--- title: "Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist (Free PDF)" description: "A 43-step monthly bookkeeping checklist for small businesses: reconcile, categorize, review, and close the month in QuickBooks Online. Free PDF." url: https://pinstripeservices.com/monthly-bookkeeping-checklist updated: 2026-09-28 publisher: Pinstripe Business Services LLC --- # Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist for Small Business A monthly bookkeeping close has nine parts: gather your statements, reconcile every account, clean up transactions, review receivables, payables, payroll, and sales tax, read the financial statements, and lock the month. This is the 43-step version we run for clients in QuickBooks Online. Check it off below or download the PDF. [Download the Free PDF](https://pinstripeservices.com/downloads/monthly-bookkeeping-checklist.pdf) [Use the Interactive Checklist](#checklist) ## When should each step happen? Aim to close within ten business days of month end. This is a suggested rhythm; adjust it to your volume. 1. Days 1-2 Gather Your Documents 2. Days 2-4 Reconcile Every Account, Categorize and Clean Up Transactions 3. Days 4-6 Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Payroll and Contractors, Sales Tax 4. Days 7-9 Review the Financials 5. By day 10 Close the Month ## The monthly close checklist Check steps off as you go. Your progress is saved in this browser, so you can come back to it during the week. 0 of 43 steps done ### 1 Gather Your Documents Days 1-2 · 0/5 - Download statements for every business bank and credit card account. Reconciliations are done against statements, not against the bank feed. - Download payout reports from Stripe, Square, PayPal, Shopify, or any other processor you use. Payouts arrive net of fees and refunds. The report shows the gross sales behind each deposit. - Collect loan, line of credit, and equipment financing statements. - Collect receipts and vendor bills that are not in your books yet. - Save the payroll register and tax summary for every payroll run in the month. ### 2 Reconcile Every Account Days 2-4 · 0/5 - Reconcile each checking and savings account to its statement ending balance. The difference should be zero. If it is not, find it now while the month is fresh. - Reconcile each business credit card to its statement. - Reconcile loan balances, with each payment split between principal and interest. Only the interest is an expense. Booking the whole payment as an expense understates your profit. - Match processor payouts to bank deposits, recording fees as an expense instead of netting them against sales. Netted fees make revenue look smaller and hide what payment processing actually costs you. - Investigate any uncleared transaction older than 30 days. ### 3 Categorize and Clean Up Transactions Days 2-4 · 0/7 - Clear the bank feed review queue. Every transaction is categorized, matched, or excluded with a reason. - Bring Uncategorized Income, Uncategorized Expense, and Ask My Accountant to zero. Balances left here are guesses your CPA will have to untangle at year end. - Merge duplicate vendors and keep payee names consistent. - Split transactions that cover more than one category. - Move personal spending out of business expenses and record it as an owner draw. Mixed personal and business spending is one of the most common reasons books are not tax ready. - Attach receipts to transactions above your documentation threshold. - Flag equipment and other large purchases for your CPA instead of expensing them automatically. ### 4 Accounts Receivable Days 4-6 · 0/5 - Run the A/R aging report and confirm every open invoice is actually unpaid. - Clear Undeposited Funds (Payments to Deposit) so every customer payment is matched to a bank deposit. A growing balance here usually means payments were recorded twice or never deposited. - Send reminders on invoices 15 or more days past due. - Call or escalate invoices 45 or more days past due. - Review invoices you do not expect to collect with your CPA before writing them off. ### 5 Accounts Payable Days 4-6 · 0/4 - Run the A/P aging report and confirm every open bill is still owed. - Confirm approved bills are paid or scheduled before their due dates. - Check that recurring bills such as rent, insurance, software, and utilities posted as expected. - Cancel subscriptions nobody uses anymore. Small recurring charges are easy to miss in the bank feed and add up over a year. ### 6 Payroll and Contractors Days 4-6 · 0/4 - Confirm every payroll run posted to the right wage, tax, and liability accounts. - Check that payroll tax and benefit liabilities go back to zero once they are paid. A liability that keeps growing usually means a payment was booked to the wrong account. - Collect a W-9 from every new contractor before you pay them. - Track contractor payments by vendor so year-end 1099s are a report, not a project. ### 7 Sales Tax Days 4-6 · 0/4 - Run the sales tax liability report by jurisdiction. - File and pay on the schedule your state assigned you (monthly, quarterly, or annually). In New York, the filing frequency depends on your taxable sales, so confirm yours instead of assuming. - Confirm the sales tax liability in your books matches what you filed. - If you sell into other states, review whether you now owe tax there. ### 8 Review the Financials Days 7-9 · 0/5 - Run the Profit and Loss for the month and year to date. - Run the Balance Sheet as of month end and question any negative or unexpected balance. A negative bank balance or asset account is almost always a posting error, not reality. - Run the Statement of Cash Flows and compare cash to profit. - Compare the month to last month and to the same month last year. Note any large swing. - Write a short note explaining anything unusual. One paragraph is enough. ### 9 Close the Month By day 10 · 0/4 - Set a password-protected closing date in QuickBooks Online so the closed month cannot change by accident. Without it, one edit to an old transaction silently changes numbers you already reported. - Save the month's reports as PDFs to a secure folder. - Update your owner numbers: cash on hand, revenue, gross margin, A/R, and A/P. - Hold a 30-minute review with your bookkeeper, advisor, or just yourself. General bookkeeping guidance, not tax or legal advice. Confirm filing requirements with your CPA or tax professional. ## What does skipping the monthly close cost? Skipping the close does not save the work, it stacks it up. Take a hypothetical business with about 150 transactions a month. Closing monthly means 150 transactions to review while everyone still remembers them. Waiting until tax season means about 1,800 at once, most