A clean, repeatable close you can run every month — for bookkeepers & small accounting firms.
How to use: work top to bottom. Stage 1 (chasing clients) is the part that actually slows close down — start it 5–7 days before period end so documents land before you reconcile.
Stage 1 — Pre-close: chase what's missing start ~1 week before period end
Send each client their document-request list (bank, credit-card, loan statements; receipts over your threshold)
Confirm every bank & credit-card feed is connected and synced through period-end
Request explanations for uncategorized / unclear transactions
Send escalating reminders to non-responders (Day 1 → Day 4 → Day 8)
Mark each client "docs complete" before reconciliation
Stage 2 — Reconcile
Reconcile every bank account to its statement
Reconcile every credit card to its statement
Reconcile loans / lines of credit to statements
Clear and age undeposited funds
Reconcile payment processors to deposits (Stripe / Square / PayPal)
Stage 3 — Review & adjust
Categorize all transactions; zero out "Ask My Accountant" / uncategorized
Record accruals, prepaids, depreciation, amortization
Review AR aging
Review AP aging
Book inter-company / owner-draw / loan entries
Tie payroll liabilities to payroll reports
Stage 4 — Financials & close
Review P&L vs prior month / budget — flag and explain variances
Review Balance Sheet — every line explainable
Lock the period / set the closing date
Deliver the client report package + a short month summary note
Tired of Stage 1?
CloseDesk runs the chasing for you — smart, escalating reminders in your firm's voice, then auto-files what comes back. Let us run your doc-collection free this month.