Month-End Habits That Make Year-End a Breeze

Ready to close your books with confidence? When you follow solid month-end habits, the year-end process becomes simple and more routine rather than rescue. Whether you’re using LOU by Evosus or another system, consistency is your secret weapon for saving time, reducing stress, and keeping your business audit-ready.

Common Month-End Roadblocks (and Fixes)

1. Putting Off Reconciliations

When bank, AR, or inventory reconciliations slip, they pile up fast.
Fix: Close every month with no exceptions. Match all deposits, payments, and refunds to your bank records and save a copy of your general ledger for each period.

2. Not Maintaining Historical Records

If you can’t see what changed, you can’t explain it.
Fix: Retain monthly GLs, reconciliation reports, and supporting documents. LOU lets you attach these directly to transactions for quick drill-downs later.

3. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once

Trying to clean up a full year in one sprint is a recipe for errors.
Fix: Treat your close like clockwork. Month-end is your mini year-end. Each period sets you up for an effortless close in December.

The Reports You’ll Always Need

Your CPA or accountant will likely ask for three essentials:

• Balance Sheet
• Income Statement (P&L)
• General Ledger or Trial Balance

Depending on your engagement (tax prep, compilation, or audit) you may need more.
Pro Tip: Give your accountant read-only access to documents for seamless collaboration and fewer file exchanges.

Assets & Depreciation: Keep It Simple

Fixed assets are often overlooked until year-end, but they affect your books every month.

Here’s a simple workflow:

1. Define each asset’s useful life and depreciation method (usually straight-line).
2. Maintain an asset schedule to support journal entries.
3. Post monthly depreciation and confirm the totals match your balance sheet.
4. On sale or disposals, record gains or losses in the same period.

Need help setting depreciation policies? Have a CPA help establish the schedule. Maintain it confidently from there.

Inventory: Protect One of Your Largest Assets

Accurate inventory drives your margins, COGS, and valuation.
Follow a clear cadence:

• Physical counts Once a year (minimum). More often is better.
• Cycle counts weekly or monthly for quick spot checks.
  Watch for warning signs: negative quantities, aging stock, or items that don’t move. LOU’s inventory module makes this easier by linking purchase orders, receipts, and supplier statements for reconciliation.

Make Verification Easy

Audit prep starts with documentation. Attach invoices, receipts, and deposit slips to every transaction. Use audit trails and role-based permissions so external accountants review entries without changing them.

When it’s time to verify, you’ll have everything in one place.

Plan Ahead for Growth, Sale, or Succession

Thinking about a major transition like a sale or ESOP? Start early.

• Reconcile every balance sheet account.
• Count and value inventory carefully.
• Document accounting policies for consistency.

Clean, consistent books inspire lender/buyer confidence and speed up due diligence.

When to Bring in a Pro

Even great systems benefit from a second set of eyes. Bring in a CPA or bookkeeping consultant to:

• Review your reconciliations and spot anomalies.
• Troubleshoot stubborn differences.
• Fine-tune month-end workflows and schedules.

Your Starter Close Checklist

Monthly Tasks

• Bank & credit card reconciliations completed and reviewed
• AR & AP aging reports tied to GL
• Inventory valuation verified and posted
• Depreciation recorded; fixed asset roll-forward updated
• Sales tax verified and scheduled for filing
• Accruals and deferrals recorded
• Financials reviewed for unusual variances

Weekly Tasks

• Resolve POS over/shorts
• Clear negative inventory
• Post business-use adjustments

Best Practices

• Separate cash handling from reconciliations
• Require attachments for entries
• Save monthly GLs and reports in secure archives

Final Takeaway

Consistency beats heroics. Close monthly, reconcile regularly, count inventory on a cadence, and keep documentation attached. Small habits build clean books, faster audits, and a calmer year-end.

With Evosus LOU, many of these steps happen automatically. From auto year-end rollovers to integrated reconciliation tools, your accounting process stays smooth all year long.

Download our General Accounting Checklist or LOU Accounting Checklist for easy reference.