of them months old. Monthly close compared with a year-end catch-up for a hypothetical business with 150 transactions a month | Measure | Close every month | Catch up at year end | | --- | --- | --- | | Transactions per sitting | About 150 | About 1,800 | | Statements to reconcile per account | 1 | 12 | | When you find a mistake | Within weeks | Up to a year later | | Numbers you can decide with | Every month | Once, after the year is over | Hypothetical example for illustration, not a client result. ## Should you run the close yourself? If you have the time and your books are current, yes. The checklist is complete enough to run on your own. It gets harder when volume grows, when payroll and sales tax enter the picture, or when the books are already behind. That is usually the point to [bring in a bookkeeper](https://pinstripeservices.com/when-to-hire-a-bookkeeper). When we run the close for a client, it happens in their own QuickBooks Online file. Statements come to us through [Pinstripe Sync](https://pinstripeservices.com/pinstripe-sync), questions go through secure messages, and the month-end reports land in the same client workspace, where you can follow the close in [Pinstripe Close](https://pinstripeservices.com/pinstripe-close) and read the result in [Pinstripe Ledger](https://pinstripeservices.com/pinstripe-ledger). We are a [QuickBooks ProAdvisor](https://pinstripeservices.com/proadvisor) firm, and we work alongside your CPA rather than replacing them. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is a monthly bookkeeping close? A monthly close is the routine of reconciling every account, cleaning up transactions, reviewing the financial statements, and locking the finished month so it cannot change. When it is done, the books for that month are complete and the reports can be trusted. ### How often should a small business close its books? Every month. A monthly close keeps errors small, catches missing income or duplicate charges while you still remember the details, and gives you current numbers for pricing, hiring, and cash decisions. ### How long does a monthly close take? It depends on transaction volume and how clean the books already are. Aim to finish within ten business days of month end. The first few closes take the longest, and the time drops once reconciliations and categories are consistent. ### What is the difference between reconciling and categorizing? Categorizing assigns each transaction to an account, such as rent or supplies. Reconciling proves the books match reality by comparing each account to its bank or card statement. You need both: a categorized but unreconciled account can still be missing or duplicating transactions. ### Which reports should I review every month? At minimum, the Profit and Loss, the Balance Sheet, and the Statement of Cash Flows, plus the A/R aging report if customers pay you on invoice. Compare each one to the prior month and to the same month last year. ### Do I still need a monthly close if I use QuickBooks Online? Yes. QuickBooks imports and suggests categories for transactions, but it does not reconcile accounts, catch miscategorized items, or decide when a month is final. The checklist is the process that turns QuickBooks data into books you can rely on. ### What if my books are several months behind? Catch up first, then start closing monthly. Running the current month on top of unreconciled prior months spreads the old errors forward. A cleanup is its own project, and once it is done this checklist keeps the books current. ## Want us to run this every month? We close the books inside your QuickBooks Online file each month. You keep your data and your software, and get your time back. [Book a Bookkeeping Call](https://pinstripeservices.com/contact?service=bookkeeping&intent=consultation&source=monthly-bookkeeping-checklist&utm_source=site&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=bookkeeping_checklist&utm_content=footer_schedule) [Download the PDF](https://pinstripeservices.com/downloads/monthly-bookkeeping-checklist.pdf) ## Related Reading Thought Leadership ### [Looking for a Small Business Bookkeeper on Long Island? Here's What to Know Before You Hire One](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/small-business-bookkeeper-long-island) Choosing a bookkeeper is more than finding someone to categorize transactions. Here is what to expect, what to ask, and how Long Island business owners can hire the right one. [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/small-business-bookkeeper-long-island) Blog ### [How Much Does Bookkeeping Cost for a Small Business on Long Island?](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/bookkeeping-cost-long-island) Bookkeeping costs vary by transaction volume, account complexity, payroll, and the condition of the books. Here is what Long Island business owners are actually paying for and how to compare quotes properly. [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/bookkeeping-cost-long-island) Blog ### [Why Letting Transactions Auto-Sync Into QuickBooks Is Not Real Bookkeeping](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/quickbooks-bank-feed-bookkeeping-mistakes) Connecting bank feeds to QuickBooks is not the same as keeping accurate books. Automation without reconciliation and review quietly creates inaccurate financials and bigger business problems. [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/quickbooks-bank-feed-bookkeeping-mistakes) Thought Leadership ### [What Tax Season Reveals About Your Business (Most Owners Ignore This)](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/what-tax-season-reveals-about-your-business) Tax season forces business owners to look at their numbers. What most people miss is what those numbers are actually telling them. [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/what-tax-season-reveals-about-your-business) Thought Leadership ### [The Real Cost of Not Tracking Business Expenses (And Why It Adds Up Fast)](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/real-cost-not-tracking-business-expenses) Ignoring expense tracking doesn't save time. It costs you money. Here's what disorganized finances actually cost your small business. [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/blog/real-cost-not-tracking-business-expenses) Guide ### [Small Business Bookkeeping Guide](https://pinstripeservices.com/small-business-bookkeeping-guide) A comprehensive guide to bookkeeping for small business owners. [Read more](https://pinstripeservices.com/small-business-bookkeeping-guide) --- Source: https://pinstripeservices.com/monthly-bookkeeping-checklist. Contact: https://pinstripeservices.com/contact