"The books are done" can mean anything from every account reconciled and statements issued, to transactions imported and roughly categorized. Worth being specific about what you should be receiving each month, and on what date.
The baseline
At minimum, a monthly close should give you every account reconciled, transactions coded against a chart of accounts that reflects your business, an income statement, and a balance sheet — delivered on a date agreed in advance.
That last part does more work than it appears to. Reporting that arrives on the 10th every month is something you can build a management rhythm around. Reporting that arrives somewhere between the 12th and the 25th depending on workload is something you check when you remember to, which is to say rarely.
Things that should be flagged, not buried
- Transactions that couldn't be identified — coded to a holding account and raised, not guessed at
- Missing documentation, while it's still recent enough to track down
- Duplicate payments, which are more common than most owners expect
- Unusual movement in a category, even when the total looks normal
- Anything that changes what the statements appear to say
What isn't in a standard close
It's worth being clear about the boundary. An income statement and balance sheet tell you what happened. They don't necessarily tell you the number your business actually turns on — utilization, cash conversion, margin by service line, revenue per client. That's reporting built on top of the close, and it's a separate piece of work.
Neither does a standard close tell you whether what happened was acceptable. That requires something to compare against, which is the argument for having a budget in the first place.
A short checklist
- Do you know what date your statements arrive each month?
- Are all accounts genuinely reconciled, or just imported?
- Does anyone raise the unusual items with you, or do they get coded quietly?
- Can you answer a margin question from what you receive?
- Is there anything to compare the month against?
Two or more "no" answers usually means the bookkeeping is happening but the reporting around it isn't — which is a fixable problem, and rarely a matter of spending much more.