A busy month can leave your bookkeeping scattered across banking apps, invoices and a shoebox of receipts. A short, repeatable close gives you a clearer starting point for decisions.
1. Gather the month’s records
Set aside time to collect sales invoices, supplier bills, receipts and statements for each business bank account and credit card. Keep the original supporting documents: a bank transaction alone may not explain what you bought.
2. Match the movement of money
Reconcile your accounts to the statements. Investigate duplicates and unmatched entries. Where a payment processor deducts its fee before depositing funds, reconcile the customer payment, fee and deposit separately.
3. Look beyond the bank balance
Review unpaid customer invoices and upcoming supplier bills. A healthy balance today can hide a slow-paying customer or a large payment due next week. Keep a short follow-up list with an owner and a date for each item.
4. Separate owner activity
Flag personal purchases, money introduced into the business and transfers to the owner. Ask your accountant how these should be recorded for your business structure instead of assigning everything to expenses.
5. Close with three questions
- Which customers still owe us money?
- What payments and obligations are approaching?
- Which numbers need an explanation before we rely on the reports?
Agree on who gathers records, who reconciles them and when you will review the results together. This routine is a practical starting point; the records your business needs depend on its activities.