Month-end checklist

Your monthly reports are only as good as the entries behind them. Work through this checklist in the first days of each new month. Example Foods PLC aims to finish by the 5th.

Before you start

• Agree who does each step. At Example Foods PLC, Meron (accountant) owns the checklist, Abebe does the stock count, Hana and Dawit confirm their invoices.
• Know your fiscal year. In Ethiopia it usually runs from about 8 July to 7 July, unless your company chose different dates with your consultant.

Steps

1. All invoices entered. Hana confirms every delivery has a Sales Invoice. Dawit confirms every supplier invoice received is entered as a Purchase Invoice. Check the Delivery Note and Purchase Receipt lists for documents not yet billed.
2. No drafts left. Filter each list (Sales Invoice, Purchase Invoice, Payment Entry, Journal Entry, Stock Entry) by status Draft. Submit or delete them.
3. Bank reconciled. Reconcile every bank account against its statement with the Bank Reconciliation Tool. Count the petty cash and compare with the cash account.
4. Stock checked. If you count stock this month, record it with a Stock Reconciliation. Compare the Stock Balance value with the stock accounts in the General Ledger.
5. Receivables reviewed. Open Accounts Receivable. Follow up overdue customers. Check that no payment is left unallocated.
6. Payables reviewed. Open Accounts Payable. Check supplier balances against their statements.
7. VAT figures ready. Prepare the output and input VAT figures for the return. See the VAT page.
8. Trial Balance reviewed. Run the Trial Balance for the month. Look for accounts with unexpected balances, such as a negative cash account.
9. Accountant review. Meron reviews journal entries, large stock differences and anything unusual, then shares the Profit and Loss Statement and Balance Sheet with management.

At fiscal year end

At the end of the fiscal year, the profit or loss for the year is moved to equity with a Period Closing Voucher. Do this together with your accountant and your OLY ERP consultant, after all year-end entries are final. Do not create it on your own.

Good to know

• Do the steps in order. A missing invoice changes the bank, VAT and trial balance figures.
• Avoid posting into a month after you have finished it. If you must correct an old entry, tell your accountant so reports already shared can be updated.
• Keep a copy of the exported Trial Balance each month. It makes year-end much easier.
• Your consultant can set up an accounting period lock if you want to stop entries into closed months.

Related

• Bank reconciliation
• VAT: what you charged and what you paid
• Count stock and fix differences (stock reconciliation)
• Financial reports: P&L, balance sheet, trial balance