Monthly Close Checklist
Ordered pipeline — each step feeds the next. Target: close by the 12th.
Steps complete
20/29 · 4 N/A
1 · Download & Categorize
COMPLETE
Download statements & transactions (all accounts)
Done Oct 1
Download every bank, brokerage & credit-card statement AND the full month of transactions. The account list and ending balances are on the "Accounts" tab of the Excel export. This is the starting point for the whole close.
Open Reconciliation Center →
0/0 verified · 0/0 reconciled
COMPLETE
Assign / categorize transactions
Done Oct 2
Categorize every downloaded transaction to the correct GL account / location.
↳ after “Download statements & transactions (all accounts)” ✓
Open Reconciliation Center →
0/0 verified · 0/0 reconciled
COMPLETE
Record journal entries & transfers
Done Oct 2
Book the journal entries and inter-account transfers the categorized activity implies.
↳ after “Assign / categorize transactions” ✓
N/A
Accrual adjustments (depreciation, prepaids, accruals)
Done alongside the journal entries. N/A for now — the family office reports on a cash basis.
↳ after “Assign / categorize transactions” ✓
Not applicable
2 · Cash Activity & Wire Review
COMPLETE
Review outgoing payments vs. the Wire Log
Done Oct 5
Review and reconcile every outgoing payment against the Wire Log — confirm nothing was missed (new investments, capital calls, large transfers) and each is entered correctly into QuickBooks.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
COMPLETE
Record new investments, capital calls & distributions
Done Oct 5
Book new investments and PE/VC capital calls & distributions surfaced by the wire review; confirm entered correctly into QuickBooks.
↳ after “Review outgoing payments vs. the Wire Log” ✓
COMPLETE
Record rental income
Done Oct 5
Book rental income from properties; confirm entered correctly into QuickBooks.
↳ after “Assign / categorize transactions” ✓
COMPLETE
Process & record A/P invoices
Done Oct 5
Handled in the separate A/P workflow (runs 2×/month) — confirm the month’s invoices are recorded.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
COMPLETE
Record professional fees
Done Oct 6
Record legal / accounting / consulting fees; confirm entered correctly into QuickBooks.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
COMPLETE
Record payroll & payroll taxes
Done Oct 6
Record payroll & payroll taxes — import the journal entries from Paylocity.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
COMPLETE
Record management fees
Done Oct 6
Record management fees. Process TBD.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
3 · Brokerage & Investments
COMPLETE
Record brokerage activity — dividends, interest & realized gains/losses
Done Oct 6
From the brokerage statements, record dividends, interest and realized gains/losses — double-checked against Lakeside Advisors data. Confirm entered into QuickBooks.
↳ after “Download statements & transactions (all accounts)” ✓
COMPLETE
Update market values (mark-to-market)
Done Oct 7
Update public-security market values across custodians to month-end prices.
↳ after “Record brokerage activity — dividends, interest & realized gains/losses” ✓
COMPLETE
Reconcile custodian / brokerage statements to the GL
Done Oct 7
Tie every custodian / brokerage statement to the general ledger.
↳ after “Record brokerage activity — dividends, interest & realized gains/losses” ✓
N/A
Update real estate valuations
TBD for now — real estate / illiquid valuation process still to be defined.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
Not applicable
4 · Intercompany & Review
COMPLETE
Reconcile intercompany balances & match to the log
Done Oct 7
Reconcile intercompany balances between entities so both sides agree, and confirm they match our intercompany log.
↳ after “Reconcile custodian / brokerage statements to the GL” ✓
COMPLETE
Review & approve all journal entries
Done Oct 7
CFO reviews & approves the journal entries — done at the same time as reviewing the other transaction types above.
↳ after “Record journal entries & transfers” ✓
5 · Reconcile to GL
OPEN
Reconcile bank & card accounts to the GL
Due Oct 8
Once all activity above is recorded and reviewed, tie every account’s ending balance to the GL in the Reconciliation Center. Stays open until every account is verified & reconciled — the tie-out that everything for the month was captured.
↳ after 11 prerequisites ✓
Open Reconciliation Center →
0/0 verified · 0/0 reconciled
N/A
Sweep / money-market consolidation
Consolidate and report sweep balances. Marked N/A.
Not applicable
6 · Financial Close
COMPLETE
Prepare & review the trial balance
Done Oct 8
Produce and review the consolidated trial balance — the CFO’s review of the closed books before the finalized QB reports are pulled.
↳ waiting on “Reconcile bank & card accounts to the GL”
OPEN
Import finalized QuickBooks reports
Target Oct 9
ONLY after the CFO has reviewed everything: pull the finalized QB Desktop exports (P&L / Balance Sheet by Location, monthly P&L / BS, Transaction Detail) on the QB Financial Reports page — the step right before producing the statements.
↳ after “Prepare & review the trial balance” ✓
Open QB Financial Reports →
2/2 required uploaded ✓
OPEN
Prepare financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow)
Target Oct 9
Assemble the consolidated financial statements from the finalized QB reports.
↳ waiting on “Import finalized QuickBooks reports”
N/A
Update tax provisions
N/A for now — the family office reports on a cash basis.
Not applicable
7 · Portfolio Reporting
OPEN
Update NAV for all entities
Target Oct 9
Recompute NAV once every investment and financial input is final.
↳ waiting on “Prepare financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow)”
OPEN
Finalize the Portfolio Dashboard
Target Oct 13
Generate the finalized Portfolio Dashboard from the closed numbers.
↳ waiting on “Update NAV for all entities”
OPEN
Finalize the Asset Allocation report
Target Oct 13
Generate the finalized Asset Allocation report from the closed numbers.
↳ waiting on “Update NAV for all entities”
8 · Review & Distribute
OPEN
Analytical / variance review
Target Oct 13
Review period-over-period P&L and balance-sheet variances for reasonableness.
↳ waiting on “Prepare financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow)”
OPEN
Management review & sign-off
Target Oct 13
Final management review and approval of the closed month.
↳ waiting on “Finalize the Asset Allocation report”
OPEN
Distribute reporting package & archive close binder
Target Oct 13
Distribute the final reporting package to stakeholders and archive the close binder.
↳ waiting on “Management review & sign-off”
Each step is signed off with a sequence of dated stamps — e.g.
JP In Process
JP Draft
CL In Process
CL Review
JP Finalize
CL Finalize —
each marks “In Process” when they pick it up, then their action stamps, in order by
JP (Jordan Park),
CL (Casey Lin) and
MH (Morgan Hale), each with the date it was checked.
Un-checking a stamp clears the ones after it. N/A steps need no stamps.
The reconcile step's final stamp waits on the
Reconciliation Center;
the QB step waits on its uploads.
Use Export to Excel for the checklist, account balances and completion log.