Fractional ControllerWhen is a month really closed?

What decides the day

Four things set the pace. The first is when the bank and card statements come in, since nothing can be matched before then. The second is when the payroll provider's reports are ready, because payroll has to agree with them. The third is how fast receipts and bills reach your bookkeeper. The fourth is how many accounts there are to match.

A company with one account and a handful of bills can close quickly. A company with several accounts, a loan and sales tax takes longer. Neither is better. They simply have different amounts to check.

What closed means

Closed has three parts, and all three have to be true. Every account that holds money agrees with an outside record. Every adjustment that belongs in the month has been made. And the period is locked, so nobody can add or change an entry in it without a deliberate decision. The steps behind each part are on the close checklist.

Why the lock matters

Think of a monthly profit that you read on the fifth of March and used for a decision. If a late entry can change February afterward, the number you used was never fixed. Three months later, someone compares notes and the profit is different, with no clear reason why.

A locked period stops that. February stays February. It keeps your comparisons honest, it keeps your tax estimates grounded, and it means a lender who asks for a month gets the same figures you saw.

Find my close date

What happens when something arrives late

Now and then a statement or an invoice turns up after the close. There are two ways to handle it. One way is to enter it in the month that's still open and attach a note saying which earlier month it really belongs to. The second is to reopen the closed period on purpose, make the entry, close it again and write down why. The second path is rarer and always deliberate. Either way, you're told.

What doesn't happen is a quiet change. That's the whole point of the lock.

The date is written down, not promised

We agree the close timing with you and put it in the engagement. It depends on how quickly your records reach us, so we don't print one number for everyone, and this page doesn't promise one. What you get is a date that fits your books, written down, and kept.

What you can do to move it earlier

Small habits shorten the close. Receipts that are photographed on the day, bills entered within the week, and a bookkeeper who finishes the entries by a set point all help. If your statements are slow, ask your bank for electronic copies. You'll find more on the split of jobs in working with your bookkeeper.

Checked and closed. When the date arrives, the numbers on your monthly statements are the ones you will still see in the summer, and the leftovers are on a list instead of in a pile.

Ask about late items

Plan my timing