Month-end close is the work a finance team does after each month ends to make that period's books complete and correct: reconcile the accounts, record accruals and adjustments, explain the movements and sign. A month-end close checklist puts those steps in order, with a preparer, a signer and the support for each line.
The checklist below runs with or without Rever. The preparer column names the person who does each line by hand, the agent column names the Rever agent that prepares it for that person to review, and the signer column names a person on every line. In Rever, Close Orchestrator keeps the checklist and ties each line to an owner, a due date, its evidence and its completion criteria. Rever's post on what the financial close is defines each stage of the close, and the list below gives each stage an owner.
The month end close checklist
| Step | Close day | What gets done | Preparer | Rever agent | Signer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-close cut-off | Pre-close | Confirm AP holds the month's invoices, payroll has run and receiving has logged goods against open purchase orders | Staff accountant | None | Controller |
| Bank and processor reconciliations | Day 1 | Tie each bank, card and processor line to the ERP; clear or explain the unmatched items | Staff accountant | Matcher; Investigator traces unexplained differences | Controller |
| Subledger tie-out, AP | Day 1 | Agree the AP subledger to the general ledger control account; resolve three-way match exceptions | AP accountant | Matcher; Investigator for disputed mismatches | Controller |
| Subledger tie-out, AR | Day 1 | Agree the AR subledger to the general ledger control account; apply cash; review short payments | AR accountant | Matcher; Deduction checks short payments | Controller |
| Accruals and reversals | Day 2 | Accrue for goods and services received and not invoiced; reverse last month's accruals that have settled | Staff accountant | Journal prepares; Close Orchestrator verifies the reversals | An approver within your thresholds; two for material amounts |
| Accrued payroll and benefits | Day 2 | Accrue wages, bonuses and benefits earned and not yet paid | Payroll lead | Journal, from the payroll schedule | Controller |
| Inventory | Day 2 | Agree counts to the perpetual records; recompute valuation; review the reserve for slow-moving and obsolete stock | Staff accountant, with operations | Inventory | Controller |
| Intercompany | Day 2 | Agree balances between entities, both sides; record eliminations | Staff accountant | Matcher agrees both sides | Controller |
| Fixed assets and depreciation | Day 2 | Add capitalised purchases, record disposals, run depreciation, tie the register to the ledger | Staff accountant | Journal prepares depreciation; your team keeps the register | Controller |
| Prepaid amortisation | Day 2 | Amortise prepaid balances on schedule; tie the schedule to the ledger | Staff accountant | Journal | Controller |
| Revenue cut-off | Day 2 | Confirm revenue sits in the period the company earned it; test invoices near month-end against delivery | Staff accountant | Matcher tests dates against delivery; Revenue Assurance checks billing | Controller |
| Tax accruals | Day 3 | Accrue income, sales and property taxes for the period | Tax lead or staff accountant | None; tax judgment stays with your team | Controller |
| Equity and debt | Day 3 | Accrue interest; tie loan balances to lender statements; test covenants; roll forward equity | Staff accountant | Matcher ties loans to lender statements; Journal accrues interest | Controller; CFO for covenants |
| Flux review | Day 3 | Explain movements above the threshold, with sources | Staff accountant or controller | Flux Analyst | Controller reviews; CFO reads |
| Support and workpapers | Day 4 | Confirm each line carries its support; list what is missing | Staff accountant | Evidence | Controller |
| Cash forecast | Day 4 | Roll the 13-week cash forecast onto the closed month's actuals; explain the misses | Treasury or FP&A lead | Cash Pilot | CFO |
| Financial statements and reporting pack | Day 4 | Prepare the statements and the management pack from the closed trial balance | Controller | None | CFO |
| Sign-off | Day 5 | Confirm each line has passed or carries an authorised exception; close and lock the period | Controller | Close Orchestrator lists open blockers and does not certify an incomplete close | Controller, then CFO |
Download the checklist (CSV) Download the checklist (Excel)
The close days assume a five-day close, so move them to fit your own calendar. You can download the checklist as a CSV, close days and agents included.
Why the lines run in this order
Your team runs cut-off before the month ends, so the reconciliations start from a complete month. The reconciliations run next because each later line depends on balances that tie: bank, the AP and AR subledgers, intercompany and the rest of the balance sheet reconciliation. An accrual booked before the AP tie-out can double-count an invoice that arrived in the last days of the month. The flux review runs near the end, after the accruals, so the comments explain the balances the controller is about to sign. The support check and the 13-week cash forecast roll run on day four, once the balances they rest on have closed. The controller builds the statements from the trial balance the flux review explained, and sign-off comes last.
What changes with agents on the list
Month-end close automation in Rever starts before month-end: A month with Rever covers the daily matching and continuous accounting through the month. On the checklist itself, four things change.
Close Orchestrator tracks the dependencies on the list, so the flux review waits on the reconciliations it depends on. It also reviews the previous six months of close entries for recurring, quarterly and seasonal items the list is missing, and adds them. Matcher has reconciled bank and subledger activity through the month, so those lines open with the unexplained differences already with Investigator.
Evidence attaches the support to each close entry as the work completes. A reviewer who opens a line finds the documents beside it, and the auditor later draws on the same records; audit readiness covers that side.
Journal prepares the accruals with their calculation support, and once your approver signs in the Inbox, the approved entries come back as an import file your team loads. Material amounts take two approvers at the thresholds you set, and Journal cannot approve its own entry. At the start of the next month, Close Orchestrator checks that each entry scheduled to reverse did reverse in the right period, and leaves alone the provisions meant to remain.
The sign-off rule carries the most weight. On a spreadsheet checklist, a controller under deadline can tick the last box with a material item open. In Rever your team sets materiality in Settings, entity by entity, and Close Orchestrator does not certify an incomplete close. It routes each unresolved material blocker to your Inbox, and a task with unresolved material support shows as qualified rather than complete. The controller signs once every required task has passed or carries an authorised, documented exception. Flux Analyst drafts the movement explanations the controller reviews, and the flux analysis article walks through one, line by line. The period close page shows the same work in the product.
The lines people keep
Three of the eighteen lines have no agent: pre-close cut-off, tax accruals and the financial statements. Cut-off depends on people outside finance confirming what arrived, tax judgment stays with qualified reviewers, and the controller prepares the statements for the CFO to sign. On the other fifteen lines a person still signs, and part of the judgment stays with your team where an agent prepares: operations counts the stock that Inventory reconciles, your team keeps the fixed asset register, and a staff accountant tests the covenants. Close Orchestrator holds the person-only lines in sequence with the rest. Multi-entity work and consolidation sit in Rever's Enterprise plan.
You can test the checklist against your own books. The zero-day scan is the first pass over your connected records once read-only access is in place. It applies the relevant reconciliations, verifications and controls to the in-scope population and reveals initial findings with the evidence behind them, and missing sources and blocked procedures stay visible.
