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Close Tasks and the Close Checklist

The system checks on the Close tab read the books, but a month end also has work that only a person can confirm: the payroll journal agreed to the payroll report, supplier statements reconciled, the management accounts reviewed. Close tasks hold that work, with an owner, a due date and a sign-off. A period cannot close while one of its tasks is open, unless you close it anyway and record why.

Where to find it

Admin Panel → Finance:

  • Ledger & Finance — the Close tab: select a period on the board, then its Close tasks section

Architect Panel → ERP - Finance:

  • Ledger & Finance — the same console for architects

Setting up a company's standing list

Each company keeps a standing list of tasks that recur every month, each due a number of days after the period end.

  1. On the Close tab, select any open period of the company.
  2. Under Close tasks, press Add the suggested tasks. The first time, the suggested list becomes the company's standing list: post the payroll journal and agree it to the payroll report; accrue for costs not yet invoiced; review prepayments and deferred income; review aged debtors and the bad-debt provision; agree supplier statements to the creditors ledger; review the management accounts and explain variances to budget; financial controller sign-off.
  3. Press Standing list… to change it: add a Task, its Owner and Days after the period end, or remove one.
  4. In later months press Add the standing tasks (the button shows how many) to copy the list onto the period.

Working the tasks

  1. Press Add a task for anything that applies to this period only. Give the Task, the Owner (or Finance team (no one person)) and the Due date.
  2. Each task shows its owner, due date and status: open, Overdue or Signed off.
  3. When the work is done, the owner or a finance user with Post access presses Sign off…, adds an optional note, and confirms. Their name and the time are recorded.
  4. A task signed off by mistake can be put back with Reopen… and a reason. A task not yet signed off can be edited or removed.

Each person's own open tasks appear at the top of the Close tab under Your close tasks, with overdue ones marked.

Who can own a task

A task can be given to anyone who can open the company's Close tab: holders of ERP: Finance or ERP: Reporting with access to the company. An owner can sign off their own task even when their role is read-only, which is how a director holding ERP: Reporting signs off the management accounts review.

The close checklist workflow

If an architect has set up a close-checklist workflow for accounting periods, the period's detail shows Start close checklist. Choose the workflow and press Start; starting it needs ERP: Finance with Post access. Processes shows its runs on the period, and Close checklist runs lists them newest first. Without such a workflow the tab says so: an architect adds one from the Workflow Builder's template gallery (Month-end close checklist). See Workflow Builder.

Several books

A company keeping a second book, such as US GAAP beside Local statutory, has the same month in both. Its close tasks live on the primary book's period. The second book's period shows them but cannot close while they are open.

Worked example

In April the controller of a UK company adds the suggested tasks to March and gives the management accounts review to the managing director, who holds ERP: Reporting. Over the first five working days the team signs off payroll, accruals and supplier statements. On day five the managing director sees the review under Your close tasks, signs it off with the note "Variances explained at board", and the period shows Ready.

Recommendations

  • Build the standing list once, from the suggested tasks, and keep it current.
  • Name an owner for every task. "Finance team" tasks are the ones that slip.
  • Add a note when signing off anything judgemental; it is the evidence an auditor asks for.
  • Keep the controller's sign-off last, due after everything else.