Whatever your financial year end date, the same core tasks need to happen to close your books cleanly. Miss one, and you risk inaccurate financial statements, an extended audit, or an unpleasant surprise at tax time. Work through this checklist in order.

1. Reconciliation

  • Reconcile every bank and credit card account to the closing statement balance
  • Reconcile petty cash and any cash-on-hand accounts
  • Reconcile intercompany or related-party balances if you operate multiple entities
  • Resolve any unreconciled or unmatched transactions flagged by your accounting platform

2. Accounts Receivable and Payable

  • Review the aged receivables report and chase or write off long-overdue invoices
  • Review aged payables and confirm all supplier bills for the year have been entered
  • Accrue for any expenses incurred but not yet billed (utilities, services, contractor work)
  • Confirm deposits and prepayments are correctly recorded as liabilities or assets, not income/expense

3. Payroll

  • Confirm all payroll runs for the year are processed and posted
  • Reconcile payroll liability accounts (PAYE/PAYG, superannuation/pension, leave provisions)
  • Process any year-end bonuses or accruals before the cut-off date
  • Generate and review payment summaries / payslip totals for accuracy

4. Fixed Assets and Depreciation

  • Confirm all asset purchases during the year are recorded in the fixed asset register
  • Run depreciation for the full year and post the journal
  • Write off or dispose of any assets sold, scrapped, or no longer in use

5. Inventory (if applicable)

  • Perform a physical stock count and compare to system quantities
  • Adjust for any discrepancies, damaged stock, or obsolete inventory
  • Confirm cost of goods sold is calculating correctly for the period

6. Tax Provisions and Final Review

  • Calculate and post provisions for income tax, GST/VAT payable, and any other statutory liabilities
  • Run a final Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet and review for anything that looks unusual year-over-year
  • Lock the financial period in your accounting platform once your accountant signs off, to prevent accidental backdated changes

The businesses that close their year-end fastest aren't the ones with the least to check — they're the ones who reconcile monthly, so year-end is just a final review, not a scramble.

If your books are reconciled and tidy throughout the year, this checklist takes a day. If they've fallen behind, it can take weeks — which is exactly the gap our monthly bookkeeping service is built to close.