Month-end close

The routine of finishing a month's books: recording everything, reconciling the bank, checking categories, and producing the statements.

Example

A two-hour checklist run on the first working day of each month.

Important

The close is what turns bookkeeping from a chore into a decision tool. Numbers that arrive six weeks late describe a company you no longer are.

Related terms

• Bank reconciliation — Matching every transaction in your books against the bank statement, so the two agree.
• Trial balance — A list of every account's balance, used to check that total debits equal total credits before producing statements.
• Bookkeeping — Recording every transaction accurately and on time.
• Reporting pack — The standard monthly set you produce and circulate: P&L, cash position and runway, key metrics, and a short commentary.

Lessons that explain it

• The month-end close — The two-hour routine that turns bookkeeping into a decision tool. A checklist you can run on the first working day of every month. (12 min)
• The monthly reporting pack — Two pages, the same date every month, to investors and to yourself. What goes in it, what does not, and why the discipline outlives any single report. (11 min)

All 176 terms in the Founder glossary