Month-end, payroll and reporting
Month-end checklist for business owners
A month-end close in seven steps: collect, reconcile, review, report. Each step is something you can tick off.
Month-end close: reconcile every bank, card and platform account to its statement, clear or explain unmatched items, check what customers owe you and what you owe suppliers, record payroll, then review the figures before reporting. Anything you can’t resolve goes on an open-items list with an owner, so you can close the month without hiding it.
The checklist
- Collect. Statements for every bank, card and payment account; sales invoices; supplier bills and credit notes; marketplace settlements; approved payroll; stock counts if you hold stock.
- Reconcile bank and cards. The closing balance in your books should match the statement. Investigate duplicates, missing entries and transfers counted twice.
- Reconcile platforms. Marketplace and payment balances agree to their settlement reports.
- Debtors and creditors. Chase overdue invoices, match receipts and get bills approved. Keep a missing document separate from a disputed amount.
- Payroll and pensions. Wages, PAYE and pension liabilities agree to the payroll reports.
- Accruals. Estimate costs where the invoice hasn’t arrived, and reverse the estimate when it does.
- Review and report. Compare with last month, explain big changes and issue the report with any open items listed.
Print the list or copy it into your task manager: one line per step, with an owner and a due date.
Month-end reconciliation: bank, cards, marketplaces, payroll
An end of month reconciliation proves each balance in your books against an outside record. Do these four before you look at the profit figure.
Scroll across the table to read every column.
| Balance | Agree it to | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Bank | The statement balance on the last day of the month | Transfers between your own accounts posted as income |
| Credit cards | The balance on the last day of the month, from the transaction list | Card statements close mid-month, so reconciling to the statement leaves items in the wrong month |
| Marketplaces | The settlement report: opening + sales − refunds − fees − payouts = closing | A settlement that spans month end |
| Payroll | Payroll reports: net pay to the bank, PAYE and NI to HMRC, pensions to the provider schedule | PAYE due by the 22nd of next month is a liability at month end, not a second expense |
Anything that doesn’t agree goes on the open-items list below, with a date and an owner. Monthly management accounts are built on these four reconciliations.
Keep an open-items list
Scroll across the table to read every column.
| Item | Status | Owner and next step |
|---|---|---|
| Bank and cards | Reconciled, £8,420 agrees | Bookkeeper: send for review by 4 Sep |
| £240 payment P17 | No invoice | Office manager: get the invoice by 4 Sep |
| Payroll | Reconciled | Payroll lead: send reports by 4 Sep |
| Management report | Draft, pending P17 | Reviewer: finalise on 5 Sep |
“Ready for review” isn’t the same as approved. One open item keeps the close open until someone decides how to report it.
Late platform invoices
If the activity is clear but the invoice is late, accrue a supported estimate and replace it when the invoice arrives, so the cost appears once. If the data itself is missing, mark the figure as provisional; don’t put in zero. For Amazon reserves across month end, see this worked example.
After you close
Save the reviewed version with its cut-off date. If anything changes later, record what changed and why. See what the finished pack looks like in the month-end report example, or have it done for you with monthly management accounts.
VAT cut-off is not the bank cut-off
- Close the bank to the statement date, but put VAT in the period of the tax point (usually invoice or despatch/payment rules), even if the cash moves next month.
- Margin-scheme and Global Accounting totals still need to appear on the VAT return for the period; don’t leave scheme sales only in “payout” or “clearing” accounts.
- If a platform invoice arrives late but the supply date is clear, accrue the net and VAT once, then reverse against the real invoice so the cost isn’t doubled.
Common questions
How long should a month-end close take?
For a small business with tidy records, two to five working days after the statements arrive. Late marketplace and supplier documents are the usual cause of delay.
What’s the difference between month end and year end?
Year end adds stock valuation, depreciation, tax and statutory accounts. A good monthly close makes year end much quicker.
Discuss your accounts
Contact Andrew about the accounting work you need.
Opens a short enquiry form. Nothing is sent until you press Send enquiry.
Related service: Bookkeeping and reconciliation