#month-end-close
Month-end Close
Streamline month-end closing procedures and checklists
Elevator & Escalator Maintenance Contractor Bookkeeping: ASC 606 and Job Costing
A framework for elevator and escalator maintenance contractors to recognize FMA and O&G contract revenue ratably under ASC 606, track lumpy repair costs by job, and separate capitalizable modernization work from routine service revenue.
Marketing Agency Retainer Accounting: How ASC 606 Revenue Recognition Actually Works
A practical guide to applying ASC 606 revenue recognition to marketing and creative agency retainers, covering standing-ready vs. activity-based retainers, deferred and unbilled revenue journal entries, and the due-diligence risks of booking full retainers as revenue on invoice date.
Commercial Property Management Accounting: Trust Accounting and CAM Reconciliation Explained
Commingling trust and operating funds is illegal in all 50 states with fines from $1,000 to $25,000 per violation, and CAM reconciliation errors can trigger tenant audits years later — here's how three-way reconciliation and a property-specific chart of accounts keep commercial books compliant.
How to Bookkeep a Coworking Space: Deferred Revenue, Cost Allocation, and CAM Charges
A coworking space earns revenue across five distinct streams and must defer prepaid membership revenue, allocate CAM charges, and split costs by square footage to accurately price hot desks against private offices.
Budget vs. Actual: Turning Monthly Surprises Into a Repeatable Habit
Budget vs. actual (BvA) variance analysis compares planned numbers to real results every month, flags variances that cross both a dollar and percentage threshold, and turns recurring misses into a corrected forecast instead of a repeated surprise.
Prepaid Expenses Explained: Stop Letting Annual Insurance, Rent, and Software Bills Distort Your Monthly Profit
How small businesses should book prepaid insurance, rent, software, and retainers — the initial entry, monthly amortization schedule, IRS 12-month rule, and a written de minimis policy that keeps monthly profit comparable and unlocks year-end tax deductions.
Self-Storage Facility Bookkeeping: A Practical Guide for Operators
How self-storage operators should structure a chart of accounts by unit type, reconcile SiteLink or storEDGE with the general ledger, treat move-in discounts as contra-revenue, handle auction proceeds, and report physical occupancy, economic occupancy, and NOI per square foot.
Accrued Payroll: The Month-End Journal Entry for Wages Earned but Not Yet Paid
Accrued payroll records wages, taxes, and PTO employees earned before period-end but are paid after it. Learn how to calculate the accrual, post the month-end journal entry, and reverse it next month to avoid double-counting.
Bank Feed Rules: How to Automate Transaction Categorization Without Your Books Drifting
Bank feed rules cut bookkeeping time 40–60% and push error rates below 0.5%, but rule-only matching tops out at 60–70% accuracy. This guide shows how to set up rules that hold, catch silent drift, and decide where AI belongs.
Lower of Cost or Net Realizable Value (LCNRV): How to Write Down Obsolete Inventory and Stop Overstating Your Balance Sheet
A practical walkthrough of the LCNRV rule under ASC 330 — how to calculate net realizable value, book the write-down, handle obsolete or damaged inventory, and avoid the phantom-profit trap of overstated inventory on the balance sheet.
Suspense Accounts: How to Park Unidentified Transactions and Still Close on Time
A suspense account is a temporary ledger account that holds an unidentified transaction or an unexplained trial-balance difference so the month-end close can finish on time. This guide covers when to use one, how to record and clear the entries, and how it differs from a clearing account.
Bank Reconciliation Done Right: The Monthly Process That Catches Errors and Fraud Early
A monthly bank reconciliation done in 30 to 90 minutes is the cheapest fraud control a small business has. This guide walks through the two-column worksheet, how to handle outstanding checks and deposits in transit, the recurring items that trip people up, and the internal controls that turn the exercise into real protection.