Month-end close for a small business: calendar, cut-off, tie-outs and sign-off
For bookkeepers, office managers and owner-managers who run the monthly close for a small business, usually with one or two people and off-the-shelf accounting software. Prerequisite: the month-end close checklist course (the basic sequence, simple accruals and prepayments). This course turns that sequence into a working close: a calendar with owners and dependencies, cut-off under the cash or accrual method, tying receivables, payables, sales tax and payroll liabilities to their reports, a variance review with recorded explanations, and locking and filing the period. Examples use US practice and IRS publications; where company policy decides (deadlines, thresholds, who can reopen a period) the course marks it as a placeholder. It does not grant an accounting qualification and is not legal advice or tax advice: ask your accountant about your own obligations.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 95 minutes
- Contents
- 5 lessons · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 10 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Build a close calendar that sequences each task by working day with an owner, a dependency and the evidence it produces
- Check cut-off so that income and expenses land in the right month under the business's accounting method
- Tie out accounts receivable, accounts payable, sales tax and payroll liabilities to their supporting reports
- Review the month's results against the prior month and budget, and record explanations for variances above the threshold
- Close and lock the period after independent review, and file the close package so records can be found later
Course outline
- 1.Build a close calendar with owners, dependencies and evidenceLesson · 18 min
- 2.Check cut-off under the business's accounting methodLesson · 18 min
- 3.Tie out receivables, payables, sales tax and payroll liabilities to their reportsLesson · 20 min
- 4.Review results against prior month and budget, and record explanationsLesson · 17 min
- 5.Close and lock the period after review, and file the close packageLesson · 12 min
- 6.Month-end close for a small business: calendar, cut-off, tie-outs and sign-off: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 14 questions
- 7.Month-end close for a small business: calendar, cut-off, tie-outs and sign-off: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 8.Final exam10 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records (monthly reconciliation, supporting documents, how long to keep records)
- IRS Publication 538, Accounting Periods and Methods (cash and accrual methods; consistency)
- IRS: What kind of records should I keep
- IRS: How long should I keep records?
- IRS: Recordkeeping (small businesses and self-employed)
- U.S. SBA: Manage your finances
- Xero UK: Year-end accounts guide (reconcile, accruals, prepayments, unpaid invoices and bills, lock the period)
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