10 Tips to improve your month-end process
A reliable month-end process starts well before the end of the month. Businesses that maintain strong accounting disciplines throughout the month spend less time closing their books, experience fewer reporting issues, and gain access to timely financial insights.
Whether you use Xero, MYOB or other accounting software, completing key daily and weekly accounting tasks can significantly reduce the time required to close month-end while improving the accuracy of your financial reporting.
We believe every business benefits from a structured approach before and after month-end, giving owners timely, reliable information to make informed decisions.
This article highlights practical, day-to-day actions that can help reduce month-end workload and support timely and effective business decision-making. While not exhaustive, it covers a range of key areas that can make a meaningful difference.
Month‑end close checklist
1. Bank reconciliations
Rather than leaving reconciliations until month-end, reconcile bank accounts, credit cards and payment platforms such as Stripe, PayPal and Square daily or weekly.
Frequent reconciliations help identify missing transactions, coding errors, duplicate entries, outstanding deposits and unpresented cheques early, significantly reducing the effort required at month-end.
2. Finalise customer invoices and payments
Ensure all sales invoices have been raised and customer payments are correctly allocated. Review overdue debtors and investigate aged balances.
At month-end, apply appropriate cut-off procedures to ensure revenue is recognised in the correct accounting period and avoid extending billing cut-off beyond the end of the month. Review accruals, prepayments and recurring journals from previous months to confirm they remain appropriate.
3. Finalise supplier bills
Ensure supplier invoices are entered promptly and coded correctly throughout the month. Establish clear cut-off policies for supplier invoices not received by a specified date.
If an expense has been incurred but the supplier invoice has not been received before month-end, raise an accrual using the best available estimate. For example, if a consultant has completed work in June but their invoice will not be received until July, an accrual should be recorded at 30 June for the estimated cost. This helps avoid delays in the month-end close while ensuring expenses are recognised in the correct reporting period. Accurate and timely expense recognition provides management with a more reliable view of business performance and supports better decision-making.
4. Review payroll
Check that all pay runs are posted, reconciled and STP reporting is completed. Superannuation accruals and payroll clearing accounts should also be reviewed to ensure these balance sheet items are accurately reflected.
If employees are paid monthly, you should already know the full payroll cost for the month, including any required accruals. Fortnightly and weekly payroll cycles may require additional cut-off calculations or accruals for days worked but not yet paid. By establishing practical, repeatable steps for each pay cycle, you can keep this process efficient and avoid spending significant time on payroll at month-end.
Post payroll journals regularly throughout the month to avoid delays during the month-end close and ensure labour costs are accurately reflected in management reporting.
Payday Super took effect on 1 July 2026, making it important for employers to understand and comply with the new requirements. Our recent Payday Super article outlines the changes and the practical steps employers should consider.
5. Maintain recurring month-end journals
Review and update recurring journals throughout the year, including:
- Accruals
- Prepayments
- Depreciation
- Lease interest and lease liabilities
- Amortisation entries
- Employee provisions
Maintaining these schedules regularly reduces month-end processing time and improves reporting accuracy.
6. Check account allocations and GST
Review transactions are allocated to the correct accounts and GST is treated correctly. Fix errors before the month is closed to keep BAS reporting accurate and to ensure less reconciliation work at year-end.
7. Reconcile key balance sheet accounts
Review significant balance sheet accounts including:
- Trade debtors
- Trade creditors
- PAYG payable
- Superannuation payable
- Inventory
- Prepayments
- Loans
- Clearing accounts
Investigate unusual balances, old reconciling items and transactions that appear inconsistent with normal business activity. Regular reviews also help identify duplicate entries and resolve discrepancies before they affect your financial reporting.
8. Review your Profit & Loss
Review the profit and loss statement against both budget and prior-period results. In particular, focus on items that have experienced significant movements or contain unexpected variances. Consider whether these amounts have been accurately recorded or whether they may have been incorrectly classified or misstated.
Regularly reviewing financial results helps identify anomalies early, allowing them to be addressed in a timely manner. It also provides sufficient time to investigate unusual items in greater detail before they are overlooked or forgotten.
9. Lock the period
Lock the month in your accounting software to prevent accidental changes.
Maintain a consistent chart of accounts structure and avoid unnecessary changes to account coding. Consistent account classifications improve reporting integrity and assist with period-on-period analysis.
10. Keep your accountant informed
If anything unusual has occurred such as major purchases, new finance or contract changes, let your accountant know so they can assist with accurate recording and any potential tax planning or structuring opportunities.
Why this matters?
A well-managed month-end process is about more than meeting compliance obligations. Maintaining strong accounting practices throughout the month helps businesses reduce the time and effort required to complete month-end close procedures, while providing access to accurate and reliable financial information sooner.
Timely and accurate month-end reporting gives management greater visibility over cash flow, helps to identify any leakages, resulting in improved profitability and overall business performance. It enables more meaningful analysis of financial results, supports informed decision-making and allows business leaders to focus on strategic opportunities rather than resolving accounting issues or correcting historical records.
Beyond day-to-day operational benefits, robust month-end processes can also play an important role in preparing a business for significant events such as a sale, merger or capital raising. Clean, well-maintained accounting records can streamline the due diligence process, provide confidence to potential buyers or investors and demonstrate the strength of the business's financial management. In many cases, this can contribute to a smoother transaction process and support a stronger valuation outcome.
Ultimately, a streamlined month-end close process creates the foundation for stronger financial reporting, improved business analysis and more effective performance management.
While every organisation's month-end requirements will vary, establishing consistent processes and controls is key to achieving an efficient and insightful close. At Forvis Mazars, we work closely with businesses to tailor and optimise month-end processes to suit their specific needs. To discuss how we can help improve your month-end reporting and financial management, please contact your usual Forvis Mazars advisor or one of our experts below.
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Author: Kareena Nihalani
Please note that this publication is intended to provide a general summary and should not be relied upon as a substitute for personal advice.
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