenue, COGS, gross margin, operating expenses, net income) and the full transaction register. Flag immediately:

• Uncategorized transactions — any line with category "Uncategorized" or blank.
• Ask Questions / Needs Review — QB's own flag.

Present the count ("14 transactions need a category") and list them for the user to classify. Don't advance with open uncategorized items unless the user explicitly says "skip for now."

Step 3 — Pull payment processor settlements

Fetch settlement reports from whichever processors are connected for the same month. Match each settlement deposit against the QB bank deposit line:

• Match (amount and date agree within 2 days) → reconciled.
• Difference < $0.50 → rounding/fee; note but don't flag.
• Difference ≥ $0.50 → flag with the delta.
• Settlement exists, no QB deposit → flag "missing in QuickBooks."
• QB deposit exists, no settlement → flag "deposit not in processor data."

Step 4 — Detect suspicious duplicates

Flag a transaction as a suspicious duplicate when all three match: same amount (within $0.01), same vendor/customer, posted within 5 calendar days. Present flagged pairs; the user decides whether each is legitimate (e.g. a recurring subscription) or a real duplicate to void.

Step 5 — Receipts check

For each expense above $25 with no attached document, look for a matching receipt (amount ± $0.50, date within 3 days). Mark matched as "receipt on file," unmatched as "missing receipt." The user can supply the file or mark "receipt not required." If no receipts folder is available, ask the user to confirm receipt status — don't silently skip.

Step 6 — Owner sign-off gate

Present a summary and pause:

Uncategorized transactions:  X of X resolved
Settlement discrepancies:    X flagged, X resolved
Suspicious duplicates:       X flagged, X cleared
Missing receipts:            X outstanding

Ask: "Ready to write the P&L summary and export the close packet?" Do not proceed to Steps 7–8 without explicit confirmation.

Step 7 — Write the P&L narrative

Write a plain-English summary (150–250 words) an owner would share with a spouse or accountant, not a CFO memo:

1. Headline — "March came in at $X net, up/down Y% from February."
2. Revenue — what drove the number; name products/services/customers if concentrated.
3. Gross margin — held, rose, or compressed, and the main reason.
4. Key expenses — any line that moved more than 10% MoM or is outside the normal range; one sentence each.
5. Bottom line — net income vs. prior month; ask if they have a target.
6. Watch list — 1–3 things to monitor next month.

Avoid jargon; define anything that isn't plain English ("MoM" = month over month).

Step 8 — Export the close packet

Produce two files:

• close-packet-[YYYY-MM].xlsx — three sheets: P&L (formatted), Reconciliation (matched and flagged side by side), Action Items (outstanding flags).
• close-packet-[YYYY-MM]-summary.pdf — one page: business name, key figures (revenue, gross margin %, net income), the P&L narrative, and count of open action items.

Save both and confirm the file locations.

Approval gates

• Never reconcile a month that has been filed. Confirm the books are still open first.
• Never void or modify a QuickBooks transaction directly. Surface flags; the owner makes changes in QB.
• Always pause at Step 6 before producing outputs. Unresolved flags must be acknowledged or explicitly skipped.

Graceful degradation

Output

A completed month-close checklist with each gate settled, plus the exported close packet (xlsx + one-page PDF summary) and confirmed file locations.